Hello. I specialize in graphic design and development for web applications.
The top reasons why this page will not be popular on StumbleUpon
March 12, 2008 at 10:53 pm
The first reason this page will not be popular on StumbleUpon is that it’s a post about StumbleUpon. Stumblers (myself included) tend to “thumb-down” posts that talk about StumbleUpon. Quite often I don’t even read the page! If the page says “StumbleUpon” in it, it’s usually another generic “Why StumbleUpon is awesome for my site though I don’t know why you’d care” post.
Another reason this post will not do well on StumbleUpon is the submitter — myself! Posts submitted by their authors are generally considered bad as well as rude and spammy (not that I haven’t done this on other occasions as well, but I try to avoid it). If this content is so great, shouldn’t another user be able to find it?! After all, I’m just making money from the annoying ads you’re seeing every three lines. (I don’t usually have those, but I want this to do poorly, remember!)
CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE iPOD!
The third reason this page will do poorly is I am not writing this in a list format. Research shows that Stumblers don’t stay long, they glance at your page and if it doesn’t seem interesting they leave. After all, if you’re literally a click away from a completely new page in your interest area, you don’t need to worry about missing an interesting page — there’s a thousand more!
 OMG!!!1!one!111!exclaimaton!1!! THIS IS REAL: GET A FREE LAPTOP!
This page also has poor style. I’ve used a few run-on sentences to make it harder to read. I’ve also randomly bolded and italicized words to make it harder to figure out what’s important.
PLEASE THUMB UP THIS PAGE!
That last headline is another reason this will do very poorly on StumbleUpon. 90% of users thumb down pages when told to thumb them up. We are a very rebellious group, no?
I’M SERIOUS THUMB UP THIS PAGE!
And the final reason people will thumb down this page: They think this is a trick to get them to thumb it up! They think I secretly just want more traffic, and they’ll voice themselves in the reviews for this page. Or maybe this is really a trick to get people to thumb this up. Or MAYBE I’m just tired and rambling!
7 Responses:
Comment by Jack
Thumbed up
Comment by agent-fisher
you were right.
Comment by agent-fisher
on a side note i really like that your default avi is a grue.
Comment by Anatoly
You are right.. I usually need only a short glance (1-2 seconds?) to decide if the page I stumbled on worth a second look. I don’t agree with the last one however. It is clear that you want this page to be thumbed up, but in the end the decision is based on content…:)
Comment by Max Miroff
Apparently I stole this post. You can read about it here: http://blogbadly.com/social-bookmarking/top-ten-reasons-this-list-wont-be-popular-on-diggstumbleupongeneric-bookmarking-website/
Funny part is, I’ve never read this post + my post has different ideas and more ideas. Thanks for commenting on my blog and assuming I’m some sort of horrible thief. If you want to know where I got the idea, I was talking to Collin LaHay of Mixed Market Arts about his best posts and noticed one of his top ones was “Ten reasons this list will be popular on Digg.” Considering my blog is satire, I decided to parody it. It has nothing to do with your post.
Comment by BradBlogging.com
I’ve seen this post before yours on other sites.. Learn how to steal stuff secretly.
Comment by Tyler
I most certainly have not copied this post, in whole or in part. People have been copying my posts and passing them off as their own. (Well this post at least.) I’ve been sending them DMCA takedown notices as I find them, but if you have any others let me know.
I’m assuming, here, that you don’t mean the *idea*. I have not stolen the idea from anyone, it was an original (it’s not now, apparently). I can’t send takedown notices for stolen concepts, nor would I want to.
Say your words!