February 10th, 2010

Over the past couple weeks we have been rolling out a new sharing menu API for AddToAny.  Our primary goal was to make AddToAny self-contained while maintaining perfect backwards compatibility with our old API.

What’s new?

Essentially, the new API is just a new syntax for customizing AddToAny, though we have exposed a few new customizations and techniques that you’re welcome to try out.

What’s changed?

Aside from the optional new syntax, most of the changes are under the hood.  Instead of configuring AddToAny using global variables, which in theory could collide with other global variables, you can now configure AddToAny under one self-contained object, a2a_config.  Additionally, the single object method offers a slight speed gain in modern browsers, and occasionally a noticeable difference in older A-Grade browsers on JavaScript-heavy pages.  Speaking of which, AddToAny’s intensive support for all A-Grade browsers (and more) continues with our long held believe that sharing should be quick and easy for as many devices and user-agents as possible, both old and cutting edge.

Transitioning to the new API

While transitioning to the new API is optional at this point, there are some important aspects to note.

• All transitioned properties take the same name as their legacy global counterparts
• Future properties will not have a supported global equivalent
• Be careful with syntax and handling of the a2a_config object
• Definitely check out the thorough examples and documentation, and list of available properties

If you have any questions or run into any problems at all, feel free to get in touch with us directly.  Happy early Valentine’s Day!

August 25th, 2009

We have begun rolling out a significant update to AddToAny’s Google Analytics integration for sharing stats.  The update brings easier access to AddToAny sharing analytics and makes social media and bookmarking reports much more powerful and elegant!

See the new AddToAny sharing analytics guide!

Keeping a watchful eye on Google’s analytics offerings, a few months ago we were extra-happy to see Google Analytics officially announce event tracking for everyone.  The ubiquity of Google Analytics event tracking has allowed us to update AddToAny’s Google Analytics integration to track each share as an event and to appropriately bucket all events into actions & labels within a single category.  With this enhancement, AddToAny brings you more useful and intuitive sharing stats within the analytics dashboard you already use.

With AddToAny’s G.A. integration, you could traditionally access detailed reports on:

• Top shared content
  • Which pages are visitors sharing and saving the most?
  • How many shares or saves for each page?
• Top destinations (including e-mail and browser bookmarking)
  • Which services are visitors sharing or saving to?
  • How many shares or saves for each service?

With the new G.A. integration, the above reports are easier to access and you can additionally:

• Drill down by content
  • Which services are used the most for a certain page?
  • How many shares or saves per service for a certain page?
• Drill down by service
  • Which pages are the most shared or saved to a certain service?
  • How many shares or saves per page for a certain service?

For those wondering, the new method indeed replaces the old access method.  So instead of filtering reports by addtoany.com, you can access your social bookmarking stats in two clicks or less from your Google Analytics dashboard.

With no further ado, check out the updated AddToAny Google Analytics guide, and go check out your stats!

August 13th, 2009

The Google Reader team recently released a flurry of features, one of which allows you to share to a flurry of destinations from Google Reader.

As Google Operating System, TechHail, diTii, and other sites pointed out, you can set AddToAny as your primary “Send to” service.  This will allow you to bookmark and share to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google Bookmarks, Yahoo Bookmarks, Digg, Reddit, Buzz, the moon, and more — including e-mail!

How to?

In Google Reader, go to Settings > Send To > Create a cutom link, then copy and paste the following for each field:

Name: AddToAny

URL: https://www.addtoany.com/share?linkurl=${url}&linkname=${title}

Icon URL: http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/favicon.png

After saving, you’ll be able to share and bookmark to any service by clicking Send To > AddToAny under any post.