Grab It! Or Snap Out Of It!

One Man's Meat Is Another Man's Poison: Some people are snapping up Snap Preview Anywhere because they think this pop-up widget is cool and helpful. For others, they are snapping back because they think this gimmick is downright annoying or even a pain in the you-know-where.

Love It Or Hate It: Since it was made available to users sometime last year, Snap Preview Anywhere has, like PayPerPost, come under some heavy artillery fire. But not without some defensive manoeuvre by those who see some benefits coming from it.

What's The Intended User Benefit?: Erik Wingren, head of Snap UX Research says:

"In a nutshell, our product is intended to enable users to 'look before leaping', saving many people a wasted click. I will, however, be the first to admit that this is a product that some people don't like, and this is why we have made sure to include a simple method to opt-out for those who don't like it (click the 'options' menu in the upper right of the preview bubble)."

Here are some gathered views on the pros and cons. You come to your own conclusion.

Snap Pros:

• You can hover over links to make sure you type the URLs correctly.
  
  
• You can quickly test for link rot in your blogroll and other links.
  
  
• User can get a glimpse of where the link is at.
  
  
• Not a gimmick but a step forward to a new service dimension for blog readers.

Snap Cons:

• Annoying because when it hovers over a link its view is blocked by the pop-up.
  
  
• Previewing functionality is indiscriminate. Every single link on the page gets this preview.
  
  
• The technology loads more javascripts onto a page, affecting loading times.
  
  
• It draws the eye away from the task at hand, causes annoyance and loss of concentration.
  
  
• It's bling, a silly little shiney thing designed specifically to increase awareness of Snap.com.
  
  Well, to each his own. So where do you stand, folks?
  
  
  
  

Right On, Let's Get Populated At MyBlogLog!

You never know whom you'll meet in Blogosphere until, by chance or stealth, you bump into someone and discover you've found a new online friend. If both are similarly inclined towards, say, internet marketing and SEO, that would be cool.

MyBlogLog has been working overtime since Yahoo! acquired it. There has been a flurry of activities on this social networking site with more and more sign-ups coming on board each day than you can shake a thumbdrive at!

I see there's a scramble to be "in" at MyBlogLog. Correct me if I'm wrong in my perception. The other observation is that there's a more matured crowd here than say, StumbleUpon. Do we need to mention MySpace? And don't say you haven't seen some notable blogs or familiar faces at MyBlogLog.

Sheesh, this place is getting populated!

There's a powerful current flowing through this neighbourhood. If you had read "The Long Tail" then you'll begin to see a good example here where "amateur blogs are sharing attention with mainstream media."