How to Use StumbleUpon Like a Pro


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Managed By: cynthiag
Managed Since: 06/06/2009
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  • StumbleUpon is a community of Internet users who find, recommend and share information, photos sand videos with other users on the web.

    This page contains information and tips on how to use the StumbleUpon toolbar.

  • Introduction

    • StumbleUpon is one of the most fun and addictive ways to discover the web. The downloadable toolbar acts like a smart remote control. One click of the Stumble! button, and you'll be taken to a cool website that matches your interests. StumbleUpon also lets you rate and share quality websites based on your personal interests.

  • Step 1: Join StumbleUpon and Install Toolbar

    1. Go to the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click on the Join StumbleUpon Today button.
    3. Enter your email address and birthdate.
    4. Choose a username.
    5. Type in the verification word into the field provided.
    6. Set your privacy and information preferences by checking the appropriate boxes.
    7. Click on the Join and Download Now button.
    8. Click on the Install Now button. The StumbleUpon toolbar installation will happen automatically. (You may need to close and reopen your browser for the toolbar to appear following installation.)
    9. Go to your email.
    10. Open the verification email from StumbleUpon.
    11. Click on the verification link.
    12. Now you're ready to start stumbling!

  • Updating Older Versions of StumbleUpon

    • To see which version of the StumbleUpon toolbar you have:
    1. Click the Tools button in your StumbleUpon toolbar.
    2. Select About StumbleUpon from the drop down menu.
    3. Click Toolbar Version.
    4. Compare your toolbar version to the most recent version listed in the StumbleUpon Toolbar Changelog.
    5. A link to the latest version of the toolbar, should you need to reinstall it, is located at the top of the StumbleUpon Toolbar Changelog.
    1. Log into your account by visiting the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click this Try New User Profile link.
    3. Click the Try it now button. (If you are already using the latest version of the profile page, this button will read, "You are using the new profile page.")
    4. Your profile layout and features have now been updated.

  • Stumbling with Alternative Browsers

    1. Click on the following Digital Inspiration StumbleUpon Viritual Toolbar link.
    2. The virtual StumbleUpon toolbar will stay at the top of your browser for the length of your session.

  • Step 2: Explore the StumbleUpon Toolbar

    • The StumbleUpon toolbar gives you all kinds of options when it comes to discovering, rating and sharing websites that relate to your interests. It even has a social component which lets you create relationships with like-minded stumblers by adding them as friends. The toolbar is fully customizable and easy to use.

  • Before You Begin Stumbling

    • Before you beginning stumbling, you need to let StumbleUpon know what your interests are.
    • The first time you click the Stumble! button in your StumbleUpon toolbar you will be taken to a page which asks you to choose the types of sites you would like to visit.
    1. Mark the checkboxes next to the topics that interest you.
    2. Click the Save My Settings button. Now you're ready to stumble.
    • If you are not automatically taken to the StumbleUpon topics page the first time you click on the Stumble! button, you can reach it in the following way:
    1. Log into your account on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click the Home tab.
    3. Click the Preferences link immediately to the left of the sidebar.
    4. Click the My interests link underneath the Preferences header.
    5. Select the subjects that interest you.
    6. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the Save my interests button.

  • Stumble! Button

    • With one click of the Stumble! button, you'll be taken to a site recommended by other StumbleUpon users that relates to whatever topics you've chosen. Click again, and you'll be taken to a completely new site.
    • You will occasionally stumble upon a "sponsored stumble." This means that an advertiser has paid to bring you to their site. A sponsored page is indicated by a green-shirted person icon in your toolbar. You will not see more than one sponsored page per fifteen stumbles, and you will only see sponsored pages related to the topics you're interested in.

  • Thumb Buttons

    • Use your Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons to indicate whether you love or loathe a site you've stumbled upon. The more you rate pages, the better StumbleUpon gets at predicting the types of sites you're going to like.
    1. Click the Stumble! button in your toolbar.
    2. Land on a page you like, click the Thumbs Up button. This page will be saved to your StumbleUpon list of favorites.
    3. Land on a page you don't like, click the Thumbs Down button.
    4. Land on a page you're indifferent to, click Stumble! again.

  • Send To Button

    • The Send To button lets you email a link to a friend whether they use StumbleUpon or not.
    1. Stumble upon a cool site by clicking the Stumble! button in your toolbar.
    2. Click the Send To button.
    3. Choose New Email Address or Import Contacts from the drop-down menu. (StumbleUpon allows you to import contacts for your Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail or Facebook accounts.)
    4. Enter an email address or fill in the appropriate username and password for your email or social networking account.
    5. Write in or the choose the address you'd like to forward a page to.
    6. Fill in a subject line if appropriate.
    7. Click Send.

