The social component is thought by many to be the true spirit of what we obsessively hear called as the Web 2.0. Not the round font logos, nor pink or blue gradients.

The need for more human interaction and developing an online identity has lead to the apparition of thousands of social networks and social media platforms out of which only a few managed to get the blessing of the masses. What set them apart from the rest? What made them turn from social experiments to successful businesses? The user, their biggest asset.

Power to the people

During development stages and also while growing in popularity, these social media platforms understood the need to focus on what users wanted or needed:

• The means to connect with people who they shared interests with;
• The means to discover content based on their own interests;
• The means to become an important part of a community.

Driven by such needs, some members of these social networks turned into what we call power users. They were the most prolific users of each platform, gathering masses of other users around them, sharing the most content and most times acting like evangelists for the services they used.

The idea of one day becoming one themselves, of wielding the power that such users have, attracted more and more people to these social networks, giving them the boost required to reach mainstream and go beyond, turning them into the multi-million dollar businesses we know them to be today: Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg, Twitter.
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Does this sound familiar?

Your StumbleUpon account has been frozen.

If not, don’t worry, you might get that email soon, because StumbleUpon is on a witch hunt.

I’ve received a lot of emails from friends and messages on Twitter from people that have been recently banned by StumbleUpon.

I too got my account frozen 3 weeks ago, and initially I did not want to make a big deal out of it. But, since it already involves too many people, and 3 weeks have passed since I’ve sent my email to Walter, StumbleUpon’s community manager and got no response yet, I decided to write this post and share my views.

Dear StumbleUpon

What you’re doing is not wrong. It’s more than wrong. It’s a stab in the backs of those that made you who you are today. Yes, I’m sure you’re going to quote the ToS again, and say that “common users” made SU what it has become, but I’ll disagree.

It was the bloggers, the internet marketers, those spreading the word about StumbleUpon and it’s benefits. And yet, you still think of them as spammers.

Even now, I did not understand why my own account was frozen, but I managed to come up with 2 theories.

1. Either the fact that my profile page contained links to Blogsessive and my other site, CreativEurope, and you considered it “promotion”.

2. Or perhaps the fact that I’ve sent and received votes to and from my network.

Either way, your way of dealing with this is wrong. If you don’t want links in profiles, turn of the HTML tags. If you don’t like people voting on friends’ stories, make that clear and then, step out of the “social websites” pack.
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Every blogger concerned about his blog’s exposure and traffic levels has a StumbleUpon account, right? Oh, you don’t? Then you should. But never mind that, let me tell you about some less happier experiences on StumbleUpon.

I’m one of those StumbleUpon users that usually discovers and votes on pages when he has time, when he finds something really interesting, or to help out his SU friends. But sometimes, being friendly and willing to help is not enough, sometimes, somebody has to take it over the top. Here are 5 guaranteed ways to piss me off on StumbleUpon.

Method One

You visit my profile, do a bit of research and message me, telling me how much you love my stumbles and my blog, and how much you’d love to be SU buddies. Flattering right? After reading the message I’m checking if that person has added me as a friend and I find that he didn’t.

So why would you expect me to add you first when you’re the one approaching me? Add me, and If I’m convinced I might add you back. That’s how it goes.

Method Two

Starts exactly like method one, messages and flattering included. Only that this time, the user added you as a friend. That’s pretty nice, let’s add him/her back, which you do. Two days later – surprise! – you’ve been removed by that user from the friends list. This basically means you’re his fan now, while he/her is some kind of a SU god. Dirty move right? You know what to do next.
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