There is some confusion about this currently and that tends to spread (and amplify) easily on-line, so I thought I would make a few points.
- Changing the order of the results (promoting or demoting) does not have a reflection on the search results for everyone else.
So uping YOUR site will just give you a false impression of where it is in the results. "Look everyone, my site is number one on Google! Cool!!
The only relevant change this currently has (to promotion), is that you can leave a "public comment", which is available if some clicks the "All notes for this SearchWiki" link at the bottom of the search page.
I added a comment to the HCJ Project site as it appears when you search Google.com for handmade jewellery.
It says:
This site pools information about contemporary jewellery in one place. Artists and gallery owners add their own information. Who can join is decided by the membership.
I can't "see" it myself (unless I look at MY wiki notes), but that would make sense.
So that is the only "promotional" effect I can see with the new changes. Use the others to tailor your search results (that's what they are for!), but DON'T me misled by rumours that you can actually change the results for other people.
The information Google gathers will undoubtedly be used at some point in the future to refine their algorithms, remember "information is power", but that will only happend when they have enough information and are confident that they can filter any intentional manipulation out of the data.
If you want to see what the changes are then watch the official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Pl1H0dIXE
