Posted on Tuesday, 8th September 2009 by Frank
I recently was emailed an interesting question from Meam Wye of Shining History. I was asked if I realized how closed the StumbleUpon community was. You may be wondering…what the hell am I talking about? However, some of you may no completely what I am saying. When Meam brought this up to me, I knew exactly what Meam was talking about. It has actually been a question on my mind for a while. If you are an avid StumbleUpon user, you may notice that many people will not add you as a friend. Either they have to really like what you post or know you personally. Other communities like Twitter or Blog Catalog are completely opposite. With these communities people want to meet new people and engage with one another. Although, StumbleUpon seems to be very closed.
At first, I thought it was just me that felt this way, but after hearing someone else expressing the same concern, I wonder how many other people feel this way. Is it a problem that StumbleUpon is like this? Honestly, people want friends on StumbleUpon to increase the views on content they post. Let’s face it, that’s how the majority of social networking communities are. People do like to meet new people, however they want to increase recognition of their content. So how does StumbleUpon have so many users, but so few people willing to create friendships? It’s quite bizarre to me and I really want to hear how other people feel about this topic because I’m sure many feel the same way.
I always try to be apart of the conversation by joining different social networks that appeal to me, but when one of those networks doesn’t have user interaction…how is that a “social” network? It just doesn’t seem that social when people aren’t connecting. For as much as I feel that a social bookmarking site such as Digg is flawed with getting your content recognized, at least people are willing to be friends when you add them. StumbleUpon doesn’t contain that aspect of social media at all.
The whole premise behind social media is to be SOCIAL! StumbleUpon, I hate to say it…I think your users are missing the point. Although, most of those members are apart of other communities like Twitter and will add new people there. Does StumbleUpon have a virus or something? Are people not into StumbleUpon to where they feel adding friends would be pointless. Thinking and writing about this issue ponders the question as to whether or not they should take a look at their networking strategy and where they place in the social aspect.
StumbleUpon is definitely a unique community. It does display differentiation and offers a different aspect of a social network. I believe their aspect of being social involves “stumbling” the random webpages among the internet that their users find interesting. How do you increase those views on those pages without friends on your list? It really is puzzling. Well, I have given you my take on the subject matter. I really hope you all contribute as well and leave a comment.
Why do you use StumbleUpon to begin with? Have you ever heard about the site before? Why do you think people aren’t adding each other as friends? Is the community lacking a social aspect?
Further reading:
Do You Give New Social Networks A Chance?
What’s The Best Source For Web 2.0 Information?
Possible Problems With Social Networks
Which Social Network Will Bring Guaranteed Visitors?
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Tags: community interaction, social media, Social Networks, stumbleupon
Posted in Social Networks | Comments (4)
September 8th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I like this question. I feel like I use the StumbleUpon toolbar in a really casual way. I give the “thumb up” to pages I like, and don’t pay much mind to who will care that I’m doing it. I would say that it’s much more impersonal, but not unfixable. It will have to come from their end with the interface and features that they offer.
Adam @Advent Creative Web Design
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Frank Reply:
September 10th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I agree that it is impersonal, but it can be fixed. The whole question is – how can they fix it? Everyone likes a place where people participate and interact. Now they just have to make the changes on their end.
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September 8th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I think that this misses the point a little of what stumble upon is. It really exists outside of the conscious connection. My tag-line is something along the lines of “making the collective unconscious a little more conscious” because that what it does.
[Reply]
Frank Reply:
September 10th, 2009 at 9:53 am
That’s an interesting viewpoint Jeremy. I never looked at it that way before, but you gave me a different outlook of what StumbleUpon is intended to be.
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