blog StumbleUpon and the Internet Before Algorithms

[Snagged]

Before algorithms learned how to predict us, StumbleUpon taught an entire generation how to wander. It did not ask what you wanted. It asked only whether you were curious enough to see what someone else thought was worth your time. And in doing so, it shaped how millions of people learned to explore the web, long before discovery became optimized, monetized, and engineered for engagement.

Read the full story
https://www.snagged.com/post/stumbleupon-and-the-internet-before-algorithms

 

[katerleonid]

I remember using websites and tools like StumbleUpon, and others I can’t recall, around 2010 for my SEO websites.

 

[Rich]

Never used stumble upon but I remember web rings from the 90s (linking similar websites together) and the delicious bookmark keepers. Pirating frontpage 98 so I could build our rainbow 6 clans website for the AoD (angels of death). The good old days with aol chat wars, geocities, exploring mIRC/bitchx scripts while listening to #prankradio on efnet, and winamp which I still use (made a shoutcast server once), that packard bell Pentium 2 that blew the Tandy out of the water. Never owned an Alienware but still remember the emachines.

 

[DomainRodeo]

I remember using websites and tools like StumbleUpon, and others I can’t recall, around 2010 for my SEO websites.

Same. Social bookmarking sites where all the rage back then. Remember del.icio.us?

 

[katerleonid]

Same. Social bookmarking sites where all the rage back then. Remember del.icio.us?

Yes.