The Magic of StumbleUpon’s Recent Reviews Page
If you’ve been using StumbleUpon for a while, you’ve probably fussed or heard fussing about the new format. If you’ve just joined SU, then you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but the layout of your SU page is quite different than it used to look. In a lot of ways, the old page was more intuitive. It was easier to figure out how to get started, if you were new to stumbling.
I’m guessing that the guys at SU headquarters are figuring if you’re new to SU, you’re going to depend on the toolbar to learn your way around the site, since to me, the new pages seem more like they’re made for people who have been stumbling for a little while. It’s easy to find “people like you,” not too hard to find the top ranked sites of the day (although it’s harder to find the Buzz, a daily list of the instant hit sites, pages that were discovered and became popular in a matter of hours) and it’s easy to see what your friends have stumbled on.
I LOVE the Recent reviews section. It’s probably one of the main things that keeps me from switching back to the old layout. It’s really nice seeing the most recent items my friends have posted:
Okay, lean in close everyone, I’m going to share a secret. Are you listening? Okay, think about this. If you are getting the most recent posts from your friends, what are they getting???
Yep, they’re getting your most recent post. Without you having to lift a finger to suggest it to anyone. Just by posting it on your blog, you’re sending it out to as many people as you have befriended.
Now, there are a few things I still need to check and if anyone reading this knows, please share your findings. I know you don’t get pages from your fans, but I’m not sure whether your pages go out to people who are fans that you haven’t befriended. Either way, it’s still a powerful marketing tool, whether you’re blogging for a business or just wanting to move up the ranks in SU. Having the Recent reviews page set as your default SU homepage doesn’t hurt either.
