SADLY AMPLIFY SHUT DOWN IN 2013
Amplify is a hot new microblogging platform that seems to get better every week. I wrote an introduction to Amplify and recorded a screencast to demonstrate how to customize your Amplog page and sidebar widgets. Now I'm very excited to update you on the latest improvements to the Amplify platform and how you can use this service to your benefit.
First let me give you a quick review of how Amplify can be used and what I like about it. Eric Goldstein, Dave Grossman and the rest of the Amplify team have this to say on the About page:
Amplify gives you the easiest way to clip, share and spark conversation around articles, blog posts or anything else you read on the web.
Do you ever find an article when your surfing the web or if you're on Twitter that you think is packed with useful information. I mean the kind of article that has you thinking to yourself “I wish I wrote that” or “I've been looking for the answer to this question” or even “I KNEW it!!”. That's when you use Amplify.
Sure it's easy to just Retweet the article, but there comes a time when you want to make an even bigger impression on your followers. You want an even greater chance to grab the attention of people in your social networks because you know they have the same questions you have. You're sure they'll be “pleased as punch” to see your new discovery. And to be honest, you really want them to focus on one or two relevant paragraphs, not the entire 1,000 word post! Amplify is the perfect solution and now, here's how it's getting better.
Google Analytics Statistics for Your Amps
I don't think there's much more to be said here, integration with Google Analytics is a no-brainer. If you're not sure why you need Google Analytics, you should really take the time to find out. DiTesco offers sound advice in Using Your Most Viewed Articles for Better Conversions. If you would like a more in-depth understanding of Google Analytics you should follow Avinash Kaushik, and read his book. Avinash is “The Analytics Evangelist for Google.”
Share Amps on your Facebook Page not just your profile
Sharing directly to your Facebook Page (versus posting to your personal profile) is a major to the Amplify platform in my view. Honestly, the posts look much cleaner compared to posting on Facebook from HootSuite. And besides when you use HootSuite it does not post to both Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Amplify handles the job of dual posting quite nicely!
Schedule Posts
What's very unique about scheduling posts in Amplify is that you can schedule them down to the minute, not just 5 or 10 minute intervals (like HootSuite for example). When you schedule a post, remember you're not just scheduling an “Amp”, you're also scheduling a Tweet, a Facebook Page post, a Blogger post and more. As a matter of fact, if you allow Amplify to post to Ping.fm, you have a grand total of 35 services that you can post to at once! Personally I think it would be overkill to do them all, but at least you know you have 35 that you can choose from.
New Theme Picker
Amplify lets you “Select a clip theme” and you have 7 options to choose from that will customize the look of your clip on Amplify. Use the Classic, Newspaper, Post It, iTheme (my favorite), Notepad, Retro PC or Pic Frame theme (I love this one too)!
Here are a few of my favorite, most engaging people to follow on Amplify:
Svartling – Swedish Internet Evangelist. Posts about Social Media, Tech, Apple, Apps,Gadgets & more!
Viggo Andersen – Viggo Andersen is exploring social media, twitter, blogging, apps, etc on his spare time while listening to grunge and metal. He also plays Furch, Fender & Ovation guitars. He regards ADHD to be a talent and love working w/ these gifted kids.
Tia Peterson – Getting ready to roll out the new BizChickBlogs 2011. Moving women forward.
Joe Hackman -Information, Web and Media Technology Strategist, Entrepreneur, Blogger, Podcaster, Gadget and Technology Enthusiast.
Frank Woodman Jr. – Accounting and Small Business Consulting
Kol Tregaskes – Used to work in the games industry, a very keen photographer, likes music, movies, sport, computing + games, web development, art, tech, sci-fi & FriendFeed.
Sherryl Perry – Geek, Coach & Consultant who enjoys helping entrepreneurs and small biz owners promote theirs
SweetsFoods – Blogger. Foodie. Social Media Addict. Health & Fitness Enthusiast. Runner & Biker. Like Internet Marketing, Search Engines Optimization too..better Follow Me!
