Want to tell readers what you're really doing? Add a FriendFeed widget to your blog or web site!

So, you use a lot of online services, and you're all across the Web all the time. You write your blog with Blogger, host your online photo album with Flickr, keep yourself updated with the latest news on Digg, and watch all your favorite videos on Youtube.

While you're doing all this, you hope to be able to update your blog readers with your latest activities, or in other words, you take the question "What are you doing?" and post your answer to that in your blog. So far you've been able to do so with Twitter, an online service that asks you just that: "What are you doing?." And then it lets you answer with a quick update that can't be more than 160 characters long.

Don't you see anything wrong with that? Or haven't you ever considered it ridiculous to be logging in on Twitter every other minute or so just to say, "I'm watching The Evolution of Dance," or "I just dugg The iPhone is a piece of shit, and so is your face.? Personally, I think it's a great waste of precious time. Really, there has to be something else.

And there is, actually. It's called FriendFeed, and with it you can share exactly what you are doing at any given moment on many of the Web's most popular services. And here's how to include FriendFeed updates on your blog, so you can finally ditch that unreliable Twitter badge.

The first thing that you have to do, of course, is sign up for a FriendFeed account (in case you still don't have one). If you already have a FriendFeed account, well then great. Now, the instructions.

How To Add FriendFeed Updates To Your Blog Or Web Site

You don't even need to be signed in to your account to do this. But of course, be sure to add the necessary services to your FriendFeed so that when you get your badge, all the right updates are displayed. My FriendFeed gathers my latest activity on a lot of other online services. Some of these are my latest Flickr photos, latest Blogger posts, latest Twitter updates, etc. Just don't forget to add yours in.

To add FriendFeed updates to your blog or web site, just go to http://friendfeed.com/embed?user=YourFriendFeedUsernameHere and do the following (don't forget to change YourFriendFeedUsernameHere with your user name!).


1. Add a title to your widget. I put "What I'm really doing" in my widget's title field, but you're free to choose whatever title you want. I just did that to take a stab at Twitter (*grin*). Suddenly that little bird doesn't seem so remarkable.


2. Double check your FriendFeed updates. Make sure you've added all the services you're using to your FriendFeed widget. My latest FriendFeed update even shows my last twit. It really owns Twitter.


3. Copy and paste HTML code. The last step in adding the FriendFeed widget to your blog would be to simply copy and past the HTML code where you want your widget to appear. If you're using Blogger like me, it would be as simple as going to your Page Elements tab, clicking on Add Page Element, choosing HTML/Javascript, and pasting the code in the empty field. Again, that's

Layout > Page Elements > Add Page Element > HTML/Javascript
and paste the code in the field

If you're using a different platform than Blogger, like Wordpress or Tumblr, I'm sure it would be fairly the same way. Just make sure you copy and paste the entire code without modifications.

So there you have it. An easier and even better way to tell your site's audience what you're doing. If you liked this tip, please share it with your friends. And don't forget to digg it! Thanks!

Note: You can also do this while signed in to your FriendFeed account. Just go to http://friendfeed.com/embed.