StumbleUpon Networking: How to Easily Share Content and Build Relationships

StumbleUpon is a great way to not only share interesting content you come across, but also your opinions on various websites or issues. By thumbing up and reviewing a website, you give it more exposure by increasing the possibility that others will view it as well.

But that’s not the only way to share a website that you like; you can also use the toolbar to send any webpage directly to both your StumbleUpon friends and other non users as well.

In fact, there are some very good reasons why you should do so.

This article will examine the various ways of using StumbleUpon to share content directly with others, while studying the numerous benefits that arise when one disseminates web pages and shares opinions in this manner.

There will also be various tips on how you can use this StumbleUpon feature to network and connect with audiences that are interested in you or your website.

A Brief Introduction: What is StumbleUpon?

StumbleUpon is a web service which allows you to channel surf the internet by using a specific toolbar which serves up random webpages whenever you click on the ‘Stumble’ button. You will then have the option to rate and review these websites, thus sharing them with other StumbleUpon users.

StumbleUpon is also a social networking site which allows you to meet like-minded individuals or groups who share the same interests as you. For a more detailed introduction, please read this extensive beginner’s guide to StumbleUpon.

How Do I Send a Webpage to Someone on StumbleUpon?

There are two main ways to do so. The StumbleUpon toolbar easily allows you to send the webpage you are currently on via the toolbar or via email to a friend. StumbleUpon’s Help section explains more:

If you want to share the page more immediately, use the Send this page to icon on your toolbar to:

• Send a page to a mutual friend (with the option to add a brief comment) – this page will go to the top of your mutual’s “stumble queue” and they will see it when they next Stumble!
• Email the page to a friend outside of SU – this has the added advantage of introducing your friend to SU

Do note that there are some key differences between each option.

1. For the ‘Send-to’ option, you can only send the webpage you are on to a mutual StumbleUpon friend, i.e. someone you have added as a friend and who has befriended you in return. To learn how to add a friend, see this link.




2. For the email option, you can send the webpage you are on to just about anyone in the world as long as you have their email address. It doesn’t matter if they are members of StumbleUpon or not.

The webpage you are sending does not have to be already submitted by yourself or others, which means that you can share pages without stumbling them beforehand.

This is useful because the sharing of webpages can be used for discussions or secondary purposes. I shall explain this in greater detail a little later in the article.

Example No. 1: Using the StumbleUpon Toolbar to Send a Webpage

Sending a webpage using the StumbleUpon Toolbar is extremely easy. When you want to share a specific webpage with anyone, stay on the webpage you want to send and simply click on the ‘Send to’ button on the toolbar and pick a username.

What you see above are a sample of the StumbleUpon users whom I have sent web pages to. The number you see in brackets beside the username shows how many times you have sent the specific user a page. As you can see, I have often sent pages to people like Muhammed Saleem, dan778 and Andy Beard, among others.

After you click on the user profile you want to send the webpage to, a small comment box will pop up and you will have the option of writing a comment to describe the web page or whatever text whatever you want.

For example, the following picture shows me sharing a webpage on Dosh Dosh and writing a note in a popup box for flyingrose, an active StumbleUpon user and friend.

After which, click on the send button and you’re all done. Your friend will usually see a red numeral next to their Stumble button, when your article successfully reaches him or her. Heres a screenshot of a toolbar with a numeral indicating that a friend has sent a webpage to you.

After your friend sees this message and clicks on it, he or she will be taken to the webpage you sent him while your comment will be shown. Here’s an example of a message I received from Bill Hartzer about a specific news article he came across.

Example No. 2: Using the Email Option to Send a Webpage

Sending a webpage via email is similarly easy and all you need to have is an initial list of email addresses. StumbleUpon will remember all the email addresses you input so there is no need to type them in again. Here’s how to get started.

Click on the Send-to tab again but this time scroll all the way to the bottom, whereby you will see the word “All Emails“. Click on it and enter an email address. After which, compose your short message and send it off.

After composing the message, the email you typed in will be recorded and you will notice a numeral in brackets next to it, indicating that you’ve sent one email to the person in question. You can easily remove any email you don’t want from this list.

The email will show up in the recipients email inbox, whereby he or she will get a link and title which points to the specific webpage. Your brief message will be shown below, along with your registered StumbleUpon email and a link to your profile.

Four Reasons Why You Should Use StumbleUpon to Share Webpages Directly

Having examined the process of sending webpages, here are the reasons why I think this StumbleUpon feature is an excellent option you should consider.

