Basic Overview for New StumbleUpon Users

When I first discovered the different social media communities I immediately fell in love with StumbleUpon. It’s simple, it’s easy to use and it has more opportunities for instant gratification than most other social media and social news sites. You press a button on your toolbar and voila! A random site chosen just for you based on an algorithm that no one really understands!

If you have never encountered StumbleUpon before it’s easy to get started. All you have to do is download the StumbleUpon Toolbar and register with a username and email address. The toolbar is available for Internet Explorer and Firefox but if you’re not ready to commit to being a registered user you can try a demo that is very similar to the real thing. It’s a great way to get started if I don’t convince you that StumbleUpon is the best thing since sliced bread by the end of my spiel.

I love StumbleUpon in part because you can choose how much interaction you have with other users. If you are simply interested in discovering new and interesting content it’s easy to ignore the other users completely. You just need to maintain your interests and remember to “thumb up” sites you like and “thumb down” sites you really dislike. This makes it easier for the algorithm to point you towards sites that it thinks you will like the most. If you would like to participate in the community, friends are a great way to discover new sites too. There is an art to making friends but the key is to find people with whom you share similar interests. You can communicate with new or potential friends using the reviews and messaging features. Seasoned Stumblers are more than happy to give a hand to new Stumblers all you have to do is ask.

StumbleUpon doesn’t require you to participate in the discussion the way some social media sites do. The Stumble experience is whatever the Stumbler wants it to be. You pick your interests and your ratings, reviews and tags help fine-tune your preferences. If you want to engage in discussion every page has access to a place for comments. To see the comments click on the little dialogue balloon in your StumbleUpon Toolbar. This will take you to a separate page where you can see what other Stumblers are saying about the site. It’s difficult to engage other Stumblers in a debate this way because most Stumblers will not return to a page they have already visited. If you are looking for debate with other Stumblers the best places to go are the Groups. These are a good way to find out what other Stumblers are up to.

Just remember that StumbleUpon is what the Stumbler makes it. It can be a great diversion, a source of inspiration or a way to meet new online friends. Don’t worry about submitting super-popular content or making lots of friends quickly. Take your time, get to know what you like and what you don’t like and don’t be afraid to say why. StumbleUpon is nothing without honest, active and interested Stumblers.

When you are up and running with StumbleUpon check out my SU Blog or keep an eye out for MaryMurple.