Estava Morioka – Trendsetter, Stylist, Owner of EstavaMorioka.com – bringing you affordably priced party dresses. Get fashion, beauty, & health tips
JustKissie – Philanthropist, Democrat, Bible Believer, Vegan, Witty Writer, Dogs, NFL Fan, Everything Eagles, Sticking with the Sixers, Purpose Driven Atlanta Mom, Grandma
Ok, you get the point. I'm following over 200 people so I can't list everyone 🙂 but the topics covered by this group is very diverse, and I included the bio to make it easy for you to decide. There are many reasons to start using Amplify and of course I should mention that Amplify is a great tool for building backlinks!
Are you using Amplify yet? Please share some of your favorites with us.
As I said over at Amplify, this is a great post and it was very kind of you to recommend some people to follow. I like your list! 😉
Have a great day!
Joe
Hey Joe, it’s my pleasure to spread the word about how awesome the Amplify community is. I’m glad we hooked up over there. Cheers!
Great review of Amplify.com I hope it helps people see that it’s a very different service that makes it much easier to have a complete social media presence. I know that since I’ve been with Amplify I’ve came to use it more and more as my main portal to social media. From that one site I can post to any service I need too as well as to my blog. That makes it so much easier to keep posts,tweets,and content flowing while cutting down greatly on my site hopping.
So if you do much with social media be sure to check out Amplify you’ll find me there as @kstaxman so drop me line for a follow.
Frank, you have such a positive spirit and you bring great conversations to the table over at Amplify. I always enjoy engaging in our little chats. You’ll always be on my Amplify list!
Wow! Things just keep getting better on Amplify. I use it just like you said – when there is something that Twitter just can’t do justice to.
I used the newspaper theme for one amp and it looked nice 🙂
It’s nice to know about the Google analytics integration, too.
Cheers,
Mitch
Hey Mitch! Right before I publish an Amp, I scroll through each of the theme choices to see which one looks best. I also find that different themes (like iTheme) will help resolve any layout issues when clips don’t fit in the post area. I even went back and edited some old clips from prior to the introduction of themes – I think that’s a really cool feature too!
W00t! a bonus tip! What a great idea.
I also noticed that, at least on the last amp I did, if you clip images in a different order, that’s how they’ll appear. A true clipping. I don’t know why that should surprise me, but that’s how my mind works…
To see what I’m babbling about, compare my amp of Kissie’s contest. Mariah is on top and Willie Nelson is on the bottom. On Kissie’s blog, Old Willie’s on top (LOL! that just sounds naughty.)
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitch, I discovered that feature of Amplify a while back. Several of the posts that include graphics get reorganized when I clip them. 🙂
Hey Ileane,
Thank you for yet another round of information and recommendations. I learn so much here! Hoot Suite has been most helpful for me however after reading this post think I better check out amplify.
Have a great week!
Redkathy, nice to see you again. What’s cooking good looking? 🙂
Amplify will be the perfect addition to your blogging arsenal, why don’t you give it a try? It’s really much fun to clip pictures of delicious food. Some of my favorite Amps are food related. Take a look at one called Cookbook without words.
Thanks for the visit.
Wow, I really did not know about Amplify before, but after reading this post I find that Amplify certainly can help a lot in getting more traffic and more friends in the blogging and internet marketing community. Will join it right away.
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Hi Ileane
You keep us up with all the latest. For me I leave it to you techies to try out and if I really, really need it will get a techie to sort lol
BTW I just did a GP talking about you techies and how us non-techies see you…usually as geniuses 🙂 You sure rock gal.
Also, my post that will come out tonight alludes to you too. You really are such a giver to all us fellow bloggers. Thanks Ileane for being you.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hey Patricia, I’ll be sure to check out your upcoming post. I knew you were working on something good when I didn’t see you listed as a top commenter on the CommentLuv home page yesterday. 🙂
Please come back and share links to all the good stuff. Thank you for the positive feedback and awesome support. Let me know if I can help you will anything.
