6 social extensions for Chrome to help you play while working.
Social networking websites are one of the biggest time sinks around. Keeping Facebook, Twitter, or another site of your choice, open in your browser at all times can help you get your fix, but there inevitably comes a time when you need to get on with other tasks. These Chrome extensions help you stay in touch with what’s happening on various social networks by providing real-time updates. Whether you use the networks for personal or business use, the extensions below help you keep track of and maintain your social media presence with more efficiency.
The Chrome Facebook extension keeps track of what’s happening with your Facebook account. Even when you don’t have Facebook open in a browser, this extension sends you notifications that display in a pop-up window. Once you’ve activated the extension, you receive alerts for anything you usually get notifications about through Facebook, including likes and comments, new messages, invitations, group postings, and friend requests. The extension works as long as you are logged into Facebook on that machine, and you can click on a notification to go directly to Facebook and view more information.
Gmail’s chat feature usually only works through your Gmail inbox, however with this extension, you can chat with friends and family regardless of which website you’re browsing. As well as remaining active while you move from tab to tab, you can use the extension to launch Google+ Hangouts, call contacts, and use the video chat function.
Shareaholic lets you share web content with over 250 social networking channels in just a few clicks. Using one extension, you can share links and content with services like Gmail, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote and Delicious. You can also use the extension to access link shortening services including bit.ly, and organize your browser bookmarks. Shareaholic works on IE, Firefox, Safari and Opera, so you can sync your extension settings across different browsers and machines
Better Music is an extension for Google Play Music. Using Better Music, you can play, pause, shuffle, forward and rewind any Google Play Music tracks from any Chrome window. The extension also provides you with notifications of track changes, and the ability to rate songs using the Google thumbs up system, and Last.fm’s “love” feature. Notifications appear in a separate pop-up window, so you can enjoy and control the music you’re listening to using the extension’s mini-player, while browsing other websites.
The Google +1 button is a quick and easy way to show contacts in your Google+ circles what you like without having to access the social networking site every time you want to share something. Once you’ve installed the extension, simply click the “+1” button at the top of the Chrome browser to like the website. You have the option to add a comment and a picture link to your Google+ profile, and select which circles can see the information. The +1 button extension also enables you to manage your privacy settings, choosing whether you share information about your +1s publicly on your Google+ profile, or whether you keep them private.
Silver Bird is the Chrome extension for Twitter that allows you to follow activity on your Twitter account while browsing other websites. The extension provides most Twitter features, and allows you to view trending topics, see timeline updates, compose and post Tweets, reply to others’ Tweets, and follow or unfollow users. The extension is highly customizable, and you can change notification settings, your display name, and the extension’s appearance.
Hannah is a freelance writer from London, UK. Having completed a degree in English, she discovered a passion for all things digital, and enjoys nothing more than writing about online communication, marketing and anything Apple-related. When she's not researching the latest app releases or ogling new gadgets, Hannah enjoys writing about personal development, yoga, and exploring the world. | Google Plus
