In the past you have heard me mention every once in a while a great company known as AdaptiveBlue. They make me smile on many more than one occasion.
First it was the SmartLinks.
Guest Blog on SmartLink
Then it was just overall Glue.
Guest Blog on Glue
Glue Update Blog Post
And now, now my excitement are the widgets that are basically SmartLinks, and Glue and more all in one!
And examples in awesomeness... (see my sidebar for an active one too!)
Today I bring you Laura, a recent college grad, and just started her career at AdaptiveBlue. The official role is the Community/Marketing Analyst, so any questions, suggestions or problems can be directed thus (laura.AdaptiveBlueATgmailDOTcom).
Glue and SmartLinks are both great products, and I am excited to be a part of the team to help bring them mainstream! I am an avid (fiction) reader, love movies (dramas and comedies), and my guilt pleasure is celebrity gossip! You can follow me on Glue :). 
Last night, Margaret posted this Twitter message.
"everyone needs smartlinks on their book blogs, it makes my adding to goodreads easier. you should let them know."
So I am here to let you all know the ins and outs of SmartLinks. If you have a book blog, I have a feeling you will love SmartLinks as much as MJ!
SmartLinks are widgets that makes your blog richer....
Let me explain:
When you link to the book's page on a popular site, such as Amazon, a SmartLink is instantly inserted into your blog post. The SmartLink automatically brings together the best information from the web directly to your blog for that book.
These links provide a better experience for your blog's readers. All of the relevant information about the topic is brought together to one location, your blog. The SmartLink includes a description of the book, links to find out more information about the book and the author, and links to purchase the book from a number of different online book stores (you can enter a number of affiliate IDs, helping to generate additional revenue!)
Additionally, like Margaret mentioned, SmartLinks make it so simple to add a book to GoodReads, or other popular social networking sites that your readers may use.
Here is an example, It's All About Us. Now, go ahead and click that little blue box. See all that information! Individuals can pick which site they want to read more information about the book on... because we all have our favorites :) And the blogger can generate revenue from multiple sites.
The great thing about SmartLinks is that it makes it easier for people to read your blog, since all the relevant information is RIGHT THERE. To top it off, just by adding SmartLinks not only will all your future links become intelligent, but all of your past links will automatically include great info.
Does your blog go beyond books? SmartLinks aren't only great for books. They instantly connect your readers to great information about movies, music, recipes, and much more.
In addition to SmartLinks we also have Glue (MJ is a fan of that too :)) Glue is a way of connect with friends around the things you visit. So when you visit a book on Amazon you can see what your friends thought of the book - even if they interacted with the book on a different site, such as GoodReads, LibraryThings, or B&N. MJ let us do a guest spot on Glue a little while back.
http://www.adaptiveblue.com/install_smartlinks.html
For questions about SmartLinks or Glue please email us or Twitter: @adaptiveblue.
You can install SmartLinks on your blog from http://www.adaptiveblue.com/install_smartlinks.html
You can find me on Glue, by clicking here...
Back in November, I had not been on Glue long. Now, it is part of my daily blogging. It makes things so much easier when I can be on a blog, see a book I want to add to my shelf and then click click and boom! It's accomplished. I love it. I love Glue and I love using SmartLinks with Glue. It makes me very happy.
Anyone else heard of Glue yet? SmartLinks? Are you using them? Do you think you will? Leave a comment and tell us what you think... ideas and opinions welcome!
Not too long ago, I was visiting another book buddies blog and discovered AdaptiveBlue SmartLinks. Have you ever noticed on my posts a little blue box next to a book name or article? Those are SmartLinks, they are awesome. Click one, and you'll immediately see what they do. *grin* I'm in love with them. But do not worry about those for now, what I want to tell you about is Glue, while I'm starting to fall in love with as well. *smirk*
You can find me on Glue, by clicking here...
Well shortly after I started using SmartLinks, I was approached to sample Glue. Oooh boys and girls! Am I glad that I did, and as more and more people that I know start using Glue, the more fun it is for me! I was trying to think of the best way to tell you all about Glue and what it does, and so I decided to ask my new pal Fraser if he'd explain it to you... So with out further adieu, I would like to give the blog over to Fraser... the floor is yours.
Glue is a Firefox add-on that connects you to friends around things that you visit.
Huh?
This may sound odd but I assure you that once you understand Glue you'll love what it does. As Wired says, "using [Glue] is actually much simpler than describing what it does." (ps - Wired's reporter also said that Glue is "the single most useful social networking tool I've encountered").
What does it mean to connect with friends around things you visit?
Well, as you visit everyday things - such as books, music, and movies - on popular sites across the web, Glue appears automatically to show you friends who looked at the same things and what they thought.
There's a lot of magic to Glue.
First, it understands the specific thing that you are looking at. If you're reading about a book on Wikipedia, Glue knows that you aren't just visiting a website or reading a webpage -- it knows that you are interacting with a specific book.
Secondly, it knows that this same book exists on other popular sites around the web. The same book exists on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Library Thing, and many other pages. These pages may have nothing else linking them together except for the common book.
Third, Glue pulls people together across these diverse websites and pages to connect them around the one common thing: an interest in the same book.
What does this mean?
It means if you visit a book on Amazon and your friends visit the same book on Barnes and Noble, Wikipedia, NY Times, or over 20 other popular sites... you are all connected automatically by Glue around that book.
Let's say you visit a specific book on Amazon - Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. Glue appears automatically at the top of the page to show me other friends who have interacted with the same book around the web.
For questions about Glue please email us or Twitter: @adaptiveblue.
Fraser has spent his career bringing emerging technologies to market. Currently Fraser is the VP, Business Development at AdaptiveBlue, a company that is changing the way we browse the web. Previously to joining AdaptiveBlue, Fraser was a member of Trivaris, a seed stage investment firm specializing in the commercialization of new technology. Fraser has spoken at the Web 2.0 Expo, DowJones VentureOne Summit and other tech conferences across North America.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
