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Digg Alpha: Review from an Experienced Digg User

Darko — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:15:24 +0000

Digg Alpha opened its doors to several thousands users on 29 June (I was one of the lucky ones to get access.) So far, I’ve seen many reviews on it from various mainstream resources. However, they all failed to address the main points most active Digg users care about when it comes to the new Digg Alpha features.

I will attempt address some of the most important issues, we, as active Diggers have regarding this V4. I’ll pin-point to several design changes they made (and whether they are good or bad), how the new Digg will affect power users and at the end try to make some prediction on how the new Digg version is going to look in terms of design and functionality.

The new ‘Digg’ Button

At first, you’ll probably say the same thing like me: Damn, they should make it wider so it feels like the old (current) button.

In terms of design, the new button is awesome. In terms of functionality, not really. It’s easier to click on ‘Digg’ using the current button. On this one I need to click on the center. I can’t click on the edges if I want to digg something which is a major hassle.

My news? People to follow? What the…

It’s nice if, let’s say, I love BBC stuff, to be able to see their stuff more often.

But, don’t I have RSS/Twitter for that?

Here’s the major mistake Digg did: It assumed what users wanted, instead of asking them.
This was the most dugg comment on the first front page story on the main Digg features:

I think that Digg is risking a lot by putting ‘My News’ in front of ‘Top News.’ I predict they’ll change so Top News comes in front of My News or otherwise risk ruining the visitor experience of many regular users as well as changing its core from find interesting stuff (interesting = people you don’t know really well, websites you probably haven’t heard of before) to find predictible stuff (from sites you like, people you are familiar with) and so on. I think Digg needs to focus on making things simple (like this public records search site) rather than complex.

Power users and front-page system…gone?

Digg power users will be pissed because Digg Alpha doesn’t have the usual ‘Submitted by friends’ button where they can digg their mutual friend’s submission every day. Either Digg will add such an option or risk losing a bunch of its power users.

Also I didn’t see any Front Page system. It’s simply that the most Dugg stories get to the FrontPage and this can be manipulated very easily. Definitely an issue Digg needs to pay careful attention.

Digg Alpha…………….Digg V4 (a long, long journey)

It will probably take several months before Digg rolls its final version. The current alpha version is far from perfect. I predict the following features to be added:

Changed ‘digg’ button
Added ‘following friend’s’ submissions (to stop the rage of power users)
Get some portion back of its Front Page system

The idea of letting everyone has its chance to get on the Front Page is a noble one. But when you consider things like SPAM and JUNK sites then you want to be extra careful who you gonna let go and have a share of the traffic.

Digg Gets a Makeover With Upcoming Launch of Version 4

Brian Mongold — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:45:33 +0000

Have you seen the highlights of the new Digg version 4 that will be launching in a few weeks? Digg is getting a nice revamp and will have more of a Twitter feel to it. Obviously this post contains no new news for those who have already seen the video, but is instead intended for those who haven’t.

You can now Follow other Diggers, sorting through a list of Digg users, with their icon, display names and number of followers. You’ll be able to Digg articles and follow only the Diggs from the Diggers you want to follow on the “My News” section, kinda like Twitter.

Back in the day, it was frowned upon by the Digg community to Digg your own blog posts, but the new format will provide auto submit by RSS and the success of your content will be much less dependent upon who you are. Take a look at the video below, which features Kevin Rose giving a sneak peak.

Based on what I see in this video, I think I’m going back to Digg very soon to have fun with Digg V4.

Best Tools for Finding Bookmarks

Brian Mongold — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:11:00 +0000

I often have readers ask me how I find the tools and resources that are posted. Having a site that’s purpose is to find the best resources on the web requires some efficient and powerful search tools. There are countless search engines & tools available, but I wanted to share 5 tools that have been the most effective for me.

1. Delicious – If you’ve been reading Eazy Cheezy, you’ve probably observed that I use Delicious multiple times a day. I keep an eye on the Delicious Popular, but also conduct keyword searches and often times browse through hundreds of sites under individual keywords. Quite a few buried treasures on Delicious.

