I came across this article over on iA (via @gruber, I think), and was really struck by its thesis, namely:
Promising to make you look wired and magically promote your content in social networks, the Like, Retweet, and +1 buttons occupy a good spot on pretty much every page of the World Wide Web. Because of this, almost every major site and world brand is providing free advertising for Twitter and Facebook. But do these buttons work? It’s hard to say. What we know for sure is that these magic buttons promote their own brands — and that they tend to make you look a little desperate. Not too desperate, just a little bit.
Be sure to read the article in-full.
I was struck by the article and so have swept the sleaze from Literal Barrage. No more Share This/Stumble This/Tweet This/+1 This boxes at the bottom of my posts. Hopefully this helps reduce the clutter and makes reading content here just a bit more enjoyable.
Let me know if you agree.