The technology for embedding documents into your website or blog is nothing new (see Hickory Dickory… & Reduce, reuse, & recycle ), but the appetite for features seems endless. More presentation options! More user analytics! More community features!

Lucky for us and you, a service called Issuu is giving it all away for free. Issuu is an online file storage and publishing service, and a solution for displaying all manner of publications in a clean, digital format. Users can flip through the pages of a manual, presentation, or report on your site as they would a magazine in their hand – no annoying PDF download necessary.

It only takes a matter of minutes to create an Issuu account and publish your documents. The service supports an array of file formats, including PDF, DOC, PPT, ODT, WPD, SXW, RTF, ODP, and SXI. Once uploaded, you can give your document a title, description and tags (this will make your document SEO friendly), and a link back to your site. You can also add sound to your document and specify whether your masterpiece is a public or private offering, or if you want to allow user comments, ratings, and the ability to download.

Embed codes are automatically generated to place in the HTML of your website or blog, but you also have the option of linking to a customized Issuu viewer, where you specify the background color and framing (like here). You can also send your document via email or utilize Issuu’s Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Stumbleupon, and Delicious sharing features.

Get your own – Open publication

Once your document is published, you can view usage stats through your Issuu account. See page views, referrals, keywords, and bookmarks to your document. You can also specify in your account settings if you want to receive email notifications when someone comments or bookmarks your document – a nice little feature.

Bottom line, if you need put a document online, whether it’s a makeshift catalog, company financials, or your sales documents, this is an easy and professional way of accomplishing the task. The built-in analytics and social features give Issuu that little extra “somethin” that we like to see.