su_logo.jpgStumbleUpon is full of questions, contradictions, and philosophical differences. That is one of the things that makes it a wonderful and interesting place. Everybody has a different definition of spam, none of which seem to correspond to the (probably semi-) official definition of the term. SU has rules which often don’t make any sense, are counter-intuitive, and often seem self-defeating. People are often at odds about etiquette and procedure. SU is evolving, and that is fun to be involved in.

I am sometimes amazed at the amount of rancor and false information that can be generated around the simplest issues. Then again, I was amazed at the same feelings in 1981, when I joined CompuServe and discovered the CB Simulator, the mother of all chat programs, and in truth the mother of all social media. That’s correct, I have been doing this for 27 years, longer than some of you have been alive. That amazes me, too.  Perhaps I am too easily amazed. :)

Social networking / bookmarking started way back then and I have been watching it with interest the whole time, as well as being up to my neck in it. StumbleUpon is one of the more interesting variations, which is to say that it has a lot going for it and not a lot to detract from the basic attractions, although it is certainly not perfect.

I started this blog because there was an idea in the back of my mind that there was a lot to say about SU and the people that use it. Almost all of that is good. Although I am most certainly still learning about SU and the entire social bookmarking universe, I think that I have finally learned enough to start really writing about StumbleUpon. I’m sure that a lot of you will help me learn even more as I go, through comments and in other ways.

We will keep on doing interviews. People seem to love them and we love doing them. I am not nearly as happy about the “Tips and Tricks” sort of posts. I don’t enjoy writing them. They don’t really add much to the more interesting conversation that we should be having about SU as a life-enhancing tool. If you have a “How do I…” sort of question, just ask it either in comments or by using the “Contact Us” link at the top of any page and we will get you the answer. If you have a really interesting answer, write it up and we’ll run it on this blog under your name.

I would love for this to be an actual conversation, if you wish to join into it. If you have something to say about StumbleUpon and don’t have a platform to stand on to say it, contact me and we’ll work out a guest post arrangement. It does not really matter to me what side of the discussion you are coming from. There’s room for a lot of opinions. All you need to be able to do is state your case well and not be hostile or vulgar about it, to use StumbleUpon’s words. We’ll be happy to give you some space to say your piece.