Do you have your own blog? Keep reading because this might be interesting.

Since the release of the share with tarpipe bookmarklet we've been working on a way to give your blog readers the ability to share what they're reading on the spot. We first launched a widget that can be added to any Web page simply by copying and pasting a line of JavaScript code. Here's the widget being used at echoes:

After some initial testing we decided to make it easier for you by launching an easy to install WordPress.org plugin: the Share now! widget. You can easily install it with a couple of clicks and the widget will automatically appear at the bottom of every post.

The widget look and feel is similar to the bookmarklet, letting you type your thoughts, choose any destinations and click on the "share" button when you're done.

As always, please keep sending your suggestions!

[warning: technical information ahead]

We've created a connector that lets you easily extend any workflow by connecting to an external REST endpoint. The REST connector is compatible with the Yahoo! Pipes Web Service Module — the only difference is that we only process with a single entry instead of a feed of entries.

The connector POSTs a JSON encoded list of properties to a service URL and expects a JSON or RSS formatted response. Here's an example JSON response:

{
  "items" : [
  {
    "title" : "My title",
    "link" : "http://example.com",
    "description" : "My Description"
  }
  ]
}

The compatibility means that you can use any existing Web Service that already worked with Yahoo! Pipes. OpenCalais offers a service with those characteristics and we decided to give it a try with our new REST connector.

This example workflow uses the REST connector to talk directly to the Calais Yahoo! Pipes Web Service. The OpenCalais URL (including the API key) is specified using the TextInput connector.

Creating your own external Web service is also very easy. All you have to do is wait for a POST, process the incoming JSON information and output a JSON formatted response. Here's an example written in PHP:

<?php
//
// Obtain the input from the POST "data" field
//
$input = json_decode($_POST['data']);
 
if ($input) {
    //
    // As an example, the output is copied from the input
    //
    $output = array();
    $output['title'] = $input->items[0]->title;
    $output['link'] = $input->items[0]->link;
    $output['description'] = $input->items[0]->description;
 
    //
    // Output JSON encoded response
    //
    echo json_encode(array('items' => array($output)));
}
?>

We hope this new REST connector will create new possibilities and expand what you can already do with your workflow. Please let us know how you'll use it with your Web services.

Today we're announcing a new and easy way to share what you're reading or watching on the Web to your favorite destinations: the tarpipe bookmarklet. To get started, watch this short demo.

To start using the bookmarklet, please visit the tarpipe tools page and drag the "share with tarpipe" link to your bookmarks toolbar. Then, whenever you want to share what you're reading, just click on the bookmarklet and a window will appear. Type your thoughts, choose any destinations, click on the "share" button, and you're done!

As an added bonus, the bookmarklet will use any text that you might have selected on the page.

Following a lot of requests we added the Facebook connector last week. We've been testing it publicly since then and it's already being used by some of you. As usual, to start using it, you need to give us authorization on the accounts tab.

The Facebook connector lets you publish status updates and upload photos directly from a tarpipe workflow. The status update is also available through the share form, where all you have to do is enter your status on the Body field, check the Facebook destination and click on the share button.

We've just added Rejaw to our list of connectors. Rejaw is a service that lets you communicate in real-time with your friends. To start using it, just go to the accounts tab and insert your Rejaw username and password on the appropriate fields.

You can use it directly from the share form or by adding it to any new or existing workflow. It works in much the same way as the already supported Plurk connector, having a required shout input.

If you're on Rejaw you can follow us there also.