StumbleUpon Bids Farewell: Saying Hello To Mix

The internet is very huge, and at any given day, the size increases to occupy more and more contents.

This is where StumbleUpon got its name. Providing a simple way for users to "stumble" upon random links they wouldn't have otherwise spotted, StumbleUpon's co-founder believes that the platform has delivered 60 billion stumbles to more than 40 million people over its 16 years of age.

While many StumbleUpon users may have forgotten about the internet discovery service, or have moved to other more popular platforms, StumbleUpon is far from dying.

It's still active with people combing the web through a click of a button.

But according to Camp, all StumbleUpon accounts are moving to Mix, a newer web discovery service that the he created in 2015 with his company, Expa.

The reason for this because: the web is a different place than it was 16 years ago.

According to Camp, the transition to Mix is meant to improve the underlying base of SumbleUpon, making it capable to meet newer technology trends the internet has to give.

"We have built Mix to work on every browser and smartphone," Camp said, "to make the transition as smooth as possible. With a few clicks you can register and import your SU favorites, interests and tags — creating Mix Collections that are easily shared with friends."

Mix can serve contents in the form of articles and oddities, and that according to users' preferences. But this is where it only excels. StumbleUpon on the other hand, is a simple game of roulette. One click of a button can direct a user to anywhere on the web.

StumbleUpon

Combining the best of both worlds, users can get into Mix easily.

First of all, they can sign in with their StumbleUpon account. Once done, they can choose a few topics of interest. After this, they can then see articles and collections in those selected topics, and they can jump from one part of the web to another with ease.

While Mix wants to be the next StumbleUpon, old time users may miss the original StumbleUpon because of the platform's unusual take on the internet.

"Creating StumbleUpon has been an amazing experience. It was the first project I worked on back in college in 2002. I have personally clicked the stumble button hundreds of thousands of times, and learned a lot in the process. But it’s now time to focus on the future, and create the next discovery platform that will uncover hidden gems we would never think to search for."

Camp says that StumbleUpon taught its creators about the importance of filtering expanding web content. And this is where it needs to move on. StumbleUpon was unique in its own way, but it has delivered the best past its time.

Published: 
26/05/2018