Google Nixes Realtime Search: Google+ Redesign Axes Twitter Integration (UPDATE)

Scroll down for update.

Google has apparently killed off its Realtime search feature, or disabled it for a while, at the very least.

Google's recently unveiled social network, Google+, brought a host of changes with it, including a cleaner-looking user interface.

An unexpected casualty of these changes may be Google's Realtime search, developed to integrate real-time data from Twitter (as well as blogs and other social networking services) into a Googler's web search.

According to Search Engine Land, the Realtime option has disappeared from Google. The feature's URL leads to a 404 error page, and the option is missing from Google's left-hand toolbar. And tweet results no longer appear under recent News query results.

A tweet on the @GoogleRealtime Twitter feed acknowledges the feature's absence.

"We've temporarily disabled google.com/realtime. We're exploring how to incorporate Google+ into this functionality, so stay tuned," says a Monday tweet.

A Google spokesperson provided Search Engine Land with the same statement.

Google's serious push into the social space places it directly at odds with the likes of Twitter and other social networking giants. Could it be possible that Google is slowly phasing out Twitter integration?

UPDATE: According to Search Engine Land, Google has disabled the Realtime search feature because the company's contract with Twitter has lapsed.

The search engine sent SEL the following statement:

Since October of 2009, we have had an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results through a special feed, and that agreement expired on July 2.

While we will not have access to this special feed from Twitter, information on Twitter that’s publicly available to our crawlers will still be searchable and discoverable on Google.

According to the statement Google plans to revive the feature, but may not rely as heavily on data from Twitter.

"Our vision is to have google.com/realtime include Google+ information along with other realtime data from a variety of sources," said Google.

What do you think of Google's choice to remove Realtime search option? Weigh in via our QuickPoll.

Quick Poll

Will you miss Realtime search?

Yes! Bring it back!

Not really. I hardly used it.

Never heard of it.

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

Comments

[Alan Lunn]

07:04 AM on 07/06/2011

Can a googlopoly be far behind? How do you split up the owner of the cyber-universe?

[ChicagoBob]

10:06 PM on 07/05/2011

Don't do Facebook.
Don't do Twitter.
Won't do Google+

I would rather read a good book and there are still plenty of them out there I have not gotten to yet.

[tob221]

08:29 PM on 07/05/2011

Whats with all the "Axes" Lol, pretty sure this is the second article with it.

[Barry Dennis]

02:08 PM on 07/05/2011

The sudden absence od Realtime+ is typically not "Google-like."
That the Agreement expired sounds more like a Twitter decision than a Google one.
Were it not for the real time social research aspects of the feaure (trends and opinion), always intriging to the media universe, there would be other ways.
Look for Twitter to announce advertiser-related feathures to take advantage of the knowledge.

[johnnyvento]

01:27 PM on 07/05/2011

I thought it read "Nixon Googles Search Feature"

You just know Nixon would have been the biggest Google Stalker of all time

[snoozeulose]

12:03 PM on 07/05/2011

Stop being naughty Google. R.I.P. Realtime. Hoping that you don't try to create some bastardized version of Twitter that I won't use... renew your contracts and pls don't be an info monger...

[Spayman]

05:45 PM on 07/09/2011

Dude,
When a company like google Makes a move, it needs to process all the possible Results (+/-)
Real time searching (RTS) was good, for me and you!, not the people who are connecting over 3G, Wifi, and limited nets and Mobile phones and tablets ....
RTS = more connections with the servers = more data transfer = more Kilobytes.
People pays for every Kb they download/Upload. So don't be a selfish.
We need something we all could enjoy.

[Angela chapelle]

11:50 AM on 07/05/2011

That's Not User friendly....:(
see 4 reason Why Google + beats Facebook..........http://tinyurl.com/5rrj6es

[maritzath]

11:39 AM on 07/05/2011

What I noticed immediately was the inability to click on the "go back" button.
That was NOT user friendly, Mr. Google. Please put it back.
And that was not a joke.

[dkrypt]

08:10 AM on 07/05/2011

How do I make Google look like the google in the stock photo fro this article, rather than the new igoogle garbage which now appears?

