Little Kids Rock campaign contribution tag: We’ve rolled out a number of tags that allow users to purchase different items, but this is the first that allows them to contribute to charities. Little Kids Rock, which brings free musical instruments and music instruction to public school children, embedded the donation tag in cards sent out by board members and on its website to solicit contributions.

Tweet tag: You can now link to any tweet, not just a Twitter user — for instance, if you want to embed a specific comment that’s relevant to an image. Previously, an artist could only embed a tag to direct users to follow them on Twitter; now they are able to embed a tweet about, say, a new album, in an image of the album cover.

Create a tweet tag by clicking on Details or the tweet date on a tweet on Twitter and copy the unique URL. Paste the URL in ThingLink’s editor. It’s as easy as that!

Google Maps tag: This works great for event invites — embed a map to the event right in the image and make it even easier for attendees to find their way. Or use in a new story — add a map to show viewers exactly where something happened and let them get a sense of the location in context.

Next to every map and street view on Google Maps, there is a link box. Copy the URL and paste it in ThingLink’s editor.

QwipBacks™ and Chirbit: Now you have two more options in addition to SoundCloud for recording sound in images — the QwipBacks™ and Chirbit tags. Users can record their own comments on an image and also encourage others to do the same — it’s a real time conversation embedded right in a photo.

Just copy the recording’s unique URL and paste it in the editor’s link field.

Why not create an interactive wish list so cool-looking and captivating that people who see it won’t even realize you’re hitting them up for goodies.ThingLinked wish lists are easy to make, fun to share, and you’ll get your money back if no one shells out for those cool presents*. Just sign up for ThingLink (or sign in if you already have an account) then upload your image and tag away.

Here are a few examples:

(disclaimer: the celebrity examples were created by us and not the celebs themselves. Please don’t sue us. And if you are a celeb and want to use us for your wishlist, feel free to do so. Also, the ThingLink staff wishlist was created by us and we do actually want those things, so feel free to buy them for us).

*See, making the wish lists is free, so you don’t put any money in, so you wouldn’t get any back.

Lady Gaga

Newt Gingrich

Justin Bieber

Kim Kardashian

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For all you squares out there, here is our official release:

ThingLink Launches Voice Recordable Holiday Cards and Wish Lists

Record A Voice Message into Your Holiday Photos

San Francisco, CA – [14 December 2011] – Just in time for the most wonderful time of the year, image engagement tools provider,ThingLink is celebrating the holiday season with the launch of its Interactive Holiday Cards and Wish Lists Maker. The free to use web service allows users to record and embed personal audio messages into holiday greeting cards to give their loved ones something to remember, or to make favourite gift ideas on wish lists come to life, empowered with content from around the web.

“For many younger people, traditional holiday cards are boring and standardized eCard greetings are still somewhat impersonal. At ThingLink, we’ve developed an easy and novel way to share heartfelt, personalized greetings inside digital holiday cards and wish lists,” said ThingLink CEO Ulla Engeström. “Our single image upload service eliminates the need for a separate publishing platform, meaning that anyone can post, tag and share interactive images directly from our homepage at ThingLink.com.”

Visit ThingLink.com and upload your favourite holiday photo, either by dragging the image anywhere atop the ThingLink.com home page or by clicking the ‘upload’ button and selecting one from your computer. Video and music players such as YouTube can be added, along with Flickr photos of family members and personal audio messages can be brought into the mix by using the record feature, powered by leading social sound platform, SoundCloud, to make your greeting card a tailored, interactive experience.

Favourite holiday songs and videos, links to relevant websites (or gift ideas) are all embeddable, and if all you want for Christmas is more followers, rich media tags linking to Twitter or Facebook can be added too. Friends and family can be encouraged to upload their own images and create their own greetings at the ThingLink site via sharing on social network platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Cards are then ready to email, to avoid taking chances with the Christmas postal service.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — time to send out holiday greetings to your friends and family! Er, maybe not. But at least this year they can be a little more fun and interactive with ThingLink.

