SocialDitto is a new tool designed to let content producers, such as journalists and bloggers, embed Facebook posts/status updates into their content. You can think about it like the Twitter BlackBird Pie tool, which lets you embed tweets.
The developers of SocialDitto, part of iEntry (which also publishes WebProNews) thought a Blackbird Pie-like tool would be useful for Facebook posts, given that a lot of interesting content is shared on Facebook, arguably even more so than Twitter given its size.
Let’s say you were writing a story about the Super Bowl, and wanted to provide a Facebook update from the winners in your story. You could simply find a post on the Packers’ Facebook Page…
The app, which can be found here on Facebook, will add itself as an option in the left-hand column while you’re on your newfeed page. That way, it is always conveniently at your disposal, should you find an interesting update you wish to share.
Then grab the URL of that post (from the timestamp), paste it in the SocialDitto box, and click the "ditto" button to get the embed code…
Then, just post the code in the HTML of your article, and you’ll get something like this:
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl XLV champions!2 days ago 50915 likes 5910 comments
It’s like taking a screenshot and sticking it in an article, without the hassles associated with that.
"There’s simply too much information out there for any one person to digest all of it. Thus, we rely on other people to summarize this data for easier and faster consumption," says lead developer Mike Marr. "As social media becomes a more relevant and powerful means of communication, not only for individuals, but also businesses, the need to accurately capture this source of information is needed. We hope that socialditto becomes the tool to meet that need."
As privacy is always a concern among Facebook users, it’s important to note that SocialDitto’s policy is geared towards enabling the sharing of information that either a. is public or b. you have been given permission by a friend to post. It’s really no different than taking a screenshot, in terms of content. The tool simply reduces the friction in the process.
"Regarding privacy, SocialDitto merely simplifies the process of capturing this information," says Marr. "We have no control on how users choose to use this information once it’s captured, but we certainly recommend they follow privacy guidelines from Facebook and/or other sites SocialDitto supports in the future."
The tool can be accessed as a standalone tool at SocialDitto.com, or you can use the Facebook app within Facebook itself as described above. With the internal Facebook version, you can easily have it at your disposal anytime you are using the social network.
You already see tweets embedded in news stories and blog posts all the time. Now, you can expect to start seeing Facebook posts more.