The article says this will help with that "ghost town" thing, but, honestly, my G+ stream is so full, I can only keep up with portions of it these days. That said, I think this is pretty nice, at least in theory.
Facebook has had something like this for Likes, but, in FB fashion, it's on all the time, and often produces "I didn't want people to know that!" types of effects (with hilarity and/or divorces ensuing). G+ will allow you to opt out of sharing your +1s, and people will only see them if they would have had permission to see the posts in the first place, respecting all the associated privacy settings.
Reshared post from +The Verge
+1s have weight http://bit.ly/172sMCf
Google+ takes another page from Facebook, now shows you what your friends like
If a post earns a lot of +1s, it will now get a little boost in your Google+ news feed, thanks to an update rolling out this week. Users with the update will see a header detailing who in their…
I kind of miss the extended circles and incoming streams, so this is kind of nice. And so far I've gotten quite a small percentage of these sorts of posts showing up. I imagine the volume will be higher for people who don't have many circled.
Nope. I turned it off.
It's misleading. The way it shows up in your feed, it appears to be a re-share by a friend. If you don't notice it's labeled "+1'd by so-and-so", you end up commenting on an entry from a stranger when you think you're commenting on your friend's repost.
As +Chris Pitchford said, I've turned mine off. That stops me spamming my friends, but I can't figure out if there is a way to disable all "+1 only" spam from my feed.
And, oh boy, did they ever bury the toggle mysteriously on its own page. It's not just a "setting" like every other adjustable feature.
I haven't been able to find it myself, but I haven't looked exhaustively for it.
Jeez. You can hardly miss it:
Hover over "Home" to get the pop-out. Choose "Settings". Scroll down to "Apps & Activities" in the Google+ specific settings. Click "Manage Apps and Activities" button. Choose the "Google" heading near the top of the screen. Adjust the visibility of the "Google+" application.
Duh!
Silly me …