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: SheaMan42

How long have you been an active user of StumbleUpon?

Almost a year now, I started Stumbling in December 2006

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

It’s the fastest to add new content to, but more importantly it’s the best content discovery engine on the net. I have found so many great links and sites that I wouldn’t have otherwise found because the StumbleUpon algorithm is so good. Stumblers are also the greatest group of social bookmarkers around.

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

They could do a way better job of explaining user stats. I’d also love to see more detailed numbers on individual Stumblers actual influence in the system.

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

See above.

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

Nothing more complicated beyond if I like it or not. I’ve been a links and news junkie for as long as I’ve been on the net (coming up on 13 years now) and I know a good link when I see it.

Is there anything that puts you off stumbling an article?

If I don’t like, I don’t stumble it.

What sort of topics interest you the most?

The environment, technology, the internet, politics, green business, marketing, and the bizarre.

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

Stumble what you love, discover as much quality links as you can, and add the people whose content they like as friends.

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

Occasionally. I’ve gotten to the point in StumbleUpon where I’m capable of sending Stumble Waves of traffic in the tens of thousands of visitors and a few site owners on the receiving end track me down and say thanks. It’s nice.

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

No, but I wish they would. Bring your checkbooks and links, everyone has their price and mine starts in the four figures. ;D

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

I run many sites. I make StumbleUpon a big part of the marketing and traffic building plan for all of them. I’ve probably sent over a million unique visitors to my various sites in the past year via StumbleUpon.

(my personal blog http://sheagunther.org/, my new blog snarfd http://snarfd.com, and my main paying gig site Ecotality Life where I am the Publisher http://ecotality.com/life/)

What are your thoughts on stumbling your own content?

As long as you put it in the right category, I think it’s perfectly legit to stumble your own content. The StumbleUpon algorithm is so good that any crap content will get filtered out. If people don’t like things in StumbleUpon it quickly gets taken out of the loop.

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

Why the hell not. Again, if people like something it will do well in StumbleUpon, if it’s crap it’ll go nowhere. If people like LInkbait, let them have I say.

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 like good design, but the content is the most important thing for me. Is it well written, does it grab my attention, is it from a reputable source.

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

I have no idea if I am in the 30 most powerful users of StumbleUpon. I would wager I am near the top and I’d even say one of the top 5 or 10 in the Environment field, but there are a ton of other great stumblers ahead of me on the rankings. I stumble a lot, I focus on quality content, and I know a good link when I see it. I think my biggest
strength is just in how long I’ve been reading news and links. I was a Stumbler 11+ years before I found StumbleUpon.

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

Find a niche you are passionate about and then own it. People like
Stumblers who constantly discover great links and your best bet of
building a big fan base is to always be putting great new content into
the system.

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