In trying to test an implementation of top page sharing widgets for individual posts, I'm able to see TechCrunch implement something similar, but with a 2-stage process, where user must hover over the social icons to the left of the post summary.
I'm assuming this is due to optimizing page load speed by not having to wait for or see slow rendering of the external services' widgets.
Could this also be related to the privacy/analytics concerns of showing the widgets by default, as mentioned here:
Why did they use two-stage social media sharing buttons?
From a UX perspective, it seems to be unfamiliar to web users to have to hover before being able to share.
Is it more important to give a familiar experience and find other solutions to the page loading via asynchronous, non-blocking techniques?