StumbleUpon was created back in 2001 and is an internet-community that allows the users to rate web-sites, videos and pictures. In 2006 they added the StumbleVideo, where the users also could rate videos, this means that the creators are designing software that evolves when more people are using it, and that is crucial.
This application goes hand in hand with the first pattern of the Web 2.0 Applications : “Harnessing Collective Intelligence”, where it is the users who add value to the application. That means that they are adding their own data to the application and by that makes it more valuable.
You have to sign up for an account and put down some of your interests to get started.
No one else then the persons inside the community can participate (like Facebook), and that is why people use the expression walled garden for these types of applications.
With Web 2.0 applications it is crucial to trust your users, and let them participate and add the value it needs. Users can give "thumbs up" for web-sites they visit, and by doing that they add data to the application so others also can experience what kind of sites you like. The web-sites get filtered by popular demand. If a website gets a lot of thumbs up, it will appear more often when users "stumbles", content that don't get it will be shown to fewer people.
StumbleUpon is a perfect example how they are rewarding the users first. The user logs in to their account thinking they are going to get to see a lot of great web-sites that they had no idea even existed! But when they start using it they are participating in a whole new way when they are surfing the internet. StumbleUpon is easy and the users get what they want quickly.
One issue with StumbleUpon I have been thinking about is the way X-rated web-pages are being filtered for children who are using the application.
Here is a screen-shot of the settings. I haven't tried to set my profile to be underage, but I am not sure if that would be enough to stop children from "stumbling" over web-sites that maybe are not so good for them.
In this blog the author tells about the problem people are facing if they put their setting that they can view R-rated content. Your profile as seen by other users will look like this:
This will maybe be negative on how other people will look at your profile. The comment section underneath the blog reveals that there are a lot of people facing the same dilemma. One of the suggestions is that you can create two accounts, this blog is from 2009 so maybe it has changed. I have tried to Google it, but if someone have found out more about this issue, please comment!
In an article penned by Dawn Gregg named "Designing for collective intelligence",(download) he writes that in the future it is the users of the system who should play a central role in defining what data is important and how the data is used.
I think StumbleUpon is a perfect example of an application that do just that, so create an account and join in on the fun!
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