YouTube Helps Google Expand the Google Plus Social Network

Last week, Google has announced a new, deeper integration with YouTube and Chrome in its Google+ social network. The closer integration will come in form of two Chrome extensions and a new YouTube “slider” right in your Google+ stream.

Users can already add YouTube videos to their posts, but Google is adding a dedicated YouTube button on the top right-hand corner of Google+ that will provide easy access to videos.

When you hover your cursor over the YouTube icon, you’ll be asked, “What would you like to play?”. Type a search query into the box and Google will start playing a list of related videos in a pop-up window. If you move that pop-up window, Google said, you can still access your YouTube playlist from the YouTube “slider”.

In addition to the tighter YouTube integration, Google has also dropped two new Chrome extensions that enhance Google+. The neatest is a “+1” button” that hovers to the right of the universal URL bar in Chrome, which allows you to instantly share any webpage to Google+.

The other extension shoves your Notifications alert into the same spot, this way you can see your Google+ notification even when you’re away from the network. The Chrome extensions are, as optional addons, only as effective as their installs, but they can easily see them becoming a pre-installed option in future versions of Chrome. This would constantly place the all-important Notifications in front of your eyes.

And for those who don’t care to use the Chrome browser, Google says it’s offering a new version of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer that also has these two new feats on board.