How to programmatically retrieve the total number of Google +1's for a URL

Question

Now that Google has officially released their +1 button for websites, I'd like to find a way to retrieve the total number of +1's for a specific URL programmatically.

For example, I'd like to access this value independently of the +1 button for use in tooltips, as shown for RSS subscribers below.

More information on the +1 button: https://code.google.com/apis/+1button/

Intelligibility

possible duplicate of Is it possible to access a user's Google +1 (Plus One) history via an API? – Seepage

Answer 1

Google+ metrics: Activity by URL gives the sum total of all +1's for a URL, as well as the number of +1's for a specified time frame. It is only accessible via Google Analytics on the webmaster dashboard.

EDIT
Google now has an API for retrieving Google +1's. It is still in early developer preview though. Google+ History API tells you how to sign up for the preview.

Rochette

Thank you for the answer! The link you posted in your edit definitely seems to be in the right avenue of what I'm looking for, I'll check it out and try to post back on if it works :) – Intelligibility

Did you get the +1 hidden API to work? When I try it the count returned does not correspond to the number of +1's according to the +1 button on the page. – Gabbi