If you haven’t heard of retaggr, I strongly encourage you to have a look and consider it. Retaggr is a system with multiple parts to help you compile your social networking information in one place.
The first part is a custom business card, which you can embed on websites, forums, and even email signatures. WordPress doesn’t support embedding JavaScript, but here is a link to my “full” card.
The second part is a bit of code added to your website which gives you (and anyone else, if you choose) the ability to tag themselves and others in any photos on your website. If you are tagging yourself, you can even add your retaggr card so that it shows up when someone clicks your name on the photo.
I found retaggr yesterday, thanks to Lindy Asimus, and started thinking about the possibilities. I thought, “Why not put together a page with a wall of small photos and let everyone tag themselves and add their retaggr cards?”. I could add text below the images with names and links to businesses. The text would be very small, since the retaggr cards would be the important part. It would just be there for the benefit of search engines.
I just put up this page to get it started. If this sounds like a good idea to you and you would like your photo and text added, please contact me with your photo attached, and let me know what the text should say, and the URL. Please note that retaggr only works with images larger than 125 pixels. I’ve made the photos on the wall 135. I would like to keep the images small, since we may have quite a number on the wall. You can send a large photo, but it will be resized appropriately.
I hope to see you soon on the wall!
I checked it out, and it seemed really interesting to me.
/me begins using…
Comment by Andy — August 3, 2008 @ 1:19 am
Hi Andy,
Thanks. I thought this could be a good, viral idea for getting social networking info in front of a good number of people. You can send me the photo you’d like to use by email at blake at blakesdesigns dot com along with the text you’d like under your name and the URL.
Comment by Blake Raab — August 3, 2008 @ 1:23 am
Great idea Blake. Nice to see you seeing how you can expand the uses for these social networking enabling tools.
Good thinking!
Comment by Lindy Asimus — August 3, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
Thanks, Lindy. I’m also putting a rotating banner ad at the top of the page with paid advertising. We’re starting with $10USD for 4 weeks.
Comment by Blake Raab — August 3, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
I also have a promotion where you can get a free four-week ad at the top of the page just for adding yourself to the wall.
Comment by Blake Raab — August 3, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
An interesting idea. Like a lot of these social networking ideas I remain to be convinced of its practical application though.
Comment by Wendy Ragiste — August 3, 2008 @ 10:32 pm
It’s a means of exposure online. Social networking is good for sharing ideas and even finding customers. A passive page like this is just another way to bring traffic and attention to your website or blog. I have made sales from my product photos on Flickr.
Comment by Blake Raab — August 3, 2008 @ 10:56 pm
Hey Blake,
You are turning into a valuable resource for social media.
You know I hesitate to add even one more thingy to the “rubberband ball”, but if you recommend it, it’s good enough for me to check out
By the way, If you have a widgetized WordPress theme, just throw up a textbox widget and insert the the javascript.
Doesn’t always work, usually because the output is too wide, or the only color schemes clash with your theme.
Cheers,
Mitch
Comment by Mitchell Allen — August 8, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
Hi Mitch,
I’m not sure what you mean about the textbox widget.
As for Retaggr, I agree with you about the “rubberband ball”, but retaggr, like my social.htm site, helps to keep your links in a nice ball, not just piles of rubber bands all over the place.
Comment by Blake Raab — August 8, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Fair enough Blake, good point.
Comment by Wendy Ragiste — August 8, 2008 @ 4:46 pm