With ThingLink holiday cards, you’ll be able to include tons of content, record messages, and send without standing in line at the post office. Simply go to ThingLink.com, sign in or sign up, and upload a great holiday photo (can’t go wrong with the one of your cat wearing antlers and glaring hatefully).  Just like you can use a ThingLinked image to embed and share a video or a song, you can use it to send a recorded message (just use the SoundCloud record feature, or add a YouTube video message). You can also link embed favorite holiday songs and videos, links to sites you love (or gift ideas) and if all you want to Christmas is more followers, you can add a rich media tag to Twitter or Facebook, too.

Since it’s the season to help others, feel free to add a link to support an organization you care about in your message. You can also encourage friends and family to upload their own images and create their own greetings at the ThingLink site.

Here are a few examples we’re created to show you how to spread the holiday spirit:

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Digital PR photos can be enhanced to include links and other content through an expanding service called ThingLink.

Neil Vineberg, the veteran PR pro who is chief marketing officer of Finland-based ThingLink and heads its North American operations, sees the service as a “generational shift” in how users interact with images.

“The job of photo editor becomes more interesting and puts publishers or PR professionals in a position to keep people on their own content,” he said.

With the service, users can embed website links, video content and pop-up info within images, without learning complicated Flash or programming. The “ThingLinked” images are then embeddable by fans, users and journalists within standard web publishing software, creating a trackable PR image unit.

“Instead of emailing a publicity photo to journalists, you can tell them to ‘take my embed code,’” said Veinberg.

Updates made to the images by ThingLink users are distributed to the embedded content so, for example, if a reporter embeds an ThingLinked image in a story, the creator of the image can update the image’s content.

While adopted early as a publicity vehicle in the music industry, use of the service is spreading to publishing and beyond as infographics and other news illustrations are given interactive and tracking capabilities with the service. The popular rock group Evanescence, for example, used ThingLink for its album release Oct. 11 to include embedded links in an image of the album cover to the band’s Twitter and facebook feeds, iTunes and YouTube, among others.

Mashable recently used the service for an infographic on the iPhone (below) while Canada’s National Post created a powerful graphic of the twin towers embedded with links to the windows where victims of 9/11 worked.

Vineberg believes ThingLink has vast potential for the PR sector because of its measurability, ease of use and ability to include information directly from a client (captions, links to websites) within an image.

“It’s a generational shift in how we interact with images,” he said.

(Roll your mouse icon over the image below to see its embedded content)

1. Make a web page

The first thing is to create a web page you want to display on your Facebook Page. You can do this using normal HTML, CSS and JavaScript techniques you would otherwise use in the web. The HTML code of the web page is where you embed your ThingLink image.

This page will then be embedded inside Facebook as an iframe. Maximum width for a tab on a Facebook Page is 520 pixels. You should take this into account in your design.

You web page needs to be then hosted at a public URL, for example at a web hosting provider, your company’s server, or a service like Google Sites.

Notice that starting on October 1, 2011, Facebook requires that the web pages shown inside Facebook Pages as apps are secured with an SSL certificate (HTTPS). Earlier the users using SSL elsewhere in Facebook got only a notification to switch to unprotected browsing when using an app without a secure version. Check your hosting service’s website for information about their support for SSL and possible pricing.

(If you can’t host the web page yourself, there are alternatives like popular 3rd party Facebook App called “Static HTML: iframe tabs”). With the app you can actually skip rest of this tutorial, but you don’t necessarily get as good control over your content.)

2. Make it an app

When you finally have a place to host your web page, it’s time to head over to Facebook. There we will create an application (which doesn’t really contain any code) for Facebook that shows the web page you created.

Log in to Facebook and install the the Facebook Developer Application. This requires your authentication if you haven’t done this before.

Click Allow to continue. (Facebook also seems to require also that your own account has been verified with mobile phone or credit card. You might get notification and a link to correct this during the process.)

To start, click Create New App from the upper corner of the page.

Fill App Name, e.g. “Business X Welcome Page”, and Locale and Approve Facebook Terms to continue. And in the next screen type in the Captcha words.

Now, you have your application:

Fill in the basic info like Category and the icon. The small 16×16 pixel version is the one showing as the tab icon. Then under “Select how your app integrates with Facebook”, choose Page Tab.

In Page Tab section, fill in the tab name (e.g. “Welcome”) and the normal and SSL-secured URLs for the web page you want to show as the Page tab. Finally click Save Changes.

