The Internet is the place most go when haunted by boredom. You sit around, go through the usual boring list of social networking and pop up filled game sites. There are so many things to discover online, we just have a hard time finding them. People don’t know where to begin to look, or how to go about finding things online that they are interested in.
Garret Camp and Geoff Smith, alongside their friends Justin LaFrance and Eric Boyd, first registered the site StumbleUpon in November 2001 as a trial product. The site was a huge success, attracting 10,000 users in its first year. StumbleUpon is a sort of discovery engine, which recommends website to its users based on their personal interests. Users choose a list of interests, from topics ranging from “Men’s Issues” to “UFO’s.” A toolbar is added to your web browser, and from there you’re free to stumble. It sends you to random articles, interactive websites, diagrams, pictures, music pages and more. There is an endless number of possible webpages, and each one is something I would never have found on my own.
I got my own account for StumbleUpon earlier this year, and I’ve been addicted to it since. I’m going to be honest, I think I’ve learned more from 3 months of stumbling than 12 years of schooling. I can stumble for over an hour and not be bored at all, which is rare since typically I can’t stay on the computer for more than 20 minutes. It’s interesting to look at something other than the Facebook news feed, and I do actually learn life-relevant things, unlike algebra. The wide variety of web pages that can be stumbled upon provides for endless entertainment. There are some strange things, though, and many times I find myself staring at pictures of “cute cats” or something else that is strange or awkward. It ‘s especially helpful in finding new music, cooking techniques, and interactive websites that teach you things you would have never known how to do before.
There is a downside to StumbleUpon, though miniscule compared to it’s countless good qualities. Though most sites are legitamate, there is the chance for viruses. Every once in a while you will stumble across an “infected page” which gives you the chance to leave, or stay on the page. I personally have never had any problems, but there are some reports of computers becoming infected. The risk is a small price to pay, however, for the interesting web-page finder.
Overall, StumbleUpon is both a very useful tool and a good source of entertainment. With over 2.7 million people using the service, it is clear to see the website’s popularity. It’s a great peer recommendation site, one that allows all people, no matter what their interests are, to find something interesting online. I’d recommend using it on a computer instead of an iPad or an iPod, though, because it tends to run very slowly on them. Never again do you need to spend useless hours on the computer. You can kiss your boredom goodbye once you register for free with stumble upon, because there is always something new to be discovered.