3 posts tagged “vox”

Two days ago, Google finally incorporated a highly desired feature -- well, a feature I've been coveting for some time -- into Google Reader: the ability to send links of an article the user is reading in the feed reader to the social networking website of their choosing. Since then, Google Reader has slowly been adding web services to their Send To list, which can be selected from the Settings page. Unfortunately, Vox is not on that list. Fortunately, I've figured out how to add Vox to the mix.

How to add Vox to Google Reader's Send To list:

1. In Google Reader, go to: Settings > Send To

2. Click on "Create a custom link" near the bottom of the page.

3. Type (or copy/paste) the following into the applicable fields:

Name:  Vox

URL:  http://www.vox.com/submit?uri=${url}&title=${title}

Icon URL:  http://static.vox.com/.shared:v42.27:vox:en/images/favicon.ico

4. Click Save.

Clicking on the Vox link from the Send To menu will open a new browser window or tab featuring the familiar VoxThis page.
 
Side note: You can use the VoxThis bookmarklet to add images from the web to your blog, bypassing the 2-step process of saving them to your computer first, then uploading them to Vox.
 
Other Social Networks:
 
As of today (8-15-2009), Google Reader's Send To list includes Blogger, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, FriendFeed, Instapaper, MySpace, Ping.fm, Posterous, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, and Twitter. Additionally, the Google Operating System blog has provided instructions on how to add Google Bookmarks and AddToAny to the Send To list.
 
Update 8-16-2009: Instructions for adding LiveJournal to Google Reader's Send To list is now available, courtesy of Jordan Running.
 
Update 8-19-2009: Lifehacker now features an extensive list of services to add to Google Reader's Send To list.
 
Update 8-31-2009: MakeUseOf also has instructions on how to add even more services to Send To.

Maybe I noticed these Vox features before but didn't think much of them at the time, or maybe I just happen to be at an odd level of acute observation that typically occurs when I've been awake too long and am functioning in a hazy state of awareness. Either way, I felt the need to mention them for the benefit of other unaware Voxers.

1. If you use the Firefox browser, you can now easily add a Vox search engine to the Web Search box (if you don't already have it installed) instead of accessing or activating is from here. When viewing vox.com, the background of the search engine icon should be highlighted, indicating that a search engine is available for the website you are viewing. Click on the icon to activate the drop down menu, and select Add "Vox" at the bottom of the list to add it to your Web Search box. Done! You can now search Vox from your browser without having to be on vox.com.

2 . You can use the Vox This! bookmarlet to upload photos/images and other media/assets to your blog. This is a valuable time-saver and reduces the number of steps and mouse clicks necessary to save something from the web and upload it to your Vox blog. When viewing the image in your browser (and just the image; not the webpage displaying the image), click on the Vox This! bookmarklet, enter the appropriate text and tags, then click on the "Post to Vox" (to add the image to your library and write a post) or "Just Add Photo" (to add the image to your library without writing a blog entry) buttons.

As you can see from the screenshot, the title of the image to be uploaded via Vox This! is extracted from the browser's generated title, which in this example happens to be the filename, file type and dimensions of the image. You can view the results of the Vox This! image here.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Enjoy!