2. Advanced Google Search – No other search engine compares to Google in my opinion. I like to narrow my searches down by using the Advanced feature. There are many other Google custom search engines, but I usually just stick with this one unless searching under specific categories, such as Education.

3. PopURLs – This tool is quite handy as it displays popular entries on Delicious, Digg, Stumbled Upon, Youtube and so many more sites.

4. Digg – I’ve become a hardcore Digger & have integrated myself into the community. Since I typically read so many Digg stories, I have found quite a few nice bookmarks in both new submissions & by using the search within Digg.

5. Popacular – Sure, it’s basically the popular section of Delicious displayed, but I use Popacular to break down the ranked popularity of Delicious posts by hour, day, week, month and all-time.

Have you used any of the sites above? What site do you use to find information you need? As always, I’d love to hear from you.

60+ of the Best Undiscovered Digg-Like Sites

Brian Mongold — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:02:00 +0000

If you’ve ever used Digg, Reddit, Stumbled Upon, Propellor, Yahoo Buzz or some of the other well-known sites available, I’m sure you understand just how addicting using voting features really is. It’s quite a bit of fun to vote for an article you like or submit an article and watch it climb the rank to the front page. This posting is dedicated to all the other lesser know, Digg-Like sites.

Prior to researching this, I really had no clue that there were so many Digg-like sites in existence. I started out with 100 or so and narrowed the list down to the top 60.

Digg-Like General News Sites
1. Plime Vote Up or Down.
2. Digglicious – Mashup of Digg, Delicious & Reddit.
3. Kikono – Kik It.
4. fav.or.it – Favorite stories.
5. coRank – Thumbs up or Thumbs Down. Each user has their own front page.
6. Thrive or Fail – Believe or Doubt, Funny or Lame, etc.
7. Content Pop – Vote for it. Group of communities promoting web content.
8. Newzly – Vote It.
9. Riffs – Riff it up/down.
10. Shoutwire – Shout or Bash

Bookmarking
11. folkd – Social network and bookmarks site. Folk It if you like it, or just bookmark it.

Unique, Funny, Etc.
12. Quadriot – Interesting, funny & strange stories. Riot it if you like it.
13. The Best Stuff In The World – Pick from image collection & Best It.
14. UrbanDictionary – Urban dictionary with Thumbs Up or Down.
15. Questionville – Ask or answer questions & vote on the answers.
16. Slantly – Share opinions on various topics, vote for others & engage in debates.
17. SimplyFired - Now this is an entertaining site. SimplyFired allows you to share stories of getting fired and Vote for others. Definitely some interesting stories to read.

Targeted Topic Sites
18. Dig a List – Lists. Submit lists & Click Up or Down.
19. Change.Gov – Political. Change.Gov offers reader input, using a Digg-like system. Submit questions and check or X existing questions to help get the best questions to the top. Here is the previous questions session.
20. g-Log – Geek News. Vote for or Bury random Geek News. Gadgets, technology and humor.
21. Stack Overflow – Programming Questions. Ask or answer programming questions & Vote for or against.
22. Tip’d – Financing, Investing & Business. Submit a story or Tip It.
23. Armchair GM – Sports. Post a story & Score It to help vote other great sports stories.
24. Prayerit – Religious. Prayer It or submit your own prayers.
25. FreshPips – Forex Trading. + Your favorite submissions.
26. DigStock – Financial News. Tagg It if you like it.
27. Autospies – Auto Enthusiasts. Vote for articles specific to auto enthusiasts.
28. Care2 News Network- Environment, Human Rights, Etc. Promote articles.
29. Daytipper: Tips. Post a tip & the community votes “Yes or No” to determine if it’s Useful.
30. newsgarbage – Technology. Bag it or Bin It.
31. Future Scanner – Future-based News. Vote Up or Down.

Freeware, Software & Apps
32. Betamarker – Freeware & Software site. Download & Mark It if you like it.
33. I use This MAC OS Software – For Mac OS . Click “I use this”
34. I Use This Iphone Software – For iPhone Apps. Click “I use this.”