Hi again Ileane
You are the blogstar this week Ileane. If you check out Rick LaPoint’s latest post (I just RT) you are mentioned as a popular blog that generates comments 🙂
I did my Guest Post at http://www.benwan.net It is about you techies so please check out and leave your 2 cents. As a true techie good to get your input. Hope you get the Aussie humour I infused into the post too 😉
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Ileane,
As you say Amplify are doing things in a correct way. I didn’t integrate yet to GA, but I’ll do it as soon as I can.
Interesting you can post to your Facebook page – other thing to fix, will love to refresh mine 🙂
I much appreciate the mention Ileane and I’ll explore other people of that list!
Cheers,
Gera
Gera, are you tracking your Blogger traffic with Google Analytics yet? I’m planning a few tutorials on Google Analytics and if you have questions please let me know.
Thanks for your comment and thanks for sharing great content on Amplify too.
Ileane,
This post is perfect. I found Amplify through you and was very impressed. It has been on my list to get rolling with it. In fact I just added it to my browser this morning.
You are all over the place! with great ways to participate and drive traffic. You go girl!
Sheila, I’m so glad you decided to take advantage of Amplify. I bet you’ll be passing along the good news to your readers in no time. Your enthusiasm and positive spirit are contagious. 🙂
Ileane – I was still a little confused when it comes to how to use Amplify effectively. However, the more I read your articles on it the more I’m understanding the potential this platform has for bloggers. I took another look at your earlier post on Amplify back in September and you’ve finally convinced me to take Amplify for a test drive and see if I enjoy it as much as you do.
Hey John, I think a great beginners tip for Amplify is to blog and clip things that may not fit your personal/business blog. You can be a little more casual there while you learn the ins and outs. Hope this helps and hope we’re connected on Amplify, if not let me know 🙂
Also just keep reading Ileane’s posts, she has been the most active with howto info for Amplify in recent months.
Joe
I couldn’t agree more Joe. That was my approach at first. I find lots of graphics and visually appealing imagery to share in my Amps. It almost gives me a break from being so content focused most of the time.
Joe, one more thing before I forget. I really want you to sign up for a free account with CommentLuv. That way you can link to a different post every time you leave a comment. (pretty please)
Hey Ileane :
It is awesome to know that there is a software for easy interaction with Google analytic and Face book for easy use. And when it is user friendly
it will be used by millions of face book fans. I will end up using it too
very soon.
fran A
Sounds good, thanks
this is a good post, gives us detailed information about Amplify, and it makes me feel it is convenient for people who use facebook often.
Another solid post packed with great tips and info, Ileane.
I have to try some of these other features. Just setup the analytics after reading Justin’s post. That took all of 3 minutes. 🙂
I like this Facebook sharing and the precision scheduling, among other features.
Thanks for sharing and stay awesome!
Jimi,
I find it hard to believe that I wasn’t following you on Amplify already, but I am now. Did you download the Amplify extension for Chrome? They have one for Firefox as well.
Yeah, not sure how we missed each other there. 🙂
Yes, I have the extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Love em both. Amplify is quickly becoming one of my favorite outposts.
I love amplify. I use it everyday to keep my users engaged with me. I share posts several times a day using this service. I normally set them up early in the morning or at night and schedule them to post through out the day. I also love how amplify allows you to share your message of several different social networking platforms… Love you blog btw… from a fellow blogger and Internet Marketer.
Hi Ileane,
I had not heard of this before – It looks a bit like Posterous (I first wrote “Pesterous” by accident -oops), only more social, if that makes sense.
Thanks for the introduction!
Hey Mark, good to see you. You can autopost to Posterous and Tumblr through Amplify. There’s tons more engagement on Amplify, let me know what you think after you give it a try.
