We can recall Google purposely taking down its RealTime Search service, saying the product is not potent enough and that they intend to incorporate real time data from Google+ as well on top of having Facebook and Twitter. “We’ve temporarily disabled google.com/realtime. We’re exploring how to incorporate Google+ into this functionality, so stay tuned,” Google tweeted.

However, it emerged later on that the company’s deal with Twitter in real time results expired, which ultimately led to the closed-up shop.  Right now, they are working hard to bring the service back. “Google fellow Amit Singhal has said that the search giant is “actively working” on bringing back Realtime Search, repurposing the tool to include data from Google+ and other social networks,” Mashable said. Google also said they are working on a Google+ search engine.

Google+ has been exerting a lot of effort assimilating more services and capabilities into its social network. It recently acquired two companies, the first one called Fridge, in order to make Google+ more symmetric; and the other one is PittPatt, short for Pittsburgh Pattern recognition, a facial recognition software company.  It would be an excellent feature for Google’s apps such as Google+, Youtube, Images and Mobile.

“Joining Google is the next thrilling step in a journey that began with research at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute in the 1990s,” said PittPatt.

As a social network, how can Google+ look past social gaming? It’s a billion dollar industry that has borne the likes of Zynga and others.  In fact, Google is one of Zynga’s investors, putting in $100 million and now that it has its own social networking space, the investment just got better.

Google is looking forward to adding business profiles on Google+ as well, taking on some features that mimic LinkedIn’s professional capabilities.  It will allow businesses to seek exposure online, and interact with clients and prospective clients. There will be analytics and other additional features to help businesses reach better decisions.

Moreover, Google+ is careful not to echo the privacy issues suffered by Facebook. Being a search giant’s social network, Google+ is gradually becoming the target for cyber exploitation.  It’s not entirely the responsibility of a social network to protect its users, rather, users themselves can take the necessary steps to protect themselves. That being said, here are some ways on how to protect your account from cyber attacks.