OpenLinkz - minimal code, targeted context search
Provide context-sensitive search capability in a handy little pop-up menu.
If you are interested in giving your readers access to background information on key words in your posts or pages, allow them to search the web using a list of sites that are focused on your subject matter.
Writing about the stock market? Use OpenLinkz to search for financial information, charts and analysis on the stocks you are writing about.
Writing about hi-tech? Use OpenLinkz to search technology-related sites for other articles and opinions.
Setup instructions
can be found on the
OpenLinkz blog
OpenLinkz comes in different variations.
We currently provide:
- Finance links
- News links
- Technology links
Coming soon:
- Social links
- Political links
- Map links
Introduction
As a stock market blogger (check out TradeRadar) I am always writing about individual stocks and ETFs. I usually try to provide links to pertinent but freely available web content so my readers don't have to go hunting for it. Adding all these links all the time can become a complicated and tedious HTML effort. OpenLinkz is intended to greatly simplify the process.
What is it?
OpenLinkz is a pop-up menu widget that automatically provides links to commonly used information sources organized by a particular theme. As examples, themes can relate to the stock market, technology, general news, social sites, maps and geography, etc.
OpenLinkz takes a search term that you provide (usually the key word you are highlighting in your text) and constructs the links to each site in the theme so the user can immediately retrieve information related to that key word.
In the case of a stock market theme, a reader may be interested in more information on an individual company or fund you have written about. Standard links for "Stock Linkz" include company profile from Yahoo (which includes quotes and news), an interactive chart from BigCharts.com and search at both Google and Yahoo. Similarly, if you are writing about technology, standard links for the "Tech Linkz" theme would include SlashDot, Wired Magazine, Wikipedia and more. If you want to provide background from the general news of the day, the "News Linkz" theme provides links to CNN, BBC, MSNBC and other major news providers.
Who is OpenLinkz for?
It is for bloggers or web site owners/developers who want to highlight key words in their content and want to be able to provide links to background information that users often seek. Information is presented in a separate window so users never really need to leave your site.
How does it work?
Move your mouse over the link and the menu pops up. It will automatically disappear after a second or two if the mouse does not move onto the menu itself.
OpenLinkz examples in action
Links can be presented in different formats or even combined in the same sentence.
Hover over the links below to experience OpenLinkz:
stockLinkz - OpenLinkz for stock market bloggers
- Company (symbol-as-link): Millicom International (MICC)
- CompanyName-as-link: Cisco Systems
- Company ("more info"-as-link): General Electric (more info)
- Symbol-as-link: SNDK
techLinkz - OpenLinkz for technology bloggers
- AJAX is driving the growth of Web 2.0
- The proliferation of Wi-Fi hotspots makes it easier and easier to lead a life online.
Use both stockLinkz and techLinkz in the same sentence
- Red Hat Inc. is a major beneficary of Linux finding its way into more corporate data centers.
newsLinkz - OpenLinkz for those who write about news and current events
- The President is standing by his embattled Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, in spite of several officials recommending that Gonzales step down.
- Senate leader Harry Reid says the war in Iraq is lost.
Reliablity
The OpenLinkz widget provides solid functionality based on Yahoo Javascript libraries which are being offered for developers to freely use.
Customization
Just download the Javascript file, make your modifications and host on your server.
Enhancements
If you have ideas for improvements, send me an email or comment on the posts on the OpenLinkz blog.
Get going with OpenLinkz now!
Setup instructions can be found on the OpenLinkz blog.
What else are we doing at OpenLinkz?
We are also developing a series of WidgetBox widgets that can be embedded in blogs. We already have a collection of great widgets available in the WidgetBox gallery.You can read more at the OpenLinkz blog or check them out by following the links in the right sidebar.
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