Twitter, StumbleUpon Rank 1-2 In My Book
The verdict is in: Twitter and StumbleUpon (SU) rank as the two most important sites in my social media arsenal, easily outdistancing all other methods combined. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration especially given Twitter’s propensity to slow down in the middle of the day, but I can say that I’m more active with Twitter than I am with SU which says a lot given my lengthy and consistent activity with the latter.
Winning With Twitter
Twittering (or should I say tweeting) is an interesting activity, especially if you like to write compelling, pithy headlines and include a URL with what you have to say. That can give an important edge to the professional writer who is used to coming up with killer headlines, but I don’t see Twitter being all that limiting for anyone other than the overt spammer.
It seems to me that all you have to do is share something of semi-value with your followers and, if your devotees are so inclined, they’ll retweet your tweets again and again. Of course, your pool of followers has to be rabidly interested in you and/or your topic, but “pitiful” me with scarcely 400 followers has seen a nice return on just one or two retweets as well.
Winning With StumbleUpon
SU remains a burly beast, an animal that attracts many other social media pros whose names are familiar to you. Lyndon Antcliff, Chris Garrett, Tim Nash and Shana Albert are just a handful of active 
people on SU, individuals I long ago “friended” and still share stumbles with. However, to even things out a bit, I’m much more likely of late to visit the “What’s New” tab and find the latest finds, pull those up and leave a stumble.
A key point: I almost always leave a comment as a comment/stumble is better than leaving a stumble alone. Please consider doing the same for the pages you choose to stumble…it’ll slow down your stumbling, but you’ll build up a reputation for being someone who leaves thoughtful and related comments behind. Trust me on this one, please.
The Rest of the Pack
I’m no longer active with Digg and I’m very careful with Reddit. Both sites seem to have been over run by a cohort of far-left wing devotees which is okay for them, but not so for everyone else. If you post anything that even hints of opposition to the Digg or Reddit mindset you can expect your work to be buried in no time. They also turn on their own — I’ve read quite a few accounts where even the most ardent digger has been kicked to the curb by fellow diggers or by Digg itself.
Just the other day I had to plead with Reddit to restore my account — seems that my new ‘autotrends’ category offended someone. Gee, what’s so offensive about discussing the auto industry and new cars? Reddit did restore my account, but I’m expecting to be attacked again so I’ll keep my work focused on Twitter and StumbleUpon. That’s right, I quit!
Staying Laser Focused With Social Media
Of course there is a downside to social media and that drawback is spending too much time on it instead of doing actual work that makes money for yourself. Yes, I do tabbed browsing which means I’ll complete some work and then head over to Twitter and SU to see what’s up. I give myself a set amount of time to tweet or stumble, then its back to what I was doing.
Am I always so disciplined? No, but I avoid doing consecutive hours of socializing and with warmer weather here I’m much more inclined to log off, push in my chair and head outside for some refreshing exercise.
Thankfully, I don’t have a Blackberry or iPhone yet, otherwise I might be tempted to take my social media habit with me!
Related Reading: Amusing Myself With Twitter
Tags: Blackberry, Chris Garrett, Digg, iPhone, Lyndon Antcliff, Reddit, SEO Tools, Shana Albert, social media, StumbleUpon, Tim Nash, Twitter
SEO Tools, Social Media | Matthew C. Keegan, 9 Apr 09
By Bret, April 9, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
Matt, great points. I’m new to StumbleUpon and social media as a whole. Your comment on Digg is spot-on. This is coming from someone who had no bias going in, but in a couple of hours could see a clear undertow of a fringe left iron fisted intolerance…Opposing ideas aren’t debated on merits only insults and of course the team favorite “it’s Bush’s fault”.
Look forward to more of your articles.
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 9, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
Thanks, Bret! Welcome to the world of social media. I just added you as a Twitter follower.
Social media should be back and forth bantering, dialogue to exchange thoughts and ideas not a monologue, which is what Digg and Reddit encourage. I certainly don’t expect people to always agree with me (that would be boring) but I would like to be able to share what I have to say without getting beaten down.
StumbleUpon is a big help, enabling me to connect with like-minded SEO folks and driving traffic to my sites.
By John @ Professional Web Design, April 10, 2009 @ 4:41 am
I get a lot of unique hits a day from SU. It’s a great tool, and can be pretty addicting. However, I’m not too fond of twitter. I find it cluttered and too disorganized. BUT, I do know that it’s a great way to reach potential customers – I just don’t like giving 150 word messages.
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 10, 2009 @ 5:16 am
John, I didn’t like Twitter for a long time either. Thought that it was wasteful and silly, but then I realized who was using it: my customers and future clients. So, I decided to start twittering about the automotive industry, a move that has connected me with hundreds of like-minded people. I’m still waiting to get some work out of it, but at least it is helping to build up my visibility.