1. Convenience. The speed by which you can send any website you are on to any friend is a major benefit. Instead of emailing or going on IM to drop a link, just use the toolbar and send the webpage to multiple users with a few clicks.




2. Effective Networking. Sending and receiving content from friends is a great way to socialize and deepen online relationships and connections. I have used the comment feature several times to engage in brief dialogs with readers and fellow bloggers and I think its an excellent method of connecting with others away from your blog or business.




3. Get More Traffic. Sending off a webpage to another may not guarantee you any extra stumbles but most of the time you will get some thumbs ups from the friends who enjoy the page. This will bring in more traffic as other stumblers will gradually come across your website.




4. You’ll Have Fun. This might seem like a trivial factor, but receiving webpages from friends can be a real treat. You never know what you are going to see before you click on the button and the element of surprise is rather enjoyable, particularly if you’re already an ardent StumbleUpon fan.

Sharing Webpages with StumbleUpon Friends: A Checklist

Now that you’ve understood how and why you should use the Send-to options, let’s review the basic steps you should take in order to start actively sharing webpages. The very first thing you should make is to visit your StumbleUpon Friends page.

There are two main things you need to do at this point in time:

1. Review Your Mutual Friends. These are the people who have added you as a friend and whom you have befriended in return. These mutual friends are people you can immediately send webpages to using the toolbar. I highly recommend clicking through on avatars or users you are not familiar with to get a feel of what their interests are before proceeding.




2. Review Your Fans. These are the users who have added you as a friend but whom you have not befriended in return. Add the users whom you already know (there are always a few) and sort through the ones you don’t to find the ones with the same interests. This may take time if you have a lot of fans but it is essential because it will increase the number of mutual friends you have.

Don’t despair if you don’t have many fans or mutual friends. StumbleUpon is a social network and you’ll gradually pick up a few fans by actively using it. I will explain later on why you shouldn’t start a friend-adding frenzy now.

Guidelines on Using the StumbleUpon Send-to Function

After reviewing and becoming familiar with your StumbleUpon friends and their interests, you are finally ready to start sharing webpages with other users.

Although you can use the StumbleUpon send-to feature as a means to get more stumbles (and hence more traffic), you should always observe these courtesy guidelines, which will help to establish a good reputation for your SU profile.

1. Don’t Pitch Too Much. Do not send every single article you write on your website to everyone you know. This can be rather annoying, particularly if the reader in question is already subscribed to your site.

   Regulate your frequency by sending webpages to different users or by sending only your best articles. Sending a webpage everyday from the same domain (particularly if it is yours) is just too excessive and may be even slightly spammy.




2. Share Different Content. Consider sending webpages from other websites to your friends, instead of regularly pushing material from the same site. Share interesting videos, pictures or other content or use the send-to feature to enquire about a specific topic.




3. Relevance is Crucial. Send articles that you KNOW will interest the person in question. The only way to know this for sure is to go beyond the avatar to examine what the other person stumbles, while taking note of their website or listed interests. Send only articles that are relevant to their interests or you may risk irritating them.




4. Use the Comment Function. While you can send a webpage without typing in a comment, comments add a personal touch to the sharing process and you should definitely use them to share your thoughts and feelings.

   This also means replying to the user who sent you a page with a comment, which is a quick way to get a brief conversation going. The worse thing you can do is to explicitly ask for a stumble or review. Let the user decide if he or she wants to stumble the webpage or not.

Alternative Ways to Use StumbleUpon’s Send-to Feature

The Send-to feature is very flexible and can be used in various ways or purposes, beyond the usual concept of sending webpages to friends for stumbles. Here are some other ways you can employ when sharing webpages.

• Generate a Discussion. I have sent pages to friends because I wanted their opinions on the specific product, article or site design. The comments I’ve sent were focused a specific feature of the site in question and the answers I’ve received were equally targeted. Send it to a couple of people and you’ll start to get some interesting feedback from your friends.




• Acquire Support. If you’ve got another article submitted on another social site which needs a vote or comment, you can try sharing it via StumbleUpon as well. Note that this can only work if the user you send it to uses StumbleUpon actively everyday. You should also know the user very well and have a reciprocal arrangement of some sort set up. I also recommend sharing the webpage without stumbling/thumbing up the page.