Design
35. dZone – Submit links & Vote up or down these various developer’s resources.
36. Developer’s Niche – Another developer’s site that enables you to submit & Vote resources.
37. Pixel Groovy - Pixel Groovy lets you Groove the best tutorials from many different programs (i.e. Photoshop, CSS, Windows, etc).
38. Design Snack – Submit XHTML & CSS website designs and Vote for your favorites.
39. CommandShift3 – CommandShift3 uses a unique system that displays 2 different websites and allows users to click the one they want. Click the one you like better and clicks are tallied on the Best and Worst Page.
40. Design Bump – Click it or X it if you like or dislike any of these submitted designs.
41. picli – Like any creative picture or design, Vote It.

Music, Movies, Games & Books
42. Thesixtyone – Music artists upload their music & you Bump It Up if you like it. Find some of the best undiscovered artists.
43. Cherrypeel – Find songs & artists you’ve never heard of. Your vote gives them points as they climb the charts.
44. itBreaks! - Listen to and Vote for songs that artists upload.
45. CC Hits – If you find a song you like, click “Like It” & watch it rise to the top.
46. Bloodee – Vote if you like these Horror Film related articles, videos, etc.
47. bookrevyoo – Like a book, review it or click “Interested” to watch it rise to the top.
48. FLURL – Site dedicated to videos. Like a video, Thumbs Up or Down.
49. Wordsy – For Books and readers. Word Up.
50. GameRefresh – Play & Vote for various free flash games on the net.
51. QuickJump – Site dedicated to games, hacks, PSP, etc. Jump It if you like a story.
52. Tribalwar – Site for gaming news. Bump stories if you like them.

Blogging, Internet Marketing, Etc
53. Earners Club – Internet Marketing, Blogging, Making Money Online. Vote or Bury.
54. WpVote – WordPress topics, themes, plugins, news, ressources and hacks. Vote Up.
55. Undrln – Use Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down for this advertising, marketing & design site.
56. Spinn – Sphinn a story it if you like it, with this Internet Marketing site.
57. tagne.ws – Submit & Vote stories in internet marketing, trends, blogging, etc.

Shopping
58. Dealnews – New feature from Dealnews allows you to vote Good or Bad for each new deal.
59. Deal Comet -Vote +1 or -1 for Deals & Coupons. See total points for each.
60. dealspl.us – If you like a deal, +Plus It! and watch the point value rise.

“Updated” Great Additions From Reader Feedback
61. BallHype – Sports. Hype it up or Vote it down. Mistakenly left this off the list.
62. NoiseAddicts – Music. Social music site for musicians & music lovers. Vote it up.
63. bandBuzz - Music. New & unknown bands. Buzz it to hype up various songs.

Do you have any other great sites that you’d like added to the list? Have you tried any of these sites before? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions, etc.

12 Best Firefox Add-ons For Hardcore Diggers

Brian Mongold — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:08:00 +0000

If you’re a fan of Digg and use Firefox, this is a must read. This article covers 12 of the best Firefox Add-ons that you can use to improve your Digging experience. Click the “Read more” link to see the original article and all the great add-ons.

i-Stuff’s 200+ Cool Twitter Apps

Brian Mongold — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:40:00 +0000

If you use Twitter, i-Stuff has the motherload of applications. They’ve compiled a listing of over 200 total Apps, along with descriptions for each. Prior to seeing this posting, I was unaware that 200 apps were in existence.

To see the entire posting, please click on the “Read More” entry. If you are a Digg User & like this entry, please give this a “Digg.”

Be sure to watch for Eazy Cheezy’s “Top Sites to Find Unique Gifts,” which will be published Sunday, December 7th. Have a great weekend.

8 All-in-one Social Bookmarking Widgets – Myspace, Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Etc.

Brian Mongold — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:24:00 +0000

I often see a wide variety of social bookmarking widgets that enable readers to save and share your site. I’ve always wondered where to find some of the cool buttons and badges I’ve came across.

