The Mall on Squidoo

Polar Bear: 2nd Runner Up LOTY 2007

2008-02-07T17:53:00.000-05:00

Frankster's page Are You Polar Bear Aware is one of the most entertaining pages at Squidoo. It has been consistently in the top 100 since she first published it, and no wonder! She's brought awareness to the plight of Polar Bears everywhere, and her style and approach endear them to everyone that goes near Frankster.

If consistent performance and making a difference had anything to do with the LOTY selection, Frankster would have won it hands down. I, frankly, thought she would! Polar Bear Aware has contributed so much to the well being of a very endangered animal, has promoted ecological awareness and responsibility, and made it all FUN.

If there was ever a page that would encourage experts and those with passion for a cause to create fabulous Squidoo pages, THIS page would certainly be one of them! If you like her style, check out all her pages. They're so much fun!

Beatles: First Runner Up LOTY 2007

2008-02-07T17:44:00.000-05:00

Zuzanna has an eye for very popular topics and good ideas. Her Beatles lens was one of the first, and most popular example, of using plexos when they first came out. Although the rest of us were in a fog about what plexos were and how best to use them, Zuzanna caught on right away.

You may also be a dreamer, Zuz, but I hope they all come true for you! Congratulations!

Absolute Best Lens at Squidoo 2007

2008-02-07T17:33:00.000-05:00

Karendelac took Lens of the Year 2007, the absolute best lens out of 400K. She has really wowed everyone with her talent and beautiful pages this past year, and it is no surprise that with her eye for layout and great art, she would make such a beautiful page. I've enjoyed her work very much since she arrived at Squidoo and I'm very pleased to have her in my groups!

Take a look at her page RMS Titanic!

But, I suggest you don't stop there. Take a look at some of her other lenses- she has a very interesting line-up!

Boy, I sure hope its not prophetic!

Squidoo's Beauty Pageant

2008-02-07T13:06:00.001-05:00

Kimberly Dawn Wells ran the show on a beauty pageant model (pun entirely coincidental) which was an excellent idea!

Now that we can remove the preparation H for dark circles and eye bags from squidooing, and duct tape to make our butts tight, waists tiny, and boobs high, here's the lineup so far as I know for certain.

Out of 400k lenses, I managed to take 'third runner-up'. Not bad! Last year's contest it was a big 3.5! While less of it this year, the competition was much more difficult. The entire list had fabulous lenses on it made by extraordinary lensmasters. I THINK each of them had been on the top 100 list at least once, and most of them had also won Lens of the Day at some point. If not, they should and will soon, I hope!

So, here is my

"Squid-Beauty-Bouquet"

(Eye-Squirt!) I'm so happy!

I want one of those banners!

Commerce Lens Building Tips #1

2008-02-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

A problem: you have a great lens which is performing, but suddenly someone else builds a page and you can see they're doing MUCH better! What happened, and what can you do?

When someone else gets an idea for a page that is similar to yours, it can be very discouraging! The internet marketing focus is to find something good, make your own, and then take DOWN all competitors. It is definitely an effective strategy, but the problem with it is that is doesn't 'live and let live.' Moreover, Squidoo wants LOTS of pages on any given topic, and it has done many things to encourage that, such as all of the co-branding. Therefore, if you can have 50 different lenses on, say, handbags on the main site, you can have 50 more on handbags on Squidvids, ever.com, squidwho, and so on.

It is a REAL challenge to stand out, but it can be done successfully in such a way that it is hard to duplicate.

My suggestion is that you make your page PERSONAL.

P: pertinent to YOU.
E: experiences. Share your experience of the product, service etc.
R: relevant to life, living, and using what you offer.
S: story. Tell a story with a beginning, middle and ending. Make it satisfying.
O: overboard- at least a little! Emphasize fun, excitement, make it memorable.
A: automatic: with a compelling story, it is automatic to check out your product.
L: leave them WITH something beside a full page ad. A tip, suggestion, a reason to return, a reason to share your page with others.

The internet is buried in cleverly constructed pages designed to drag a person, willingly or unwillingly, to an ad, product, and ppc links. People are really starting to feel abused by those techniques.

