This is the second edition of Web Content Thursdays.
Today’s tip is about StumbleUpon, which is a great social media with over four million users.
I have to confess, when I first started using StumbleUpon, I didn’t fully understand it. I saw it as simply a way to scroll through blogs and “vote” on blog posts that I enjoyed. It is that, but it’s more too.
Here are three things that must StumbleUpon users probably don’t know:
1. There are forums on StumbleUpon (they are called groups). That’s right, you can join a forum in a topic of interest and leave and answer messages just like you can on a message board. To find a forum first you must join a group. Open the group you joinedand click on the word “discussion” next to the name of the group.
2. You can send a web page that you like to a friend. I didn’t realize this until someone else sent me a page. You send pages using your StumbleUpon toolbar. The Send to icon has the words “Send to” next to it (and I still didn’t know what it was for the longest time) and looks like a page with a green arrow coming out of it.
3. You have a blog at Stumbleupon. For most people this is just a list of the websites that they’ve entered reviews for, however you can post unique content here too. My StumbleUpon blog is: http://txwriter.stumbleupon.com/ Right now, it’s just a list of websites that I’ve reviewed.
What are your favorite StumbleUpon tips?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
5 responses so far ↓
1 Sylvie M. // Dec 6, 2007 at
I’m using the Stumble button as a free-form search engine. If you’re doing research and aren’t satisfied with Google keyword searches, narrow your selection of topics. I have about a dozen related topics, but you can narrow it even more. When you stumble, you’ll come up with all kinds of great content that you might never have found using Google. Serendipity!
2 Joanna Young // Dec 7, 2007 at
Hi Laura, I have to say I really like using StumbleUpon now I’ve got to grips with it (took a while…)
I enjoy giving things a thumbs up, and try and write a short review too.
But what I like best is finding the reviews that others have written about my posts (your good self included), learning from their feedback (which is different from comments as written for other users rather than you the site owner), and getting to know a different group of readers.
The trick to doing this is to click the little white ‘review’ button on a page of yours you know has been stumbled, which takes you to the reviews and reviewers. You can also send a note of thanks from that page (to the first reviewers) – though I think this needs to be done with moderation, having read the vitriol heaped on Caroline Middlebrook when she posted about thanking stumblers…
Joanna
3 FeeFiFoto // Dec 7, 2007 at
I really like the groups — everyone scratches each other’s backs
4 rampantheart // Dec 8, 2007 at
Great tips!One tip I would say is when you like a person’s page or his stumbles,add him as a friend.The more friends you get,the better!
5 Laura // Dec 9, 2007 at
Hi Sylvia, Joanna, FeeFiFoto and rampantheart!
There are lots of good extra tips here!
I had never thought about using Stumble as a search engine – of course a page would have to be stumbled before it could come up, so some information would never appear. Still, an interesting idea.
I have been trying to add as many friends as I can, but sometimes I forget and then I have trouble finding that person again.