Do G+ circles really influence search? If so, that's super annoying, because then I have to be careful what G+ circles I join. Personalized search is already annoying enough.
You don't 'join' circles. You put people /in/ circles.
They influence search by increasing the relevance of links by people sharing them or +1ing them. You can just turn them off on the results page it seems but I have found it very beneficial.
Why is it already annoying? The only reasons I've heard have been hypothetical.
Putting people 'in' and joining is functionally the same, that's what I meant.
The reason it annoys me is that I usually want my searches to be objective and global, not influenced by my preferences. I suppose a solution might be if their UI showed the influence clearly.
They influence search by increasing the relevance of links by people sharing them or +1ing them. You can just turn them off on the results page it seems but I have found it very beneficial.
Why is it already annoying? The only reasons I've heard have been hypothetical.