Social Sharing Buttons

I don't like social sharing buttons on websites. They're ugly.

In fact, when I redesigned this very website a few weeks ago, I made the conscious decision to not include any.

Today, iA's Sweep the Sleaze blog post was making the rounds. Marco Arment's comments on the article resonate with me:

I don’t embed any sharing buttons for one big reason: they look cheap and desperate. They would devalue my voice and reduce my credibility.

For me, every other issue — clutter, load times, scrolling speed, privacy, security — is secondary to that.

If people want to share my work (which I absolutely adore), they will find their own way to do it. It is not difficult to tweet a link to a webpage.

I fail to see any compelling reason to include social sharing buttons, besides shoving down your readers' throats just how many times your post has been shared.