The Internet has been buzzing about the deployment of Facebook’s “Like” button for weeks now. With a small snippet of code, you can give your posts a boost by allowing easy sharing on one of the most powerful social networks available at this time. We’ve seen its rapid integration into websites and blogs of both high and low profile, and, based on the reports, to good effect.
Now it’s time for Twitter to throw its hat into the ring. The famous micro-blogging service is rolling out its own button for blog and website owners, a “Tweet This” button.
One thing that looks far superior to the Facebook button is something that’s near and dear to the Internet professional’s heart — metrics. Extremely limited metrics, granted, but even little goes a long way. The button can even be configured to display the number of times an article has been tweeted, something noticeably lacking in Facebook’s button.
Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable, has an exclusive on this story, that includes some sneak peeks at the button, and an embedded how-to document for those interested in installing it on their blog or website. His take on this innovation is rosy indeed:
We’re still diving into the details, but from what we can tell, the Tweet Button is designed to be the most comprehensive counter of retweets and shares across Twitter’s network. It is a single line of code that can be added to any website. There are three versions of the button (110×20, 55×20, 55×63) with five different settings for customization.
This new functionality could debut as soon as this afternoon. I know I am looking forward to trying out. Are you?
(For those who are interested in following the industry, Parr also shares a few thoughts on how this will play out in regards to Twitter’s relationship with TweetMeme, a company that already provides similar services to those implemented with the new button.)
Source: “Twitter Launching Official Tweet Buttons This Week [EXCLUSIVE],” Mashable, 08/10/10
Image By Rosaura Ochoa, used under its Creative Commons license.