Today was my first real introduction to StumbleUpon.  I knew the CCBbuzz blog was listed on StumbleUpon because I had checked it before, here.  However, I hadn’t, until today, taken the time to understand how StumbleUpon works. In this blog, I’m going to give you a brief explanation of StumbleUpon, as well as a quick how-to for setting up an account and getting your site, and/or blog listed in the StumbleUpon directory.

So here it is as simply as I can put it; StumbleUpon is basically channel surfing on the web. You create a free account with them and install their toolbar. Once you’ve got the toolbar in place, you get to surf through websites that randomly open based on what you’ve told StumbleUpon you’re interested in.  Just like flipping channels on the TV, you are clicking a ‘Stumble!” button on the top of your toolbar, and each time you click it a new (random) website opens.  As you visit each site, you may rate the website (by clicking a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ button on the toolbar).  At first I was confused, but now I realize it works very similar to Netflix and their rating system. For those of you not familiar with Netflix, the more movies you rate, the better their movie recommendations to you become. As Netflix learns that you love, say horror movies, but hate romantic comedies, it will recommend movies it thinks you will enjoy. I have always appreciated that feature. Well, StumbleUpon is the same thing, but for websites. When you create your account, you tell StumbleUpon what type of websites you’re interested in (e.g. business, food/cooking, etc). Then when you ‘Stumble” through websites using their toolbar, you can rate the site (keep in mind the sites that randomly pull up are along the lines of your declared interests). If you rate sites with a ‘Thumbs Up’, then StumbleUpon will try to find you similar sites. If you give it a ‘Thumbs Down’, you’re letting StumbleUpon know to cut back on that type of site. You are basically customizing your web-viewing experience. The more sites you review, the better your ‘recommended’ sites become.  It makes a lot more sense once you do it. So let’s walk through the setup process.

Step by step instructions for setting up StumbleUpon;

1. Go to http://www.stumbleupon.com/ and click ‘Sign up now”.

2. Next, fill in the incredibly simple sign-up form.

3. From here, you’ll be redirected to a page which allows you to download the StumbleUpon toolbar for your browser. I use Firefox on my mac and it installed without any complications.

The toolbar looks like this (outlined in the red);

4. Once the toolbar is installed, you’ll be asked to share the categories that you’re interested in.

OK, now that you have an account and toolbar, how do you use it? Here’s how;

1. To surf random websites, click the ‘Stumble!’ button on the far left of your new toolbar.

2. Rate the website that StumbleUpon shows you. “Thumbs Up”, or “Thumbs Down”. (You don’t HAVE to rate websites, but if you do, StumbleUpon will learn what you like and be able to better customize the sites they show you.) Keep clicking, keep rating. This is the fun part of StumbleUpon, you’re finding all kinds of websites that you wouldn’t have found on your own. It truly is ‘channel surfing’. Have fun with it!

3. As you surf the internet in your daily routine, rate sites you like. They don’t have to come from the StumbleUpon surfer on the toolbar, any site can be rated. However, if you come across a site that hasn’t been rated before, you will be prompted to enter a little info. This only happens the FIRST time a site is rated (not just by you, but in general).

What does this little pop-up box mean for blog owners? Submit your blog entries to StumbleUpon right when you first write them, so others can rate your posts. Your readers won’t take the time to fill in the info, so do it first to get the ball rolling. If you make it simple and easy for your readers, it is more likely they’ll rate your site. Once a post has been submitted to StumbleUpon, everyone else who rates it will just have to click the button and it’s done.  Not to mention. once your site has been initially rated (i.e. submitted to StumbleUpon by you), it’ll show up in the queue as people ‘surf’. Keep in mind that each blog article should be submitted individually. Take the time to go through your blog, one post at at time and click the “Thumbs up” (or “Thumbs Down” if you think your blog sticks!) and fill in the info to submit your work to StumbleUpon.

Final tips, get active in the StumbleUpon community. There are lots of cool features to explore once you’ve got the basics covered. Create a profile, rate sites, acquire friends. The more you do, the better your overall experience will be. As with any other community or group, you get back what you put in.

StumbleUpon is a great tool for businesses and blogs wanting to increase their traffic and exposure. You work hard and you’re proud of that work, so share it with the world. Tap into as many social networking sites as possible!

-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding