• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, January 10, 2012

Taking search to another more social level, Google is now folding users’ personal data into search results.

“The personalized search results pull data from users’ Google accounts, such as Picasa and Google+, and offers users the option to toggle between searching their own personal data and searching the Web as a whole,” The Washington Post reports.

“Google says that the new feature, which it calls Search Plus Your World, is one of the biggest changes it has ever made to its search results,” reports The New York Times. “These days, the company has concluded, Internet users increasingly want to find conversations and photos posted by their friends on the social Web.”

“Google finally managed to fashion a credible social search solution,” eWeek marvels.

MercuryNews.com calls the move an “ambitious and potentially significant attempt to close the loop between two of the Internet's most elemental services -- search and social.” 

Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan says the move represents the most “radical transformation” to Google’s search results ever.  “Now we know Google’s master-plan for integrating Google+ ever more deeply into the Google ecosystem: Pour the whole thing into Google search,” Mashable writes.

Google’s move is “certain to sharpen its rivalry with Facebook,” Fortune writes. 

Indeed, “It's not just a radical departure for Google,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “It's a major salvo in the Internet search giant's rivalry with Facebook for eyeballs and ad dollars.” 

Still, “Search Plus Your World may cause some privacy worries, as private content may appear as if it is exposed publicly (it is not),” writes Search Engine Land. “It might also cause concern by making private content more visible to friends and family than those sharing may have initially intended.”

What’s more, “the changes are likely to renew persistent criticism that Google promotes content from its own services, like maps, reviews, YouTube and, now, Google+ ahead of those of rivals,” Fortune suggests.