Just a few weeks ago LinkedIn announced their new blackberry app, allowing you to take LinkedIn with you wherever you go.

I have to admit I was already macgyvering a way to do this. I synced up my blackberry to Outlook and then downloaded the Linked-In Outlook plugin. This made life slower but eventually all my contacts ended up on my phone (more on this here).

LinkedIn must have had the same thought I did. All those connections are great but I need to be able to access them easily from my phone. There’s just no point to connecting if I can’t call them up.

But its more than that. For a long time I categorized LinkedIn as a lesser social media platform. It was for getting business cards stored logically and paper free: that was about it. Don’t get me wrong, I know it has more features and some people use it very effectively in their business. But the lack of real time updates and notifications shoved it in to the I’m-too-buzy-to-devote-that-much-energy-right-now category.

But much like my recent post on how Twitter is ineffective without apps; LinkedIn is ineffective without mobile. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot more with LinkedIn in the next few months.

(Additional Note: If you watched my last video blog you’ll know my blackberry, may it rest in peace, finally keeled over. So I have not actually gotten to try the LinkedIn blackberry app. However, I got an android and downloaded a Linked-In app. Even though its not an app developed by LinkedIn, I’m still excited to test it and discover all the things I’ve been missing!)

I’ve got this really bad habit of gushing about things I love: Wordpress, Twitter, kittens… well I have a new and brilliant tool I want to share with you. The problem with many browser plugin/apps/downloads is that they clutter and aren’t very user friendly anyhow. But not Shareaholic! Observe:

Before Shareaholic.

After Shareaholic.

But what does this wonderful and non-space hogging button on my browser do?? you may be wondering quietly to yourself. It might as well be a portal to the end of the universe as far as I’m concerned, its just that spectacular. No really, it lets you share stuff… everywhere! You know how it goes. You’re on a site, or reading an article and you are like “Wow, this is brilliant. Everyone should see it.” Then you have to copy the url, open an email or Twitter or Facebook, paste it and hit send. And you have to do that for every place you want to share it to. No longer! Just click the Shareaholic button and a drop down menu appears, select where you want to share your info and bang, done. All that’s left is customizing and waiting for all the feedback. (Random Tip: you don’t have to just share publicly, Shareaholic will let you link to your email or to private Facebook messages as well.)

I know what you’re thinking: “Okay, I’m sold, how do I get this amazing button of awesomeness?” Easy. Just go to Shareaholic.com and pick your browser. (It even works for those shameful people who don’t have Firefox.) Then download, and the happy little green icon will appear on your browser. Note: downloading this will not hurt your computer, not spyware or anything like that, your hard drive is safe!

Not convinced yet? Shareaholic works with about 50 services already and there’s even a video I found on their lovely blog: