This is the third part of The Missing (Social) Link: Linking Your Social Networks series. If you have not read the other parts of this series you can find them here:

The Missing (Social) Link: Linking Your Social Networks – Part 1
The Missing (Social) Link: Linking Your Social Networks – Part 2 [YouTube]

Twitter to Facebook

Most of my social activity takes place on Twitter. I am a big fan of Twitter, but sometimes I want to have my Tweets sent to Facebook. But not all of them. By using the Selective Tweets Facebook application, and linking my Twitter account, I can then have my Tweets selectively sent to Facebook.

To do this, all I have to do is write a Tweet as I normally would and then add the hastag #fb to the Tweet. The Selective Tweets Facebook app will then only post those #fb tagged Tweets to Facebook. I use Twitter and Facebook differently so my audiences (and I mean audience in the most unpretentious way) on those social networks aren’t interested in the same things. However, the true power of this Facebook application comes when you start combining it with other services.

Google Reader to Twitter

Reader2Twitter Screenshot

I use Google Reader to read and follow blogs that I am interested in. When I read something interesting I want to share it on Twitter and Facebook. This is where Reader2Twitter enters into the picture. While I am reading blogs or news using Google Reader, either on my iPhone, iMac or any other browser, I just need to click the share button. Reader2Twitter will post all my Google Reader shared items to Twitter.

When you first start using Reader2Twitter you will need to go through some setup but the whole process is fairly strait forward. After the setup is complete, it is then a set it and forget it kind of service. Reader2Twitter shortens the links with bit.ly, using their j.mp service or your own via bit.ly pro. You can use your own bit.ly API Key to track the statistics of the links to see if people are interested in what you are sharing.

By default, my Tweet is posted with the format: blog title-link-comment. If a post is shared without a comment then the comment will be left blank. If you shared your YouTube videos to Google Reader then they will also be posted to Twitter. This is not good if you are already posting automatically using Activity Sharing from within YouTube. So make sure to do one or the other. Furthermore, if I add #fb to my comment then the links will also go to Facebook when combined with the tip above.

Delicious to Twitter

Delicious Screenshot

Occasionally I come across a site or a particular blog post that I want to save for future reference. This is where Delicious (previously del.icio.us) comes into play. If you’re unfamiliar with them, Delicious is a social bookmarking service but you can read more about them on their about page.

Under the settings of your Delicious account you will find Bookmarks Sharing where you can link your Twitter account with your Delicious account. You can choose to automatically send all of your bookmarks to Twitter or you can choose to do it on a individual basis, I chose the latter.

The next time you save a bookmark on Delicious, all you have to do is add @twitter in the send box and your bookmark will be sent to Twitter. When you include @twitter in the send box an additional field will appear for you to add your Twitter message. Again, if you add the hashtag #fb to your Tweet then the post will also get sent to Facebook.

Up Next?

In the next part of this series I’ll set my sights on Flickr.

Other parts in this series:
The Missing (Social) Link: Linking Your Social Networks – Part 1
The Missing (Social) Link: Linking Your Social Networks – Part 2 [YouTube]

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About the author

Matt
I'm Matt and I share how to build an internet presence through internet business, social marketing, lifestyle design and productivity tools. While here, read about me to learn my story or find out how you can hire me.

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