Stumbling through the Internet
Have you ever been really bored and just wanted to look at random, yet interesting websites? Fortunately, there is a social media site for that called StumbleUpon. According to Wikipedia, StumbleUpon is “a discovery engine that finds the best of the web, recommended to each unique user.” This site allows you to start at one webpage and “stumble” to another. For instance, if you first go to StumbleUpon, the page might be awesome photography of African animals. When you hit the “stumble” button on the top left corner of the page, it will immediately direct you to another page. The next page might be a recipe for low calorie brownies. You can keep stumbling through pages and pages and find things like funny videos, comic strips, photography, articles, clothing deals, and much more. The best part about StumbleUpon is that you can make your own username and save the pages you like. When you stumble through pages, there is another button next to the “stumble” button that says “I like this” By clicking this button, you save that webpage to your favorites. When first making your account, you can select from categories you are interested in to direct StumbleUpon to pages within those categories. When you like a webpage, StumbleUpon also takes into account the pages you like to keep directing you toward similar pages. I believe this is considered a social media site because you can find your friends on StumbleUpon using your Facebook account or your e-mail. When you find a friend, you can see their favorite pages. Because of how it functions, StumbleUpon is an example of participatory culture, community and convergence.
When stumbling, I have never run across the same page more than once. According to my StumbleUpon profile, I have stumbled through 706 webpages, so it is pretty amazing that I see new things every single time I stumble. I believe this is a result of our culture. Our culture is used to an ever-changing and fast-paced environment. We are constantly connected to technology and feeding information into our already-packed brains. Currently I am writing this paper in a word processor while on the internet with five different tabs open on one window. I am also watching my boyfriend play Halo on his Xbox 360 while texting on my cell phone. Our daily environment is full of multi-tasking, especially with advanced technology. Participatory culture is one where people are participating in and contributing to the culture, most often in the form of media. With social media surrounding our daily lives, we are living in the midst of participatory culture. Henry Jenkins says “this circulation of media content – across different media systems, competing media economies, and national borders – depends heavily on consumers’ active participation.” StumbleUpon is no exception to this. I have noticed that many webpages are putting a StumbleUpon button on their page so that people can click it and that webpage will then appear on StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon exists because people link webpages to it that interest them and they want to share with others. The site could not exist without our constant participation with it. To better suit our interests, we need to use the website as much as possible. The more we stumble, the better the site gets to know us. It can then provide us with sites that we will almost always like because it caters to our interests. Our participation with StumbleUpon benefits both us and the website.
Social media and community are words that are often used together, and StumbleUpon definitely exemplifies a community. According to Burgess and Green on the subject of YouTube, “videos … give material form and visibility to the identities of fans as members of a community of fellow enthusiasts. Uploading this material serves as a way for the group to talk among themselves, and to the broader community, using the same media texts that bring them together.” StumbleUpon, like YouTube, has many aspects of a community. You can find your friends on StumbleUpon and see all of their favorite webpages. You can also follow certain stumblers, just like on Twitter. You can join groups based on categories as well as look at recent and top stumblers. Many pages on StumbleUpon also have a place to comment. Because of this, many discussions (and arguments) break out on the site. Whether it’s a good or bad comment, people are interacting with one another through StumbleUpon. Burgess and Green go on to say, “YouTube is a potential site of cosmopolitan cultural citizenship – a space in which individuals can represent their identities and perspectives, engage with the self-representations of others, and encounter cultural difference.” I would say that StumbleUpon is also classified as a space where others can represent themselves. Your specific profile on StumbleUpon shows what you like and what kind of categories most interest you. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their interests. When people have the same interests, it becomes part of a community.
StumbleUpon is also an example of convergence. Jenkins says “convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres, and audiences.” StumbleUpon is not using the most advanced technology, but it is making great use of an already existing technology, the internet. The site is essentially just linking to other webpages and putting the StumbleUpon search bar on top of each page. However, it is extremely effective and it appeals to a large audience. Just about anyone can use and be entertained by StumbleUpon. There are many different categories to search through and it is fun to be surprised by what you will stumble upon next on the web. Jenkins continues with “convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed.” Whoever started StumbleUpon is a genius. They used the internet, which so many people have and rely on, and made it easy for us to entertain ourselves in a simple way. It reminds me of when search engines first started. Someone put Google together to be able to find webpages related to any search. StumbleUpon is similar in the way that there are millions of webpages connected to it. This is a completely new way that we can “consume” the internet for our own entertainment value.
With so many social media websites at our fingertips nowadays, it seems impossible that we should ever be bored. However, with our generation becoming more involved with the internet, we constantly need new things to capture our interests. StumbleUpon is a website I turn to when I need some entertainment. I can stumble for hours, and share what I find with my friends and family. StumbleUpon relies on a participatory culture to survive and it is definitely not lacking in contribution. It also provides a community for people. Not only can we find interesting things on StumbleUpon, but we can learn more about our friends by looking at what webpages interest them. The site also creates a community for the users to feel like they are a part of something. You can see when someone has shared interests with you and even make a new friend from it. StumbleUpon is also an example of convergence in that it is constantly linking to other webpages. Many webpages now want to be linked to StumbleUpon because of all the users on it. Not only does StumbleUpon literally converge websites, but it is a convergence of old and new media. It uses the internet to provide entertainment for us. I can stumble and find a webpage that recommends books for me to read, based on my favorite books. I can find a site with cute photos of tired animals. I can find videos on YouTube that are slowly becoming viral videos. I can even find a website that helps me make something to satisfy my craving for Thai food. With social media sites such as StumbleUpon, we have so many options for things to do in our free time.
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