Add an image, video, or tweet by pasting in the URL:

Genius lets you add line-by-line annotations to any page on the Internet

Enable annotation on your own site

If you’re a publisher, you can install a simple line of javascript to Genius-activate your own site. Try it out:

<script async src="//genius.codes"></script>

If your site runs on WordPress, make your posts annotatable with our Wordpress Plugin.

Share annotated pages with everyone, no extension needed

Put genius.it/ in front of any URL to annotate and read other Genius annotations on any page on the Internet. You don’t need to download anything!

How Genius works Bringing the dreams of the original Internet into the future… Only a handful of people know that the web browser’s big missing feature—the feature that was supposed to be in from the start but didn’t make it—is the ability to annotate any page on the Internet. Since we founded Rap Genius in 2009, we’ve built an amazing community for breaking down the meaning of anything you’re reading line-by-line — whether it’s Yeezus or Shakespeare — but it’s all been confined to our site. Now, with the Genius Web Annotator, it’s possible to add context, commentary, and images directly on top of any web page using only your browser.

Check out News Genius

the flagship project of the Genius Web Annotator

News Genius is revolutionizing the way people interact with the news. Rather than seeing reporters and news organizations as the gatekeepers to information, we see journalism as an ongoing and evolving discussion between many parties. We’re a community of journalists, news junkies, designers, engineers, students, you name it, annotating new stories every day, along with original texts (like transcripts and speeches). See what we’re annotating and get involved here!

Frequently Asked Questions Where do I sign up? Right here: genius.com/signup I already have a Genius account. Do I need a different account to use the Web Annotator? Nope, your existing Genius account does the trick! I have a verified Twitter account. Can I get my Genius account verified too? Sure, email our community manager nat@genius.com or send us a message on the site with your Genius username and why you’d like to be verified. How do I write an annotation? Once you have activated Genius on a page, just highlight a line of text, click the pop-up Genius button, and say something that adds value to the page. What makes a good annotation? The best annotations confront the underlying text in some way—whether it’s a fact check, a difference of opinion, or simply an updated look at an older piece of writing. Highlight a strong word, phrase, or succinct idea. Then add your original take, coupled with: Meaty context with links to sources

Rich imagery (i.e. interesting videos, photos, infographics, archived tweets, or gifs)

A question or prompt for other readers/annotators to reply to Still stuck? Check out some of our favorite annotations by Politifact, Paper Magazine, and Lena Dunham. How do I add rich media (like links and gifs) to annotations? Many types of rich media can be added to annotations simply by pasting a link to the media on its own line. Links to images, YouTube videos, SoundCloud clips, GIFs, tweets, and bare links to other pages all turn into rich embeds when the annotation is displayed. How do I format text in an annotation? To include a hyperlink in an annotation, put the text of the hyperlink in brackets immediately followed by the URL in parentheses, so [hyperlink text displayed](URL) . For italics, surround the word in asterisks ( *word* ); for bold, use two asterisks ( **word** ). If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use any of the syntax supported by the Markdown format. Can I share a link to just my set of annotations on a page (without sharing other people’s annotations)? Yup, to share a link to just your annotations, select your name from the drop-down at the top of the annotation column, then close the annotation column and copy the link out of the browser’s URL bar. Can I share a link to an individual annotation so readers are taken to it immediately? Yup, to share a link to just one of your annotations, click on the icons at the bottom of the annotation to share on Facebook, Tweet, copy, or embed the link. What if I notice a bug? Email nat@genius.com or report it on our bugs forum. Try to include as much information as you can about what you were doing when you noticed the bug.