So for those of you who read my google Nostalgia post, must have om across th google Friends newsletter. Yes the news letter is still running. ad I just got mine. I picked up the following tidbit which I thought was interesting. Have copied the relevant section, but the highlights are mine:
POWER TIP
Block sites from Google’s search results
This early, experimental Chrome extension lets you block sites from
your web search results. Once you block a site, you won’t see results
from that domain again in your results (you can always revoke a
blocked site at the bottom of the results page). The extension also
sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the
resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal
for our search results. If you’re a tech-savvy Chrome user, download
and try the Personal Blocklist extension today.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-chrome-extension-block-sites-from.html
Download the extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nolijncfnkgaikbjbdaogikpmpbdcdef
Interesting, especially when Google did infact use it to compare their blow up of the sites in the Farmer Update:
It’s worth noting that this update does not rely on the feedback we’ve received from the Personal Blocklist Chrome extension, which we launched last week. However, we did compare the Blocklist data we gathered with the sites identified by our algorithm, and we were very pleased that the preferences our users expressed by using the extension are well represented. If you take the top several dozen or so most-blocked domains from the Chrome extension, then this algorithmic change addresses 84% of them, which is strong independent confirmation of the user benefits.
Now this isnt the first admission:
One of the signals we’re exploring is explicit feedback from users. To that end, today we’re launching an early, experimental Chrome extension so people can block sites from their web search results. If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results.
To the clever Black / Gray Hats and the really nasty and dirty players, this is an open anti competitor season indication…
Remember, spam reports in the traditional sense arent acted on using the algo, it seems that this chrome plugin will…