You will get farther, for the longer term, if you create original stories and personal experience pages that have, as part of it, relevant offers for specific things.

I know this is more work, but it helps you build an audience, is very tough to duplicate or exploit, and it adds to the pleasure of people who use the internet to shop.

If you build pages like that, PLEASE let me know. I'll feature them in a few special ways I have planned, and I'll post them here on the blog!

Define: a Performing Squidoo Lens

2008-01-31T12:08:00.000-05:00

When I built my first website (which took months), admittedly it wasn't optimized because I knew little or nothing about SEO. It sounds almost ridiculous to say it now, but at the time SEO was the least of my worries. It was a good looking site, and I got many compliments on that. It said what I wanted it to say, and it had loads of original content.

Once I was satisfied that I had gotten my website 'to a point' I submitted it to DMOZ, so it would be in a directory somewhere on the internet, and perhaps I'd start getting traffic.

I was a laughing-stock among my competitors (unsolicited advice, of course) and of those who knew all about the optimization field. They found it laughable that I had the nerve to submit my site to DMOZ: they had all been doing so for YEARS and never got listed. They were totally sure I'd be bounced because of my incompetence. They'd spent loads of money on all kinds of internet-marketing guru stuff. They were listed in all the 'hot' places. They MADE SURE I knew what an idiot I was.

DMOZ listed my site IMMEDIATELY. There was no delay, no waiting months and months to hear anything. I submitted one day, and shortly thereafter, I was listed- alone among many well-established and wealthy competitors.

Therefore, for my critics, the truth HAD TO BE that I had an angel, that I knew someone and THEY were well connected and got my site listed there. Let me say it here, if I DID have an angel helping me, thank you Mr. Angel and only you know who you are.

Did being listed in DMOZ define success for my site? Not for me, but it did for others, much to their annoyance.

Just like this little story, the definition of a successful PERFORMING Squidoo lens could be many different things, depending on the mindset of the lensmaster.

I'd like to know what YOU define as a performing lens. You can leave it as a comment, or you can email me with your details. I'll blog the results when I have some interesting and helpful ones.

SquidCast and the Mall on Squidoo

2008-01-30T20:06:00.000-05:00

I've received some questions about squidcasting, and its a feature that I really like very much! This is an excellent way to get additional links to your page, to let your fans and those who have favorited your lens that you have made some changes, and an opportunity to send out information about your new lenses.

You can find the squidcast function on your dashboard, in the same line with the other functions for each lens. When you click 'cast' a dialogue box pops up where you will write the title and a description, and it takes html code so you can put the link to your page there. A record is kept of each time you've squidcasted a page!

When you want to look at what your favorite lensmasters have been up to, and see their squidcasts, you go to your 'favorites' tab, and they are all listed there.

I strongly suggest you join the fanclubs of lensmasters that you like or that are doing things you are interested in. You'll find that those lensmasters will return the favor, and your squidcasts will find an audience.

New Opportunity for Mall on Squidoo Members

2008-01-29T12:29:00.000-05:00

If you're a Facebook member, I have created a Mall on Squidoo Page, which enables you to add your link to the page. I hear tell that a link in Facebook really helps the Google-juice, and if that's true, then you'll want to get your lens listed there!

I have also created a group on Facebook for the Mall on Squidoo. See you there!

Lens of the Year Contest for 2007- Michelangelo's David???

2008-01-25T09:38:00.000-05:00

Once again Mall Friends and Members, I ask for your support! My lens, Michelangelo's David, has been nominate for top Lens of the Year for 2007! (Thank You jackclee!)

This has been my highest traffic lens, and well received by all kinds of new visitors. As of today, it has been on the top 100 list for 340 days!

It has been next to Wikipedia on a Google search, so it has a good authority level.

Michelangelo's David has been one of the lenses to bring LOADS of new traffic to Squidoo, one of the pages that bring in well-heeled and interested traffic who like the things that YOU offer!

Yes, that page has some fabulous competition! There are some amazing lensmasters around here that make incredible pages.

If you think that Michelangelo's David brings in the kinds of traffic that you want for customers, be sure to vote for it!

Loads of New Modules!

