Linksharing Update

November 5, 2011 @ 12:46 pm | Filed under: ,


Photo totally unrelated to the content of this post, offered for those who may not be quite as interested in social bookmarking as I am. šŸ™‚

I still haven’t found the one best, perfect means of sharing nifty internet finds with others. To be fair, even before Google killed off Reader Share, I was forever searching for that one best, perfect show-and-tell vehicle. Reader’s share button was so easy that I took it for granted.

Linksharing is important to me. I truly loved being able to click through to your blogs and explore your Reader Shared Items widgets. I loved that I could follow those link collections on my own Reader. I love it when someone on Google+ or Facebook or Twitter shares an intriguing bit of reading—love it so much that I’m reluctant to rely on chance to put those links before my eyes in the rapid infostream. I want an RSS feed of your nifty stuff: that’s the bottom line.

Some of you share links right on your blog, and that’s terrific. I could do that myself, have done in the past, but over time I’ve found that I prefer to keep my booknotes and family chronicle separate from my show-and-tell treasures. I’m a compartmentalizer.

This past week, I’ve experimented with Diigo as my primary linksharing vehicle. I was already using it to share booklists in my sidebar. I love how its widget folds itself neatly into my blog design. And I love that it has an RSS feed so you can subscribe if you’d like. What it’s lacking—and this is a biggie—is reciprocity. As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t like that you can’t comment on links. Sharing isn’t as much fun if it’s one-way.

Diigo

For a while, I was using Tumblr as a way to archive my own online reading—not necessarily links I wanted to share, but things I’d read and wanted to be able to reference later. I fell out of the habit after a while. (Around the time of Comic-Con, I see, which explains the lapse.) As a sharing platform, it has much to offer: excellent visuals (you can share [and credit!] photos and videos as well as text links); a combox; an RSS feed. But its sidebar widget is incompatible with my blog design. That’s not a dealbreaker; I’m sure there are WordPress plugins for Tumblr feeds, and anyway I’ve got a redesign planned for early next year. (New books, new look.)


Tumblr

So for now, you may find (and subscribe to) my shared links at both Tumblr and Diigo, your choice. If I decide to let one of them lapse, I’ll let you know.

If you have come up with a replacement for your Google Reader Shared Items, please leave the link in my comments!


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Comments

5 Reponses | Comments Feed
  1. MelanieB says:

    I’m still dithering about how to share my links. Right now I’m just doing a +1 in Reader for things that I would previously have clicked share for. I’d like to find something with a plug in for my blog and that has RSS capabilities. I’m waiting for a consult with my blog tech support (i.e. Dom, who is a bit busy.) We keep talking about a blog redesign but that’s going to entail migrating my content and evidently that’s a headache and a half as there’s no easy way to do that from my current provider. One day we’ll sort it all out. I hope.

  2. Erin says:

    For now, for my own personal ‘record’ of great posts, I’ve a board in my pinterest account. However I’d still love to share on my blog. I did hear of feddly, but can’t find the sharing button? Is there one? Anyhow keep hoping techies such as yourself will lead the way;)

  3. Ellie says:

    Today I actually shared a link in a post, not a thing I do all that often although I think of doing it almost daily, and I save out the links and all and then I usually forget or don’t have time to follow though. It’s the way I’d prefer to do it and it’s easier for me than the widget thingamabobs (explaines why I don’t have one), but I’m glad that there are plenty of people not like me, becaue I love seeing other peoples shared links … If you ever do find a super easy-peasy platform that even I could use, let me know!

    And, I love that photo!

  4. Michele says:

    I wish I had something to offer. I’m not on FB or G+ so the sudden loss of Reader sharing left me feeling a bit abandoned (OK that’s a bit dramatic but you get the idea.) I just don’t have time at the moment to figure out something new and though I figured I’d do some sharing posts n my blog it’s not the same.

  5. Christopher Barth says:

    Diigo looks like delicious with some nice features (highlighting). The note features looks SOOO close to the reciprocity you were looking for but it’s still either set to private or requires you to visit the link to see it…