Comments on: Why do those social bookmarking links exist?

By: doctorvee » A new look

doctorvee » A new look — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:21:35 +0000

[...] have also taken the plunge and decided to add a ShareThis button, despite what I wrote about it a few months ago. I’m still experimenting with the position of this, so any ideas would be [...]

By: doctorvee » The new Scotsman.com

doctorvee » The new Scotsman.com — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:28:22 +0000

[...] step backward in aesthetic terms. It is like stepping back into the Netscape era. And why are those social bookmarking icons at the bottom of each story so [...]

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:11:34 +0000

How do I bookmark this page?

By: Socially Acceptable » Blog Archive » Changing pages

Socially Acceptable » Blog Archive » Changing pages — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:32:46 +0000

[...] bottom of story pages that allows users to Digg, Facebook etc a story. Doctorvee wasn’t overly impressed, not being a fan of little buttons and pointing out that the BBC shouldn’t be favouring some [...]

By: Hawk

Hawk — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:18:41 +0000

I have been considering adding these bookmarks to my personal blog, but have decided against do so after reading this post and others on the net. Enough is enough! Besides, I find it distracting as hell having to look at all these cutesy icons. I’m with you, if I’m browsing somewhere and want to mark something, it’s on my browser toolbar. One click and I’m there.

Thanks for the post!

By: Up Your Ego - » Changing pages

Up Your Ego - » Changing pages — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:58:41 +0000

[...] of story pages that allows users to Digg, Facebook etc a story. Doctorvee wasn’t overly impressed, not being a fan of little buttons and pointing out that the BBC shouldn’t be favouring some [...]

By: Steve Hayes

Steve Hayes — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:57:44 +0000

Yes, I hardly ever used those buttons. When I tried them I found they were less efficient than the browser toolbar, and I’ve ignored them ever since.

By: doctorvee

doctorvee — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:55:26 +0000

There is another thing that makes me slightly uncomfortable about the BBC’s use of these social bookmarking links. What processes did they go through to select those five websites instead of, say, Furl or Magnolia? If they launched this feature six months ago, would Facebook even be among them?

It feels a bit like the BBC is giving these five sites an unfair advantage. I know it is kind of necessary to choose a few to avoid icon soup, but given the BBC’s position it feels like it’s on the very border of what’s acceptable.

By: Frankie Roberto

Frankie Roberto — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:25:26 +0000

Presumably the buttons mostly ‘work’ as a reminder to people that they can bookmark the story, should they want to. So even if everyone has the relevant browser plugins installed, adding the buttons there encourages people to use them more than they might have done otherwise.

That said, it doesn’t seem right the BBC having the buttons somehow.

Plus, they need to sort out genuine permalinks first (rather than different URIs for the UK and World, Low and Hi graphics versions of the stories).

By: jameshigham

jameshigham — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:02:41 +0000

I detest them with a passion, next to Typepad Word Verification.