Marginize is expanding its social interaction features to publishers, with a new widget.  The TechStars startup launched over the summer with an engagement tool for bringing readers back in to original content sites, making it easier for them to share and comment on web content.  Extending more capabilities to the publisher set means better engagement for readers as well.

The new publisher tools aim to better contextualize the social media realm, as it pertains to a publisher’s content.  Some of the new features include a pre-populated tweet linking back to the publisher’s page, “virtual” check-ins for websites, and enhanced sharing mechanisms so publisher’s content is broadcast across the social web.

This broadcasting, though, is designed to be highly relevant to the publisher and their network, so that content is being shared to the people that matter.  Marginize’s enhanced comments and sharing tools combine a bit of targeting, a bit of marketing, and lots of organic teasers to bring this interaction together comprehensively.

“The Social Web has created a way for ideas to flow within existing groups of people, on Facebook for example. But often, ideas need to flow between people who care about the same websites. Marginize enables this by adding a space on every webpage that belongs to the visitor, so that the voice of the people can be heard where it matters, which is on the pages they are browsing,” shares Ziad Sultan, CEO of Marginize.

“The Marginize space can be seen on any page using the browser plug-in, and can now be seen natively on the websites of our early partners. This adds a layer of transparency and inclusiveness to the web. We like to call it the augmented web.”

Any service like this needs an incentive factor, to encourage readers and publishers to utilize the tools provided.  Marganize is adding badges to its feature set, as a way to incur even more activity around these check-ins and other interactivity perks.  Readers can even win prizes, which are offered directly from publishers as part of their badge rewards.

Right now, this feature is something only beta partners can fully take advantage of, but Sultan is looking to release the code for enabling publishers to create their own badges soon.  Beyond badges, Sultan tells me he “would love to see publishers…be in touch with what’s being said, bringing conversations back.

“I’d love to work with as many publishers as I can,” he goes on, so he can “figure the best way to incentivize publishers and help them add value to their readers.  A lot of people build [similar] tools.  We’re building a space.”