  • Review Button

    • The Review button lets you write a review of any site you stumble upon. Your reviews will help other StumbleUpon users decide whether a site is useful or not. You can help drive traffic to great sites or steer it away from bad ones by writing a review.
    1. Stumble upon a site by clicking the Stumble! button in your toolbar.
    2. Click the Review button. StumbleUpon will bring you to a Review page related to that site.
    3. Click the Review this page button.
    4. Write your review.
    5. Add a tag (keyword that describes the site) from the drop-down menu.
    6. Click the Add my review button.

  • Channels

    • The Channels section of your toolbar lets you decide which of your preselected topics or types of media you'd like to stumble upon.
    1. Click the Globe icon to stumble upon sites related to all of your preselected topics.
    2. Click on the Film icon to only stumble upon videos.
    3. Click on the Friends icons to only stumble upon sites saved by your StumbleUpon friends.
    4. Click on the Photo icon to only stumble upon images.
    5. Click on the Topics drop-down menu to discover other searchable topics or change your preselected topics by clicking on Update Topics. (The Topics drop down menu will read All as a default.)
    6. Click on Search in the Topics drop down menu, enter a search term into the pop-up menu and click OK. You will now only stumble upon pages related to that search term. To return to stumbling upon all of your favorite topics, click All in the Topics drop down menu.

  • Favorites Button

    • The Favorites buttons with the Star icon will take you to a list of all the sites you've given a "thumbs up" to.

  • Friends Button

    • The Friends button will take you to a page with all of your StumbleUpon friends listed on it. It will also give you the option of importing your email contacts to find out who already uses StumbleUpon and who you might invite to become a user.
    1. Click the Find your friends button to import your contacts from AOL, MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Facebook or Gmail.
    2. Click the appropriate email service icon. (You can also enter the email addresses of friends you'd like to invite to use StumbleUpon by clicking "enter email manually.")
    3. Enter your email username and password.
    4. Click Find my friends.
    5. Mark the checkbox next to your friends who already use to StumbleUpon to make them your StumbleUpon friend.
    6. Mark the checkbox next to your friends who do not use StumbleUpon to invite them to use the service.
    7. Click the Connect with friends now button.

  • Inbox Button

  • Tools Drop Down Menu

    • The Tools drop down menu offers you several toolbar options and account shortcuts.
    1. Click Report Last Stumble to report a problem with a site you've stumbled upon.
    2. Click Toolbar Options to set your toolbar preferences. You can drag and drop toolbar icons, add shortcuts and configure your stumbling.
    3. Click Profile Preferences to update your StumbleUpon profile picture, email, stumbling preferences and account settings.
    4. Click Update Topics to update the topics you stumble upon. Simply click on the checkboxes next to the subjects that interest you, and click the Save My Changes button.
    5. Click View Suggested Topics to see which subjects StumbleUpon thinks you would enjoy exploring. Click the checkboxes that interest you, and click the Save My Settings button.
    6. Click Invite Friends to import your email addresses and invite your friends to try StumbleUpon.
    7. Click Change Password to change your password.
    8. Click Sign In or Sign Out to sign in and out of your StumbleUpon account.
    9. Click Toolbar Guide to visit the "Getting Started with StumbleUpon" tutorial.
    10. Click Help to visit the StumbleUpon FAQs.

  • Optional Toolbar Icons

    • Some of the additional icons available via the Toolbars Options menu that you might consider adding to your toolbar include:
    1. Profile Icon: Will bring you directly to your StumbleUpon profile.
    2. Tag Icon: Will bring up a pop-up window which allows you to assign up to five keywords to a site (to make it easier to find later in a list of your favorites).
    3. Search Icon: Will bring up a pop-up window that allows you to stumble upon only those websites which match the search term you supply.
    4. Matches Icon: Will bring you to a page of suggested friends based on your location and profile's demographic information.
    5. Network Icon: Will bring you to a list of a your friends and groups.

  • Step 3: Set Up Your Profile

    • In addition to being an amazingly addictive way to discover the web, StumbleUpon has a social networking aspect that allows you to make like-minded friends and influence people. Your StumbleUpon account includes a public profile page and even a blog where you can post short messages for your friends and other users to see.

  • How to Set Up Your StumbleUpon Profile

    • To take advantage of StumbleUpon's social networking options, you will need to set up your profile to let others users know something about you.
    1. Log into your account on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click the Home tab at the top of the page.
    3. Click on the Preferences link immediately to the left of the sidebar.
      • Alternately, choose Profile Preferences under the Tools drop down menu of your StumbleUpon toolbar.
    4. Fill in your name, email address and location.
    5. Upload a profile picture.
    6. Choose your privacy settings, stumble settings and whether or not you want your birthday to be displayed publicly.
    7. Click Save my preferences button at the bottom of the page.
    8. Click the Public profile link underneath the Preferences header.
    9. Write a short description of yourself, select a color theme for your profile and select as many or as few things you'd like other users to know about you.
    10. Click the Save public profile button at the bottom of the page.
    11. Your StumbleUpon profile has been created. If you'd like to see your profile as the public sees it, click the View page as others see it button in the sidebar.
    12. Edit your profile at any time by choosing Profile Preferences under the Tools drop down menu of your StumbleUpon toolbar.

