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Have an opinion about a Web site or its content? You can now express your opinion to other viewers right there on the Web site. Google’s newest add-on tool, Sidewiki, allows you to contribute comments to any Web site once the add-on is downloaded and installed to your Google Toolbar on your Internet browser. You can read entries made by other user then add your own. Your comments can be shared through your Facebook or Twitter profiles.

How does this compare to Twitter or other social-networking sites?
Sidewiki is a different tool than any of the social-networking sites. Twitter and Facebook require you to cultivate followers and fans to your page, or to subscribe to your mobile updates. Sidewiki can be viewed by everyone on the Web, providing they have the free tool downloaded.

You attach your comment to the Web page through this add-on tool and then you can share the comment with your social network. Sidewiki has the capability (so far) to send your comment to your Facebook, Twitter or link it to your blog. You could also e-mail your comment to a friend, if you have a Gmail account or would like to set one up. But beware, if you create a Gmail account it will become your primary account username.

Sidewiki uses the features of Twitter and Facebook like how you would share an article from the New York Times. Only you’re commenting on the Web page to your network, not just one article.

How do I get it?
First, log into your Google account, or start a new one. Visit http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/ and click the button to install. In about 30 seconds the program will download and it’ll ask you to restart your Internet browser. Once you do that, the Sidewiki icon (it has the yellow dialogue box icon) will appear on your Google Toolbar, that’s the top bar on your browser window (you’ll also need to add that on if you don’t already have it). Whenever you want to leave a comment on a Web page, or view other comments, simply click this button. Sidewiki appears as a browser sidebar.

What are the obstacles to this tool taking off?
Right now, it hasn’t attracted enough attention. I visited four top news sites and only two of them had Sidewiki comments. Both Slate.com and Salon.com had no comments. The Las Vegas Sun.com had one – posted in mid-October with no discussion. The New York Times.com had a more robust discussion, but the comments weren’t organized by date. Older posts were scrambled up with the new. I was puzzled by this, until I read Google’s explanation on its blog:

“…we wanted to make sure that you'll see the most relevant entries first. We worked hard from the beginning to figure out which ones should appear on top and how to best order them. So instead of displaying the most recent entries first, we rank Sidewiki entries using an algorithm that promotes the most useful, high-quality entries. It takes into account feedback from you and other users, previous entries made by the same author and many other signals we developed.”

Some bloggers argue that because Sidewiki cannot be controlled by the Web site owner, this will open the site to unfair criticism.
Source: http://www.mattseo.com/en/google-sidewiki-side-wiki/

The negative comment can’t be removed, only commented on. So far it’s unclear how Sidewiki will affect keyword searches, which rank your page on search engines.

To read more about the tool visit http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

Still intrigued? Start now. Once you download the program, click the Sidewiki button at the top bar on your Internet browser and post a comment on our e-newsletter. We’re waiting to hear from you!