Robert Scoble interviewed Matt Mullenweg at Big Omaha in May of 2010. The recorded video of the interview just went up (also embedded below), and we were able to pull a couple of gems. The quote from the headline came from this back and forth:
Scoble: Some of the UI that’s changing about blogs is these toolbars that I’m seeing. I just put one on my blog that has Twitter and Google Buzz and Facebook on the bottom on my blog. What’s your opinion on those?
Pre-bearded Mullenweg: I think they’re kind of like the mullet of websites. [laughter] I don’t like them. [laughter]
Scoble: I’m keeping mine anyway.
Pre-bearded Mullenweg: I understand.
Jump to around 13:40 in the video embedded below for that funny bit.
The conversation then turned to social website integration into websites, where Mullenweg explained “the thin line” walked over at WordPress.com, where instead of adding Facebook “Like” and Digg buttons when users ask for them, they instead ask “Will people be asking for this in three to five years?”. He said they then typically wait for the “fad” to pass, pointing out that users don’t ask for Digg buttons any more.
Regarding traffic from social sources, Mullenweg commented that more WordPress.com users send their posts to Twitter over Facebook, and that most incoming traffic to WordPress.com comes from Twitter as well.
The interview is only about thirty minutes long, and a number of the questions came from Twitter and Google Buzz, through Scoble’s iPad. What questions would you ask in an interview with Matt Mullenweg?
Oh, and who out there has worn a website mullet, as they will now be known? Go on, fess up in the comments!
It’s hard to argue with his logic on the toolbars and such. Although I don’t mind sharing type buttons in the content area itself.
I agree, there’s just something about those toolbars that I just hate. Maybe it’s the one-size-fits-all unoriginality of them. Or maybe because they’re ugly. Or maybe both.
Funny, WordPress 3.1 adds a toolbar to your site.
Hehe, I held off mentioning that in the post. The toolbar is just for logged in users though, right?
It’s different for that, because the toolbar is for your site and provides handy actions for you to do things. It doesn’t show up for all users.
I think the problem with most social bars is that they feel tacked on and trashy. When a designer really thinks about their placement they can look great. Dribble has a ton of examples, like these:
http://dribbble.com/shots/56126-I-love-Gedy-s-social-media-icons
http://dribbble.com/shots/85899-Friendly-Social-Footer
I sported the Wibiya mullet for a few months but took it off about a year ago. I decided I wasn’t a big fan of them. The concept is cool, but it really hampers a website’s style.
I have the “website mullet” on a number of sites and while they may be aesthetically unpleasing, there is no denying the functionality they can add and their ability to create/retain traffic/
I have used a mullet *hangs head*
In fact it’s till up my my blog @ http://thagoat.com
The key is that it’s totally a personal choice. Obviously Matt thinks one thing, but it’s okay to disagree with him.
I’m not familiar with data re: traffic and them either, but I hear from mullet advocates that it does help retain traffic. I don’t know one way or the other really, but I think there could be an argument made for having them around. Just don’t use one to use one. Have an argument, a purpose behind it, and I will respect your mullet
I agree with the tool bar. When I first saw one I was wow, i gotta get me one of those, then as the newness wore off, it was bugging me. I reminded myself that simplicity is a good strategy.
Social Toolbar Pro has a great design and can be branded to any website http://socialtoolbarpro.com