Tom's dashboard

Tom replied on April 16, 2009 01:03 to the question "inserting flickr pictures in emails" in Connected Flow:

There is indeed a very easy way to insert your flickr images into Gmail. You should check out the Lizzer (http://lizzer.com) bookmarklet.

Just sign up, then provide your account information for flickr, and then you will be able to search on your own flickr account and insert images in Gmail with just one click.

I use it for my pictures (mostly of my dog!) and it's really incredibly handy.

You can figure it all out at http://lizzer.com

Tom replied on April 12, 2009 01:18 to the question "adding a link to a tweet" in Twitter:

One of the easiest ways to add links to your tweets is to use the Lizzer bookmarklet (http://lizzer.com). It's a free tool that lets you search, preview, and then insert a link to a website, image, YouTube, or just about anything with just one click.

If you want to be able to add content to your tweets quickly, this way is pretty handy.

Also, Lizzer will automatically shorten the URL's so you can take advantage of all 140 characters allowed by Twitter.

Tom replied on April 10, 2009 02:09 to the question "how do I embed a link to a tweet" in Twitter:

When you're using Twitter, you can only create tweets out of text. Twitter will automatically convert anything that looks like a link (starting with http://) into an actual link.

If you want to be able to search, preview, and add links very quickly in Twitter, you might want to check out the Lizzer bookmarklet.

It's a free tool that will both add a link to your tweet and also automatically shorten it at the same time. Remember, Twitter has a 140 character limit, so if your links are shorter, there's more room for what you want to say.

Or, I guess you can also put multiple links into the same tweet.

Check it all out at http://lizzer.com

Tom replied on April 08, 2009 00:56 to the question "Why is it when I post a website link, the address changes?" in Twitter:

The short answer is yes. If you add a long URL to your tweet, Twitter.com will often shorten the URL automatically. I'm not entirely sure what the rule is, but it can seem kind of arbitrary.

Why does this happen?

Well, I think they're doing their best to shorten URL's so your tweets fit within the 140 character limit.

Does the link still work?

Well, yes, of course. It's just a shortened link - but just click on it and you'll see that it works.

If you want to automatically shorten your links AS you post them in Twitter (and of course know that you've not gone over the 140 character limit, then you might want to check out a tool called Lizzer.

It's a bookmarklet that will work at twitter.com and let you search, preview, and then add links with just one click. The links it adds are automatically shortened, so you can even amaze your friends by put THREE or MORE links into the same post.

Check it out at http://lizzer.com.

Tom replied on April 04, 2009 21:40 to the question "Auto-twittering new posts" in Six Apart:

You might want to try TwitterFeed - it seems to work okay for me. It just uses your RSS feed. You can find it at http://twitterfeed.com/ - it's sort of a pain because they make you get an OpenID - but it's worth it.

Hope that helps!

Tom replied on April 04, 2009 21:33 to the question "Showing Flickr photos on TypePad?" in Six Apart:

One option for getting access to your own flickr account is to try the Lizzer bookmarklet.

It's a free tool that lets you search either CC images in flickr or just the images in your own flickr account. Once you find what you're looking for, you can add these to your blog with just one click.

Check it out at http://lizzer.com.

Tom replied on April 04, 2009 21:27 to the question "Can I add an HD video via embedded YouTube?" in Six Apart:

If you're looking to embed a lot of YouTubes, you might want to check out http://lizzer.com. It lets you find and insert the embed code with just one click.

On the HD vs. the SD (standard definition) question, I believe that YouTube has made this something of a moot question because now they include the HD option on the player itself - so the user can choose which format is preferred.

Tom replied on April 03, 2009 21:14 to the question "Why Won't Twitter Shorten URLs Anymore ?" in Twitter:

Hi Doug -
I know what you mean - some URL's are unbelievably long.

You might want to check out a tool that will insert URL's for you and automatically shorten them at the same time - it's called Lizzer.

All you have to do is open the bookmarklet, find what you want, then just click once to enter into twitter. Oh yeah - it's free.

