Stumble Hard
by Michael (michael@code4life.com)
I love web-comics and soon realized with Stumble that there are a LOT of web-comics. I decided to stop giving thumbs up to every one that made me smirk. I decided to only thumbs up the ones that made me laugh out loud or to the ones I sent to friends. I want more of those, because I'll never be able to see all the web-comics out there, so I might as well see the best (totally subjective I know). It's true, not just of web-comics, but of every topic. Life is too short, so I'm going to Stumble Hard, and I figured I'd pass my thoughts on. (2/14/08 - added this opening paragraph)
There are unknown billions of web pages in existence. We can't see them all, but we don't want to see them all. We want to see the best. That's what Stumble helps us do. But, it's becoming harder and harder to find those gems with Stumble--too much clutter and too many distractions.
What Can We Do
I've given my share of thumbs up to questionably interesting sites. Maybe you have too. But no more! No "Thumbs up" for a comic strip, unless it made you laugh or made you want to share it with friends. Thumbs down to that picture of a cake shaped like a wii, or ps3, 360, classic mac, ubuntu logo, pac mac, etc...
Those sites might seem like simple diversions, and where's the harm in giving it a thumbs up? Well, We don't want\need simple diversions. We can do better. We want real, engrossing diversions. Ones that make you go "wow" and enrich life. They're out there. I've found them in Stumble. However, I have to go through 10, 20, or more time wasters to find the good stuff.
We just need to think before giving a thumbs up. How did Kok get 35 thumbs up? I truly believe everyone of those stumblers wouldn't have given it a thumbs up, if they took a second to think it over. Now, I'm not suggesting you give it a thumbs down, and if you truly enjoy the site then by all means, give it a thumbs up. Just ask the question, if I never saw this site would I care?
Go back in your stumble history and correct your mistakes. Thumb down those sites that don't make the cut. There are enough great sites. We don't need to waste time on anything less.
So I say, "Stumble Hard."
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I want you to know that I am the last resident at the 4409 home and the pictures that were done, would make me move back in, if possible.
, you have really captured the real beauty of the home, it looks nothing like it did when i was there!! wich was only september of 07 congrads to all.
~jennifercqwalker@yahoo.com~
Thanks Jennifer.
Here's the site if anyone's interested.
I agree with you.
Many of the sites I stumble on to are now are full of rehashed content surrounded by ads and shite.
Also, what's with the people who join stumble and two weeks later have already liked over 2000 pages. Do they thumb up everything?
Selective thumbing is going to make it better for both you (more tailored content) and for everyone else.
~Woody~
Yes, Stumble Upon is an excellent resource to help the overall web community find and enjoy the very best of web pages. Remember, however, that just because something is not popular does not render it useless...the web is a resource that offers many interesting "information snippets"...so yes, the popular pages should be "stumbled" but let us leave the other pages as they are, perhaps someone will benefit from their presence. Regards, Keith Johnson, Author "365 Great Affirmations"
~Keith~
Now Chew Kok has 36 thumbs up. How about that.
~Matt~
I also agree with you,
the quality content seems to go down
~vincent~
As much as I agree, this site is also stumbled
When I first joined Stumble I was also new to a computer - everything was wonderful in my eyes - I would thumb up anything and everything, now the novelty has worn off I am much more selective, to the point where my thumbs up are widely spaced - I even give the odd thumbs down.
You made an interesting point Keith, but I'm not saying you need to thumbs up what I like, just thumbs up the best of what you like. Don't settle for mediocrity.
~Michael~
The thing is, there is no automated "Garabage Collection" mechanism integrated in StumbleUpon. But that's what you would expect since SU is in principle a people powered web 2.0 service.
I think it is the Stumbler's responsibility to control the quality of websites going through. Every Stumbler should really "Stumble Hard" and help filter out all the below-average pages.
You are absolutely right.
Start by giving thumb down for every so-called "Stumble Cards". These are not funny and are in fact "SPAM".
After stumbling for a month now, I'm getting more stingy with my thumbs-up. I've given myself the rule that I MUST COMMENT or don't do it.
Also early on when individual works of art went by, I'd give them a thumbs-up because, hey, it's art and for my own art I want to be given a thumbs up as well. But now that I see how many there are, I'd rather see an entire website's homepage with art for me to discover inside, instead. Believe me, that was tough to give a thumbs-down to a Van Gogh, b
~Corby~
Wow, so much to digest, I have seen the occasional stumble card and thought it was a good thing, one never knows, and I have given a thumbs up on a few sites that I wanted to comment on, even though it was a negative comment. Maybe I should re-think and review my efforts on Stumble. I am grateful for the input and can appreciate the massive influx of mis-guided information one assumes is normal because everyone else is doing it.....
~mike~
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