Is StumbleUpon the first of Web 3.0?

So, if Web 2.0 is user-generated content, what is Web 3.0? There has been talk about ‘Authenticity’ as the new buzz word. It makes me sad to think that being authentic is a buzz word. The worst part is the people need to be told that authenticity works. Please tell me what schools are teaching how to be fake, and I will begin the letter writing campaign. Let’s get to the real message, “stop wasting our time with trash.” So, with that in mind, what will be the best way to get rid of the trash. Sort it, decide whether you like it or not and move on. As the push for ‘Authenticity’ grows, there will be a greater emphasis on content. Not user-generated content, but user-controlled content. The community will determine what they want to see and the rest will fall behind.

Enter StumbleUpon. A fairly new browser plug-in that lets you rate the content with either a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, StumbleUpon is the beginnings of the user-controlled content movement. Users determine what they like, and based on that feedback, the content is shown to more people to get more feedback. If they don’t like it…Thumbs-Down.

Right now, this idea is mostly attributed to content, videos, games, etc. What if this was applied to businesses and products? Imagine what would happen if every product you thought about or wanted to buy was filtered through the thumbs up or thumbs down process. What would happen to the multitude of mediocre companies following the “Its ok not to have the best product, we can just spend more marketing dollars” mentality. This model would increase the ‘Internet Effect’ on products, where only the best products are consumed.

Even more important, what will happen to customer service? I spent over an hour on the phone with Sprint’s customer service, was disconnected twice during that time, and I had to call them back. I imagine my experience would have been wholly different if I wasn’t a faceless consumer to them, but a thumbs up or thumbs down. It would be like leaving feedback on an eBay account. The technology is still a ways off to be on a large scale and may only be a pipe dream, but we would see a different world of people consuming the most highly ‘thumbed’ items. Wouldn’t it be great to see a company bend over backwards for good feedback the same way eBay sellers do?

Mike Palmer
Analyst