2008-01-24T15:14:00.000-05:00

If you survived the last couple months with your sanity intact, I congratulate you! Not only has the economy gone topsy-turvy, and there is a presidential race from hell going on, and all other kinds of adjustments to make, Squidoo has distracted us from all that and buried us in new modules, co-brands and nifty stuff.

You may have, like I did, discover that you have many pages that will benefit from these new modules! wOOt! (Except that now I'm more behind than ever...)

Believe it or not, my test lens has actually been profitable and made some sales over time. Since it is also my test lens, where I try out changes and new modules that Gil adds, it was the appropriate place to do a totally new makeover with these fabulous new modules.

I really, REALLY like what these new modules do! I can see that they can be overdone, so be careful about that. But the Amazon Spotlight module is wonderful! I'd love to see that apply to the other merchants available! It really cleans up and dresses up a commerce lens.

I hope you'll take a look at my test lens and how I used many of these new modules!

In other news, you may have noticed that I updated the Mall group with some Valentine's Day appropriate lenses. The banner is missing at the moment because for some reason the intro module isn't holding the code for the art. Hopefully all will be back to normal shortly.

I have other news which I'll post at my next available opportunity!

I'm looking for a great new year with the Mall Group and all you Squidooers!

Gracious Seth Godin Shows Up Knol

2007-12-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

In a social web, social skills are very much required. While Jason C at Manalo leaves a lot to be desired in that respect, Seth Godin has given us his usual and gracious response and created an insomnia page that is simply much better than Google's.

There is one other factor overlooked by Squidoo's competitors, and that is: FUN!

Squidoo is fun. It is fun to build pages, fun to be in that community, fun to read pages, fun to parody Squidoo, fun to build your little empire. It is a fun place to learn internet skills and to social network. Its a fun place to share, to help, to promote, to make friends. Its a real community. Its a fun place to care about and rewarding.

That kind of fun is spirit, something natural that can't be duplicated no matter what size of a corporation likes your ideas. Corey, Megan and Gil are fun to be around, keep Squidoo fresh and exciting, and they care very deeply about the members of their 'community' and the experience they have with it.

While Google's announcement is enough to give lots of people insomnia, in my humble opinion Squidoo has a certain panache that can't be copied- buried, maybe, but Squidoo has made the internet fun in a way that it hasn't been in a very long time.

Danger, Will Robinson! Google is Taking on Squidoo AND Wikipedia!

2007-12-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you have heard, and perhaps not, but the big news is that Google is taking on Wikipedia and Squidoo with a new project they call Knol. Like Squidoo, it offers writers free pages and a share of ad revenue. It also is a social page, with rankings and votes by visitors, permits suggested edits by visitors like Wikipedia.

It isn't open to everyone as yet.

There is a lot that is unclear about this project like whether they will add revenue sharing modules as Squidoo has or not, for example. We don't know how those pages will rank next to the Google version. Google pay has rapidly overtaken Paypal, and there was the unfortunate coincidence of Squidoo going to the Ebay convention almost immediately after Ebay and Google had their big falling out. Who knows if the Google slap which lasted for months had anything to do with that? If Google overtakes the revenue modules that Squidoo offers, it is possible that the only remaining distinguishing module will be Ebay.

As to Wikipedia, since their information is public domain, and contributors/editors get nothing for their trouble, many of them may migrate to Google Knol pages to at least earn something for their contribution. Since all the information on Wikipedia is public domain (copyleft), even all the content they already have could be pillaged to make, not only Squidoo pages, but also Google Knol pages.

I was one of the folks that made a 'Google Page' prototype months ago and frankly, it wasn't much. It wasn't even close to the sophistication of Squidoo at the time. I don't recall any traffic of any kind to or from it. Google will have to do much better to overtake Squidoo quality- wise. The prototypes they're showing are really nice though.

Seth, Gil, Corey and Megan are quite bright. If anyone can 'pull a rabbit out of a hat', its them. We'll have watch and see what the big shooters do. For an admittedly far more expert take on this, visit a friend here.

I'm Back!

2007-12-14T17:46:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm back. Past the worst of the worst...

Janusz has kindly made a beautiful new header for the Mall on Squidoo for the Christmas season, and I hope that you will all take a look and compliment him on his wonderful work!