Recently, I’ve been on a pursuit to find the best social bookmarking widgets and pulling them all together on this entry. It’s all about options. For this entry, I chose the all-in-one type badges. It’s all about having options.

1. Badged – Type in your blog name, URL and choose which badges you want.

2. Addthis – Choose whether you want the bookmarking or the feed button, select your button, type in your feed and grab your button. You can choose whether to have it drop down or not as well.

3. Add to Any – Choose a subscribe or share button, pick your button and type in your URL.

4. BlogBadge – Find your user names and IDs for each of your profiles.

5. Clearspring Launchpad – With Launchpad, you’ll first need to register for a free account. You can modify the widget settings to your liking once you register.

6. Shoutlist Icons - This is another badge, similiar to Blogbadge, which is on Widgetbox. Replace the information with your own, choose how many columns and rows you want and get your widget.

7. Ultimate Social Bookmark – Another Widgetbox badge. It’s a less visually appealing bookmarking tool, but one that could also be very useful.

8. FlashDen Social Bookmark Buttons for Flash – ($5) I didn’t try this out, due to it being $5, but I just wanted to list it as an alternative. It’s a pretty fancy flash badge, but I’ll stick with free.

If you have any other great all-in-one social bookmarking badges or buttons, please do share. I’ll continue to add to the listing.

Stumbled vs. Digg Continued and Traffic Ranking Updates

Brian Mongold — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:30:00 +0000

I thought I’d provide a few updates on both the Stumbled vs. Digg Traffic and the Alexa and Technorati Traffic Rankings. Here are the previous entries: Alexa Traffic Update and Traffic With Stumbled Upon & Digg. I am not shooting for any particular rankings, but am more interested in the process and how quickly one can increase his/her rankings.

Alexa Rankings
Oct 2nd – 7,061,154
Oct 3rd – 4,130,697
Oct 7th – 3,098,288
Oct 18th – 1,133,260
Nov 4th – 284,626

Technorati Ranking
Oct 18th – 4,666,062
Nov 4th – 308,212

Stumbled vs. Digg Continues (Note: only Stumbled, Digg & Direct Traffic Listed)
Day 9 (Oct 20, 2008)
Traffic drops from 2,528 visits to 1,939
Overall – 1,765 visitors, 1,939 visits, 3,449 page views

Stumbled – 1,269 visits (65%)
Direct – 473 visits (24%)
Digg – 1 visit (0%)

Day 12 (Oct 23, 2008)
Traffic jumps from 1,939 visits to 9,784
Overall – 9,265 visitors, 9,784 visits, 16,554 page views

Stumbled – 7,834 visits (80%)
Direct – 1,659 visits (17%)
Digg – 4 visits (0%)

Day 15 (Oct 26, 2008)
Traffic stays steady, with less visitors but more page views
Overall – 8,831 visitors, 9,518 visits, 16,585 page views

Stumbled – 7,146 visits (75%)
Direct – 1,946 visits (20%)
Digg – 15 visits (0%)

Day 18 (Oct 29, 2008)
Traffic begins to decline from 9,518 to 6,829 visits
Overall – 6,829 visitors, 7,332 visits, 12,858 page views

Stumbled – 5,587 visits (76%)
Direct – 1,337 visits (18%)
Digg – 10 visits (0%)

Day 21 (Nov 2, 2008)
Traffic increases from 6,829 to 7,840 visits
Overall – 7,201 visitors, 7,840 visits, 14,355 page views

Stumbled – 5,786 visits (74%)
Direct – 1,574 visits (20%)
Digg – 6 visits (0%)

Domain Transfer & Alexa Traffic Update

Brian Mongold — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0000

On Oct 8th, I decided to move Eazy Cheezy from Blogspot to a Domain. As I included in my How to Move Your Blog to a Domain article, it was a very simple and quick process. At the end of the entry, I specified that it could take up to 3 days to fully transfer to my new .Net domain. During the transfer, the only difference I noticed is that I was unable to manage my site from the front page. For any modifications, I had to go into the layout from my dashboard. It was a seemless transition and I still administer my site through Blogspot. The only difference is in the URL.

