The web browsing experience was really taking a significant turn upwards on the usability scale as simplicity and focus became mainstays in the Web 2.0 (or whatever you like to call it) designer’s mantra. Sites like 37Signals.com’s suite of apps, Flickr, and WuFoo are good examples of a this. Sites that do one thing, very well, and without distraction. Even sites that are not so “form” heavy, and focused on function achieve a similar result (see del.icio.us, craigslist.com).
Gone are the days of blinking icons and wild flashy flash intros. And thanks to Browser developers, so are pop-up ads … or are they?
Snap, and more specifically their Snap Preview service might just be the blink tag and pop-up ad of today. There is nothing more frustrating than this involuntary interference. It’s like if every time you spoke someone screeched like a monkey over the top of you. And it would seem that site developers are flocking to institute this screeching monkey faster than ever. My question is … why? Why are people so interested in cluttering up their UE (user experience)?
Don’t get me wrong. I think Snap and their technology is fantastic. Only, like everything, it has it’s place. And I’ll give you a hint, it’s not every single link on your blog. The preview obscures content and in most cases links that may be the actual target of the user. A perfect example of this is Snap’s own site.
(Navigating from the top right of the window to click on the WordPress link, this is the result)
Notice how the preview completely gets in the way. Now you have to navigate off the link and around any other links to get to your destination.
Two pieces of advice (Free for all readers, no purchase necessary)
- Do your users a favor and relegate this feature to thumbnails set off from the main content.
- Never interfere with your users’ intent. They will post inane ramblings on their blogs that nobody will ever read.
Or you might lose them as a reader.
