| Jun 19 |
 Stumble it! |  Digg it! |
Here are just a few reasons why I use Stumbleupon every single day for my web browsing…
1. I love randomness
I don’t think I’m alone on this one. Many times I’ve sat staring at the google search window looking for something new. Sure, Digg and other bookmarking sites have some random content but often it’s the same old stuff. Stumbleupon gives me true randomness, and I’ve discovered sites that both make me laugh and make me record them in my del.icio.us favourites for later consumption. Often I find sites that are very valuable to me in my work as well.
2. It doesn’t involve me typing
I hate typing. It involves exercising my fingers…
3. I don’t find myself chatting to 13 year olds
Digg in particular is legendary for this one. Many of the web savvy generation are just going through puberty right now and are, quite frankly, a major reason why I don’t use Digg very much.
4. Stumbleupon tunes in to my tastes
I just love this concept. It’s very web3.0, I feel. I’ve noticed Stumbleupon has an uncanny way of finding sites that I will enjoy. Giving feedback is a great way of doing this, and the vast majority of sites I visit either get the thumbs up or the dreaded thumbs down.
I think many other users do this as well and so Stumbleupon is much harder to influence by a small pocket of cooperative digging.
5. Stumbleupon seems friendlier
I get the feeling that Digg is a bit, ummm, elitist. The fact that the whole rating system is much more behind the scenes makes Stumbleupon users much less mercenary, I feel. There’s also no apparent ‘elite class’ for people to be jealous of.
6. Stumbleupon is bigger
It’s a little known fact, but Stumbleupon is actually much larger than Digg even. More hits are sent out from the stumbleupon toolbar than all of the Digg topics put together. Digg receives a higher profile simply because it’s legendary, but somewhat temporary, Digg spikes get a lot of attention. Stumbleupon’s day-in day-out hits often pass by, under-the-radar so to speak.
7. Stumbleupon has a more diverse usership
You’d be very surprised at the kind of people who use Stumbleupon. There’s a far higher proportion of women, non-geeky, less tech-savvy people who use stumbleupon. Using a toolbar is far easier than visiting a website. Often the toolbar will be recommended from a friend to people who are otherwise oblivious of the bookmarking ‘revolution’.
8. I don’t end up reading top 10 lists..
..like this one. Digg is famous for its top 10 lists. Top10 lists are a great way to grab attention and summarise content. Unfortunately, after a while, they do begin to grate on people.
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