I just finished reading Marty Weintraub’s social marketing piece, “Is Facebook Bleeding Out StumbleUpon?” and was left with a sinking feeling. Could it be that my favorite social media tool, StumbleUpon, will eventually be choked out by Facebook? Perish the thought!

Ditching StumbleUpon For Facebook?

As horrible as the thought is, facts seem to be supporting what Marty has discovered: his online marketing contacts appear to be using Facebook much more than they are using Stumbleupon.

Specifically, Marty notes:

All of us only have SO much time each day and tend to focus on sending and receiving communications from email + one or 2 communities. I used to get 6-10 emails a day in SU. Now those same good friends communicate with me through Facebook.

50 Million Users v. 4 Million Users

I haven’t noticed the change myself, mostly because I have a minimal presence on Facebook. I still get plenty of stumble requests from my contacts and my list of friends continues to expand.

Yes, I know that Facebook is “where its at” but I prefer a more intimate setting then the 50 million user Facebook. With just 4 million registered users, StumbleUpon (SU) is a much more comfortable fit for the way that I work.

Although the 200 member limit on SU is kind of a pain, at least SU isn’t silly like MySpace where everyone wants to be your girlfriend. On the other hand, I’ve been bothered by Facebook’s web-monitoring feature which I find to be highly intrusive. I understand that this has been scaled back recently, but it still bugs me that they even pushed such nonsense.

A Call To Arms

Despite its faults, I’ll likely be stepping up my Facebook presence after the new year, but I have no intention of ditching SU. I also like LinkedIn as I have made some fabulous contacts through this business social networking community.

Like people concerned about Google’s huge growth (and resultant PageRank craziness) I don’t want any one company dominating social media nor do I want one search engine to rule. Therefore, consider this as my personal appeal to all stumblers out there to keep on stumbling even you use Facebook.

I can’t imagine online life without StumbleUpon, one of the best information and marketing tools available to web surfers.

I want to help you, but first you must help yourself

I enjoy the internet, mingling with folks who share a similar passion and who aren’t afraid to step out and try something new. Google may have messed up with PageRank, and Microsoft still has a sorry excuse of a web browser, but it is the every day people from India, Australia, Argentina, and elsewhere who truly shape the internet.

No Lone Rangers Online

With tens of millions of people online at any given moment, it is easy to feel like a speck of sand on the seashore of life. Standing out can be difficult, but social media has made it much easier for people to have a voice, to tell the world what they do and what they’re selling.

The solitary individual can make a living online, but it is those people who know that they need the help of others who make for the most successful people themselves.

A Simple Little Request

So, if you want help from others online then why aren’t you helping yourself first?

A case in point — if you use StumbleUpon, then you may not be utilizing your About page properly. Specifically, telling people about yourself is one thing, but providing a clickable URL (thanks for clarifying that point, Sandraew) to your blogs can certainly go a long way toward helping people find and stumble your pages. Why is this important? Well, if you’re like me — someone who uses StumbleUpon a lot and who likes to reward his friends — then you enjoy sending a stumble tsunami their way every now and then.

I can’t do this very easily when a person’s profile page (About) makes it difficult to find their pages. I could search around, but when I’m stumbling through scores of other sites I probably won’t spend the extra time looking for hidden pages.

Time For An Update?

If your About page doesn’t link to your blog, website or other pages of significance, then please make the change as soon as possible. By making it easy for stumblers to find your work, you’ll reap the benefits of having a profile page that is user-friendly.

I don’t know how else to say it, but I think you already have gotten the gist of my message.

Social Networking Done Right

All right, there are people who understand this whole social networking thing better than I do. When it comes to building online contacts, I rank as a novice in the eyes of some.

On the other hand, I have figured out how to work a handful of internet tools to my advantage!

I’m not about to give all of my secrets away — you’ll have to read Dosh Dosh blog’s for his latest social media marketing tips. What I will share with you is some quick pointers on how you can build your relationship with other social network pros without turning them off.

The following is my list of 7 tips (or habits) of social networking:

1. Sign up and get a feel for the network: The New York State Lottery uses a tagline, you gotta be in it to win it. The same holds true for socializing online — you need to join several networks in order to reap the benefits. No one wins the lottery without buying a ticket, in the case of social networks your ticket is free. And, unlike the lottery, all users are winners!

2. Do not be a N00B: Everyone has to start somewhere, but if you come across as a newbie, then you’ll likely be ignored. Worse, people will think that you are a pain in the rear quarters. Read up on that network, google a search for related articles, and experiment. Do not expect someone to take you under their wing — they’re too busy working the network.

3. Be consistent: Joining a network and not participating on a regular basis will reduce the chances that your articles will get stumbled, your blog posts read, and your contacts will not consider you a serious player. Although I belong to several networks, StumbleUpon is my favorite, with Sphinn, MyBlogLog, and BlogCatalog in the mix.

4. Ask and you shall receive: If you want an article stumbled, then ask. However, ask only on occasion and be prepared to return the favor when asked. People are busy managing a wide variety of tasks every day — don’t consume their time with wasteful stuff!

5. Ask specifically, do not be greedy: Nothing frosts me more then when someone asks me to stumble their post and then follows up with a secondary request to leave a message on their blog. Sometimes I leave comments with my stumble, sometimes I do not. I will leave a message on a blog if time permits and if I have something worthy to add. Give me one request and I may follow up with a bonus if I am in the mood.

6. Build up your silent network of social network pros: There are a handful of people I contact from time to time to ask for a stumble, a sphinn, or a digg. I will never publicly reveal who my contacts are and I certainly do not want everyone to know that I am good for a stumble (okay, I am!)

7. Give, expecting nothing in return: This is a hard one for some people — stumbling, digging, and leaving comments behind unilaterally. True, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine is the prevalent theme of social networking, but why not set yourself apart and simply pay it forward for somebody?

How Popular Do You Want To Be?

For some people, dominating a particular social network is their way of measuring their online success. Personally, I am not so much interested in building friends (I’m maxed out on StumbleUpon), rather in sharing stumble juice, the digg effect, sphinning, etc. Operating just below the radar has its advantages, namely you won’t get every Tom, Dick, and Harriet begging for your help.

Social networking is constantly changing so keep up with the changes and you’ll be fine. If too much of your time is being consumed “building relationships online” then maybe it is time to shut down the computer and go out and seek some human contact.