The main thing I had to do with the new URL was submit my URL to Search Engines and directories and let friends know about my URL change. During this time, I also decided to modify my design layout. Then I took on an experiment by running campaigns in Stumbled Upon and Digg. Much has transpired since my last Alexa Traffic entry. As I noted in my experiment, an overwhelming amount of traffic was pulled in by 20+ Sites to Watch Movies & TV Online.

Since I had to resubmit my URL, I have had “no data” displayed within my Alexa widget. Finally, yesterday Alexa has my rankings listed on their toolbar. So here are the results;

Alexa Rankings
Oct 2nd - 7,061,154
Oct 3rd - 4,130,697
Oct 7th – 3,098,288
Oct 18th – 1,133,260

Alexa isn’t the only major ranking system that counts. Many also consider the Technorati Rankings and Google Rankings when determining the top sites. My Technorati Rankings were at just 1,102,964, but since I had to submit my new URL to them, they dropped to 4,666,062 and I have no authority. I’ll venture more into Technorati in the near future and make an entry specific to Technorati.

My Traffic Experiment with Stumbled Upon and Digg

Brian Mongold — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:25:00 +0000

After reading an outstanding article about a Digg vs. Stumbled Upon experiment from Social News Watch, I had to try it myself and see what kind of results I would get. It is not my intention to steal any thunder from this article, but after trying it I wanted to share my results with you. I highly recommend reading Social News Watch.

Overview

Eazy Cheezy was established on September 24, 2008
Prior to my experiment, traffic = 62 visitors, 80 visits & 190 page views per day.
I had logins for both Stumbled Upon and Digg, but wasn’t active in their communities.
Experiment start date = October 12, 2008.
Google Analytics used for statistics.

Actions I Took

1. Added large group of friends to build Digg network & have a total of 274 Digg
“Friends.”
2. Found myself stuck in the “Digg Mine and I’ll Digg Yours” system
3. Shouted out stuff I wanted Diggs for.

1. Completed my profile & uploaded a picture.
2. Searched & added a few friends with similiar interests.
3. Joined a few of the Groups I had interest in.
4. Reviewed friends profiles & stumbled the pages of theirs I liked.
5. Stumbled several other pages, only giving thumbs up & reviews for those I liked.
6. Stumbled a few articles to share with the community.
7. I rarely send articles to anyone’s inbox in Stumbled Upon.

Results

Day 1 – Oct 12, 2008
Traffic increased from 80 visits to 465
Overall – 433 visitors, 465 visits, 801 page views

Stumbled Upon- 352 visits(75%)
Digg – 48 visits (10%)
Direct – 37 visits (8%)

Day 2 – Oct 13, 2008
Traffic jumps from 465 visits to 18,904
Overall – 20,322 visitors, 21,166 visits, 32,002 page views

Stumbled – 18,904 visits (89%)
Direct – 2,100 visits (10%)
Digg – 27 visits (.13%)

Day 3 – Oct 14, 2008
Traffic stays consistent from previous day & Delicious comes out of nowhere
Overall - 17,660 visitors, 18,529 visits, 29,098 page views

Stumbled – 15,992 visits (86%)
Direct – 2,231 visits (12%)
Delicious – 100 visits (.31%)
Digg – 12 visits (.06%)

Day 4 – Oct 15, 2008
Traffic significantly drops from 18,529 to 4,883
Overall – 4,649 visitors, 4,883 visits, 8,085 page views

Stumbled – 3,985 visits (82%)
Direct – 735 visits (15%)
Delicious – 41 visits (.084%)
Digg – 1 visit (.01%)

Note: The statistics from day 4 are not 100% complete. Site was redesigned and I forgot to put the Analytics tracking coding within the new template. This is approximately 8 hours of data.

