Technology

Sazell, a British based project, has launched a beta version of its more graphically oriented way of bookmarking interesting web pages.  As Sazell’s website explains, “Sazell allows you to share and discover photos, music, videos, news, blogs or absolutely anything on the web by creating Snapshots. A Snapshot provides a visual summary of any information available on the web.”  By separating itself from the normal “http://…” style of hyperlinks associated with the website, Sazell is unique and eye-catching.
 
Sazell has three facets of its more picturesque view of web page sharing.  First is its own homepage, which lays out Snapshots of recently viewed sites.  The default sort is by Upcoming, so the most recently added sites are displayed.  However, Sazell also has tabs for Popular and Top Rated which sort content by number of views or a 5-star rating system, respectively.  Second, is the functionality which allows you to embed Snapshots in your e-mail, blog, or Facebook site.  Finally, Sazell offers widgets for your Snapshots so you create full slide shows of your Snapshots or by using a Snippet Widget, you can just highlight the images of your Snapshots.  Again, these widgets are able to be embedded just about anywhere.
 
It should be noted that Sazell is still in its infancy.  Tech industry reviews are a mixed bag, which is understandable seeing as the final product is still under development.  EliteBlogger states, “Dare I call it Web 2.1, but it seems that sites like digg, del.icio.us, and stumble all rely on a text link, sites like Sazell and others seem to use more images and video to do the socializing.”  TechCrunch admits, “the snapshots themselves are simply clips of images and text without any additional commentary by the person who creates them. Once embedded on a page, they are pretty static. The text is not clickable, and you need to select ‘view more details’ to get the link of the original Website being excerpted.”  In a recent interview with PDA: The Digital Content Blog, Sazell founders and creators Sohaib Ali and Zohaib Khan see their baby maturing over time.  “We would like to see our company as a global leader in providing tools to make electronic content accessible across all platforms,” they projected.
 
Sazell has some room to grow.  This is a new way of sharing web content over the Digg and Reddit type of text links.  The interface for creating a Snapshot is easier than cropping and editing a screenshot on your own.  However, some reviewers are looking for even more: more dynamic interaction, the ability to edit text synopsis, clickable content within the image captured by the Snapshot.  The first growing pain of brand image has already been addressed by reformatting the initial Sazell logo from a Google-esque style to a more bland, less lawsuit susceptible one.  Also, company motto “Your Vision. Our Platform.” has also been swapped out for “Snap the Web”, a much catchier phrase that conveys more product identity.  Here’s hoping that future versions of Sazell continue to incorporate feedback that will have people changing their assessments from “Neat” to “Great!”

By Alicen Hogan