Thing 7: Digg and Stumble

I used to Stumble. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I mostly loved it... because it solved that problem of me wondering if there was a super-duper site out there that I wouldn't know about... thus not knowing to even type in and learn about. The reason I hated it, you might be asking? It was a HUGE "Weapon of Mass Distraction" for me. I could "stumble away" one to two hours a night without even blinking an eye! Yikes! SO that's why I haven't downloaded the buttons on my computer this time... I'm weak.

Digg: this is something I'm able to check and use now and again and I've found that it keeps me up on the news and current situations in both the news world and in the world of pop culture. I like it. I have it added as a widget to my iGoogle account. I always feel up on top of the news and viral videos... and that is fantastic for use in the classroom and even just connecting with kids.

I feel that, at least in how I used them, there is a fundamental difference between the two different platforms. StumbleUpon is a great platform for finding appropriate and interesting web sites, services and entertainment based on your interests... not based on time. Digg, on the other hand, is very "up-to-date" (read: up-to-the-second) with information and entertainment. The downfall here is that it rarely offers good websites (based on your area of interest), and if you happen to not be online to check it every day/minute/second, you might miss something as it gets buried into the annals of digg.
So my suggestion?
Use Digg for the "now". Use it to find out what is going on right now and what people think are "hot" right now. Digg is, perhaps, more meaningful for the short-term educational usage.
Use StumbleUpon for finding those sites that are out there that you might have never found otherwise. You'll stumble across entertainment and fun in the meantime... stuff that others also think is good... but it just might not be "the hottest right now". StumbleUpon is, perhaps, more meaningful for the long term educational usage.

And then there's Reddit... apparently there is something of a Hatfield/McCoy rivalry going on between Digg and Reddit as to which is better (which one is faster at getting the great things at the top of the hot list). I think I'll stay out of it... but maybe you've checked it out... what do you think?