Embedding and emailing your tweets

It’s now possible to embed tweets directly into your blog using free tools such as Twitter Media’s Blackbird Pie, Publitweet’s Blackbird bookmarklet, or Tweetshots.

I’ve tried them out for size, here are the results.

Blackbird Pie

Cleverly done article (not the same tool that I used, BTW) RT @guardiantech: That Twitter embed tool – now live http://bit.ly/93sl2xless than a minute ago via TweetDeck

Publitweet Blackbird bookmarklet (their font size: 18)

Cleverly done article (not the same tool that I used, BTW) RT @guardiantech: That Twitter embed tool – now live http://bit.ly/93sl2xWed May 05 12:14:30 via TweetDeck

Publitweet Blackbird bookmarklet (my font size: 13)

Cleverly done article (not the same tool that I used, BTW) RT @guardiantech: That Twitter embed tool – now live http://bit.ly/93sl2xWed May 05 12:14:30 via TweetDeck

Tweetshots

Blackbird Pie gives the best link functionality: to the person I was retweeting, the Guardian article they were citing, my tweet and my Twitter page. However, it gives the relative time (ie “less than a minute ago”), which could be disorienting for people reading your post some days, weeks or months down the line.

Publitweet’s bookmarklet comes next. It links to all of the above, except the person I was retweeting. But if you use their code as is, the font size is too big. I had to go into the code and reduce the size from 18 to 13. The whole point of the bookmarklet is that it requires fewer steps than Blackbird Pie, so it defeats the purpose if you then have to tweak the code – something I prefer not to do, anyway.

One point where Publitweet compares favourably with Blackbird Pie is that it gives the absolute date and time.

I’d rank Tweetshots in third place. It doesn’t mimic the look of my blog, as the other two do. And all of the links take you back to one place: my tweet.

However, Tweetshots has another feature I really like: it allows you to email your tweet. I emailed the above tweet to myself, here’s the screenshot:

Clever, isn’t it? Useful if you want to share a tweet with a non-Twitter user. And it lists the links from your tweet. You can also send your tweet directly to Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and Delicious.

I love to think of all the developers out there making free apps to enhance our blogs and social media lives. Have you tried these or similar tools? How do you think my embedded tweets compare?

By Marian Dougan

Published by Marian Dougan

Marian is a translator and editor (specialising in web content) currently based in Glasgow, Scotland. Marian previously lived in Italy for over 20 years, working as a language teacher, translator and policy analyst with the British Embassy in Rome. A qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and its Italian-language and ITI Scotnet networks, she is currently Scotnet's Convenor and Deputy Webmaster. From 2003 to 2006 Marian taught translation skills at the Italian Department of Glasgow University and now gives Master Classes as part of the new Masters in Translation Studies course. She also conducts web-writing and usability workshops to help people improve their websites and communicate more effectively with their readers, users and customers. In September 2014 Marian obtained User Experience Certification, with specialisation in Web Design, from the Nielsen Norman Group. She loves language, especially English, and is convinced that learning languages opens up people’s minds and horizons (and increases their brainpower!). To share her enthusiasm, she advises schools and educational authorities on language skills and enterprise. She gives talks to pupils on how to combine language studies with other subjects and so enhance their potential and increase their career options. Marian is an active member of organisations such as: Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI); Association of Scottish Businesswomen; Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Scotland. She also loves architecture, design, fashion (British Vogue!), cities and chocolate. She’s a great fan of Twitter and you can also find her on Linkedin.

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2 Comments

  1. Hey, thanks for your post.
    Just to mention that we just updated our bookmarklet (existing users don’t need to update anything, it’s automatic)
    – @mentions are now clickable
    – #hashtags as well
    – smaller font-size

    Cheers,
    Xavier

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