• Designate Workload. If you are working with a group of other users. The send-to feature could be used to share possible content or design ideas. Instead of updating a public to-do list or sending group emails or IM messages, a few clicks on the toolbar will allow you to reach a whole set of different individuals. Do note that it may take some time before the webpage reaches your friend so do not use the send-to option for time-sensitive projects.

Traffic is Not Everything: Avoid Tunnel Vision Thinking

Let me make this very clear: I am not advocating the use of the send-to feature primarily as a means to get more traffic for your website. If you only see StumbleUpon only as a means to get traffic, you are overlooking the real potential or value of StumbleUpon and missing the whole point entirely.

The send-to function is a brilliant networking tool and you should use it to share thoughts or opinions with others who have the same interests. Do not overfocus on the traffic aspect or aggressively push for stumbles by sending irrelevant content.

If you smell traffic-hungry all the time, you’ll stink up the whole social relationship you have with the other party. StumbleUpon is an excellent way to build up your reputation and personal brand outside of your website and you don’t want to squander it by being obsessed with getting votes + reviews + fans.

How Do I Find StumbleUpon Friends to Share Webpages with?

Finding StumbleUpon friends is quite simple. If you own a website, the people who have stumbled it in the past have shown an interest in your content. Contact them to touch base and say hi.

Alternatively, visit popular sites in your niche and find out who is stumbling them by visiting the discussion page (an example is shown below). These are users who will be interested in your content.

I do not recommend contacting random users to request for a stumble or review. You should probably be aware that StumbleUpon does not permit the blatant practice of reciprocal reviewing or stumbling:

The practice of sending PM’s encouraging or inviting other stumblers to rate/review sites in exchange for reciprocal reviews/ratings, monetary, or any other form of reward is strictly forbidden.

The practice of actively soliciting a rating or review for a site is also forbidden. Accounts participating in such practices will be deleted and banned, and the related sites deleted and banned from the system.

Another way to get more StumbleUpon friends is to simply to use StumbleUpon actively, by submitting and stumbling websites that you like. Make a habit to stumble the websites or blogs you read regularly as well.

As I’ve mentioned earlier in my post on ways to get links from popular blogs, bloggers and webmasters monitor their traffic closely and they (along with other fellow readers) will most likely be aware of you, if you stumble often enough.

Why I am Promoting StumbleUpon Sharing

I have often contemplated on the best way to connect with the readers of Dosh Dosh and other webmasters and I have come to the conclusion that StumbleUpon is the most effective way to do so. Here are the reasons why:

• Benefits a Wide Audience. While I can only link out to specific blogs with articles that fall within the topics covered on Dosh Dosh, I can directly benefit other websites (with different content types) which interest me by stumbling them. If I don’t or can’t link to you via Dosh Dosh, it doesn’t mean I’m not interested in your content.




• High Social Interactivity. The send-to function allows you to share an opinion with many people about any webpage, and the interaction is not contained within a specific domain (e.g. a social site like Digg). Along with StumbleUpon’s site review feature and internal site mail, this gives me a convenient means to interact with readers as well as their content.

I’ve written this guide was because I honestly feel that StumbleUpon and this function in particular, can benefit you tremendously. How? By helping you establish and deepen meaningful connections with your fellow peers, readers, or the other StumbleUpon users who are part of your audience.

Start Sharing Webpages With Me Through StumbleUpon

If you’ve written a great article, want to share an interesting webpage or just feel like getting my opinion on anything, use the send-to feature to connect with me. Instead of sending me an email through Dosh Dosh’s contact form, share it with me through StumbleUpon. I want to see it. I am interested.

While I would love to add every Dosh Dosh reader as a friend, StumbleUpon unfortunately has set a limit of 200 friends for each account, which means I will inevitably have to leave some people out.

However you can still contact me and let me know that you use SU too, by sending me a sitemail via my StumbleUpon profile. Alternatively, you can use the toolbar to email me any webpage you want to share; stumbleupon.doshdosh at gmail.com is the email you should be using.

I try to only befriend active users with a collection of stumbles which interest me and you should probably do the same as well if you plan to share webpages with others. If you’re already my mutual friend, try sharing a few webpages with me.. it’s really fun and easy to do.

No Better Time to Start Using StumbleUpon Regularly

If you’ve never been convinced about the benefits of using StumbleUpon, I hope this article has demonstrated how useful it can be, when it comes to online networking and the exciting process of discovering new content or opinions via an extended network of friends.

For more detailed articles on StumbleUpon, subscribe to Dosh Dosh.