I'm going to try to explain it as succinctly as possible. I might fail, in which case please feel free to post questions in the comments. Also, if you're a StumbleUpon junkie and see that I missed something, please let me know in the comments as well.
The best place to start with StumbleUpon is to say what it is. According to the website, "StumbleUpon discovers web sites based on your interests, learns what you like and brings you more." Basically, it is a way to discover new sites and blogs. You rate different web pages ("I like it" vs. "I don't like it") and StumbleUpon learns what you like and what you don't. It then points you to new sites based on the ones you've rated.
To enjoy StumbleUpon, you need to create an account on their website. This account will save all of your rating preferences. I am a big fan of the StumbleUpon toolbar because it makes it easy to quickly Stumble the different sites you come across. (If you have installed the toolbar, go to a site you like - if it's a book blog, it's better to go to the individual review pages rather than the blog homepage - and press the "I like it!" button. Most likely, it will ask you to review the site. Press submit and you've Stumbled your first site!)
A lot of bloggers (including myself) have started to put Stumble It links on the bottom of their posts to make it easy for people to Stumble their reviews. This is very easy to do with Feedburner.
So why use StumbleUpon? Well, as a blogger, if my reviews and entries get Stumbled, more people will find their way to my blog. It's not a magic tool or anything, but I like the idea that random people read my posts every once in awhile! And as a user of StumbleUpon, it's a great way to find new websites. Do I like everything it sends me to? No. But the more I use it and rate sites, the more accurate it gets!
I use StumbleUpon a lot on different reviews and posts that I like. Check out the site and see if it's something you like! And I am no StumbleUpon expert, but feel free to leave questions and such in the comments!
StumbleUpon Home Page
8 comments:
Great post! I've been wanting to add the Stumle button/link to the bottom of my posts, but with my browser, I can't pull the code. I read in their forum that they are trying to fix that!
:) thanks for sharing!!
Well said!
Yes, I have often wondered what it was all about. Thanks!
Thanks! That was helpful. I only knew the general idea but you explained the details well. I've followed conversations about Stumble, Twitter, Facebook, etc. but haven't used any of them yet.
Nice post. And . . . I stumbled it!
This is a great tutorial, thank you! I was just exploring StumbleUpon last week and thinking "I don't get it!"
great post! I'll come back if I still have problems! =P
Great post! I'm really interested to try it now - it's always great to find new websites.
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