StumbleUpon, the company that long ago figured out how we all really use the web, announced a handful of new features today designed to offer a test drive for new users, a richer experience for registered users, and better integration for web site owners. The company has had a rocky year, but these new features may be just what StumbleUpon needs to, well, keep from stumbling.
For those who have never used it, StumbleUpon allows users to sign up, specify preferences for a wide range of topics like politics, photography, history, and web development, and then literally "stumble" through sites that other, similar users mark as interesting. Users can pick a specific category or type of media to browse (such as photos and videos), or stick with Stumbling through friends' sites to play it safe. If you're thinking "like Digg, but more fun and no rabid voting or foaming comments," you're not far off.
Bring us your tired, your hungry, your Stumbling
Until today, however, users had to register with StumbleUpon, create a profile, and install an add-on for IE or Firefox just to start Stumbling. If you're a social media pro armed with form-filling tools, this probably isn't an issue, but there are plenty of users out there not willing to sign up for yet another service that, at first glance, may sound like Google on steroids. Toss in the fact that you have to install a new piece of software, and the barrier to entry is raised even further.
Now, new visitors to StumbleUpon.com will not only see a redesigned homepage that highlights popular content and ratings from the community, but they can click a "Start Stumbling" button to launch a JavaScript toolbar at the top of the browser window. No software install is necessary, and this should work in any browser, not just IE and Firefox. This toolbar is a bit less functional than StumbleUpon's browser extension, though, as users can't filter for specific kinds of content or, of course, use any of the service's community advantages. But rating sites and Stumbling for more works perfectly well, offering a slice of StumbleUpon's "best of the web" approach. The rub lies within the pseudo-toolbar's "Save" button: clicking it prompts users for registration to actually save their Stumbling and begin participating in the greater community.
This browser-agnostic tool doesn't work for registered users, though: in fact, if you're logged into the site, you'll never see it. In the coming months, StumbleUpon plans to introduce a similar tool for registered users so they can Stumble from any computer without installing the browser extension. Along with this tool, a redesign for the rest of the site will focus on user profiles and site navigation, as well as the rating and commenting systems.
Stumble right here
The other half of today's announcement is a Partner Program for web site owners to harness StumbleUpon's discovery services and the content its users create. Launched today with two partners—HuffingtonPost and HowStuffWorks—and more on the way, a new "Stumble!" badge that "premier publishers" can add to their site allows visitors to focus StumbleUpon's "show me something else interesting" approach on the current web site. Once invoked, StumbleUpon's aforementioned JavaScript toolbar appears for both registered and unregistered users, with a basic set of rating tools and a "Stumble!" button to keep the good times stumblin' at a specific URL.
After playing with this new tool at the two partner sites that went live with it today, the Stumble badge left us with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it does a good job of bringing the StumbleUpon experience to a specific site, but it also adds more clutter and yet another navigational system that, for all intents and purposes, is mostly an "I'm feeling lucky" gimmick. In an age where site operators are rolling up their sleeves and building plenty of their own "check out what else we're doing" navigation tools, this Stumble Partner Program could overwhelm users who need a paddle—not a blindfold—when sailing the Internet's seven seas.
That said, StumbleUpon does have a very healthy community and moves its fair share of traffic, so inviting that external community to come have a digital picnic at one's site may not be a bad thing for exposure and pageviews. StumbleUpon's registered user base has steadily increased to 6 million strong, despite eBay putting it up for sale less than two years after acquiring it. By opening its doors, integrating more deeply with external sites, and adopting a "try before you buy register" philosophy, StumbleUpon may very well boost its growth and, subsequently, drive even more traffic.
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