Content sharing service ‘This’ is now better at showcasing links, but it’s a long way from perfect

This has revamped its content sharing service that lets users post a single notable link each day.

First launched in beta last year, version two has a clean responsive interface and gives each post its own URL so it’s easier to share. It also lets you see which users have shared a particular link.

This shows you links shared by people you follow, by default. But not every new user has a large network, so there’s a handy list of 75 influential members — including publishers like BuzzFeed News, TED and The Wall Street Journal — whose shared content you can get started with when you join.

The service is nice enough to look at and use, and I like the idea of sharing only one link a day — it encourages thoughtful curation and pares down your interaction with the site so you don’t get caught up posting things purely to garner followers..

As a standalone service, it faces fierce competition from social networks and platforms like Reddit, where users can share and view content with their contacts and with interest-based communities respectively.

This also needs to work a bit more on improving its user experience. It doesn’t offer tools for easily share content outside its walls, doesn’t let you read articles or watch videos on-site and you can’t save posts to read later. Essentially, it doesn’t yet give you enough reasons to stay on the site for very long.

That being said, it’s still in beta and the company says it’s working to add more functionality, such as new filters for your homepage as well as discussion features. It will also work to expand individual link pages “for an entirely new form of community.”

➤ Introducing: This. A new home for the links you love. [This. Blog]