Intro to StumbleUpon.com
Hey gamers! Here at UA, we appreciate every single one of you fans that stop by (especially more than once). However, we’re always looking to expand our fan base to a much bigger audience. Through various social networking tools–e.g. FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, and so forth– we’re able to meet various people that like the UA brand and appreciate our games! Well, the most recent social network we’ve “stumbled” across is StumbleUpon! What is this website you ask? StumbleUpon is basically a social network tool that helps you discover other websites that are similar to your website interests. Stumble has a GIGANTIC database full of websites that have the potential to become the next big thing and it serves these potential websites to a relevant audience. StumbleUpon is a great tool that can drive an ENORMOUS amount of traffic to your own site, if utilized properly. And since we care so much about all you visitors, I took this blogging moment to introduce you to this new tool and hopefully, you will like it as much as we do!
There are a number of ways to utilize StumbleUpon but the easiest way is to install the toolbar first, located on their main page. Simply click on the “Get the toolbar” link. From here, you will be prompted to install an add-on that’s specific to your web browser.
For instance, IE users will get a prompt that looks like the picture to the left. Click on the Get the “StumbleUpon Add-on for IE >” button and you be asked to Run or Save a “StumbleUpon.exe” application which will assist you in installing the toolbar. From here, just follow the step by step instructions and you will have the toolbar installed in no 
time!
Once Installed, you will notice a button near the top right of your toolbars that says “Start Stumbling…”. If you’ve created a StumbleUpon account prior, you can skip straight to clicking this button. Otherwise, click on “Continue” on the current webpage, to begin customizing your toolbar and creating an account.
In the next screen, a series of check boxes and text boxes to create your account will appear. By clicking on these check boxes, you are initially telling the Stumble database your general website interests.
Customizing your toolbar is very essential to being a Stumbler; it is through these interests that Stumble’s database knows what types of websites to link to you. So spend some time checking the interests that suit you.
Now that you’ve checked your general interests, it’s time to begin Stumbling! If you haven’t already, log in by clicking on the “Start Stumbling” button. A toolbar similar to the one above will appear. To start Stumbling, simply click on the “Stumble” button to start browsing the websites in the Stumble database. If you want to go to another website, just click on the button again! Now, if you come across a website that fits your taste, just click the thumbs up “I like it!” button. If you come across a website you don’t like, you can click on the “Stumble” button to go to another website. If for some reason, you really dislike a website–e.g. it’s slow loading or it’s a form of spam–you can give it a thumbs down. Once you’ve stumbled a good amount, the Stumble database will begin to thoroughly understand your taste in websites and only send you links that suit your interests. Remember the more you Stumble, the more the Stumble database will understand you!
There are some important things to note when it comes to StumbleUpon. One, Stumble traffic is “viral” meaning websites in Stumble’s database that receive a number of thumbs up and reviews, will be sent to more people. This leads to the next note, good content is key! Don’t expect to get highly rated on a website that looks like notepad text. If your content is good and your fellow Stumblers like it, it will get good ratings and be passed on to others for more ratings and reviews. Moreover, if you’ve received a good number of ratings, Stumble’s database will favor your website and send it to even more people! This is how newly created but awesome websites can get massive traffic from StumbleUpon; it doesn’t care how much traffic you’re getting already like your typical search engine. Be sure to fiddle around with the other buttons and every so often, notices will appear around the toolbar to tell you what a specific button does.
Well, now that’s I’ve introduced you to a GREAT social networking tool…. what are you waiting for?? Start Stumbling already! But before you go, please visit UA’s own StumbleUpon webpage. Feel free to add us as a friend and review our content as well! Till next time…. Later UA gamers!