There are many things to get up-to-date with: SquidWho, SquidVids, SquidFlicks... too much to write about all at once.

My Apologies!

2007-08-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

Sometimes life interferes with work, no matter how important. I've been in such a situation lately, where a person I care very much about was taken from lung cancer.

I was extremely preoccupied with this event and I have gotten even further behind, if you can imagine.

However, the bright spot is that there are so many terrific new lenses that have joined our group!

I wasn't ignoring you, though I surely neglected you.

I look forward to all the next phase of development in the Mall group, and looking at all these terrific lenses!

My Idea of a Top-Notch Commerce Lens!

2007-08-09T05:48:00.000-05:00

Daoine is a favorite lensmaster of mine. Her commerce lenses are interesting, full of content and fun, and make great use of pictures.

In particular, Elsa won Lens of the Day with her Pirate Costumes for Halloween, and no wonder!

She checked on when the next pirate movie would be released (none coming yet, darn!)

She gives us a little history about Pirates (which explains why we like the rogues so much, doesn't it?)

She gives us details of a full and interesting costume for anyone, man, woman or child. She even gives us instructions on how to make the proper hat!

As a commerce resource, she includes a way to get everything, or nearly everything, we could need to have a GREAT pirate costume.

Yes, it is a seasonal lens, but it is one that is worth hanging on to and keeping fresh year by year. A little promotion at the right time and this lens will be a long-term asset for Elsa.

Very well done!

Seasonal preps: Mall on Squidoo & Squidoo Gifts Mall

2007-08-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Who wants to think about Christmas in August? I'm sure nobody does, but it really is the time for you and I to begin considering what we will be doing for the upcoming seasons.

The Mall on Squidoo page has a PR of 5, predicted to go to PR6 soon, and with the rapid growth of these two groups, I have no doubt that these will be VERY DESIRABLE pages for you to be featured on.

With such a high PR, I am told that it is best for the pages/links to be on there for about 2 months, for your lenses to get an increase in PR for themselves.

So, keeping this in mind, I will be setting up the Mall Groups for the Fall Season which will last from September through to the end of October.

There will be a brief time to promote Thanksgiving, but I will want to begin Christmas promotion as quickly as possible to ensure we have the two months we need to be sure we are getting found in the search engines and have a good and beneficial PR.

So until the end of August, please either leave a comment on the Mall on Squidoo page or on the About the Mall on Squidoo page that you want to be featured either in the Fall season or in the Christmas Season and leave your lens link in the guestbook. Those who do so will be given priority consideration for featuring during this most important selling season of the year!

I am seeking appropriate artwork for the Mall Groups for the upcoming seasons. Internet shopping still needs to reflect the society around us and the seasonal interests of shoppers. I think our Mall Groups will do best if our artwork can reflect those seasons.

Another Challenge! Giant Squids!

2007-08-04T14:02:00.000-05:00

Squidoo is ALWAYS searching for quality lenses, and they are looking for YOU!

Seth and his crew have issued the Giant Squid Challenge, can YOU make 100 top notch lenses?

Yes, maybe it is a little much to ask of anyone who cares about the content and quality of their lenses.

However, he makes the most important point: now is the time to stand tall, stand out, be remarkable! Now is the time to build your best stuff!

It is the challenge that brings out our best.

You're the best! Squidoo is the best! You can do it!

Heads UP!!! A Warning From Squidoo Headquarters

2007-07-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

Here we see something VERY IMPORTANT from Megan Casey:

"Squidoo does not endorse or recommend ratings swaps. Not only because it’s not in the spirit of the site, but also because it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t earn you loyal readers or customers, it doesn’t help people find you in search engines, and it doesn’t increase the quality of your content. That, and it’s risky. A star rating is only a tiny factor in our LensRank algorithm right now. You’re not going to win with even 500 fake ratings. And, in fact, if you spam people asking for them, you’ll assuredly lose.

Finally, remember: Squidoo reserves the right to change our LensRank algorithm at any time. We’re currently working on (unannounced) changes that will end up impacting swappers without warning. Building a so-called business on massive rating swaps or traffic exchanges could mean you did a whole lot of work for a whole lot of nothing."

