Stumble is not Digg
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I have a new domain up and running that is in the middle of a Stumble explosion, to the extent that it is currently my highest-trafficked site just one week into a concerted effort to promote. I posted a silly video, a funny commercial from Europe, and a bunch of people liked it and a couple didn’t. Here’s something I’ve noticed from having been through a couple of these big Stumbles:
All thumbs up sucks for traffic. Well, really, it’s ok for traffic, but if you want to really see some numbers then Stumble is just like anything else - a little controversy seems to go a long way.
Case in point: the video I posted is from metacafe, using Embed code provided by Metacafe and modified only to add “nofollow” tags because it’s a commercial and this is a Google world we live in…
Ahem…
So, some guy who has Stumbled something like 17,000 pages accuses me of stealing the video. First off, real discerning guy, stumbling 17,000 pages… Second, I used code provided by Metacafe, which gets the uploader of the video more plays and provided attribution to the uploader and to Metacafe.
It’s called “Viral Marketing”. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. The company that produced the video WANTS me to embed it in my blog. That’s the whole reason for uploading it to a site like Metacafe or YouTube. They want eyeballs.
As for someone not liking it and giving it a thumbs-down… good! It sure seems to help! I understand that the algorithm is theorized to take take into account the velocity of the reviews, and apparently it either doesn’t distinguish between thumbs-up and thumbs-down, or the algorithm may measure a diversity of opinion to drive traffic. Either way works.
Some people seem to think by giving a site a thumbs-down they are burying it, a la Digg. Stumble uses the thumbs up to learn what YOU like and present YOU with more like it, and a thumbs-down to learn what YOU don’t like and present YOU with less like it. Giving a thumbs-down is your decision. Just understand that you’re not killing the post.
Indifference kills the post.
Popularity: 34% [?]
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I agree!!!
Tks