StumbleUpon is a great way to discover new content on the internet. You tell StumbleUpon about your interests and it will show you pages from the internet that you might enjoy (you can try a quick demo if you are wary). The easiest way to use StumbleUpon is via the Firefox add-on (there is an IE version as well - argh). If you aren’t using Firefox you certainly should be since Firefox 3 has raised the bar far above what IE, Safari, or any other broswer is capable of. To get started, download Firefox and the StumbleUpon add-on, then continue reading to discover how to get the most from StumbleUpon.
Customize the Firefox Toolbar to Show/Hide StumbleUpon
Right click on the Firefox toolbar (try just to left of the address bar) and select customize. From this window drag the button with the StumbleUpon logo up to the toolbar and drop it wherever you like. Clicking on this button (see below) will Show/Hide the StumbleUpon toolbar which is a nice way to remove distractions and save screen real estate when you aren’t stumbling.
Now before we begin we need to change the Toolbar options. Click on the little down arrow next to ‘Tools’ in the toolbar and select ‘Toolbar Options’. Go ahead and Enable/Disable whichever options you prefer but make sure you enable both ‘Search’ and ‘Friends’ (see below).
Now go to the configuration tab and check the boxes to have StumbleUpon automatically stumble to a new page after you apply a rating (see below). This is a very handy time saver and allows you to stumble much more quickly.
Stumble Through Tags
The StumbleUpon toolbar has quite a few choices to let you find websites with various content. But my favorite way to use StumbleUpon is a hidden feature which lets you search through different tags of your choice. In the last step we enabled the search option (the magnifying glass icon seen below) in your toolbar. Clicking on this will enable you to stumble through pages relevant to a particular query.
This enables the search box in your toolbar. Lets say you like the Ubuntu Linux distribution. Searching for ‘Ubuntu’ tags will provide you with pages related to ‘Ubuntu’ as well as people (person icon with name in toolbar) who submitted those pages. Keep in mind that those people who also like ‘Ubuntu’ pages are probably good candidates for StumbleUpon friends.
Stumble Friends’ Favorites
Adding friends is the best way to improve the content that StumbleUpon presents you. After adding some friends you should stumble though their favorites and give them a Thumbs Up if you like their submissions. To do so click on the ‘Stumble Favorites of Friends’ button (see below).
Review Friends’ Profiles
Whenever you find a friend that seems to have similar interests and has submitted and rated content that you enjoy you should go to their profile and give them a Thumbs Up. This is a great way to build a relationship and they might even start sending you pages via StumbleUpon that they think you might enjoy.
Via [ jeetblog ]
That is all for now, Enjoy!. Be sure to subscribe and add me as a StumbleUpon friend before you leave.
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