WebProNews

As search engines look to expand their role in the web universe; Google with Orkut, Yahoo with HotJobs, SocialGrid.com is looking to make Google into an online dating service using tools already available to the search engine. SocialGrid does this by having users insert searchable metadata tags into their personal web pages.

A description from SocialGrid explains the site's goals succinctly: "SocialGrid is a free dating service and decentralized social network that helps people meet through Google. SocialGrid can help you find your 'perfect match' and extend your social network by making it possible for you to use Google to search throughout the Internet for people with similar interests, goals, desirable traits and characteristics. Discover a whole new way to 'Google People'."

As first reported by Google Blogoscoped, SocialGrid accomplishes this by having users set up an account and entering personal information. SocialGrid "translates" this information into the form of html metadata tags that are then placed on the users blog, page, and/or profile page. This, in turn, makes the person "searchable" by using doing a keyword search on any major search engine.

Keep in mind that this information becomes a public file. If potential users are worried about privacy, this service is not for them.

Questions about SocialGrid's service violating the terms of Google's API have arisen. Philipp from Google Blogoscoped has this to say, "One thing though, above data (which means I'm male, in a relation-ship, look for business partners, and so on) is public data - everyone can hack the code and write up a Google Web API application which starts hunting the Web for these pieces."

For some rather interesting commentary on this new service, check out BoingBoing's write up.

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