If you share content on Facebook and Twitter, then we have good news for you. Imagine if instead of sharing entire web page you could simply share precisely that paragraph or photo or video or whatever you want without worrying about other elements such as ads or navigation or what-have-you.
Pluck is a free Chrome extension that lets you clip whatever elements you like on any web page and provides you with a direct link to share it with others by any means you like, via email or on Facebook or Twitter, or keep it for reference etc.
It lets you highlight what you want and delete any highlighted elements that you do not want included in your link.
Getting Started
Using Pluck is really simple and straightforward. Simply install the extension using the link given at the end of this post. Once installed, you can use the “P” icon will in the Chrome taskbar to invoke it. Head over to the page from where you want to share the content or image and click on the extension icon, and then highlight the content that you want to clip on the page once the popup header appears. You do not need to get the highlight right on the first try: if you want to remove or add sections to what you highlighted, you can simply click on the elements you want to add or remove. Clicking on the ‘Preview’ button will show you exactly what you have shared, and you can go back and edit it if you need to.
Currently, the extension only support Facebook, Twitter or direct link which can be shared with anyone you want. The clipped content, by the way, will be stored and is viewable on the Pluck domain, not the original site.
My Verdict
If you regularly share useful information you come across on the internet with your friends and colleagues, or if you like to clip, archive and reference information then Pluck is a must have extension for you.
The PROS:
- It is VERY easy to use.
- You can share specific content such as a video or image.
- Clipped content is available even if it is removed from the original site.
- It references the original URL, so there is a way to get back to the original site.
- You do not have to log in or create an account to use it.
The CONS: the only cons I could think of are
- It would be convenient to be able to create an account and access all your Plucks in a single place.
- There are similar tools such as InFocus, that allow you to highlight a part of an image, which Pluck cannot do.
- One thing you should take care of is to make sure the page is loaded fully before using the extension. Otherwise it might take a long time for the extension to load.
There are other extensions to do what Pluck does (such as InFocus, mentioned above), that reference the clipped page and do not store your content on an entirely new page, but Pluck wins on convenience and ease of use both, A winner!
Feel free to share your views if you tried Pluck.
