Young Entrepreneur Blog

StumbleUpon has had a whopping 4 million downloads, and to celebrate we have a world exclusive interview with the top 30 users of Stumbleupon.comToday we are speaking with Stumbleupon top user: JanaTaylor

How long have you been an active user of StumbleUpon?

Since the first day I discovered there was a StumbleUpon, June 15, 2006.

What makes you use StumbleUpon more than the other social sites such as Digg, Del.icio.us etc…?

I tried Del.icio.us at about the same time but I found myself gravitating to Stumble. I think it was the Stumble button more than anything that won me over.

If you could make one positive change to the current StumbleUpon platform, what would it be?

The StumbleUpon rankings are a little mysterious, except for the top 50 Stumblers who know where they rank daily. I think other Stumblers might like to have some sort of way to quantify where they rank, officially speaking. Along that same line I think SU should be a little less ambiguous on how they tabulate their rankings, although most of us have a general idea, I think the explanation they have posted on the Top Stumbler’s page is misleading. I get many emails from other stumblers asking how one becomes a top stumbler so I know it is a topic of interest.

What don’t you like about the current StumbleUpon platform?

I think I would like the email system to be a little less rudimentary and be more like a real email system. And, I also would the ability to tag a website with more than just a few different tags with (I think) a limit of 32 characters. Occasionally I need more.

What are the main factors you look for in content that you feel is worth stumbling?

I look for ease of viewing, content in line with my tastes, and things that I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Is there anything that puts you off stumbling an article?

If the article is poorly written, has a lot of distracting ad clutter in the middle of it, or if someone I have never talked to before requests I thumb up their article, then when I look at the article it has no relevance to any of my interests. I will not thumb up anything I don’t find at least a little entertaining/interesting.

What sort of topics interest you the most?

Humor is the big one, and that is what I mostly post on my SU blog for the world to see. But I also am pretty keen on homemaking topics, craft related sites, things of a sociopolitical nature and scientific articles when in the mood.

What advice would you give to a brand new user of StumbleUpon?

When in doubt, just hit the Stumble button. Surf and enjoy. The rest will fall in place later.

Do you ever get thanked by the site owners after you stumble their content?

Occasionally I do. Sometimes it creeps me out a little, like I am being spied on. I understand they are just trying to be nice and/or and generate return traffic. And I can’t blame a guy for trying.

Has anyone ever tried to bribe you into stumbling their content?

I have gotten the “please thumb this up and review and I will be happy to do the same for any site of yours.” I guess that might be considered a bribe. Bribes never work on me though. I only thumb up sites I like, and since I don’t run a website, so I could care less about having anything of mine thumbed up.

Do you own a website? And if so, what have been your biggest StumbleUpon successes from your site?

I don’t own a website.

What are your thoughts on stumbling your own content?

I don’t see a problem with someone doing it. Ultimately something succeeds or fails on stumble on its own merits, no matter who puts it out there, self promotion or not.

What are your thoughts on Linkbait and people creating content with the sole aim of getting traffic from sites like Stumbleupon?

I don’t have much of a feeling on it one way or the other, except to say that it is preferable to spam in my inbox.

Are you influenced by factors like authority of the website, design of the website etc? And if so, what sort of things do you specifically look for?

I think everyone likes an attractively designed website. But how much this influences me is hard to quantify. I know that if a website is hard to navigate around in and if I am not in a patient mood it’s a lot easier to move on to the next thing. There is nothing that I look for specifically. But if I hear crappy music playing when I open a website I usually click the stumble button immediately no matter what the content.

Why do you feel you are in the top 30 most powerful users of StumbeUpon?

I am as surprised as the next person.

What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to get into the top 30?

Discover original quality stuff often. If you think it is good, chances are others will too.

Thanks for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?

I absolutely love StumbleUpon. I can’t imagine using the internet without it.

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