3. Add it to your page

Your app is now saved in Facebooks database. (You can find and edit your own apps later at https://developers.facebook.com/apps.)

To get the app to your Page as a tab, follow the View App Profile Page link on the left sidebar of the edit page. This takes you to the public-facing info section of the application.

On the app profile page, in the left sidebar, you can find link Add to My Page. Then click Add to Page button next to the Page to which you want to add the tab. Close the Add window by clicking Close button.

Now, when you head to the Facebook Page you chose, you’ll see the tab on the left. Clicking it takes you to your custom contents.

4. Tips

Scroll bars

By default your tab’s content will fill the window vertically up to 800 pixels and horizontally 520 pixels, and if the contents is longer or wider, there will be scrollbars inside the tab (in addition to the ones bordering the browser’s main window).

If you find this irritating, you can make Facebook ask your page with JavaScript how long it wants to be (horizontally you can’t make the iframe any wider). There is a tutorial about hiding scrollbars and making Facebook Canvas pages vertically scalable at HyperArts blog.

HyperArts blog post’s contents is otherwise accurate, but Facebook has upgraded its layout and the place where you control Canvas’ height nowadays in is the Advanced section of the application’s edit page (see the screenshot below).

Once you have set up the site with your tagged image content, which the app mirrors, the only thing you need to do is replace the content to feature something else on your Facebook page. There is no need to set it up again, it’s as easy as that.

This is how NME magazine does it:

ThingLink inspired a number of hacks that weekend, including rich media tags for Rdio and Polldaddy (see below).

Another developer, who wound up taking the prize for the best use of ThingLink, created a tag where you can record a video. He also created a tag through which you can call to a cell phone (see below).

The ThingLink team also chatted with guys from Spotify, Topspin, RootMusic, SoundCloud and other cool startups like Mashery, Rdio, Rovi, MOG and Tracks.by, getting some new ideas and sharing feedback.

As always, the hack day had plenty of coffee, Red Bull, programming, and even a little controversy (was the Adobe team really presenting a hack or a corporate reel? The world may never know). We’re definitely looking forward to our next hack day and continuing to build great things.

Until now, users and image owners were required to approach ThingLink for a customized app solution to service their needs. By launching the app development environment, ThingLink is inviting developers to create fun and interesting applications that make interactive images more engaging and relevant.

Here are some of our existing Rich Media Tags and you can now make your own.

“We’re looking to empower developers with tools that engage audiences around images,” commented ThingLink CMO Neil Vineberg. “We also invite corporations and small businesses to build a presence on the ThingLink Image Network by creating branded applications and promotional content for their services.”

Prospective developers should visit www.thinglink.com/developer, where after a simple sign-in and approval process, ThingLink will provide instructions and access to sample code from a custom built app, including performance suggestions and compatibility and design tips.

First announced in June this year, ThingLink has brought a new dimension to images on the web via Rich Media Tags, transforming static images into navigational platforms. From hand-drawn artwork to professional photography, Rich Media Tags can be applied to any image, enabling the embedding of links from some of the world’s leading social content platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Wikipedia, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and many more.

For more information on creating Rich Media Tags or to learn more about opportunities to integrate with ThingLink, visit: www.thinglink.com.

Twenty years ago, I went to a record store in a mall in Clackamas, Oregon and bought a copy of Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” I tore the cellophane off the cassette and eagerly pulled out the packaging, looking at the photos of the three strange looking men with odd-colored hair and clothes fresh from the Goodwill. I wanted to know everything about them — based on that one image, I took trips to the library to read Rolling Stone, watched for their videos on MTV, and listened to that cassette until it wore out.

I wrote that extremely dated paragraph to prove a point — fans want to interact with artists based on images. And those most iconic artist images, their album covers, are key points of entry for many listeners. Luckily iTunes and Spotify haven’t destroyed album cover art — they simply made it another image to be shared and utilized.

ThingLink makes it easy for artists to transform an album image into a shareable container for music, videos and social connection. Now I don’t have to go to the library and page through back issues for more information on an artist. Inside an album image I can click on a link and read a blog post in a nanosecond. Ditto for waiting for a video to show up on the TV — just hit the YouTube link. And while listening to a new track once required waiting for radio to spin it, now it’s a matter of hitting a Soundcloud music player. And…well, you get the picture.