Day 5 – Oct 16, 2008
Traffic increases from 4,883 visits to 7,262
Overall – 6,697 visitors, 7,262 visits, 12,274 page views

Stumbled – 5,609 visits (77%)
Direct – 1,213 visits (17%)
Delicious – 117 (2%)
Digg – 7 (.11%)

Day 6 – Oct 17, 2008
Traffic drops from 7,262 visits to 2,878
Overall – 2,613 visitors, 2,878 visits, 5,304 page views

Stumbled – 1,916 visits (67%)
Direct – 643 visits (22%)
Delicious – 38 (1%)
Digg – 5 (.2%)

Day 7 (Oct 18, 2008)
Traffic stays consistent with previous day
Overall – 2,601 visitors, 2,804 visits, 5,254 page views

Stumbled – 2,034 visits (73%)
Direct – 578 visits (21%)
Delicious – 29 visits (1%)
Digg – 4 visits (0%)

Day 8 – Oct 19, 2008
Traffic stays consistent with previous 2 days
Overall – 2,293 visitors, 2,528 visits, 4,919 page views

Stumbled – 1,689 visits (67%)
Direct – 590 visits (23%)
Delicious – 27 visits (1%)
Digg – 4 visits (0%)

Day 9 – Oct 20, 2008
Traffic drops from 2,528 visits to 1,939
Overall - 1,765 visitors, 1,939 visits, 3,449 page views

Stumbled – 1,269 visits (65%)
Direct – 473 visits (24%)
Delicious – 19 visits (1%)
Digg – 1 visit (0%)

Overall Results

77% of all traffic from Referring Sites (129,000 visits) 72% of that traffic is from Stumbled Upon (120,000 visits)
21% from Direct Traffic (35,000 visits)
3% from Search Engines (4,200 visits)

88% of traffic goes to my 5-part series, 50 Free Sites to Watch Movies & TV Online
85% of visitors are new visits

My Thoughts
I went from 62 visitors a day, to about 2,500 (as of day 9). The majority of traffic now comes by way of Stumbled Upon, but Direct traffic has significantly multiplied.

Stumbled worked very well for me, providing more than 72% of overall traffic. I really enjoy the Stumbled Upon community and like the system. I had zero spam messages& only gave thumbs up & reviews for pages I liked.

Digg generated less than 1% of my traffic & less than Delicious & another referring site, bildergic.org. Digg is very popular & I’m a big fan of the site, but it takes more effort & is more dependent upon who you are, than what you submit. Overall, I had more Diggs than visits at probably a 2-1 ratio. I also had my “shouts” (notifications) turned on and received 50 or so shouts each day via e-mail notification for people wanting their stories Dugg. I eventually turned this feature off. I Dugg other stories to get a Digg for mine, which doesn’t always work so well. I know Digg can be very effective and is a great site, but perhaps I need a different approach or more involvement.

This experiment has turned me into a huge Stumbled Upon fan. I enjoy the site and the system that is in place. I’m left realizing that the content & a little luck is important in Stumbled Upon. My top traffic source is over 88% of my overall traffic.

Since my site is still very new, I believe search engine traffic will eventually begin to increase as the various search engines I submitted my URL to should begin to add my site. It’s increased to 3% recently, but I have a way to go.

Digg Tools and Widgets

Brian Mongold — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Recently, I have been getting more into the Digg and Stumbled Upon Communities. This has led to an increased interest in some of the available tools for these sites. Today, I’m going to provide an overview of some of the available Digg tools.

Socialblade – This site analyzes Digg by giving a snapshot of statistics of stories as they hit the Digg front page. You can also filter by Digg user.

Digg Labs - Digg Labs gives you a more indepth look at Digg. You can view stories being Dugg in many different ways with these tools.

Digg Firefox Add-Ons – The Digg Toolbar for Firefox gives you a simple and quick way to Digg and submit content. You do not have to be on the Digg site to Digg or see what’s been Dugg. Each time you navigate to a webpage, you can see the number of Diggs and comments in the left hand corner of the toolbar. If the site hasn’t been Dugg yet, you can also submit the site. Another feature is automatic notifications. Newly submitted stories will appear in the right hand corner of your window. You have the option to turn this feature off.

