StumbleUpon is a very popular social media sharing and aggregation site with over 20 million users. They recently launched an immense user-end overhaul that changed pretty much everything about their site.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F8DtI9e4xZ8]
Though they have just recently removed themes, groups, and blogs from their site, the new changes seem focused on directing users away from the site and back to using their toolbar, whether they have the iFrame or installed versions.
Direct Link Removal
One move that seems to have surprised many in the industry is the removal of all the direct links that point to content sources from within Stumbleupon. Now there is a single button for ‘Stumble This’ that when clicked transfers the user to an iframed version of the chosen content.
This reason behind the controversy is that now that all content from the site is iframed, once logged into the StumbleUpon system, there is no way to remove the toolbar, always leaving you in the iframed version of their site.
The Reaction
Although a bit before the change was launched, StumbleUpon employees discussed how happy they were that their pages had high SEO value for content owners, it seems they may not feel that way anymore.
Rebranding?
Although this may be a part of their larger re-branding plan, forcing users to browse in iframes may not be the best move yet. Before, users could simply X out of the StumbleUpon frame if they wanted to visit a site directly. Now viewers are forced to browse within the frame. Once logged out of the site, the toolbar is easily X’d out, which leaves many users wondering how useful the new change really is.
Author:
@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.
Sources: