thanks for stopping by and posting your comments.

I understand that SPA is not meant to be a fixed element on a single page. I think this is basically why I have an issue with it – this style of mouse-over interaction is very prominent and can be overwhelming.

Pardon my metaphor, but mouse-over interaction is a bit like sesame oil. If you use the appropriate measure in the appropriate dish, it’s a wonderful improvement. But if you add it slap dash to everything you cook, it quickly becomes your least favourite flavour.

It’s clear that some people do like SPA, and some people really don’t like it. So, to me it seems like that its more appropriate to offer on a per-user basis than a per-site basis. A Firefox / IE plug-in would allow people who want it to opt-in. The current model is that the people who don’t want it need to opt-out – and since opting out involves adding a cookie, they have to remember to do this again every time they erase your cookies.

My name is Erik Wingren and I head up UX Research for Snap — the company behind the Snap Preview Anywhere (SPA) web service.

First I want to express my genuine appreciation of you sharing your experience with SPA and analysis thereof. This is how we learn and develop.

While I agree with the basic premise of your analysis of the SPA interaction, I have to state that I think the meaning you attach to your third point — “context of use” — is either unfortunate or unfitting. Please don’t get me wrong — context of use *always* matters — but IMHO the true importance and meaning of that point is lost when you compare SPA to *fixed navigational UI elements*.

Snap Preview Anywhere is not designed to be a fixed element on a single page. On the contrary it is designed as a distributed web service that enables site owners to enhance hyperlinks on their pages with preview functionality.

Again, I agree with the basic premise of your analysis. In fact, I recently posted an article on our blog where I reiterate Snap’s design objectives, acknowledge and respond to key points in the recent criticism and outline usability enhancements, aimed at solving the issues you raise and then some: The Snap Preview Anywhere Use Case

Cheers.
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Erik Wingren
Snap UX Research
erik[at]snap[dot]com