Genuine rankings according to content and quality, and whether you'd send your best friend over to visit a page, is critical to how Squidoo operates.

Be warned!

MP: Woodturning Projects by Sewjr

2007-07-30T06:40:00.000-05:00

One of the finest commerce Squidoo lenses you'll find has long been one of my favorites. It has been a member of the Mall on Squidoo group almost since the beginning. It has made the Most Profitable (MP) list, #1 position.

Woodturning Projects by Sewjr is one of many really high quality lenses. This page is an especially fine example of what a small business, artisan or craftsman can do to get traffic and build a relationship with visitors. He gives his best information, advice and inspiration and then creates opportunities for interested people to participate.

Stan has two woodworking groups, the Woodworking Headquarters and the 'As the Wood Turns' Headquarters. These are very attractive to new and to experienced woodcrafters.

Because of his great lenscrafting skills, Stan is one of the founding jurists of the By Invitation Only juried lens contest, helping jury the best Squidoo lenses for the People's Choice Lensmasters & Awards.

Stan is a real winner, a Titan on Squidoo, and a person to get to know and watch!

MP List: At Home Source- Mall Member

2007-07-24T10:37:00.000-05:00

AtHomeSource has many lenses, and not all of them are in the Mall group. She has shared with us little baby Molly as her 'trademark'- a baby so cute that the planet should crack in half, and makes it a worthwhile visit just to get a look at Molly!

Many of AtHomeSource's lenses have managed to make LR and MP and so this lensmaster is onto something in her Squidoo commerce lensbuilding techniques and her marketing.

Platform Beds with Storage has been a regular on the LR. Most of the modules in this lens are for affiliate sales, which have beautiful pictures and LOADS of information for anyone who is seriously interested in platform beds. Her MP status is gained by having related ebay modules which clearly make sufficient sales to put her on MP on a regular basis.

I'm sure she would tell you that VOLUME of traffic is much less important than QUALITY TARGETED TRAFFIC, the kind of traffic that is seriously shopping this niche, and is very interested in a good selection of quality at a good price.

She also provides a series of really good links for addiitonal information, resources and ideas for the shopper that could use a few.

Currently on MP is her lens Nitro RC Trucks | Gas Powered Monster Trucks for Sale, which makes great use of ebay auctions for this very specific niche. It isn't a long lens, but it has a very tight selection of exactly the items that the title offers. Customers get no surprises here by diversionary tactics, she gives them EXACTLY what they came for.

New Lensmaster: JonitasKalimpo

2007-07-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

As a Citizen Squid and as a committed lensmaster, I spend a LOT of time at SquidU. When an up and coming lensmaster shows up and immediately begins helping and making themselves useful, I notice.

One such is JonitasKalimpo, who came onto the scene in June of this year, and has been an incredibly committed and talented lensmaster.

Joao has created a lens Samsung Blackjack i607 Smartphone Guide, and it really does epitomize what I hope to see as a 'personal shopping assistant' commerce lens at the Mall.

This lens has a very logical layout, with loads of useful information, all with the eye to helping the visitor know whether this particular type of phone is the one for them or not. Joao offers technical details, instructions, and all the accessories, enabling anyone interested to take a good look and make a good choice.

There are beautiful and detailed pictures, a table of contents (or menu) and surprisingly relevant videos!

Extremely well done and I will be proud to feature all of Joao's lenses!

New Lensmaster: Mariane

2007-07-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Mariane is one of our terrific commerce lensmasters, who has found a way to create and promote items of interest and importance to her, using Squidoo. Like the rest of us, Mariane has high hopes that all of her work will rate high in Google, and bring to visitors her unique and important perspective.

I really like her lens Spanx Shapewear With the Celebrities, and her knowledge about Spanx, and the celebrities that wear them, is impressive.

Using Squidoo as an economic development tool, for all of us, is a specific principle to be dedicated to and apply.

What this means is that lensmasters can increase the economic prosperity of all lensmasters, and all of Squidoo, if we purchase from one another FIRST.

Since I was present at the very beginning of the new studies and teaching of micro- economic development principles (think Grameen Bank), I want to point out that it is known that any community that purchases from within itself FIRST actually generates $7 of income for every $1 spent!

