StumbleUpon

By Kael Martin

StumbleUpon is a great site for websurfers. Users acknowledge their personal preferences from a list of 500 topics. These topics include sports, philosophy, food, games, politics, and many more. By simply clicking "stumble," web sites with these personal interests are displayed. Users may also rate the site which also helps individuals find interesting sites.

Many times, search engines provide irrelevant information or information overload. Rather than searching for quality web sites, StumbleUpon members are taken directly to their preferred sites. StumbleUpon is an easy, community based web site. There is a StumbleUpon toolbar that is integrated in the users browser to allow for one click access to these quality sites. Also, there is a two level rating system that allow users to pass or offer their opinion on the webpage they just observed. These ratings connect people who share the same interests. The stumblers share their favorite web sites and interact with other users.

StumbleUpon is an excellent Social Media tool that can be used in organizations. I believe many organizations have not tried Stumble but its attributes could be very useful. An organization working to promote and inform the public on a developing program would be able to reach a wide range of audiences. Users will learn about the organization as well as the intent of the program.

Source:
About StumbleUpon.  (2009).  http://www.stumbleupon.com/aboutus/