Share buttons may irritate us at the moment, but they’ll continue to mature in the way they are implemented and they’ll eventually become obsolete due to device-level capabilities.

Oliver Reichenstein of Information Architects recently wrote a thoughtful and provocative article titled “Sweep the Sleaze”. Despite the broad strokes and firm tone of his piece, I’m very pleased to see a well thought out challenge to the often mindless and trend-rabid implementation of social sharing buttons. I think it’s an important addition to the discussion around best practices for social media. His general thesis brings the dialogue back to where it should have been all along – How can we tactfully implement sharing as part of a user-centered design process?

As Reichenstein indicated, each social service button has its own unique UX and flow. They also have their own set of pros and cons as they relate to improving the engagement of a target audience. In addition, they also share some general attributes that can either work for or against you, in terms of interaction and site performance. For example, the article highlights the general implications when it comes to displaying the number of times something was shared. You generally either look like a loser with a low count, or an over-shared meme, except for that fleeting period of time when the count is neither too low or too high.

In order to do something that’s better and more intelligent, content designers have to stop thinking in terms of a “bank of buttons” model. They must start exploring the features and flow of each individual sharing button as it relates to the interaction narratives they desire for their users. Continue Reading →