Does anyone actually use the little thingies on each post?
Agreed. If someone can explain:
- what these services are (like to dummies like me) and their differences
- how the services work or what they provide the user
- and how, by us using these buttons, they could help Brian
I think Brian may have mis-overestimated our computer-interweb-literiteness.
The point of the buttons is this: it makes it easier for readers to post/vote for stuff on "social media" sites. Social media sites basically display links to suff based on how much people have voted for them. If you get on the front page of Digg it's thousands and thousands of hits.
The catch: Digg's mostly an inter-nerd site and I don't think they'd ever go for MGoBlog content, which is way niche 99% of the time. I'd leave the Facebook one up because you can just post MGoBlog stuff to your facebook account, which your friends might click on, since at least some of your friends are probably interested in M football. Also there are a coupe sport-specific ones.
Why I'd get rid of them: they do make the site a tiny bit slower, but more importantly they're sort of useless clutter. MGoBlog is now a large, complicated site and I'd like to cut down on clutter as much as possible.
Brian,
From an entrepreneurial standpoint it's really a no-brainer.
Your two reasons for losing them:
- a tiny bit of speed is lost.
- they're useless cluttter- and very minor clutter at that.
Reason to keep them:
The potential for tons and tons of hits, which benefits everyone. While good for you on a hits basis, it'd also be good for the community. More people would know that you're here and be able to add this to their daily reading like some of us and/or become MGoAddicts like many of us.
With the implementation of reader based content the chances have increased that you'll catch lightning in a bottle, catapulting you to the front page of Digg and benefiting the site as a whole. While the two reasons you mentioned for removing them are valid, I suspect they're also things only you have noticed.
Lastly, while a lot of people didn't know what they were for, 200+ have viewed the thread and will learn. I'd say it's more a matter of people not knowing how than refusing to do so. Perhaps it's time for another MGo-Ninja Tutorial to get everyone on board???
Perhaps it's time for another MGo-Ninja Tutorial to get everyone on board???
Agreed and sure it will be appreciated.