It’s like this is a whole new blogging platform that with Onlywire like functions built in!
Hi Caleb, let me know when you sign up!
I will as soon as I figure everything out and develop a scheduled plan for using it.
btw,
I responded concerning your issues about fixed social plugin in that there is a youtube profile plus going into the plugin editor’s css files in order to make it float on the right..
Caleb, I’ve been meaning to get back to you on the subject of the Fixed Social Plugins and I’m wondering if you can give me a hand. First I could not find this plugin in the official WordPress repository but I was able to download it from this site. I’m afraid I don’t have the correct version because, the lineup does not include YouTube. Also, I need a little help with changing the CSS so that everything floats on the left vertically (not horizontally like I have it now). Do you have a line of code I can add?
Thank you!!
Illeane,
I have registered to amplify a few months ago, but only to reply Suresh’s question LOL.
I receive some emails from Amplify which is somewhat spammy, it is a turn off to me.
Hey Ileane,
I love Amplify. I think it’s one of those tools that I really use a lot next to Twitter and Facebook. Checked out the Google Analytics stats for my amps. Have added them already. Thx for the heads up on this!
Hey Ileane,
I really like amplify. It lets me share my stuff across my social network. The clipping feature is really awesome because I can snip out the parts I want to share really easily.
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I really like Amplify. It got lots of cool features and its nice to know now i can integrate google analytics and facebook. Thanks
Jones, make sure you connect with me on Amplify.
I have been using Amplify for a long time know and the benefits are tremendous. It is very easy to set up and with a click on a button whatever you share is autoposted on other popular sites such as Posterous, Tumblr, and more. The integration of GA is just another added bonus that these awesome people made available. Although I have not set it up yet, it is something I tend to remedy soon. Great post
Hi Anne, that’s an excellent question. Ping.fm is purely a distribution service. There is no micro-blogging component to it. Amplify allows you to write your own unique blog posts and it runs on WPMU – WordPress Multiuser which gives everyone a blog called an Amplog. Amplify has a great community that allows for conversations and engagement beyond what you can accomplish on Twitter. Users from the community can comment, recommend, reamplify and share your Amps something that is not inherent to Ping.fm.
I don’t use Ping.fm but for those that do enable it with Amplify, be very careful not to authorize the same services on both. For example if you Ping.fm to post to your Facebook profile, don’t connect your profile to Amplify – or simply uncheck the box next to Facebook when you are creating an Amp. This will avoid duplicate posts.
Give it a try Anne, I’m sure you’ll find it beneficial. Thanks for your feedback.
I may be mis-reading, but it seems like you should be able to do what Amplify does by hand. Is the beauty of Amplify just that it saves time doing those tasks?
Hey TJ, I’m not sure what aspect of Amplify you’re referring to, there’s so much you can do with it. Here’s the concept of Amplify from the About page:
I hope this is helpful, if not let me know.
Ileane,
Thanks for the quick reply! I guess I was talking more about sharing content you found that you wanted to retweet, reblog, etc. It looks like it does quite a bit more though. How do you find yourself using it most frequently?
It will be great to organize my scheduled tweets, wordpress & blogspot posts, and facebook updates all in one medium. Thanks for this nice article. I’ll definitely try this one out. Thanks a lot, Ileane.
Hey Claire, happy new year! After you sign up for Amplify, please be sure to follow my Amplog over there too.
The best thing for me in this post is the introduction of the book “The Analytics Evangelist for Google”. I have want dep understanding of Google Analytics”.
Basam, Avinash Kaushik is a best selling author. His second book is called Web Analytics 2.0 and you should check it out if you want a deeper understanding of your website traffic.
@Ileane, Sure I will go for it.
I’ll try Amplify and will see if I can use it to in blog promotion.
Thanks Ileane this was very helpful and love your blog very much
this is really freakin cool. this one service will save me about 2 hours every time i write a new post. thank you!