  • Step 4: Make Friends and Influence People

    • Making friends in StumbleUpon is different than in other social networking services. Friendships don't have to be reciprocated or approved. Adding someone as a friend simply means that you are a "fan" of the sites they've saved. The reverse is true as well. If someone likes the sites you've saved as favorites and shares your areas of interest, they may add you as a friend - making them a "fan" of your stumbles.
    • Why make friends at all? The StumbleUpon toolbar gives you the option of only stumbling on those sites saved by your friends. This is a great way to hone in some fantastic sites that relate to your interests.
    • To search your friends' favorite pages:
    1. Click the Friends icon in the Channels section of your toolbar.
    2. Return to searching pages saved by all users by choosing All from the Channels drop down menu in your toolbar.

  • Browse People

    • If you don't know where to start, find friends by browsing StumbleUpon users by location, age, interest or marital status.
    1. Log into your account on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click the Home tab.
    3. Click the Browse people button in the sidebar.
    4. Choose the criteria by which you'd like to find friends in the sidebar.
    5. Click the Search button.
    6. Click on a users' icon.
    7. Click the Add him/her as a friend button in the sidebar of the users' profile.

  • Connect with Friends via Email

    • StumbleUpon allows you to import your email contacts to find out which of your friends is already using StumbleUpon and identify which you'd like to invite to use the service.
    1. Log into your account at on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click the Home tab.
    3. Click the Friends tab.
    4. Click the Connect with Friends button to import your contacts from AOL, MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Facebook or Gmail.
    5. Click the appropriate email service icon. (You can also enter the email addresses of friends you'd like to invite to use StumbleUpon by clicking "enter email manually.")
    6. Enter your email username and password.
    7. Click Find my friends.
    8. Mark the checkbox next to your friends who already use StumbleUpon to make them your StumbleUpon friend.
    9. Mark the checkbox next to your friends who do not use StumbleUpon to invite them to use the service.
    10. Click the Connect with friends now button.

  • StumbleUpon a Friend

    • Everytime you stumble upon a page, the user who recommended that page will be indicated in your StumbleUpon toolbar next to the Favorites button.
    1. Click the Stumble! button in your StumbleUpon toolbar.
    2. Click on the name of the person who suggested the site in the toolbar. You will be taken to their StumbleUpon profile.
    3. Click the Add him/her as a friend button in the sidebar.

  • Join a Group

    • A group is exactly that - a collection of StumbleUpon users interested in a particular subject. You can join a pre-established group or form your own. The group maintains a forum, and you can find friends by checking out the profiles of other group members.
    • To join a group, you must have been a member of StumbleUpon for, at least, three days and have stumbled frequently.
    1. Log into your account on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click the Home tab.
    3. Click the Groups tab. (The Groups tab will not appear until you have been a member for three days.)
    4. Create a group by clicking on Start a new group, or explore pre-existing groups by clicking on the Popular, Newest or Suggested groups links.

  • Blogging with StumbleUpon

    • While technically not a blogging service, you can add personal messages and text to your StumbleUpon profile. They will appear in your Favorites list along with any reviews you have written.
    1. Log in to your account on the StumbleUpon homepage.
    2. Click on the Home tab.
    3. Click on the Post new blog button in the sidebar.
    4. Enter text into the blog post field.
    5. Click the Post new blog button underneath the text field.
    6. Your blog post will now appear under the Favorites tab of your StumbleUpon profile.

  • StumbleVideo

    1. Go to the StumbleVideo homepage.
    2. Click on the Stumble! button.
    3. Watch a cool video.
    4. Rate the video using the player's Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons.
    5. Stumble again!

  • StumbleThru

    1. Go to the StumbleThru homepage.
    2. Click on the icon for the website you wish to "stumble through."
    3. Click on the Stumble! button in your StumbleUpon toolbar.
    4. Visit a page within the website you've chosen to "stumble through."
    5. Rate the page by using the toolbar's Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons.
    6. Return to searching the entirety of the web by clicking on the Topic drop-down menu in the Channel section of your StumbleUpon toolbar and selecting All.

  • Step 6: Enable SearchReviews

    1. Click on the Tools drop down menu in your StumbleUpon Toolbar.
    2. Click Toolbar Options.
    3. Select the Configuration Tab from the Toolbar Options pop-up window.
    4. Click the "Highlight recommended search results" box under Web Search.
    5. Click OK. SearchReviews are now enabled.

  • Sites Currently Included in SearchReviews

  • Resources for How to Use StumbleUpon


 


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