Lately I've really been getting in to exploring new Web tools! I talked about Twitter on a previous WFMW, and today I want to introduce you to my new favorite: StumbleUpon!
Basically, StumbleUpon is a toolbar you install that helps you find new websites. You enter in the things you're interested in, and then you press "Stumble" and it will take you to different websites which have been rated as good by those with similar interests as you. So if you're interested in Homeschooling, Humor, and Christian parenting sites, it's going to take you to something very different than those interested in Humor, Video Games, and Liberal Politics. Get it?
I have found the most incredible sites through StumbleUpon. Some of the best ones were humour or photo ones, like Austenbook (if Pride & Prejudice were on Facebook), some of the most amazing sand castles you'll ever see, Dave Barry classics: Things I Learned by Age 50, including the profoud "Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night". But I've also found neat ones, like amazing Bible helps, awesome history sites to help in homeschooling, Flashcard resources, and so many web tools that I just never knew were out there! I seem to spend about 10 minutes a day stumbling now, just looking for new sites! And the more you Stumble, the better quality sites the system sends you because it knows what you like.
That's because you give a "Thumbs Up" to each site you like. If you don't like a site, DON'T give a thumbs down unless it's really vulgar or disgusting (though I haven't been sent to any like that). Thumbs down really wrecks traffic for that site, and it's not proper etiquette. I didn't realize this at first, but it isn't really very nice. StumbleUpon takes your thumbs up ratings and then continually refines your preferences, because it knows what you like.
That's what all those little boxes at the bottom of many blog posts are for: The Share This or Bookmark That. When you hit them, you can "Stumble" the pages and rate them. People have to Stumble the pages in order for them to show up in StumbleUpon at all. If it's an awesome page, but no one has ever submitted it, StumbleUpon will never send anyone there.
So a good habit to get into is whenever you're reading a blog post you like, or you find a site you like, Stumble it! It helps the author of the page, and it helps StumbleUpon figure out what you like. For instance, you can Stumble any of my blog pages! If you see a post you like, click on the little time signature at the bottom of the post, so that the post opens in its own window. Then click the "Thumbs Up" button which will appear on your toolbar once you install StumbleUpon. If it's a new site that hasn't been Stumbled before, it will ask you to choose a category (like Parenting or Christian), and write a review. A review doesn't mean an essay. It means, "Great site on how to get along with your kids" or something like that.
And you're done! Get in the habit of doing that with the blogs you're on, and you'll build lots of nice goodwill, and then StumbleUpon will start sending you new blogs you haven't even heard about! It really is a lot of fun.
Some of you may know what that means, but many of you probably don't. I only figured it out a month ago, but I'm hooked.
Are you on Facebook? It was the big thing of 2007, I think, and I signed up then. I do love Facebook, and keeping up with people.
But Twitter is even better at that. It's sort of like a Facebook with only the status updates. You can only post 140 characters at a time, so it's a challenge to stay in that limit. And while on Facebook people may only post once a day, on Twitter it's far more frequent.
The weird thing about Twitter is that you tend to be friends with people you don't know. On Facebook I started out only with people I had some sort of a relationship with. On Twitter you find people with similar interests and follow them. I have searches always open for homeschooling and Christian writers and Christian speakers, for example, and whenever someone puts up a Tweet on those topics, it shows up on my Twitter application. I can then look at these new people and decide if I want to follow.
And I've found some great people that way!
It takes up time, but I don't read all the Tweets that come my way. I only read when I happen to buzz over there. I have about 350 followers right now, and I'm following I think around 315 (I haven't checked yet this morning), which sounds like a lot, but many people are following in the thousands. You just learn to filter out only what you want to read.
I've discovered awesome websites, and great recipes, and neat people.
But the best part is that when you have a problem, you get instantaneous replies. Over Christmas someone sent me a gift certificate in Microsoft Publisher that I needed to print out to give to my mother. Only I don't have Microsoft Publisher. By the time I realized this mixup it was Christmas Eve and I couldn't call the office to have them fix it.
I put up a Tweet about it, and within twenty minutes four different people had pointed me to online solutions that worked! It was great. I would never have known what to do otherwise.
As a writer, I also find Twitter great for publicity, but that's not the main thing it's for. I just find I can ask questions about homeschooling, or speaking, and someone is going to know something and reply really quickly.
Are you on Twitter yet? You can always give it a try! Just join up at http://twitter.com, and then you can always follow me! If you go to http://www.tweetdeck.com (my favourite way to use Twitter), you can search for terms you're interested in, and discover new people.
Make it your preferred time waster for 2009! I love it.
...My book giveaway! Every month I send a free book to whichever blog owner blogrolls me and then sends the most number of visitors to my site! So all you have to do is add my to your blog roll in your side column and you're eligible! I can check the winner easily to see who lands here, so why don't you try it? Last month Sophie from The Walcott Weekly won, and she loves her book! We have a new blog in the running this month, but I'll let you know on December 1!
...and don't forget my podcasts! They're really quite funny, and they're short! Subscribe for free through iTunes (search for To Love, Honor and Vacuum), or pick and choose what to listen to here.
...and why not subscribe? If you land here a lot and don't want to miss anything, just click on the link at the bottom of this post to add me to your feeds. If you're not sure what feeds are, click it anyway. It will show you, and a whole new world will become yours!
...and finally, do you twitter? I do! You can follow me here!
And you can join me on Facebook, too! Just search for "Sheila Wray Gregoire" and add me. Leave a note that you landed there through my blog!
Okay, that's it for now. I'm sitting in a hotel room on the road from a Girls Night Out tour, which went really well last night. I have another one tonight. So I'm getting a ton of work done keeping up my main website and organizing this blog. I have to edit a few things today and write another article, but I'm optimistic I'll get a ton done!
And the nicest thing? When I went to get dressed this morning, I realized that my youngest daughter had hidden some of her Hallowe'en chocolate in my clothes for me to find while I was way. Isn't that sweet? She knows chocolate gets to me.
Speaking of chocolate, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's video from my Girls Night Out tour. This is my favourite clip. It's pretty funny:
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
Stumble It!