Digg Myspace Widget – This widget allows you to see Digg Stories directly on your Myspace Page.
Create Your Own Digg Widget – You can easily customize this widget for your site. You can choose the specific story topic, top 10 by a topic, stories from specific users, stories from specific sites, etc.
Google Coop Module – This module allows you to see Digg Stories in your Google Search Results

Flock Web Browser – This is a browser designed for Digg. You can see your Digg friends in the People Sidebar and view stories they’re Digging.

Enable Video & Image Thumbnails – These tags will enable those who submit your site to be able to use thumbnails of videos & images from your site to add when they Digg a story.

Integrate Digg This into your Site – Add Digg This Buttons to your site.

iGoogle Gadget – You can view the Top Digg Stories on your iGoogle page by adding this widget.

Netvibes Widget – You can add this widget to Netvibes to see the top Digg Stories on your Netvibes page.

Edited: Just found a great article, DIGG Toolbox: 50+ Digg Tools and Resources.

Have you tried any of these tools? Do you have any other great Digg tools that you’d like to share? As always, I’d love to hear from you.

Add an All-In-One Social Bookmarking Widget

Brian Mongold — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:38:00 +0000

After researching the Alexa Rankings and covering the various tips to increase the rankings, I felt it would be beneficial to add a social bookmarking widget to my sidebar. The particular widget I chose from Widgetbox, was rated 4/5 stars by users out of 23 ratings and it had 4254 installs. The appearance of this widget also fits the style and appearance that I prefer for my particular site.

The picture below is what the widget page for this example looks like.

1. Once you click the link to access this widget, the first thing you’ll want to do is change the Name to what you prefer. I changed my name to “Let’s Bookmark” for this example.

2. You’ll notice there are two section under the Name section, Enter the URL for your…. and Enter your User ID for…

First we’re going to focus on the Enter the URL for your… section. If you don’t have some of the below accounts, you may leave the ones you don’t have blank. The widget will then automatically remove the blank buttons.

Blog: enter your Blog URL. I entered mine “http://eazycheezy.blogspot.com/“

Facebook Profile – enter the URL for your profile. To find this, go to your profile page and look in the Web Address. You should have an id number towards the end of the URL. My Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1130026228.” You can use my link and just replace the id number.

Myspace Profile – go to your Myspace home page. Under the greeting at the top left hand corner, it will show My URL: This is the URL you need to copy and paste into the widget.

LinkedIn Profile- login to your LinkedIn account. On the left hand side of your page, click on Profile. Look for Public Profile, which is directly above the “Promote your Profile” button. It should be http://www.linkedin.com/in/URL looks like this “

The image below shows the first two sections have been completed.

3. Next, we’ll move onto the Enter your User ID for… section. The User ID is your user login for each of the sites listed. If you don’t have some of the below accounts, you may leave the ones you don’t have blank and the widget will automatically remove the blank buttons.

As you can see below, I only entered the User IDs for the buttons I had accounts for and the widget automatically adjusted to remove the blank buttons.

4. Next, click on the green Get Widget button at the bottom right hand corner. You’ll then get a pop up box, that should look like this.

5. You now have options. You can pick from the different sites to add this widget too. You can click on Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, etc. For this example, I want to add this widget to Blogger, so I’ll click on the Blogger logo. Then, click Add Widget. It should then take you to your Blogger Add Page Element screen and look like this.

6. Once you choose the Blogger Logo, you will then choose the Blog you want to add the widget to and adjust the name if you prefer. Next, click Add Widget. It will then direct you to your layout view and you can move it around to your desired location. Your widget should then be saved onto your sidebar. The finished widget will look similar to this one.

I recommend testing the buttons by clicking on each to ensure it directs you to your page. If there is a mistake, you’ll need to double-check that particular login and click the pencil button to modify. You can also click the pencil button to add the other accounts or modify the logins if you change your login in the future.

Did you have any problems installing this widget? Were the instructions helpful? Do you want to network? If so, feel free to click any of the buttons and add me to your network. The myspace and facebook sites are new and in the process of being built, but you can still add me if you’d like.