Generally, people born in this year are considered to be intelligent and aware, often ambitious and interested in possessions, cunning and sometimes devious.In the Chinese horoscope, though, the element you were born in is also considered to be important, so there is a difference between wood, water, metal, earth and fire snakes. For example, fire snakes are thought to be more open and extrovert, while earth snakes are quieter - you can see more about this here.
People who believe in astrology have mixed feelings about the Snake sign - there is an idea that people with this sign can have a dark side to their character, but on the other hand they are also associated with great charm, charisma and wisdom and other excellent qualities. To be honest though, there is no evidence for any type of character being based on year or month of birth, or any of the horoscope beliefs from east or west - so while it may be interesting to find out about your year or star sign, it doesn't really make any difference.