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StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

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Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#91

Post by majani »

whack wrote: post #17
majani wrote: post #14

I've been mulling a form of charity where instead of closing down a once famous website, you give it to some talented developers in a poorer country to maintain it remotely. There are good developers in third world countries who get paid a pittance for basically busy work. They would certainly appreciate the challenge and money around a service like StumbleUpon. What do you think of this idea and is there anyone doin…

"Once famous" websites are rarely ever thrown away completely. They are often scrapped for parts, and any nugget of value that still remains, is sold to the highest bidder. This is often incompatible with letting the service continue running as usual. For example, the article mentions that the StumbleUpon cofounder is currently working on Mix, and all StumbleUpon accounts will be migrated over to Mix. Most likely, th…

Profit is not usually the motive in a fire sale. The motive is to salvage something small from a bad situation. Doing good is a competitive proposition if you look at it that way

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#92

Post by eip »

brownbat wrote: post #62
eip wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have been reflecting on ways to fix it lately. Don't worry. They are pulling a Stumbleupon/Digg right now. Taking something that isn't broken and trying to fix it. The redesign is corporate suicide.

Digg is actually pretty good now that it's 100% curated. Killing the community was one of the best moves they could have made.

If their goal was to go from a top 50 website to a top 3000 website they certainly succeeded.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#93

Post by kregasaurusrex »

dmschulman wrote: post #2

StumbleUpon was one of the first web services I came across that actually provided a new and exciting way to traverse the internet. I'll never forget the sense of discovery and wonder and amusement it provided, my only other sources for cool and interesting content were things my friends would share with me or sites I would find via an article/web page. StumbleUpon took me out of my "filter bubble" if you will and in…

It was really great for finding new things, both in and outside your interests range! I'd tried it again once or twice in the past few years, and was annoyed at how often and how noticeable the 'sponsored stumbles' became. Felt more like watching a series of hyper-curated ads instead of a natural discovery engine.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#94

Post by duncancarroll »

I used to have a setup where StumbleUpon was permanently on my TV set, and the Stumble button itself I had hooked up to my remote control, so I could stumble my way through things on the couch. It was infinitely better than TV itself.

I agree with other commenters how it expanded their online world, and I'm saddened that there is no real alternative to this now, especially in the land of insular internet bubbles we live in today.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#96

Post by darpa_escapee »

drb91 wrote: post #90
darpa_escapee wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless a subreddit is heavily moderated, I've yet to see one that's gained popularity outside of its core users that didn't turn into a meme/clickbait/karma-motivated cesspool.

> Unless a subreddit is heavily moderated, I've yet to see one that's gained popularity outside of its core users that didn't turn into a meme/clickbait/karma-motivated cesspool. Well that's a weird condition given that all the good subreddits I know owe this entirely to moderators. Why are you looking for lightly moderated content?

I'm very much in favor of heavy moderation. However, I realize that it's a difficult task when moderators aren't paid and users are joining exponentially.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#97

Post by upbeatlinux »

StumbleUpon was "unique" in the aughties sense of the word. Before Reddit and Digg made things Hot or Not this was the place to go for interesting content. It wasn't loud or or overly verbose; it sent you to great sites before SEO and paid media killed content.

Maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic on the implementation as well as the time. IDK.

I hope Garret, Ali and the team at Mix do great things.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#98

Post by retsibsi »

dirtybird04 wrote: post #81
simonbarker87 wrote: post #26

So SU tangentially provided me with the singularly most embarrassing moment of my life about 9 years ago. So we are showing our office to a design company a few buildings over and just chatting about the business and the stuff we make (we were all starting out and in our early 20s), there were lots of prototype bits around and adhesives and stuff, basically the office had a slight chemical smell to it. One of the guy…

That's hilarious. I can totally relate. And don't pay any attention to these alcoholic fratbros. You be you, man!

I was also shocked by the tameness of his most embarassing moment, but not because my own stories are cooler -- just much stupider and more awkward!

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#99

Post by not_kurt_godel »

muppetman wrote: post #79
drb91 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to be that guy, but each subreddit is different. This is arguably the main selling point of reddit vs other link aggregators like facebook. Grouping all into the same toxic culture is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Yea, the reddit I visit is wonderful. Full of helpful, technical people. I guess because I have zero interest in politics or anything even slightly political - I can't even describe what left wing vs right wing actually means, or which I am (I must be one, I suppose) I post/hangout in all technical forums (pfsense/proxmox/vim/android) and pretty much without exception people are lovely. Android gets a bit catty becau…

> I have zero interest in politics or anything even slightly political - I can't even describe what left wing vs right wing actually means

Political apathy is toxic. You don't have to be obsessed with politics but it's everyone's civic duty to understand the basic principles and players of our political system. Low voter turnout and low-information voters were major factors in Trump's win. You may think you don't care about politics but it's practically guaranteed you are or will be affected in some way (probably negative) as a result of his election - even if you don't live in the US.

Re: StumbleUpon closing after 16 years, accounts can be migrated to Mix

#100

Post by excitom »

whack wrote: post #17
majani wrote: post #14

I've been mulling a form of charity where instead of closing down a once famous website, you give it to some talented developers in a poorer country to maintain it remotely. There are good developers in third world countries who get paid a pittance for basically busy work. They would certainly appreciate the challenge and money around a service like StumbleUpon. What do you think of this idea and is there anyone doin…

"Once famous" websites are rarely ever thrown away completely. They are often scrapped for parts, and any nugget of value that still remains, is sold to the highest bidder. This is often incompatible with letting the service continue running as usual. For example, the article mentions that the StumbleUpon cofounder is currently working on Mix, and all StumbleUpon accounts will be migrated over to Mix. Most likely, th…

Example: The zombie-esque http://www.excite.com/
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