StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that allows you to quickly and easily flick through numerous pages of the internet that correlate to the certain topics that you have chosen. This enables you to filter the internet in order to only see web pages that are related to your interests which can and has proven to be a very effective tool when some creative stimulation is needed. With 512 possible interests for you to follow and stumble, there is definitely something for everyone.
This is how StumbleUpon describe themselves:
'We help you easily discover new and interesting stuff on the Web.
Tell us what you like, and we’ll introduce you to amazing web pages,
videos, photos and more that you wouldn’t have found on your own.
As you Stumble through great web pages, tell us whether you Like or
Dislike our recommendations so we can show you more of what’s best for
you. We’ll show you web pages based on that feedback as well as what
similar Stumblers and the people you follow have Liked or Disliked.
Our members have given us some pretty great compliments in the past, including describing us as “the entire Internet, all in one place,” ”an epic journey” and “a map to an adventure you wouldn’t otherwise have found out about.”
Whether you’re interested in Humor, Photography, Fashion or Sports,
we have something for you. Every Stumble is an adventure, and something
amazing is always just a click away.'
Brief History of StumbleUpon (Wiki):
StumbleUpon was founded in November 2001 by Garrett Camp, Geoff Smith, Justin LaFrance and Eric Boyd during Garrett's time in post-graduate school in Calgary, Canada.
The idea of creating a company was established before the content: of
the five or six ideas for products, StumbleUpon was chosen. Garrett
describes in a BBC
interview the moment for him in which he felt the company had really
taken off: "When we passed the half a million mark (in registered
users), it seemed more real."
The popularity of the software attracted Silicon Valley investor Brad O'Neill to take notice of the company and assist with a move to San Francisco, as well as bringing in subsequent fund-raising totaling $1.2 million from other angel investors including Ram Shriram (Google), Mitch Kapor (Mozilla Foundation), First Round Capital, and Ron Conway. Garrett Camp and Geoff Smith now reside in San Francisco, where StumbleUpon is headquartered.
StumbleUpon was owned by eBay from May 2007, when it was acquired for $75 million until April 2009, when Garrett Camp, Geoff Smith and several investors bought it back. StumbleUpon is now an independent, investor-backed startup once again, with offices in San Francisco and New York City.
The Lay-Out and Features:
This is the general lay-out of StumbleUpon. The button in the center that says 'Stumble' is the button that you click to move onto the next page, the thumbs either side are for you to like or dislike the page you have stumbled across. In the top left corner there are a few icons that enable you to do certain things. Here, I have hovered over the 'plus' icon which allows you to add the page to a list. You can have as many lists as you want which allows you to categorise the pages you like and find them easily.
For this next image, I have moved my mouse over the comment button which allows you to comment on the page you are on. This is helpful for other users allowing them to see what other people think of the page quickly and easily.
The next two images show how you can share the pages you find on other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can also search by a single interest. This means that if you have a long list of interests but would like to search for something a bit more specific, you can.
You quickly build up a large collection of likes and can access them by simply clicking on 'My Profile' in the top right hand corner of the page.
