MyLinkShares

What is MyLinkShares?

MyLinkShares is a free, anonymous, and simple way to send up to three recipients a link (or links - one on each line) to a website you want them to see, without having to log into your email account and create an email - which can take a little while. MyLinkShares is free to use, and doesn't require creating an account.

The best way to use MyLinkShares if you're an Internet Explorer, Safari, or Opera user is to sign up for iGoogle and add the gadget to your home tab. The best way to use MyLinkShares if you're a Firefox user is to use the MyLinkShares Firefox Add-on. Read about that here.

Give it a try, it's handier than you might think.

Features

Ability to send more than one link at a time.

You don't need to create an account to use MyLinkShares.

You can use MyLinkShares to email yourself links to websites you want to visit later.

It's a Google gadget, so you can add it to iGoogle!

No need to get into your email client and author a new email (more of hassle than it seems).

How Do I Use MyLinkShares?

Either go to www.mylinkshares.com, or add MyLinkShares to your iGoogle account by clicking . Then follow the directions below.

The Link(s) Box

To use MyLinkShares, copy the website address from your Address bar in your web browser, then click in the Link(s) box and paste the address into the box. Ctrl + C copies, Ctrl + V pastes.

You can put multiple website addresses in the Link(s) box on separate lines. The Link(s) box is a required field.

The To Box

In order to share your link with up to three other people you are required to have at least one recipient. Simply enter their email addresses in the To box separated by either a comma, space, or semi-colon (e.g., bob@bob.com;jan@jan.com, joe@joe.com).


NOTE: MyLinkShares will send a link to the first three valid email addresses it finds. It will stop sending emails after it finds three valid addresses. So, if you put in 50 email addresses, don't expect 50 people to get the link.

The From Box

This is where you enter your from email address (that's your email address - e.g., you@yourdomain.com). It's a good idea to include your email address in the From field, although it's not required. Doing so will have several benefits. First, the email link to your website has a better chance of making it through your recipient's SPAM filter. Second, the recipient will know who the link is from, and is less likely to delete it. Finally, if your recipient wants to reply to you, to tell you how much they loved the website you recommended, they can. If you don't include a From email address MyLinkShares is used.


One more note on the From field; the email address you enter is stored on your computer as a cookie (you have to have cookies enabled) for future use so you don't have to keep entering a from email address over and over again. If you want it blanked out, just blank out the string and send a link. The cookie will be deleted.

The Subject Box

It's helpful, although not required, to include a descriptive Subject so the person receiving the email doesn't think they are getting SPAM'd, and it's your opportunity to give your recipient a description or reason why you're sending them a link.

The ReCaptcha Challenge

In order to keep people from writing scripts against MyLinkShares it is mandatory to fill out a ReCaptcha key. It's pretty simple to use, and keeps MyLinkShares humming along democratically. To send a link you MUST type the words you see in the white box area in the ReCaptcha box verbatim. If you don't, you will get an error warning you that you can't send the link. If you can't read the words (some of them are pretty hard to read), just click the little recycle arrows on the ReCaptcha form until you get some words you can read. You can also listen to the words if you press the little speaker icon (for those that are sight impaired). If you mess something up you will have to re-gen a new ReCaptcha key by using the little recycle arrows. I'm using re-captcha because it provides security for MyLinkShares and also has the added benefit of helping a good cause. Check it out on their website.

The Send Button

Now that you've filled out all the proper information, click the Send... button and your link will be sent.

What Happens After You Click the Send Button?

If everything is filled out correctly, your recipient, or recipients will get an email with the link you sent to them. All they have to do is click on the link in their email client (such as Microsoft's Outlook, or Google's GMail, or Yahoo's YMail), and their default web browser (such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, or Apple's Safari) will open to the web page the link points to. Here's an example of what the email looks like.

Bloggers and Website Developers

If you want a quick way for your users to spread the word out about your blog or website, consider adding a MyLinkShares button to your website like the one below.

Get the code for this button here.

Terms of Use

Use MyLinkShares at your own risk. Pykyl, and all Pykyl affiliates, offer no warranty on MyLinkShares, nor provide remuneration for using MyLinkShares. If MyLinkShares is not working, or failing in any way shape or form Pykyl, and all Pykyl affiliates cannot be held responsible. Nor can Pykyl, or any of its affiliates be held accountable or liable to damage done to your computer or computer network as a result of using MyLinkShares.

Abuse. If you are found to be abusing MyLinkShares, Pykyl will take steps to stop you from using the service including technical and legal means.

Privacy Policy

Anonymity. Pykyl makes no legal claim that your anonymity will be protected when using MyLinkShares. If a warrant is served by the appropriate authorities, Pykyl will comply with that warrant. Although, Pykyl will not share your IP address, nor any other information gathered during the use of MyLinkShares with any non Pykyl affiliate.

Public Network. All links are sent over a public network unencrypted.