Google has decided now to turn its +1 button into something similar to “like” button that can be shared among your circles. Until now it was used to show that someone has liked that content or link and was a good content to look into for the related search. It does not mean that it will not function in the same way now; it will continue to be a pointer to good content.

With this historical step of Google, you can now share the content you like with your circles just like people do in a Social Media site. It would be extremely beneficial for publishers in increasing traffic from Google+. It will translate into more visibility and more worth for people to in turn share the content further.
In fact Google+ with its +1 button has gone ahead of normal Social Media, it would be a search indicator, a step far more helpful in highlighting content for others when they initiate a search on Google. You have the option to choose a circle, comment and share the content you like.
When the process of sharing content begins from the +1 button, you will find a link, an image and a description in the sharebox being available there already. These are referred to as ‘+snippets,’ by the Google engineers. It can trigger a conversation with the people you want to interact with. So, every link which has been +1’d would be showed with the name and picture of the person sharing it so that you may know who has liked it to decide to delve deeper into the content.
This feature is being rolled out from first week of September.