Comments on: Has StumbleUpon Jumped the Shark?

By: Jimmy Tsu

Jimmy Tsu — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:56:25 +0000

This is not really a like for like comparison, what SU does well is drive large amounts of traffic to a site with no guarantee that any secondary action will come of it. You want people to see your site then that’s what it does. Linkedin is surging due to the fact that many of us do not have jobs right now. Twitter is hot because its ability to allow you to vent, proclaim, shout out and generally enjoy a Facebook lite “Jimmy is” experience. SU is unique and their problem is that they do not market to potential users, rather allowing themselves to be discovered. They rely on a stumble to drives stumbles.

By: Ricky C

Ricky C — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:02:04 +0000

Actually Stumble Upon wasn’t that familiar comparing to Twitter and Facebook. The reason for this is because not so many people knowing about social bookmarking sites and if they did know, they don know what the use for.

- My 2 Cents

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Stop that Social Media Marketing Confusion! 24 No Frills SMM Tips — SEOptimise — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:03:08 +0000

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By: david

david — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:39:16 +0000

i would have to say i love stumbleupon, its sometimes painful but it doesnt seem to have the annoying failing to remember to read the cookies problem, that many of the other media sites such as Digg….

from my website traffic point, im yet to meet a media site that actually drives as much quality traffic for niche areas, their users are always more engaged and well spend more time on the site.

By: Programmer Helper

Programmer Helper — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:29:06 +0000

Twitter is like a small beer bottle. People think it won’t hurt them as much to have just one more, so they are gradually spending more time tweeting and twittering by doing just a little bit here and there.

You can use Twitter from your cell phone. StumbleUpon doesn’t seem to be quite so phone friendly.

By: Marty Weintraub

Marty Weintraub — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:36:39 +0000

@Elizabeth Able: Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I thought it was interesting that no marketers at ALL bookmarked this post in SU. I suppose for those who still maintain profiles that are “personal,” bookmarking this post would be the troll kiss of death.

“There’s also SU’s bad to nonexistent self-patrolling where predatory and sometimes libelous thumbs-downers are concerned — some people were banned who shouldn’t have been, and some who love to smear others remain untouched.”

Right, exactly.

By: Elizabeth Able

Elizabeth Able — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:28:59 +0000

I’m pasting & elaborating on in my SU review of this post, because , well, y’all aren’t talking there and I want it seen. LOL.

I suspect that many marketers jumped ship on SU after finding that SU traffic was harder and harder to come by. If one of the big draws of a social network is traffic, marketers will follow the traffic.

There’s also SU’s bad to nonexistent self-patrolling where predatory and sometimes libelous thumbs-downers are concerned — some people were banned who shouldn’t have been, and some who love to smear others remain untouched. I pulled back for a while because of that, but that’s not the sort of thing that will change what I do re SU in the long term – SU’s self-care will have more of an effect than individual users.

I’m not convinced SU has “jumped the shark” completely. I will cast a vote, wholeheartedly, for the idea that it’s got growing pains – and what online thing doesn’t. Hell, 90% of what I do every day hasn’t been around longer than a gradeschool kid.

p.s. Add some flag-waving from me about a SU API. There is a LOT of tagged, user-rated content out there, just waiting for SU to API it and then *hint* create a real (useful for users and marketers) advertising model to go with it.

By: Marty Weintraub

Marty Weintraub — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:04:08 +0000

@Michael Martinez: “Perfect storm” alright. eBay better start selling used cell phones, private islands, underwear and trinkets on SU now while the goings are still hot.

By: Michael Martinez

Michael Martinez — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:04:04 +0000

I’ve seen a decline in StumbleUpon referrals mirrored by a rise in Twitter referrals but I the economy may be part of the equation.

You can use Twitter from your cell phone. StumbleUpon doesn’t seem to be quite so phone friendly.

There are probably several “Perfect Storm” factors converging on StumbleUpon right now.

By: Promote My Site

Promote My Site — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:48:46 +0000

There’s an easy explanation. Facebook and LinkedIn are seeing a lot of traffic because people are worried about the economy and these sites are good places to connect with friends that might be able to get you a job. Stumble, Digg, etc are about the content and the relationships aren’t what people go to those sites for.