How is this possible? By spending within the community FIRST, as each member does the same, it enriches each member that gets a purchase BEFORE the money leaves the community. Squidoo is a community. We are, hopefully, all on the same team, all on the same page.

Had America stuck with this principle, purchasing locally before purchasing with international or even foreign corporations, we wouldn't have the debt and job losses we have now.

We can enrich ourselves and each other if we purchase something we need from each other's lenses before we look elsewhere to purchase.

So, if you need or want Spanx, my suggestion is that you help Squidoo, help Mariane, and help yourself by purchasing Spanx from her lens. She, and others, will do the same for you!

Be Smart: Enter the Lensmaster Contest

2007-07-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

A GREAT beginning for a lens that has moved from 3 modules (wip) to 4, and wants to become eligible for the 'featured lens' list, is to add it to the By Invitation Only Lensmaster's Contest.

First, MAKE A GOOD LENS.

Second, decide whether the focus is on content (ala Michelangelo's David) or Commerce (ala Amish Quilt Racks) and enter your lens on the appropriate monthly plexo.

Look at, and vote for, all of the lenses in the contest.

Then, LEAVE A COMMENT!

Lensroll the contest lens to your own lens!

You will receive traffic from:

1. Other lensmasters who will also visit and vote on the lenses.
2. Jurists who look at the lenses to vote.
3. Visitors who are looking for good lenses.
4. Others who are seeking lenses for some reason or other (eg. LOTD)

You will also get a link to your page. With the comment, you will get a link to your lensmaster's roster. With the lensroll, you will have a reciprocal link.

If you are one of 6 winners, your lens and your lensmaster's page will be blogged and so you will have additional external links.

I am LOOKING FOR YOU THERE!

WIP: Exactly, what is the definition?

2007-07-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

There is a LOT of debate in the lounge as to whether WIP lenses are 3 modules or less than three, not including the introduction or the guestbook. Headquarters, after their original posting, has not clarified this issue.

I don't think it needs more clarification, because the proof is in what shows up as wip and what doesn't.

Lenses with 3 modules or less have dropped off the list of the featured lenses, AND have dropped out of my visibility in any of my groups.

If all you have are the intro, three modules and the guestbook, then your lens is STILL undeveloped.

You will need to have a 4th module to be permitted to be featured, and without traffic of any kind your lens may still not be found in Squidoo search results.

The Mall groups have 5 modules as a requirement to be featured.

Once you have your 4 modules, and can become part of the featured lenses, then you will need to do some extra things to generate other links to your lens and hopefully some traffic.

I have several projects that will help you to do that. I will begin discussing those next.

Giddy Gabby: Squidoo's Friendly Soul

2007-07-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Giddy Gabby is another one who makes herself known around Squidoo, one of the friendliest and most open, warm human beings you could want to know. Along with me and a few others, Giddy Gabby has been a citizen squid since May.

She has joined our Mall on Squidoo group with My Quiche Pan Store, a page that will make a quiche lover out of you, even if you have never tried it!

Welcome to the Mall on Squidoo group, Giddy Gabby! You're a real pleasure to have around!

Small Business Ebay Seller at the Mall: A High Point!

2007-07-21T09:51:00.000-05:00

Karendelac has been participating in Squidoo, by visiting and leaving a comment on many lenses. She has created a beautiful niche page: Thomas Kindade on Squidoo.

Her page is truly beautiful, not only because she shows so much artwork, but also because she gives important information about her business, her ebay page, her power seller status, her shipping policies, and even details about the art that you don't often find.

She has brought to our attention the symbolism used by Thomas Kinkade in each of his pieces, and because of this we feel we know the artist a little better.

Karen's page is rich and inviting, a terrific 'front door' to her small business and her ebay presence.

She understands how to use her Squidoo page and does it to great advantage.

We are delighted to have Karen in the Mall on Squidoo group!

Squidoo Featured Lens/WIP: What this Means

2007-07-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Squidoo has implemented the Featured lens function into its algorithm. All lenses at Squidoo are affected by this, including yours at the Mall.

This is not the same as the 'Featured Lens' on the Mall page or other group pages.

