I’m a huge fan of Apture, the web service that turbo-charges links on your site to content elsewhere on the web that presents it in a discreet popup in the page you’re reading – you don’t have to leave to read, watch or listen to that content elsewhere.

I received an email the other day from Apture CEO Tristan Harris with concise info about the new version of Apture the company is about to release, including a major new feature:

[…] The big change you’ll notice is the ability to connect multiple pieces of content. In other words: one Apture link can now be connecting content from YouTube or Wikipedia and other Apture supported web content online, making Apture links more useful and your experience as a user more streamlined.

Well, it’s now released as I discovered today when I saw there’s an updated version of the Apture plugin for WordPress which I’ve updated in this blog.

The plugin’s necessary for Apture’s functionality to work on a WordPress site (the Apture service works on a wide range of blogging platforms including Blogger, TypePad, Movable Type and Drupal).

If you’re writing posts using the built-in WordPress editor, you’ll see a brand new look to the Apture embed function (known as the Apture Media Hub) along with some new features, when you invoke it.

To do that, you click the Apture icon in the WordPress editor to launch the embed popup and choose what type of content you want to embed. So, for example, I type in a search string – let’s look for something topical: the F1 Monaco grand prix 2009, perhaps, which takes place tomorrow – which produces quite a few results for me to choose from.

And here’s what the actual result looks like on the video I selected:

Isn’t that simple?

Take a look also at the link above to "F1 Monaco grand prix 2009." Move your mouse over it and click. you’ll experience another example of the richness Apture brings to your content and a reference link you want to make to related content elsewhere. You can read some content here and now; if you want more, you go to the originating site. Pretty useful I think.

While I’m writing this post in the WordPress editor, I don’t usually compose or edit blog posts this way. Instead, I use Windows Live Writer which I much prefer.

While WLW doesn’t have the Apture embed functionality, any links I include in the content I’m writing will have the relevant Apture functionality once published – I just don’t get the granular levels of control that the embed tool gives. (Wonder if anyone would consider writing an Apture plugin for Windows Live Writer. That would be fantastic.)

I think Apture is an excellent enhancement to websites, not only blogs, and enriches your overall user experience. Take a look at these examples. Check this one, too: screenshot.

Worth trying if you haven’t already.