By Karen, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry", April 10, 2009 @ 5:20 am
I agree with you about Twitter. I like it, mostly because it’s quick, easy and kind of fun. I am on SU too and do stumble sites sometimes (with comments) but seldom get to actually browsing through it and still don’t really know how to make the most of it. Just really haven’t had the time to bother much with it. I signed up for Digg but don’t use it anymore because it’s just a chore to Digg something.
I don’t have a Blackberry or iphone either which is probably for the best.
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 10, 2009 @ 5:25 am
Karen, SU can be a useful tool especially if you use it regularly and include some of your own pages in the mix.
When you thumb up a page and leave a comment, SU gives greater weight to the link than a page that is simply thumbed up. This helps the discovered page get more views while helping to build your reputation as a stumbler.
I used to stumble 50-200 pages a day. These days its more like 5-15, but I almost always leave reviews behind.
By Anthony Proulx, April 10, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
That totally sucks that there is dumb drama on those sites.
Yeah I would say forget them if they can’t be mature about things
and let you talk what you want to talk about. This isn’t America, so why
are people trying to make so many rules. Internet is supposed to be about
being able to say whatever you want to say to whoever you want to say it to.
By Jimmy, April 11, 2009 @ 5:57 pm
I’m not using twitter,.. yet, but I agree with you about stumbleupon been one of the best social sites these days. I receive around 200 hits daily from them
By ViCky, April 12, 2009 @ 1:23 am
I am not having a lot of luck from the Two websites Yet. Lets hope i get good reward from them in the future.
By LarryJackson, April 12, 2009 @ 2:32 am
I receive more hits from StubleUpon than I do from all other social sites combined.
LarryJacksons last blog post..Why we defend traditional marriage
By Grace, April 16, 2009 @ 10:49 pm
So I’m not the only one who thinks that Digg is should be called DiggLeft? I haven’t even heard of the other one you were talking about, Reddit.
I thought I was pretty cool for being on Facebook. LOL! I get a few clicks in from that but nothing of significance. Heck, I still get clicks from Myspace! How out is that? I find it fascinating that Myspace, within the span of the last year and a half is no longer mentioned in the social networking sentence!
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 17, 2009 @ 4:03 am
I forgot about MySpace, Grace… I wonder why?
Facebook is fine and Digg is a disaster. Good thing you never heard of Reddit as you aren’t missing anything except perhaps an opportunity to be slammed!
By Sueblimely, April 20, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
I am with you on this, much preferring SU and Twitter myself. Digg never really appealed to me but SU not only brings me visitors but a friendly social network and interesting reading material. Twitter intrigues me although I am not sure I yet know how to use it to its best advantage as far as drawing visitors to my blog. After reading this I am now going to do more retweeting as a way of showing appreciation to my followers.
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 21, 2009 @ 3:58 am
Sue, Twitter has been acting up a lot lately as it expands so fast that their servers can’t hold the traffic. I know that you are in Australia, so you’re probably online at different hours when American traffic is at its lowest. Ever since Oprah got on, things haven’t been the same. Still, I’ll keep tweeting and retweeting…the latter which you mentioned is a great way to thank your followers.
By Van, April 23, 2009 @ 1:57 am
I have been using Stumble Upon for a while now and I find it a great way to get exposure. As for Tweeter, like most of you, I didn’t like it at first but will take time to get the hang of it as I find more and more potential clients and close contacts “tweeting” now, too.
Van
By Matthew C. Keegan, April 23, 2009 @ 4:35 am
Van, Twitter can be a useful tool or it can be a time waster. Everyone’s experience is different. If you have a hard sell for Twitter you won’t succeed, but if you offer good advice, help others and have a friendly demeanor, you could gain new business.
By Dominique, May 5, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
Matt – I agree with you. SU and Twitter have become the two I have kept. I had the same problems with dig and finally just let it go. Thanks for the post. Great confirmation for me.
Dominiques last blog post..Vacation…
By Matthew C. Keegan, May 5, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
You are welcome, Dominique! I’ve never been thrilled with Digg, preferring to spend my time on sites where I know that I am welcomed or at least left alone. SU and Twitter rock, two sites which are worth the daily investment of time and energy.
By George, June 3, 2009 @ 4:45 am
I am never interested with Digg. To me Twitter is the site that truly worth the time and energy of the visitors.
By Greg, June 3, 2009 @ 5:27 am
Honestly speaking from the very beginning I am not fascinated with Digg. Rather I believe Twitter site worth the energy as well as the time of the online visitors.