eBay stumbles into
close-knit community service

Yesterday eBay announced its acquisition of StumbleUpon, a young company that enables people to discover serendipitously "discover" websites of interest to them.

The $75 million acquisition earns eBay exposure to a community of 2.3 million users, drawn mainly to the site-stumbling service by word-of-mouth.

StumbleUpon has grown 150 percent year over year since its inception in 2001, providing about five million new site recommendations, based on individual preferences and community feedback, per day. It also allows its user base to rate content, thereby improving suggestions over time.

Senior Director Michael Buhr of eBay was selected to become StumbleUpon's general manager. The site's management team is not otherwise expected to change.