Google settled its case with the FTC over the forced joining to Buzz for a brief period after its launch last year, they now have to have users sign up for the product. Google “will have to “obtain express affirmative consent” from users before sharing with any third parties. That means sticking information in front of user’s face telling him or her what information will be shared, who it will go to, and what the purpose of the sharing is.

Apart from Plus1, Google has been busy this week rolling out a number of feature additions including contextually targeted content advertising and a refresher of language targeting were two that should be noted. ” Many of you use contextual targeting on the Google Display Network to reach potential customers as they read web content directly related to your products or services. To date, you’ve been able to do this by specifying keywords that work together to show your ads on relevant webpages

Many of you who read this site on a daily basis also know what it is like to receive very basic questions from friends and family via IM. All those questions can often be answered with a quick Google search…

Google announced they are launching a new beta AdSense search product named AdSense Custom Search Ads. What does it do? In short, they are AdSense ads designed for search results pages…

For an in-depth overview of Google’s new +1 extension of social search, see Danny Sullivan’s Meet +1: Google’s Answer To The Facebook Like Button. In addition, Matt McGee has written How To Get Google +1 Buttons For Your Website for publishers interested in adding the new button…. Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Google plans for higher quality Gmail ads; more targeted, useful, and tailored towards desires. Although Gmail is said to be implementing changes in the ad’s already, the personalization-based ads could still be a month out.

Google Buzz launched last year, it quickly met security issues . Those issues, in turn, led to millions of dollars in fines , a downward PR spiral and a contributed significantly to the general distrust of Google, especially in Europe . It also led Google to immediately change how sharing worked in its products

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…