10 Browser Extensions You Won’t be able to Live Without
This blog post contains affiliate links.
Are you addicted to browser extensions? It would seem that I am! Over the years, I’ve discovered some amazing extensions that enhance my productivity and effectiveness, and I thought it was time that I share them with you.
There are so many to discuss, but in this article I am going to discuss 10 which I think you will find very useful.
Can you live without them? Well, technically, yes- you will still live! However, they are going to make your online life easier and help turbo boost your productivity!
#1 Friends+Me
For many, Google+ remains “yet another social network” that they have to manage. There are some distinct and major advantages in using Google+. I’m not going to go into detail as to why in this post- I’ll let Mike Allton convert you in his article “How to make Google+ your favorite social network“.
In effect, Friends+Me forces you to post to Google+ first, but allowing you to selectively cross post to your Facebook profile, pages or groups, LinkedIn profile, pages or groups, Twitter profiles, Tumblr accounts, Google+ pages or even app.net! It understands the differences in mechanics between each network too- and converts your post into the best format for that network. For example:
- Twitter: Only posts the title as well as an image from the article you are linking to.
- For Tumblr, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ pages: it posts the whole article with the option of linking back to the Google+ post.
This gives your Google+ profiles and posts more traffic and you will gain more followers. Friends+Me also supports scheduling, so you can space the posting of your content throughout the week.I’ve been really happy to be part of the beta testing team for the new Friends+Me extension for Google Chrome. It’s an amazing addition, and it allows you to share content via Friends+Me as you go about the web. If you find an article you want to share to your social networks, the Friends+Me extension will allow you to post directly from that page- just by clicking a button. Best of all it’s free.
#2 MightyText
#3 Buffer
Buffer is a fantastic social media tool that allows you to schedule posts across pretty much all your social networks. It integrates with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ pages and even app.net. The Buffer browser extension allows you to share an article you come across on the web to some or all of your networks. It’s very easy to use and allows you to selectively cross post, schedule or post straight away. In some ways, the Friends+Me extension is more powerful, but Buffer is still a really great tool and easy to use.
#4 Riffle
Riffle from CrowdRiff gives you detailed information on your Twitter followers just by clicking a screen name within Twitter. It’s handy to see a Twitter user’s Klout score, influence/engagement rating and tweeting pattern all from within Twitter!
#5 CircleCount
CircleCount allows you to find influential Google+ users within a particular market and/or location. You can then follow them or add them via Circloscope (another tool I’m recommending). The CircleCount extension gives you more information on a user, including their ranking, number of +1s, reshares, location and interest tags. Ronnie Bincer, The Hangout Helper, gives more information on the CircleCount extension here.
#6 Evernote Web Clipper
#7 Sidekick
#8 RiteTag
RiteTag helps you be seen more in Twitter by displaying the popularity of hashtags in real time. They constantly analyse hashtags in Twitter to see what is currently trending and it can alert you when you are using an overly popular or underused hashtag. It’s very easy to use, and integrates fully with the Twitter website.
#9 Klout
#10 Circloscope
Which Extensions do you use?
I haven’t shared all the extensions that I use, but they are ones I use every day. I am sure I have missed some of your favourites out. If so, let me know in the comments below!
Thank you so much friend this is very good article and important for the many people.
Thanks, that is lovely of you to say! Ian
Hi their: Bro You have told of lots of great extension but i have a problem my chrome every time i restart my laptop resets its setting and all its extension can you help me with that. and please is their any extension to use whatsapp with out mobile connection.
Thank you.
It’s best to completely uninstall Chrome and reinstall it. Something is causing it to crash. Ian
Ian – a nice and informative post. I am a huge fan of Chrome Extensions and definitely going to try at least three of them. Cheers
Great, glad to hear that Ahmad. Let me know how you get on! Ian
Do you know the best tool for Instagram that’s reasonably priced? I’ve not been able to find anything promising that doesn’t cost a fortune.
Great question. I’m in the process of researching this for an article in the future. What exactly are you trying to do? There are a few tools such as HootSuite that integrate with Instagram and I know AgoraPulse are looking at adding Instagram in the future. The problem is that their API doesn’t allow posting via 3rd party apps – you can only post via your mobile app. 3rd party app developers have found ways round this, but they’re effectively horrible hacks that could break in the future. I’ve even heard that they have loads of smartphones connected to their servers to make it work!
I’ve not really had the chance to play around with many of the tools yet. You could have a read of this article on RazorSocial – http://www.razorsocial.com/instagram-tools-to-grow-your-presence/ also this might help too- http://www.freshegg.com/blog/social-media/instagram/top-6-tools-instagram
If you let me know what it is you’re trying to do with Instagram I’ll get back to you.
Thanks. Ian
I’ve tried AgoraPlus but honestly felt it didn’t add anything new. It seemed to just take Facebook’s data and put it into a prettier interface (but with less data.)
I need something for engagement on Instagram (as with all social networks.) We can add 7,500 accounts but I want to be able to connect with the right 7,500 people, the ones who take an interest in me as a brand, those who will help me grow. Circloscope for Google+ so far is the only 3rd party service I’ve found across any network that is nearly identical to what I’m looking for.
