Blogging at Sandbox
Sandbox is Smart's new social networking website which aims to connect people both through mobile and web. This is a great way to communicate locally. Jayvee Fernandez, a tech blogger and also UNO magazine's tech editor, explained it better here.
The problem is, we already have established social networking websites that are far easier to use compared with Sandbox like Facebook and Friendster. I think Sandbox has a lot of potential - after they fix their usability issues.
My two cents on Sandbox after the jump.
1. The interface
The Good: The homepage is packed with content, you will be able to see your photos, inbox, happenings, new mail, notifications etc, all on the homepage. There's also a neat little sticky sidebar to view your friends etc.
The Bad: Once you log in to the Sandbox homepage, the login button requires some thinggamajig that doesn't work when you press enter. And when you go to "your groups", there are only 4 items on the "happenings" sidebar and there is no scroll down or next button. That also applies for other stuff on the sidebar like the "Recent Groupies" or the "Recent Photos" widget.
2. Uploading content
The Good: You can blog, add photos, upload photos both through email and MMS. Very convenient especially for bloggers who want to upload content on the go.
The Bad: Most of the time, my MMS or email uploads don't go through. And I hope they put a WYSIWYG editor on the blogging platform they're using. I can't even embed photos from other photo sharing websites, so I'd have to upload them again on sandbox. Double effort on my part.
3. Mobile Sites
The Good: You can view mobile versions of your favorite blogs through Mostyle and Sandbox.
The Bad: You'd have to log in to Mostyle (another website) to update your blog. This blog is separate from your Sandbox blog. It makes everything so confusing.
I'm just thinking out loud here, and if there are updates to Sandbox's features, I'll update this blog post. I think I'll appreciate Sandbox more once it hits mobile. I'm often bored out of my wits during train rides, so I usually use Smart 3g to browse my social networking websites on the go just to be entertained. And when Smart allows free browsing through Sandbox on your mobile, I think that would explode like crazy - with people both reading and uploading original content.
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