StumbleUpon

Let's face it: there's a whole lot of content on the Internet, and there's no way to find the best of it without a little help. StumbleUpon can help with this monumental task by recommending sites to you based on your interests and the recommendations of others. The StumbleUpon Chrome extension integrates StumbleUpon's functionality into your browser, making it easy to discover and make note of new and interesting sites.

We didn't have a StumbleUpon account, so the first thing we had to do was create one, which was a simple process of selecting a … Read more

Bliss Control is a Web service that aims to ease the burden of updating a variety of settings on multiple social networks. It supports 12 settings on 13 different social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

Bliss Control doesn't require access to your account or password because all it's providing is a direct link to where the specific settings are. Granted, it's not that difficult to find these settings on your own, but if you're trying to update your profile pic, e-mail address, or bio on several sites at the same time, Bliss Control can … Read more

Apparently, new phones, tablets, and other hardware aren't making the only news coming out of Barcelona, Spain, this week, as popular social discovery engine StumbleUpon has just released its newest Android app.

A featured developer at the Google Android booth, StumbleUpon got to show off its updated Android app as well as its new logo and color scheme at Mobile World Congress.

If you're not familiar with StumbleUpon, it's basically a Web site that helps you discover new Web sites. It gets to know you through your profile and your Web browsing activity, then uses the data … Read more

When blog network Gawker Media announced last year that it would be completely redesigning its portfolio of media properties--which include Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, and the namesake Gawker.com--it created a wave of banter in the media industry. With only one story fully highlighted on the front page and a frame serving up alternate stories' headlines, Gawker honcho Nick Denton is steering the company into a theoretical post-blog age.

But, when the redesign went live on several Gawker properties Tuesday, there were still a few surprises to the notably tablet-friendly experience. For one, Gawker sites have now completely eliminated … Read more

StumbleUpon users intent on drifting through the Web while out and about now have two new first-party options.

On Thursday, the company introduced applications for both the iPhone and Android that put the site's signature Web stumbling into a pocket-friendly size. On both platforms, the app simply adds a built-in frame bar on top of, or underneath an embedded Web browser.

The bar (which cannot be hidden) contains the usual array of StumbleUpon buttons with a thumbs up and thumbs down and a stumble button that takes users to a completely random page. There's also the requisite toggle to share pages you're on with friends both on StumbleUpon and social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Unlike visiting StumbleUpon.com, users of the app need to be registered members of StumbleUpon before they can use it, though there's a way to sign up if you're not. The one upside to this nuisance is that it carries over all your existing preferences, including favorites and preferred topics of interest, which can be browsed like TV channels from within the app.

One neat feature that's been added to compensate for potentially slow network connections is a "thumbnail mode" that gives you a small preview of the page the app wants to load up, as well as information on how many views it's gotten, and the likes and reviews of other StumbleUpon members. This can be turned on or off, though here Android users have a slight advantage since they can change that setting without leaving the app. iPhone users will have to head to their system settings to make the switch instead; on the plus side, the app features fast app switching, so you can come back to it from any other app and now lose what you were looking at.

Along with the iPhone and Android apps, StumbleUpon has also had a similar, albeit larger-screened offering for iPad users since late June. Going forward the company says it plans to bring native versions of its service to other platforms, along with push notifications and improved friend discovery.

Note: Android users can download it by clicking on, or scanning the app's QR code posted after the break. … Read more

StumbleUpon's new link shortening site called Su.pr made its public (yet private) launch today. Similar to Bit.ly, it shortens URLs and lets users track where they end up, along with stats on who's clicked on them. It also brings along StumbleUpon's software-free toolbar which lets users hop to both recommended and random links.

However, the real appeal of Su.pr is that it gives each shortened URL the potential for greatness. URLs can be seeded not only to Twitter and Facebook, but also into StumbleUpon's content pool where they can be discovered and promoted … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

eBay's first-quarter results were better than expected, and the company argued that it is operating with more discipline and smarter.

For the quarter ended March 31 (statement), the company reported net income of $357.1 million, or 28 cents a share, on revenue of $2.02 billion, down $171.6 million from a year ago due to poor performance in its marketplaces unit. On a non-GAAP basis, eBay reported first-quarter earnings of $499.9 million, or 39 cents a share.

Wall Street was expecting earnings of 33 cents a … Read more

Amid stormy economic seas, auction giant eBay has thrown overboard StumbleUpon, the recommendation and "discovery" start-up that it purchased in 2007 for approximately $75 million.

Replacing corny nautical puns with corny alcohol puns, this looks like a symptom of the hangover that followed eBay's acquisition binge during Web 2.0's heyday. Even though many speculated that eBay would use StumbleUpon's technology to power product recommendations, the two companies just didn't find a fit--or a way to make a decent return. eBay's acquisition habits have been more vocally criticized when it comes to Skype, … Read more

The launch of the DiggBar on Thursday was big news. Not only for URL-shortening services, but for the idea of one site bringing some of its features along for the ride, even when a user has left it to go somewhere else.

The idea is not new, though; some services have been doing it for years. We've put together a list of some of the big sites that do it, and why it matters.

Google/Ask/Yahoo/Live Image Search

Searching for images on Google, Ask, Live, and Yahoo all bring along a framed toolbar, or a special framed bar that segments the content. When you click on an image from the results on any of these engines it keeps a little frame on the top of the page that gives you copyright and size information, along with a link to the full-quality version. More importantly though, it lets users start another search or simply hop back to the results page.

Why it's important: All routes go back to the search results--and more importantly, back to the ads that were on the page. If the company can get you to start another search, that's another ad impression. Also, from a user's point of view, it's comforting to have a quick breadcrumb trail to get yourself out of there if it's a page you didn't want to end up on, especially if it's coded to keep your back button from letting you leave the page.

Facebook

Facebook has had a link sharing feature since late 2006. Only recently, however did shared links come with a navigation bar that comes with the users when they click off-site links. The bar includes who posted the item (in case you're passing along something one of your friends originally shared), as well as the option to add your own comment, or re-share it to your news feed or to other Facebook buddies.

Why it's important: Like what the search engines do for images, Facebook is doing for any link its users share. It simply adds some of Facebook's features like commenting and re-sharing, right on top of the site. It's a much bigger deal for Facebook users though, since for anything that needs a lot of real estate, they can check it out in its original location (read: out of Facebook's limited-size news feed), all without feeling like they've left the site. … Read more