I’ve noticed this trend to screenshot tweets instead of copy-pasting their texts in blockquotes for some time now. On web design and technology blogs, no less. You’d think these sites who constantly write articles about HTML, CSS, web standards, usability, semantics would actually listen to their own advice.
What do people get out of doing it, though? Is Twitter really that much of a game-changer that you can now break the conventions of quoting people in articles on websites? Is it really that big of a deal to debate on how you should add tweets to articles—which is so obviously linkbait?
Are tweet pages designed so much prettier than your default blockquote designs that you feel compelled to use them instead (that’s definitely an “unsuccessful designer trend” isn’t it)? Though, consider the construction: large text, a clear indication of who said the tweet, and a fuzzy timestamp. Maybe that’s what blockquotes should aspire to be?
Are tweets such special data forms that you need specialized plugins and scripts like WP Quote, Twickie, QuoteURL to display them? Or do those exist to up one’s geek cred and feed the third-party Twitter apps machine?
Still, those aren’t as bad as web apps like tweetshots. Want to share a tweet on Tumblr? Use the Quote post type. WordPress is getting custom post types in its next major release too. But publishing platform or no publishing platform, that’s what the HTML tag <blockquote> is for.
Let me channel Steve Ballmer and say: Blockquotes, blockquotes, blockquotes, blockquotes, blockquotes. They’re not that hard to use, certainly not more than taking a screenshot and uploading it.
I understand why on some occasions using images instead of text and other data formats is preferred. They’re usually more portable when passed around in email, forums, social networks, and other communication platforms. More people know how to deal with images than URLs too. But for the purpose of quoting tweeple on websites, I see no excuse for displaying text as images.
I’ll spell it out for you in <strong> and <em>: display text as text, not as images, damn it!
Sure, screencapping tweets may not be as grave a sin as using tables for layouts, but back when that was the dominant method of creating websites, it was a pragmatic choice to make do with the technology available. The choice to use images for text is illogical today. It is confusing behavior that is inexplicably linked to Twitter’s success.
Aside from creating brilliantly art-directed articles that push the limits in with the latest HTML and CSS features, David DeSandro is redefining at least two classic site features at the same time with his Portfolio page:
The portfolio format.
Most portfolios consist of image thumbnails with either short or detailed descriptions about each project undertaken. DeSandro’s portfolio, on the other hand, contains full-width, full-height screenshots with guided markings explaining the how and why of his work, not just the what. Not only can you admire and drool over the designs, but you can learn from them as well.
The HTML image map.
The concept of image maps is sound but its execution isn’t so exciting: you don’t exactly know where to click and if you do, you don’t know what you’re clicking on. DeSandro created annotations that are intuitive and easy to navigate.
Does your portfolio need a refresh?
Your portfolio is your resume. Presenting your work and communicating your design view is critical to how others perceive you and shouldn’t be an afterthought. David’s portfolio isn’t so complex as it is well thought out. The designs are in full view; the details are straightforward. No distractions, no hype. Reexamine your portfolio page and see if yours is the same.
Blackbird Pie is Twitter’s very own tool for embedding tweets on webpages without the cumbersome, semantics-killing screenshot method. It still lacks the dead-simple interface Twitter is notorious for, since you have to enter the URL of the tweet to grab the embed code and it’s not even built into the system yet, but that’s because it’s a rough prototype at this point.
Since Twitter is an ecosystem of early adopters, it didn’t take long before a bookmarklet surfaced, which sports only a minor difference with the original code in the date format, and seems to display better on this site.
Note that this method inherits your websites styles, which means you may or may not have to tweak your CSS to accommodate it. Unfortunately it still looks bad in feed readers.
Has progress been achieved here?
I’m not sure this is any better than a screenshot. Putting aside the long-winded user flow of grabbing the code since that can be remedied once it’s built into the Twitter system, there’s an overflowing amount of inline CSS to copy and paste. The advantage to this static code, however, instead of a JavaScript embed is that the text is preserved even when the tweet is deleted.
The question remains: should people go through all this trouble to use tweets as quotes? Is there really that much more to be gained by preserving the tweet “format” over a simple blockquote? I still don’t think so.
What’s the hottest thing on the Web right now? Twitter, and a host of other dead-simple, single serving websites. If you plan on making a new web app, make it as simple as possible, if not simpler. Take Aviary’s Screen Capture service.
Just a short background: Aviary is a suite of web-based graphics applications, all named after birds. The branding concept is fantastic, if I do say so myself. The fact that they run on Flash and are essentially competing against the very maker of said platform—Adobe—is a very interesting feat in itself. It is, however, a bit premature as Flash remains hardware-intensive.
Screencapped Google.com because the doodle today looks extra-nice.
So, back to the dead-simple part. All you have to do is enter the URL of a website you want to screencap after Aviary.com and wait a few moments until Falcon, the simplified image markup editor, loads the image up. Crop, resize, add a few scribbles, and save your screenshot. Done!
Of course some people will need options, which the Capture page and the Talon Firefox add-on can provide. But that isn’t really Aviary’s achievement here. It managed to create a screenshot tool that requires nothing but entering a URL in the browser address bar. No need to wait for the app to start up, no need to remember special conventions to make sure the thing works properly.
Simple, elegant, brilliant. We will always have huge, complicated methods that will get the job done, but most of the time it’s the leaner, less intimidating tools that win us over.
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