My question is very simple: is there any way to (programmatically, technically, or manually) make a Google +1, Facebook Like, or Twitter Tweet This button preserve its count after a change of URI?
Programmatically: Doing something with the javascript to make it show the combined counts of two URIs while posting the new action to only the latter.
Technically: Do they detect and follow a 301 redirect from the original resource? Is there any special text I can include in the HTTP header to tell them that they should move all "points" from the old URI to the new one?
Manually: Some form somewhere on their site that I can submit or someone I can email that will be able to copy our points over to the new URI?
(note that I use URI and not URL in this question on purpose. The canonical resource link is changing from something.php?id=idnumber
to /mycoolproduct/
)
EDIT
Bounty started, but don't answer with "it can't be done"
Unfortunately, there is no solution for this. We have tried all possible solutions and you will simply lose your social equity if you do a 301 Redirect. We found it to not be worth the hassle of trying to maintain our vote counts, and have instead pointed our buttons to the homepage in the interim of moving to the new url structure.