People, especially kids, still get excited about album releases. And what better way to connect news about the album with an interactive cover that contains music, video and more. In a way, it’s almost like going back to days of unfolding vinyl albums or CD booklets — people want to interact with the album art, but now they have an even deeper way to do it.

Take the cover of the recently announced Bruno Mars single, “It Will Rain,” which is also the lead track from the forthcoming Twilight soundtrack. The album cover shows Mars slouched beneath an umbrella and featured links to the Twilight trailer as well as his social media properties. It created the right mix of branding (rain, the umbrella) with an air of mystery — there was really no way to tell what the song was about, merely a call to keep following and figuring it out.

And what Mars’s team did is just the beginning. As I talked about in my previous post, a label could make a game out of spreading pieces of the cover and clips of a track around the web and asking fans to help put it together. Album announcements could feature a recorded clip from an artist with a special message that is changed daily, or pulled after 100 listens. Different pieces of the album art could feature different song clips.

The days of buying cassettes at the mall are long over (and thankfully, the associated hairstyles are lost to the ages, too) but the desire to interact with album artwork is as alive as ever.

Cortney Harding is a music evangelist for start-ups, including ThingLink and official.fm. She was previously the music editor and indies correspondent at Billboard magazine, and knows way too much about the music industry for any sane person. Follow her on Twitter or on Tumblr.

From today, music artists and their promoters can embed ‘buy now’ links to iTunes or to a Topspin custom store in the images they use throughout the web. Any hosted image – from artist pictures, album cover art or event photography – can now be converted into an ad hoc music store, providing an innovative and engaging new method of getting new music into the hands of those who want it most.

“By providing an embeddable, direct route to purchase, ThingLink’s e-commerce tags remove another barrier between artists and fans looking to buy their music,” commented Neil Vineberg, ThingLink CMO. “As a team we’re keen to progress the conversation on how music retail is evolving, and teaming up with platforms of the calibre of iTunes, Topspin and SoundCloud can only help us to achieve that aim.”

First announced in June this year, ThingLink has brought a new dimension to images on the web via Rich Media Tags, transforming static images into navigational platforms. From hand-drawn artwork to professional photography, Rich Media Tags can be applied to any image and already allow the in-image embedding of links from some of the world’s leading social content platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Wikipedia, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and many more.

“We at Topspin are fans of any method of distributing artist offers, especially when the method is as simple and powerful as adding ‘buy now’ links to artist images,” says Ian Rogers, Topspin CEO. “Photos are a big source of traffic for artists, so it makes sense to attach links to artist offers and let those images travel the web.”

For more information on creating Rich Media Tags, visit ThingLink or check out out most awesome Music Guide instructing you how to make the most out of the service.

“ThingLink allows our users a greater level of flexibility and customer interaction when promoting their events,” commented Mitch Colleran, Eventbrite Partner Manager. “As well as providing a direct selling platform, ThingLink will allow our users to bring their promotional images to life with video, audio and whatever social features they desire.”

“Our aim with Rich Media Tagging is to empower online images with all of the functionality of the modern web and through this latest collaboration with Eventbrite we have brought on board a true market leader,” added ThingLink Chief Marketing Officer Neil Vineberg. “In-image purchases remove a barrier between ticket holders and event goers, as well as open up a new realm of creativity for those building flyers and promotional imagery for their events.”

This is how you set it up

By now you probably want to try it out and promote your own event. Here is an easy 8-step tutorial on how to sign up for ThingLink and Eventbrite in order to start creating and using your own ThingLink/Eventbrite Tag.

1. Sign up for ThingLink. We’ll come back to this.

2. Sign in to or sign up for Eventbrite

3. At Eventbrite, search for an event that you want to feature in your image or create a new event.

4. Fill out the event registration and Save and publish the event.

5. Copy the event’s URL link. It should look something like this: http://sfmts9.eventbrite.com

6. Single tag an image or ThingLink-enable all your images on the site where you want to show the images. Paste the event’s URL in the link field of the tag editor. The editor will state that this will become an Eventbrite tag. You don’t need to enter a description.

7. Voila!

8. Watch the ticket sales roll in. Remember that ThingLink also offers many more Rich Media Tags such as YouTube, Flickr, Soundcloud and Wikipedia.