[Freddy Nightliker]

08:33 AM on 07/05/2011

log out

[dkrypt]

08:48 AM on 07/05/2011

I'm logged out, I cleared cookies, cleared cache, ran ccleaner, igoogle has simply taken over

[MrDavidG]

09:43 AM on 07/05/2011

Click the gear in the top right corner, then click classic home.

[EdRea]

07:52 AM on 07/05/2011

Guess we haven't caught up to really needing it yet.

[GraniteSkyline]

04:35 AM on 07/05/2011

Anyone notice the new voice recognition that premiered today?

[xstevejx]

06:20 AM on 07/05/2011

I'm imaging a lot of people yelling at their computer more than usual now. :-)

[Toni-Rudolf Vlaic]

06:35 AM on 07/05/2011

lol, yeah

[GraniteSkyline]

09:19 AM on 07/05/2011

Its quite cathartic--screaming "P@lin's a duumb @ss!"

[RButler]

03:36 AM on 07/05/2011

With all of our wonderful technology, improving daily, WHY IS THIS COUNTRY IN SUCH A MESS AND WE CAN'T GET OUT OF IT? Twitter that!

[DreadPirateRoberts5]

08:20 AM on 07/05/2011

I did that, a large photo of Barack Obama comes up....

[RButler]

08:58 AM on 07/05/2011

You're so right. Obama took office with a surplus, peace and prosperity, and look what happened. Oh, wait, never-mind.

[bvf]

01:45 AM on 07/05/2011

In other news, General Motor announced the discontinuation of the tailfin on its popular DeVille model. But it may change its mind and keep it after all, depending.

I mean really. This is news?

- bvf

[bvf]

01:48 AM on 07/05/2011

s/b "General Motors," for those keeping score.

- bvf

[diva362171]

11:30 PM on 07/04/2011

Google and Gmail have changed in the last week or so and I HATE the changes. Why don't they test these new "interfaces" on actual users?

[alaskan]

11:54 PM on 07/04/2011

They do. They test them extensively.....then ignore the feedback from users.

[CenaW]

12:58 AM on 07/05/2011

It is the geek way. That is why 80% of what we have to do to use our computers nevermakes sense.

[rjakjr]

03:07 AM on 07/05/2011

The same can be said about Facebook and it's egotistical founder/CEO. Just the fact that the biggest social networking site on the planet is managed by non-social hermit is a joke in itself.

[diva362171]

03:39 AM on 07/05/2011

He looks more like gollum, but I got your point =P

[mcsquared65]

07:56 AM on 07/05/2011

What? It makes perfect sense. Non-social hermits make connections from their computers.

[LiberalBuzz]

10:06 PM on 07/04/2011

What I want to know is why GOOGLE hasn't come up with a fix for the GOOGLE REDIRECT VIRUS. That thing is driving me crazy. I keep trying all the various "solutions" but so far nada. So I keep thinking, GOOGLE is worth billions, has thousands of people and NONE of them can work out a fix for that virus.

[Donald Clifton]

11:37 PM on 07/04/2011

If you use Firefox only it's an extention you have to delete otherwise you have a rootkit. Unhackme is your friend.
Your bigger problem is you are running an insecure operating system. We know you are running Windows! Mac OSX, BSD, Linux ALL are safer.
I work on 700 Windows PCs for my job and I come home to my happy Linux box so I can get actual work done....

[Troff]

03:46 AM on 07/05/2011

Yes, maybe. I think I may have another explanation for why you can't get actual work done at your job: have you tried restricting yourself to only using a few at a time instead of all 700?

[xetaprime]

04:22 AM on 07/05/2011

+1 for Linux! I've never had a virus and have been using it since 1998 (cough, sneeze). Computer virus anyway :)

[alaskan]

11:55 PM on 07/04/2011

It's not Google's job to teach you how to use a computer. Buy a Mac.

Seriously. You'll never regret it.

[Anders Juul]

07:53 AM on 07/05/2011

It's not Steve Jobs' job to teach you how to use a computer, yet you let him. Why?