Group membership now cuts off at about 90,000 LR, automatically. Evidently no lens can apply to a group unless it has a higher lensrank than 90,000.

Lenses that WERE in the Mall group but are no longer were not booted by me, but by the new algorithm.

WIP lenses are 'works in progress' meaning that they have 3 modules or less, NOT including the intro and a guestbook.

If you have upgraded your lens so it has 4 modules or more, you still may not qualify to be in any group, until you have raised your lensranking to over 90,000.

How can your lens be upgraded to a LR high enough to be in a group?

There are several ways.

1. Traffic. If, by blogging or external linking, you can draw some traffic to your lens, it will do a LOT to increase its lensrank.
2. Email. Email your lens to as many people on your email list as possible.
3. SquidAngels. Ask the squid angels to visit, rate and bless your lens.
4. Sales. If you make a sale from your lens, it will help your lensrank.
5. Google ranking. A good google ranking automatically brings in traffic.
6. Visit lots of lenses and leave a nice comment and rating. Your lensmaster page is automatically linked when you do that, and all of your lenses benefit.
7. Get a reciprocal link by adding your new or upgraded lens to the plexo at Name the Squid. Lensroll the Name the Squid lens to your new lens, and your new lens will be lensrolled to Name the Squid.
8. Request that I blog or add your lens to upcoming featured Mall pages by adding it to the guestbook on the Mall on Squidoo headquarters guestbook. If I see you are participating in Squidoo by leaving comments on member's lenses, I will add you to the lists.

There are other means to improve your Squidoo lensranking to bring you into the 'featured lens' category. You might try writing an article that links. Build a hub page. Ask someone to blog your lens.

If you have been permanently featured on a Mall on Squidoo page, and your lens has dropped to wip status, you will still be featured on that Mall page.

Huge Pile of Lenses! Over 1500!!!

2007-07-16T10:47:00.000-05:00

Despite what our black hatted friends are doing, our group now has over 1500 lenses!

I have stepped up the work on organizing and permanently featuring your lenses, and so you will see great progress over the next weeks.

Build MORE MORE MORE commerce lenses, and get them all linked up- the more of this you do, the better for Squidoo, the better for you, the better for your PR.

Whoa! Black Hats have YOU in their sights!

2007-07-14T12:28:00.000-05:00

In the SquidU forum, one of our group members followed a link that showed up in his stats. He posted this link to a internetmarketingguru's forum.

Probably because of MP, this leading lensmaster was found. The group explored his lenses, dissected his techniques and content.

Conclusions?

1. Black Hat SEO people are using MP to find 'profitable' niches that don't take too much work, in order to duplicate content.

2. As our favorite SEO Expert said in his blog: "Black Hat SEOs know what they are doing is defined as BAD, and do it anyway for specific reasons (not usually including “get banned”). I like to think of Black Hat SEOs as opportunists. They see an opportunity to gain, and take it, managing the associated risk. Please don’t confuse ignorant SEOs with Black Hat SEOs… the ignorant ones are those who execute on Black Hat (evil) tactics without managing the risks (either out of ignorance or folly doesn’t matter to me here)."

3. The opportunists aren't particularly thrilled with the flood of like-minded individuals they have brought to Squidoo with them, so they have thousands of other lenses and lensmasters using their same tricks. Gil has done great things to diminish the motivations to spamdoo Squidoo. So many of their antics up to now won't work anymore. What's next?

Now they are looking at YOU and your work, and which are making money.

Lady Bird Johnson

2007-07-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back I acquired a Texas Wildflower lens that the lensowner was no longer interested in keeping. It wasn't a well-visited lens, there wasn't much interest and as a commerce lens there simply isn't much to offer except seeds and guidebooks.

However, Texas Wildflowers have been a passion of one of our Former First Ladies, Lady Bird Johnson, for all of her life. So, I decided to add this information to the page, which enhances the understanding of our inheritance of incredible wildflowers. Connecting Lady Bird to the wildflower lens didn't increase its commerce value, but it certainly improved the value of the page in other so many other respects.