It might just be that AgoraPulse isn’t for you. However, I like the fact that you get Twitter and Facebook in the same tool and the reports are great (I particularly like the Powerpoint export). There’s even a CRM. I was quite excited about them adding Instagram.
I see what you’re getting at with a tool for Instagram. It would be great if there was a Circloscope for Instagram. Unfortunately there isn’t something quite like that, but I’ll have to do some research to see what tools are available.
I may check on it again as at the time I wasn’t pushing Instagram heavily like I am now. Do you know any service for Instagram where I can download a file which includes the usernames of everyone who I follow? I’ll even spend the time to manually track my engagement if needed, but not having to input all the names would be a big time saver. I’ll check into AgoraPulse again soon. Thanks
AgoraPulse doesn’t have Instagram yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they have add it by the start of 2015.
I’ve not come across a service that allows you to download a file where you can track people you follow.However, have you checked Unfollowgram? I’ve used it a little in the past and it seems to work ok – http://unfollowgram.com/
I’ve also used IconoSquare – http://iconosquare.com/
I’ll need to spend a bit more time researching all of this when I write my Instagram article, but I hope that helps for now.
I’m currently using the Followers+ app, but it’s very basic. It’ll show ghost followers (those who have never interacted,) and the top 20 or so likers and commenters, but aside from those features it’s not too useful. My objective is to populate my list with people who become true fans, so being able to sift through and delete the non responsive is my top priority. Followers+ would be OK if they just let us specify time intervals instead of it just being back to when the account was created.
Interesting. Not used the Followers+ app before. Have you tried the apps I mentioned above? They might help. If only someone could develop Circloscope for Instagram we’d be sorted. Maybe I’ll mention it to them!
Hootsuite lets you post to Instagram
It certainly does. This is great if you only want to use one tool for everything. Personally, I prefer using Later (used to be called Latergramme) but if you are a Hootsuite user it makes sense to stick with Hootsuite for Instagram.
Ian
I use none of these and I continue living quite happily, despite the assertion of the title.
Hi Nicole, love this! I am glad you are living happily without these! I can certainly say there is more to life than browser extensions. However, the title was intended to be “tongue in cheek” and hyperbolic (as most successful blog titles tend to be). It certainly got you clicking on the article and being kind enough to leave a comment. Perhaps I should have called it “10 Browser Extensions that can help a little when you are browsing”, but not sure that would do so well. Please do come back soon. Best wishes, Ian
Fantastic! You got me! You’ve really made my day. My husband forgot my birthday today. You’ve more than compensated.
Glad to hear that, and happy birthday. Husbands quite often rely on their wives to remember dates and birthdays, and so there is obviously a break down when it is their wife’s birthday. The only way I remember is because I have everyone’s birthday on my Google Calendar. Sounds like he needs to do the same!
A few new ones in there for me, thanks for sharing Ian, and happy birthday again
Thanks, Ashley. Not sure how I missed your kind comment. I had a lovely birthday thanks. Have you had a go at any of the new ones yet?
I use several of the extensions on your list, including Buffer and Evernote. I also use Hootsuite, Pinterest, LastPass, and Pocket … and I just realized that the Klout extension has been sitting unused for some time. Thanks for the reminder to start using it again. =)
Thanks, Deb. In fact you reminded me of one I really should have mentioned- LastPass! Such an amazing tool- makes you secure and it makes filling in passwords so easy. I did try and keep this list to extensions that helped with social media and messaging, but I’ll have to leave LastPass for another time!
I also use Pocket, and it integrates well with Evernote and Feedly (as well on my mobile device). I’ve not a massive fan of Hootsuite, so I prefer to use Buffer and the new Friends+Me extension for posting and scheduling content. Thanks for you comment! 🙂
Friends+Me is on my list to test out. =)
Fab! Let me know how you get on.
great list, had 5/10 .. Ritetag, Buffer, Klout, Evernote Clipper, Sidekick.. Ritetag is probably my favorite fo the list 🙂 I use Pushbutton in place of MightyText, but have used Mighty Text in the past.. The rest are awesome, thanks for the hookup 🙂
Wow, 5 is pretty good going! I only discovered a few on this list relatively recently (SideKick and RiteTag). How is Pushbutton different to MightyText?
Thanks again for your comment!
Pushbutton when tethered with Evolve SMS is the most powerful mirroring and SMS/MMS convertion on the market.. Its been compared to WhatsApp.. Pushbutton also allows for intra device shares of links, media, and data.. Their API makes them one of the most powerful communication tools on the net 🙂 Why no SEO or Pagerank Extensions?
Wow, I am going to have to check Pushbutton and Evolve SMS. Sounds great.
The reason I didn’t include any SEO plugins was purely down to the length of the article and wanting to stick to social media related extensions. What SEO extensions do you use and recommend? I’d also want to include LastPass which I wouldn’t do without.
Personally, I like this chrome extension, which adds a ability to send links to friends simply, directly and privately – Stacks Extension – http://stacks.in https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stacks-link-sender/hldinpfplalidedlgakgkcpkhadbbjoa
Thanks, sounds like an interesting extension. I’ll have to check it out!
This is a powerful list of tools! Thank you for compiling them.
No problem! And of course I just had to include NOD3x, which although is not a browser extension, integrates very well with one!