Beta Testing SmartLinks: How and Why AdaptiveBlue Is Changing The Way Bloggers Read and Publish

For a weeks now I’ve been exchanging emails back and forth with Alex Iskold at AdaptiveBlue, beta testing and giving feedback on the AdaptiveBlue Feed Publishing Feature for WordPress (for those of you not familiar with the Feed Publishing Feature, check out the book feed in the top right hand corner of this blog). Although the scripts that make AdaptiveBlue’s Feed Publishing platform-agnostic have only just been released, I have no doubt that the Feed Publishing feature is about to take-off running with an adoption rate in the Wordpress community similar to it’s most famous and ubiquitous plug-ins. Not only is it going to change the way bloggers publish, but SmartLinks are going to change the way we consume information and navigate the web.

BACKGROUND:

I had seen the AdaptiveBlue feed on Seth Godin’s blog (Seth’s an author of some of my favorite Marketing Books) and on Brad Feld’s Blog (Brad’s a Tech-Venture Capital Powerhouse in Colorado). Both of these guys are well-known Typepad users, and blogging innovators — Brad in particular is so involved with funding Blogging technology (his firms, Mobius and Foundry Group are responsible for some of the greats like Feedburner, Lijit etc) that the SECOND that a hot new blogging technology is made available, he’s got it up on his blog. In any case, at that time (about a month ago), AdaptiveBlue was only available for the Blogger and Typepad platforms – I had just made the switch to Wordpress at the beginning of the summer and was literally scouring the web daily for a Wordpress plug-in option to get my Typepad Typelists back (if you dont know what a Typelist is, don’t worry…read on). Two or three weeks ago, AdaptiveBlue released the platform-agnostic scripts I had been waiting for (cue choir of angels). I played with it for a few days and then wrote an email to Alex – the email exchange that ensued inspired AdaptiveBlue’s new Smartlinks Feed user interface.

HOW & WHY ADAPTIVE BLUE IS CHANGING THE WAY WE READ & PUBLISH

Here’s the comment I left on AdaptiveBlue’s Blog as a result of the announcement of the new SmartLinks UI release (for the sake of not being redundant). And before you read this, I’d like to add two things up front that I think are really important about the way that the technology works:

• Bloggers Rejoice – Publishing a new item into a feed takes under 15 seconds (20 seconds if you add your own notes!), and does not require a log-in. You do it as you’re browsing – it’s as fast as adding a del.icio.us tag.
• It’s a snap to set up and is completely customizable – you fully control the way your SmartLinks work, look and feel – and it’s all accomplished, again, through your browser (Sorry, Firefox only for now – but hey, arent you using Firefox anyway? ;-))

Here’s my comment on AdaptiveBlue’s BlueBlog Announcing the New Improved SmartLinks Feed Look And Feel UI :

Steffan Antonas Says:

September 14th, 2007 at 11:07 am I am a veteran Typepad blogger who recently made the leap to Wordpress to start a personal blog – and after making the switch, I was frustrated by some heavy trade-offs. One element that has set Typepad apart from other blogging platforms is that users have exclusive access to widget elements that has made Typepad stand out – Typelists. Typelists allow Typepad bloggers to quickly provide graphical links to their favorite books, media and products on the web. Typelists were Typepad’s solution to letting their exclusive paying community show the world what media they consumed and recommended.

Typepad eat your heart out – Not only are AdaptiveBlue’s smartlinks going to change the way we read and find on the web, AdaptiveBlue has taken the Typelist, made it available to the rest of us, given it a makeover and packed it full of functionality – the kind that you wont find anywhere else on the web today.

Adaptive Blue is just what the rest of the blogging community has been waiting for. Here’s why:

(1.) Bloggers everywhere are increasingly using their blogs not only as a vehicle of self expression, but also of self representation. AdaptiveBlue’s customizable lists and grid widgets let bloggers quickly and easily post informative graphical links to all the media they consume and recommend right from their browser.

(2.) Want to make money blogging? Amazon Associate Links are a snap, and are auto-added to every link in every feed you publish straight from the blue organizer (an easy to install firefox add-on).

(3.) SmartLinks add value to readers – no more navigating away from primary content to get a little more info. Clicking on a smartlink lets you entertain your curiosity about a linked subject all through next-gen navigating – no more opening new browser windows. (Quick tip – becoming a smartlinks pro means quick scanning for the “who, what, where, when, why and how much?” readers want to know immediately. )

(4.) Bloggers benefit from keeping their audience on their sites while at the same time adding tons of additional info to their readers with virtually no clutter.

Typepad is in for a real shake up. AdaptiveBlue’s made a great feature of blogging technology available to the masses.

P.S. Thanks, Alex for all your quick and informative feedback during our beta testing!

Happy Blogging, Everyone.

Steffan

BlueBlog: New Improved SmartLinks Feed Look And Feel UI