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25.8.11

Google Plus Begins Stamping Celebrity Profiles With Verification Badges

Mountain View, California -- Internet search giant Google Inc.'s latest social networking venture Google+ seems to be moving pretty swiftly. Earlier this month they launched Google+ games feature and now, in an attempt to further dominate online identities, Google Plus has started to roll out verified accounts.

The commencement of the verification badge roll out has now begun! The verification badge is initially aimed at helping celebrities and public figures, as well as particularly popular Google+ users who have been added to a large number of circles, can have their identities verified with a check mark and a small “verified name” badge.

The move, according to the company, has been taken in order to make sure the profiles of celebrity and public figures are genuine and authenticated. According to VentureBeat, back in July, actor William Shatner's Google+ account was debarred reportedly because Google+ had no way of tracking if he was the real deal or not.

However, his account was quickly reinstated and now, Mr. William Shatner has his very own verified name badge. Google has been striving to increase the number of celebrity members on the social network to help push it into a more public spotlight the way both Facebook and Twitter have done. The new verification strategy will help further that goal.
Google+ team member Wen-Ai Yu posted a message about the new program. She said, “We are beginning to roll out verification badges on profiles so you can be sure the person you are adding to a circle is who they claim to be. This will help you easily determine which profiles are owned by real, verified people,” Yu added.

“When you visit the profile of a celebrity or public figure, you will see a verification badge next to their profile name,” Yu explained last weekend in her Google+ Post.

Once authenticate, celebrities, public figures and high-profile member profiles will display a check mark next to the account holder's name. This novel feature intends to make users more comfortable including people in their friend groups, the company said.

The just unleashed feature is similar to Twitter's old “verified” badges, Google now shows a gray verification badge with a checkmark next to a member's name on his or her profile, as a mark that the celebrity is the real Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page or William Shatner and not an impersonator.

“Currently, we are concentrating on verifying public figures, celebrities, and people who have been added to a large number of circles, but we are working on expanding this to more folks.” Yu, however, does not explain exactly how accounts are verified.

According to the Google+ profile guidelines: “It is important to use your common name so that the people you want to connect with can find you. Your common name is the name your friends, family or co-workers usually call you.”

The guidelines also warn: “Impersonation is a serious issue. Pretending to be someone else could cause your profile to be deleted.”

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