Google has recently started using Authorship – with rel=”author” on a link – to add author information to search results.
This really adds a nice dimension of trust and familiarity, as photos are also displayed, and the author info can work across any number of sites.
It is very easy to add on WordPress (or anywhere) – just add a link to your Google Profile with ?rel=author added on your profile's Bio box. For example, mine is
<a href=”https://profiles.google.com/102503450010826329059?rel=author”>Google+</a>
See the general instructions on Google Answers.
Please note that there was another system that used rel=”author” as a separate attribute. Google still recognizes this, but I imagine that a lot of CMS and comment systems didn't allow for the attribute, so they decided to simplify the system.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFb6Y-UJUI]