Check it out at http://lizzer.com

Tom replied on April 02, 2009 19:14 to the question "How can I add images to email messages?" in Yahoo!:

The short answer is yes. It's important when you do this that you have your email window set to RTF (rich text format) - this is the opposite of plain text.

You'll need to get the Lizzer bookmarklet. It's a free tool that you can launch when you're in Yahoo Mail and then just search, preview, and insert into your email with one click.

If you're already a big Yahoo! fan and have a flickr account, you can search for flickr images (creative commons), or even set up your own account so you just search your own stuff.

Check it all out at http://lizzer.com

Tom started following the problem "Usability Issue: URL shortening" in Twitter.

Tom replied on April 02, 2009 01:25 to the question "Weeding out the posers" in Twitter:

I know, it's sort of a drag. There's been lots of talk about http://www.exectweets.com/, but they're hardly celebrities. I know Lance Armstrong tweets on his own - everyone else is really hit or miss : (

Tom replied on April 02, 2009 01:15 to the question "Why can't i post a link on twitter" in Twitter:

Well, that's kind of a tough one. Twitter will recognize standard links, but you normally need to provide the entire link, i.e., http://YourLinkHere.com

If you leave out the http:// part, it won't usually recognize it.

Alternatively, if you're trying to figure out how to both find, add, and shorten links all at once, you might want to check out http://lizzer.com - and have some fun.

Tom replied on April 01, 2009 23:22 to the question "How do I post a link?" in Twitter:

I think that the easiest way to post a link is to just copy and paste it or to use a bookmarklet called Lizzer. It's a free tool that you can simply open when you're at Twitter.com.

From there, you can search through all sorts of services (web, images, videos), find what you want, and then insert with one click.

A nice part of the service is that it automatically shortens the link, so you can make the most of your 140 characters (the Twitter limit).

Check it out at http://lizzer.com.

Tom replied on April 01, 2009 23:19 to the question "Weeding out the posers" in Twitter:

Ok, I don't mean to be a smart aleck, but you could just ask them a question that they SHOULD know and see if they get it right - otherwise, I don't think there's an equivalent of a Verisign for Twitter as far as I know

Tom replied on April 01, 2009 21:44 to the question "Is it safe to upload private documents on Google Docs?" in Google:

We have a strange problem where Google docs just sort of go unreadable for certain people. It's hard to explain beyond this. We get around it by just copying all of the content to a new doc and then renaming it.

I know - not entirely relevant -but your question made me think of how you can lose content from WITHIN Google Docs - not necessarily to some sort of evil hacker or something. The dreaded . . . corrupted file can strike.

However, in general, we're big fans and love to be able to share docs and freak out when we get stuck in the old mode of emailing word and excel docs around with "track changes."

Tom replied on April 01, 2009 21:39 to the question "How Do I Insert a Link ??" in Twitter:

Hey CincyLawyer. Links are what make the web go 'round.

You might want to check out a bookmarklet at http://lizzer.com that makes it easy to find and insert links into your tweets with just one click.

Also, it will automatically shorten your links so you can get the most out of the 140 character limit in Twitter.

You launch the Lizzer bookmarklet, find what you want, click on insert, and off you go. I think the real secret sauce here is also to use one of the included services like delicious to see what people are bookmarking.

I'm sure you'll find your own secrets along the way.

Tom started following the question "Inline images" in Google.

Tom marked one of Lizzer's replies in Lizzer as useful. Lizzer replied to the question "Is it possible to download images from my PC files?".

Tom replied on March 31, 2009 09:52 to the question "Why can't I post my own Tiny URL??" in Twitter:

If you're looking to add links to your tweets, you might want to check out a bookmarklet call Lizzer. It's been reviewed by @Orli recently.

It lets you add links to your tweets and automatically shortens them along the way.

Check out the service at http://lizzer and see the very helpful blog post at http://blog.go2web20.net/

Tom started following the question "Why can't I post my own Tiny URL??" in Twitter.