Why can't the +1 button be put at the bottom of the page too? I mostly (only) use the go to first new post option, which means, I mostly am looking at the end of the page. Very rarely do I go above the first post, since the go to first new post always starts at the post and not at the top. Having the same button at the bottom would make it easier to use
---------- Post added at 10:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------
the data is shared with your social connections (just like on facebook). they might see your name with the links you +1 on their search results.
the idea is that they would be able to see WHO recommended that link increasing the trust factor.
as for public sharing of data... from what i have read about
google +1... your +1s are going to be considered as a factor in global rankings of web pages even for users who are not logged in.
in that case, users are just likely to see that this link has been +1ed by x number of people. it would not show the names of all the x number of people. you are probably going to be just one of the x numbers adding to the overall weight.
I verified this by using a different account to browse the page. It works very similar to the Like button. It shows just the count and not the user name who +1d it. However, I am not sure about the criteria for displaying the usernames of those who +1d.