http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=914751

Dear and esteemed fellow monks.

I feel the F******k conversation has got a bit heated. But this should not stop us discussing what ways there are of raising Perl's profile. And clearly anything that is free is easier to justify.

I guess we all have a fair amount invested in this language Larry and friends came up with. I would like to keep this investment maintained. In fact I would like people to pay me more next year to use it than this year.

The F******k conversation provoked opposing reactions. It is free. Apparently.

On the other hand, people seem generally hapier with http://www.linkedin.com/ and http://twitter.com/. In which case I'd like (that's 'like' without a button attached) to propose that we pilot something with LinkedIn. If we don't like it we can always take it down.

Here is some code I found on a website, which points to an IT article on Brazil. If you paste it into an HTML editor it should show you a LinkedIn button.

Appropriately modified, it could point to any PM node.

Enjoy.

Regards

Steve

<div class="linkedin_share_container" style="float:right;margin:0px 0p +x 10px 10px"> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3 +A%2F%2Fitdecs.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fbrazil-should-seek-mobile-nous-overse +as%2F&amp;title=Brazil+should+seek+mobile+nous+overseas&amp;summary=C +ould+Brazilian+organizations+be+doing+more+to+learn+from+what+centers ++of+excellence+in+mobile+technology+overseas+are+doing%3F%C2%A0Knowle +dge+management+and+social+innovation+specialist%C2%A0Jos%C3%A9+Luiz+B +arbosa%C2%A0discusses+the+topic+in+the+second+part+of+a+two-part+gues +t+article+for%C2%A0IT+Decisions.%0A%0A%0ASweden+has+done+business+in+ +Brazil+for+more+than+a+century+and+nowadays+there+are+approximately+2 +00+%5B...%5D&amp;source=IT+Decisions" onclick="return popupLinkedInShare(this.href,'console' +,400,570)" class="linkedin_share_button"><img src="http://itdecs.com/ +wp-content/plugins/linkedin-share-button/buttons/01.png" alt="" /> </a> </div>

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Free publicity
by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 16, 2011 at 07:42 UTC

    Thanks for posting the code! It seems that the code also needs some additional Javascript:

    <div ... onclick="return popupLinkedInShare(this.href,'console' +,400,570)" class="linkedin_share_button">

    Maybe popupLinkedInShare() comes from some external files. If these files are hosted by LinkedIn, that would mean we would funnel every page hit to LinkedIn, which I consider in appropriate without user opt-in. Can you find out what LinkedIn documents how to use their button? If it isn't possible without pulling in files from LinkedIn, this would need to go into the Free Nodelet as well. As a second alternative, we could make a "Social Nodelet" that (registered) users can add to their pages. This restricts the "network effect" somewhat, but I prefer not to force-feed all those data collectors with data from the visitors who prefer to remain anonymous to us.

    Nodelets are basically HTML snippets and can also pull in Javascript, like jozef proposed in Re^4: Facebook 'like' button. (atypical).

      Hi Corion,

      The code for popupLinkedInShare() is on the same website as the button and the article and is preloaded in a .js library. The code is:

      var winLinkedInShare = null; function popupLinkedInShare( strURL, strType, strHeight, strWidth ) { var strOptions = ''; if ( winLinkedInShare != null && !winLinkedInShare.closed ) winLinkedInShare.close(); if ( strType == 'console' ) strOptions = 'resizable,height=' + strHeight + ',width=' + str +Width; else if ( strType == 'fixed' ) strOptions = 'status,height=' + strHeight + ',width=' + strWid +th; else if ( strType == 'elastic' ) strOptions = 'toolbar,menubar,scrollbars,resizable,location,he +ight=' + strHeight + ',width=' + strWidth; winLinkedInShare = window.open( strURL, 'winLinkedInShare', strOpt +ions ); winLinkedInShare.focus(); return false; }

      There are a number of .js libraries supporting the different social networking sites.

      Regards,

      Steve

Re: Free publicity
by luis.roca (Deacon) on Jul 16, 2011 at 00:11 UTC

    I appreciate the thought and desire to help the site get more exposure (Very much so). I assume the goal for any of this would be to either gain new users, rekindle the interest of old ones, promote Perl or a combnination of the three (Coming from a design and branding background I prefer specifics over 'to promote it'). However I'm having trouble understanding in what way social networking buttons would have the same or greater benefit than if members simply posted links to a favorite thread via their wall (twitter stream or linkedin page). The only real benefit I see is for the social sites themselves.

    I would be in favor of some kind of custom URL shortener (or simply using an existing one). This way we still have a 'share' link available but it's not tied to any particular site. Maybe it's my design bias but I can see an  ever expanding group of 'social' buttons cluttering up the top of every post.


    "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote
Re: Free publicity
by jdporter (Paladin) on Jul 16, 2011 at 02:56 UTC

    well, tl;dr, but I think I agree with your general point. (/me makes a note to revisit this after the depressants have worn off.)

      Depressants? Shome mishtake shurely.

Re: Free publicity
by mr_mischief (Monsignor) on Jul 18, 2011 at 06:36 UTC

    Below is what I get added to a post I'm writing when I right-click on your node's link, click "Copy Link Location", click "Add Link" in G+, then right-click and click "Paste":

    Free publicity Free publicity. by Steve_BZ (Friar). Log in; Create a new user; The Monastery Gates; Super Search; Seekers of Perl Wisdom; Meditations; PerlMonks Discussion; Obfuscation; Reviews; Cool Uses For Perl; ...

    Then, since the description provided has more to do with site navigation than the node, I can click "remove description" and have just the link. That might be worth looking into, giving the pertinent information to services when it's requested through that sort of interface.

    Is it a little more work than the +1 button? Sure, but I'm sure I could have a +1 in my free nodelet as everyone says about the other services. Does it keep my browsing habits fairly private other than the fact that I do read Perlmonks? Yes. Yes, it does. And my homenode is already linked as part of my profile anyway.

    I have to wonder if what PerlMonks really needs is people clicking +1 to outside sites as often as they upvote a node. Maybe actually thinking about whether you should take three seconds to switch tabs and all to promote this or that particular node is actually worthwhile. Then again, I remember walking across the room to choose whether I wanted to keep watching this TV channel or switch to the other one.

Re: Free publicity
by xyzzy (Pilgrim) on Jul 18, 2011 at 00:27 UTC

    please edit your post so that the <div> tag spans multiple lines and does not break the layout. it's f*****g annoying


    $,=qq.\n.;print q.\/\/____\/.,q./\ \ / / \\.,q.    /_/__.,q..
    Happy, sober, smart: pick two.

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