WP Plugin: Gregarious

Due to time constraints, I cannot guarantee support for this plugin.
Not compatible with WP 2.5.

Dynamic Buttons

I’m Diggin’ it

Gregarious uses the brand new Digg APIs to generate a dynamic ‘Digg It’ button on your post that shows the number of Diggs and allows the user to Digg post. No manual work is needed - the plugin knows when a post has been ‘dugg’ and sticks the button onto your post with no effort, leaving you free to write quality content. That’s right. Just activate it, and watch your traffic shoot through the roof.

Have you reddit?

Another great social bookmarking site that features dynamic buttons is Reddit. Again, integration is no hassle. Just turn on the Reddit button from the Gregarious options page, and you’re laughing. No manual labor, no long and complicated PHP scripts, and no coding. One click and you’re away!

More Features

Wow, could Gregarious possibly have more features? You betcha! As well as merely adding Digg and Reddit buttons, Gregarious has the following nifty additions:

General Features

• Complete admin interface with options regarding all configurable aspects of plugin including styles, display options (show on post, page, home, etc.) Digg link style (button, image or text link), and more.
• Check for updates automatically so you’re never out of date.
• No template customizations or coding knowledge necessary as the plugin handles everything for you, and then some.
• Choose the position of the buttons. Do you want them before or after your post content?

Digg related features

• Uses the brand new Digg API to generate dynamic buttons.
• Gregarious automatically knows if your post has been “Dugg” using DiggDetect™.
• You decide what to show for posts which have been Dugg or those which are yet to be Dugg. You can customize the links, show a dynamic or compact badge, an image - or choose not show anything.
• Configurable “What’s this?” link, so your users know exactly what they’re up against.
• Ease up on the bandwidth by using a text link instead of an image or Digg button if you need to.

Reddit integration

• Choose between three styles of buttons, from the eye-candy laden to the minimalistic.
• Customize the position of the button easily from the options page.
• Easy to use with no work required.

Other social bookmarking sites

• Submit your post to heaps of bookmarking sites with Alex Kings’s Share This plugin built right into Gregarious (it comes integrated - no further installation needed).
• Take advantage of further customization with options for Share This in the Gregarious admin panel.
• Add, remove, edit or rearrange social sites for the Share This plugin - an indispensable feature.

Download

Version 1.9.xx

Gregarious can be downloaded from the WordPress.org Gregarious page. (The link below points to the download from that page)

Direct Download

Installation and Usage

How do you install Gregarious, the ultimate social bookmarking plugin for Wordpress? It couldn’t be easier. After downloading the package, Unzip. Upload. Activate.

The options menu should show up in your administration under Options -> Gregarious. Here’s a screenshot:

If you wish to add social sites for Share This, you’ll need to CHMOD the akst.js and akst.css files to 777. Don’t worry if you don’t know what this means or can’t do this - Gregarious has alternative methods to cope.

Configuration

The plugin will work fine immediately after activation, but you may want to change some options to customize it. Gregarious can be configured from the Options tab of the administration panel in Wordpress. Just click on the Gregarious Options link. As mentioned earlier, there are a plethora of options and choices available, so feel free to tweak it to your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

I installed and activated Gregarious, but the Digg button / Share link isn’t showing on my posts.

Gregarious uses different modules to provide all the features for your site. The PostBadge module is the one that appends content to your posts. If there isn’t anything showing on your posts, make sure that the PostBadge module is turned on, as well as the modules for whatever features you want. (For example, the Share This module shows the Share link, and the Digg button module shows the Digg button or link). Activating a module will also add options to the Gregarious options page so you can configure it.

The Share This link takes me to a separate page. How do I get the popup dialog to show?

To show the Share This popup on your site rather than linking to a Share This page, you need to ensure:

1. That there is a <?php wp_footer(); ?> call somewhere in the footer.php file of your template.
2. That there are no javascript errors on your site (due to your template or theme).
3. That there is a <?php wp_head(); ?> call somewhere in the header.php file of your template.
4. And that you’re either running WordPress 2.1 or above or have prototype.js referenced in the <head> section of the page.Gregarious no longer requires prototype.js

Generally, it’s the lack or misplacement of the <?php wp_footer(); ?> call that causes the popup not to show. If you still can’t get it working, ask me.

Template Integration

Currently, Gregarious’ feature-set includes various template tags that have been set up to be easy to use and integrate into any theme. Whether you’re a WordPress theme developer, or interested in more precise integration of social bookmarking to your blog, ask me about it.

Copyright © 2006-07 Ankur Kothari. All rights reserved.