The Bottom Line
StumbleUpon is a browser toolbar for both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It scours the Internet for you, finding thousands of web sites that match your interests. Not only does this toolbar find endless sites based on the topics you are interested in, it also allows you to meet and message people with similar interests and create a network of friends. You are also given the ability to recommend, write reviews on, and share sites with your friends network via StumbleUpon's messaging system or with anyone else via email directly from the toolbar itself.
Pros
- StumbleUpon sends you to a large number of web sites that match your specific interests.
- The internal messaging system allows you to send messages and create a network of friends.
- With StumbleUpon's messaging system, you can recommend sites to others.
- Sites that have been given good reviews by other users are given priority.
- StumbleUpon gives you the ability to filter out sites from showing up again in your searches.
Cons
- StumbleUpon can become addictive and time consuming.
- The available topics can be a bit vague if you are looking for something very specific.
- Occasionally you will be served with sites that do not necessarily apply to topics chosen.
Description
- StumbleUpon allows you to "channel-surf" the Internet, directing you to sites that fall into specific interest categories.
- The toolbar allows you to browse profiles of other Internet users with similar interests as you.
- The internal messaging system allows you to send messages to others and to create a network of friends.
- StumbleUpon gives you the ability to recommend and review sites, as well as give those you do not like a "thumbs-down".
- When applicable, the toolbar shows you the name and, if you wish, the profile of a person who recommended the site you're on.
- With the share feature, you can send sites that you like to others from within the toolbar.
- StumbleUpon allows you to view sites in specific languages, with several dozen of them available.
Guide Review - StumbleUpon
From time to time, browsing the Internet can become somewhat mundane. Perhaps you have grown tired of going to the same sites all the time, and perhaps your searches have come up empty when looking for new content relative to the things you like. Maybe you wish you could meet people with similar interests and visit sites that they like to visit. StumbleUpon, in an exciting way, reinvents the web surfing experience while allowing you to do all of this. You will find yourself immersed almost immediately as you "stumble" from site to site. Although a lot of recommendations may not seem up to par, for the most part the StumpleUpon community as a whole does a pretty good job separating the best from the worst. As the community continues to grow and more topics are added the toolbar will become an even better accessory.
If you are interested in meeting new people that may have something in common with you and at the same time discovering new sites that you may not have found via a search engine or by other means, this toolbar is a really handy add-on to your browser's functionality. If you are not interested in the networking aspect, but still want to unearth a wealth of resources that you may not discover otherwise, this toolbar will be a boon to your browsing experience as well.
