We just updated the bit.ly sidebar bookmarklet with some great new features. ( Get it at http://bit.ly/pages/tools ) Our favorite new feature is the ability to Tweet directly from the bit.ly sidebar without leaving the page you are reading. Just sign in to bit.ly, link up your Twitter account, click the bit.ly sidebar bookmarklet on any blog post, news article, or other page, and the bit.ly sidebar will open with a text field where you can enter some text and a link to the page you’re viewing and send it off to your friends on Twitter.
In addition to easier Twitter publishing, you’ll also find links that make it easy to send a page to a friend via email, Gmail, or Facebook. Or, just copy the short link directly to share it via IM.
Below all of these sharing tools, you’ll see a summary of clicks the page has received. The first number shows the number of clicks on the bit.ly link you created, and the second number shows the total number of clicks on bit.ly links to the page created by anyone.
At the bottom of the sidebar, you will see a summary of Twitter and Friendfeed conversations about the page. The Twitter conversations update in real time, and will refresh as more people Tweet about the page while you’re reading.
Besides being available as a bookmarklet, the bit.ly sidebar is also available as a site publisher plugin. With a single line of javascript, you can enable your readers to Tweet links to one of your pages without ever having to leave your site. By not requiring users to leave your site to share a link, you will increase engagement and user retention.
Enjoy the new sidebar. We’re already tweeting more as a result of the improved workflow and utility it provides.
Install at: http://bit.ly/pages/tools
