Google disabled its Realtime Search functions on Sunday, a move that removed all results from Twitter and many other sources, as reported by Search Engine Land.
Google said its agreement with Twitter had expired on July 2, and removing results from that feed was the catalyst for ending Google Realtime Search. The company added that the service will relaunch at an undetermined time and will incorporate Google+.
In addition to Twitter, Google Realtime Search included results Facebook fan page updates. This could affect the entertainment companies and brands that increasingly use Facebook fan pages to connect with consumers. Also removed are results from Quora, Gowalla, Plixi and several other sources.
Twitter confirmed to Search Engine Land that the relevant agreement had expired, having been in force since October 2009. The company added that Twitter still provided similar access to companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, NTT Docomo, and that it continued to work with Google in other ways.
Bing Social search, Microsoft’s real time search service, continues to return results from Twitter. So does the relatively unknown search engine Topsy, which also has what may now be the only available Twitter archive.
Related Links:
Search Engine Land story: http://tinyurl.com/43hfqrl
Bing Social: http://www.bing.com/social
Topsy: http://topsy.com/
