I recently read about Thinglink a web platform for generating interactive images for your website or blog – WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger. The service allows you to create clickable tags within images which can link to other websites as well as enabling the playing of YouTube videos, Soundcloud audio clips and now even the purchase of tickets via Eventbrite. Some of the features include:

• Compatibility with mobile devices
• Social sharing of images via Twitter and Facebook
• Functionality to embed on other site
• Real-time analytics

The creators describe how Thinglink “transforms flat images into a rich surface for object-based channels to art, music, books, videos, products, services, historical information, and advertisements.”Making it particularly suited for increasing user engagement with images/web content related to visual arts. The platform also allows for images to be made public enabling other users to collaborate and ‘tag’ them. Opening up interesting possibilities for audiences being able to add their own interpretations to a piece of photography, sculpture or a painting for example.

Sadly one disadvantage at the moment is that only the self-hosted version of WordPress is supported therefore click the image above of Tom Wesselmann’s Still Life #30 or here for my demo of Thinglink in action.

Image c/o wallyg licensed under Creative Commons.