StumbleUpon Sucks - Or Does It?
Oh, wait, no it doesn’t. So why would I write a headline like “StumbleUpon Sucks?” Well, to be honest, I wanted to outrank the idiot who actually thinks that and is sometimes ranked #1 on Google searches for that phrase! UPDATE: this page is now ranked third on Google for StumbleUpon sucks’ - thanks to the power of you Stumblers! Heading for number 1!
In point of fact, StumbleUpon does not suck at all. It is a great tool both for meeting interesting people and for finding amazingly interesting websites. Frankly, I have discovered more interesting graphic design, political commentary and other off-beat sites through StumbleUpon than through many other sucky social news, networking and bookmarking sites.
Why should you believe me? Well, they don’t pay me to say this, so that’s a start. Just download the toolbar and try it yourself. Set some random keywords about stuff you like and come back here and tell me you don’t like it! If you DO like it you might want to link back to this post so it outranks that other one.
StumbleUpon is better than Digg in my opinion. More focused, less idiots.
I only know it brings a lot of traffic to my web site
I agree with you there Mike … I light the highly-targeted tagging system - it lets you really search specifically for what you’re looking for. Digg, while its tags are broader in scope, to my mind is actually far more narrow in its content - because only sensational stuff makes the front page.
I like StumbleUpon too. I finds lots of cool and interesting sites that I otherwise would have never seen, and I’ve made a few friends over there as well.
I think StumbleUpon is fascinating. Great site suggestions and usually very right on topic to what I want to see. There is no wading through the inconsequential posts or articles submissions. Also, it is very democratic with your own site submissions as well, the more you use it the better your own submissions do. It really is the peoples social media versus the more techy oriented sites.
StumbleUpon is better then digg because there are various ways to get it, that idiots and dumb people wouldn’t ’stumble’ (look) for!
StumbleUpon is definitely one of the greatest things to hit the web in a long time. I don’t really use it for meeting people or anything, but I’ve found some of the most interesting sites through it, and it’s a great way to waste time when you’re bored. Plus if a site hits the first page of Dig it often goes down from server load, SU spaces its traffic out so very rarely will you get SU users overloading a host, just bringing a lot more traffic to it
Stumbled upon this post. Enjoy the site and unique approach. I’ve been stumbling more than I’ve watched TV for the past two weeks.
Agreed on all counts. Thanks for responding - I just checked Google and this post is ranking higher and higher for the targeted search phrase, which is great. I just want people who learn about StumbleUpon to see both sides of the issue, which is why I was still willing to link to the person who trashed it!
It is indeed cool. It is indeed naff (you guys in the US had better ask someone from the UK what this realy means). It is not too bad and a hell of a lot better than digg or slashdot.
I like it.
Keep up the good work! How dare *anyone* criticize are beloved SU — what would we do without this tool?! I hope that I can do my part to push you up in the SERPs for this nasty keyword phrase. ;-)
StumbleUpon has, quite literally, changed my life. The highly-targeted stumbling has provided me with endless topics within my interests and simultaneously expanded my interests. I’m stronger in my knowledge of topics I care about, and have learned about important matters I would never have known about without it. As well, it’s an amazing source of endless entertainment.
StumbleUpon most certainly does not suck, and I’ll be adding this page to my SU blog to hopefully further boost it in Google’s rankings.
You know, reading what TurboFool just wrote got me thinking. I use Digg and Reddit sometimes, but more and more stick to StumbleUpon. I think the attitudes on StumbleUpon are generally better, and I do learn a lot from using it - whereas much of what I see on Digg or Reddit are hyper-hyped stories and one-off humor. Don’t get me wrong, I love the funny pages too, but StumbleUpon really is somehow more timeless, and the people on there are just … friendlier, IMHO.
Welp, I want to see websites about topics I’m interested in - but Stumbleupon doesn’t *actually* do that. I gave my topics, signed up… but there’s no connection between what I selected and the “popular” etc websites I’m pointed at. My whole reason for doing this was because I’m generally not into the Popular.
Yup. StumbleUpon Sucks.
Soup: you do have to give it time, and pick your categories carefully. Some examples that might help
(1) If you’re into alternative comics about sponge-throwing ninjas, don’t expect the ‘comics’ category to service your needs. Try finding those sites you already like and Stumbling them, so the system knows what you’re interested in.
(2) Pick Stumble ‘friends’ who have similar specific interests - not just categories of interest.
(3) Stumble for a bit - give the system a sense of what you like and don’t like, so it knows what to feed you.
(4) Try Stumbling by a specific tag rather than just through all your categories. Into street art? Stumble with that keyword phrase and see what you get - you might be pleasantly surprised.
Personally, I’m into street art and guerilla marketing - there is no ‘meta-category’ for either of those. I had to find other Stumblers into that stuff and Stumble a few pages on my own.
StumbleUpon does suck~
It’s as trendy as an iPod/iPhone/some iMac crap
You’re ranked number on google for stumbleupon sucks now
congrats
Just as a matter of interest, why do you want to be number one at google for a phrase that is the OPPOSITE of what you think? I personally am sick to death of going to sites that DO NOT do as advertised. If you are wanting to piss people off, good job.
@keke - trendy? LOL! Most people I know think I’m a geek for using it - how on Earth is it anywhere near as trendy as an i-anything?
@Jill - On my searches this post still comes up third, and that one first - but I think it varies from browser to browser.
@Mark - OK, two things. (1) This site has a long history of pissing some people off while pleasing others - sorry, but that’s what happens with any controversial opinion, stance, attitude or goal. (2) A lot of people try to learn more about things by searching for the negative. I am proud to say I have had top search results for people searching for a particular scam site that rips them off - SEOing (Search Enging Optimizing) for a negative keyword string can be as help as SEOing for a positive one. In this case, the person who WAS ranked #1 for ‘StumbleUpon Sucks’ was misrepresenting the site, so I wanted folks to see this post - where I describe it positively/neutrally - but also not to cut them off from his negative post. Basically, I wanted them to see both sides of the issue - not just one. As such, I wrote a positive/neutral opinion of my own AND linked to his negative opinion - so people can decide for themselves!