Google launched on Tuesday a new feature called “People Cards.” It is like a virtual visiting card that will help people gain an online presence. Google people cards can be created on Google search and aim to help entrepreneurs, influencers, freelancers, and essentially anyone looking to highlight their work.
The virtual card can be created by logging into your Gmail account and then searching for your name. The Google search will result in a “add me to search” option, and tapping it will open a form that asks users for details like a bio, website links, email address, and phone number. Google has attested that the greater the number of details provided, the easier it is to be found by others.
Each card will contain a picture (optional), location, and profession of the person. Therefore, even if people have the same name, the information on the cards will help differentiate them.
For now, this feature is available only through cell phones and in English. Google search product manager Lauren Clark has also said that various protections and controls have been put in place to ensure the quality of the feature.
“The safeguards include mechanisms to protect against abusive or offensive content, and limiting the experience with only one People Card allowed per Google Account. For every new card, the user must authenticate the account with a unique mobile number” – Lauren Clark
Aside from this, strict impersonation policies and People’s cards being tied to a user’s Gmail account and phone number have been put in place to check scammers. Users also have to comply with content policies, and both human and automated techniques are employed by Google to flag content that violates their rules. Additionally, a feedback button has been made for users to report their concerns.
Google people cards on search seem to be Google’s latest effort to make people less reliant on other services. In this case, it is likely that the feature is aimed at LinkedIn. By bringing such features into its fold, Google attempts to bring a one-app-fits-all service to its users.
