Linking with Images

I participate in a couple memes each week, most of the time anyway.  Each week, the host posts a link list, and we all sign in.  Usually you just leave your name and url, but I recently came across inlinkz, a free linking tool that includes thumbnail images.  Instead of just leaving a text link, participants are able to choose an image from the page they are linking to.  I thought it was really cool - especially for photo memes.

Today I visited Linky Tools and saw that they have a new thumbnail Linky that allows the same thing.  Linky Tools actually has a whole list of Linky types to choose from:

• Basic Linky: This is the basic MckLinky List... people leave a title and link it to their blog. Use it for any reason you can dream up. 
• Thumbnail Linky: A thumbnail linky has a collection of image thumbnails instead of a list of text titles and links. Lots of fun! Give it a try 
• Blog Hop Linky: A Blog Hop is a group of bloggers who display the SAME LIST OF LINKS on their blogs, usually with some sort of theme or topic. 
• Picture Caption Linky: 1) Invite readers to leave suggested picture captions, then 2) rank them or choose winners...  
• Contest Entry Linky: Run a contest or some sort of giveaway on your blog. 1) Readers enter their content submissions as per your instructions then 2) you choose winners OR 1st Place, 2nd Place, etc.
• Prayer Request Linky: Have your readers leave their prayer request and link. 
• Answer Linky: Ask your readers a question and let them leave their answer and a link to their blog or email. 
• Question Linky: Have your readers leave their questions for you and a link to their blog or email. 
• Ideas Linky: 1) Ask readers to help you come up with new ideas for a project, event or topic; then 2) rank them or choose winners. 
• Top X Linky: Create Top 10, Top 5 or Top 3 list (from 1-10). 1) Ask readers for their entries for a Top X List then 2) choose and rank the winning entries.  
• Create A Story Linky: Fun! Start a story in your blog post and invite your blog readers to help "write it" by adding on to the end of the story (the list). Use a theme or plot, or just start one and see what happens.

I'm thinking I need to play with some of these - maybe that Ideas Linky, asking for post ideas or something.

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Email Stripper

Do you hate all those extra ">" and other formatting characters that show up when you forward emails?  I do, and I used to take the time to delete them, but that is such a pain.  And takes way more time than I really want to take.  That's why I love the free Email Stripper from PaperCut.  All you have to do is paste the messy email into the program and click the "Strip It!" button, and it cleans that email right up. 

Then simply copy the cleaned email and paste it into a new email message.  How cool is that?

Getting Started in Genealogy - Free Download

I've never really gotten into it, but I know a lot of people enjoy looking into their genealogy and family history.  The Internet makes it a lot easier than it used to be, but it's still hard to know where to start and where to look.  I got an email today offering this free e-book download - Getting Started in Genealogy Online - and thought others might be interested in it.

It's 67 pages of basic information to help you get started tracing your family tree online.

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Keep Your Widgets (updated)

I updated the template on my photo blog yesterday.  I've pretty much ignored that one for a while, and I was still using an OLD Blogger layout.  Anyway, I found a template I like and decided to install it.  And that's when I noticed that Blogger now lets you choose to keep your widgets when you upload a new template - instead of having to lose them all, or manually find them in your old template and insert them into the new one.  I'm not sure when this started because I haven't changed a template in a while, but this is going to make changing your template so much easier. 

Thank you, Blogger, for realizing that after we put all that work into adding our widgets, we don't want to lose them just to change the look of our blogs!

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Twitter Followers on Your Twitter Background

I'm thinking it's about time for a new background for my twitter page, but I'm not sure what I want.  Do I want to create a custom background, which would take some kind of idea and artistic talent?  Or do I just want to pick a free one from one of the many sites that offer them?  I still haven't decided, but I noticed one of the people I follow on twitter was using a background from Twilk - so I had to check it out.

It looks like fun.  Basically you sign in with twitter, and Twilk creates you a background made up of the profile photos of the people you follow, or your followers, or both - however you want to set it up.  The more you mention, retweet, or interact with someone, the more they should show up in your background.

I haven't decided if I'm going to try it or not, but it does offer a very unique background for everyone - unless, as someone said, you have the exact same followers and interact with them the exact same way as someone else does - highly unlikely.

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