Lady Bird Johnson did so much for this country, beautifying the highways with medians, wildflower plantings, and limiting the hideous roadside clutter of too many billboards. She was a civil rights pioneer, one with INFLUENCE, and a formidable businesswoman. When her husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson was elected to Congress, but also served in the active duty military, Lady Bird manned his political office in his absence, helping him to serve our country in two critical ways at one time.

I didn't anticipate this right away, even though she had aged, I understood she was still very healthy; but Lady Bird passed away on July 11, 2007. Because of her importance, this page was selected as Lens of the Day.

I hope that, in honor of an incredible First Lady, who served America all of her life with passion, grace and loyalty, that you'll visit this page and leave your respects. I suspect that her family and those who love her will find this page at some point. Perhaps your comments will help console them in their (and our) great loss.

Dealing with Spamdoo: Guestbooks

2007-07-10T09:18:00.000-05:00

Recently some internetmarketingguruwannabees have promoted signing guestbooks with your links as a very nice way to promote your lens. This guru was evidently totally unaware of the hideous problem such activities have caused the blogging community and the enormous uproar all over the web over such practices. When asked, one of the 'gurus' said: "well, I didn't tell anyone to spam!"

Yes, our guestbooks have been getting heavily spammed. Frequently I check my guestbooks for spam, and have been getting so much, from irrelevant comments to huge pictures left to suck up space.

We already have a lot to do to properly maintain our lenses, and this new task was another time consuming waste.

Gil has added some functions to the guestbook modules to help us, and I hope you will use them! This will eventually reduce the spamming we see, until these people find another way.

You will now see a 'ban' function, which means you can ban any lensmaster that leaves a spamdoo in your guestbook. In the group version of 'ban lensmaster' that person is banned from every group a groupmaster may have (I have 41). I don't know if you ban a lensmaster from leaving guestbook comments that they will also be banned from leaving comments on every one of your lenses or not.

Your guestbook still has the other options: you can have only signed in squidoo members to leave comments; or anyone can comment; you can disallow ANY html in your comments, or you can still allow links.

When you visit other lenses, which I strongly recommend that you do, don't be afraid to leave a comment and, if allowed, a link to a lens. However, I do recommend this:

1. READ THE PAGE! If you read the page you will be able to leave a relevant comment. Lensmasters LOVE that.

2. Find something (not a headline or title) that you liked and mention it in your comment. This proves you were actually interested in the page and aren't spamming.

3. If you can and do leave a link, try to leave one that is relevant in some way to the page you are on. Many of us have LOTS of lenses, and one of them may actually be relevant.

Remember that it isn't necessary to always link to a page of your own, because when you leave a comment, your entire lensmaster roster is automatically linked.

This isn't rocket science, and our lensmasters are terrific and gracious people. Let's set a high standard and example for others as we make our rounds and visit each other.

Iframes are OUT 7/12/07 D Day

2007-07-09T09:46:00.000-05:00

Many of our merchants in all the Mall on Squidoo groups use iframes to bring their affiliate program offerings to visitors.

All that will be over with on Thursday this week.

Squidoo has been continually flooded with spamdoo lenses, and even a hideous number of spamdoo groups, and since our Google rankings and traffic are suffering, as well as our reputation all over the internet, something must be done.

This is one more thing we have to thank the spamdooers for. God bless them, each and every one.

For the Mall on Squidoo groups:

This slows down my own work renovating the Mall on Squidoo groups because of the many iframes that I use, and I really don't want my lenses to lose their visitors because of the dead space that will show up once iframes are stripped by headquarters. So I have to work on my own lenses.

You will need to prepare for this too, and work on your own pages. I won't be able to feature any lenses that have the iframes stripped from them that haven't been adjusted. I'll give you some time.

If you have any suggestions as to how other merchants can substitute for iframes in their lenses, feel free to leave that information in the comments, at the SquidU lounge, or email me and I'll post it here with a link to your page.

Featured Lenses/ Works in Progress

2007-07-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

Wow the changes since I last blogged! They also will make a HUGE difference in how I see and promote YOUR lenses in the Mall on Squidoo GROUPS.

There is almost too much to write about for weeks on end.

The first change that is good to talk about is the Featured Lenses/Works in Progress lenses.

On your new dashboard you will see little green checks or a grey - sign. This will tell you if your lens is a Featured Lens or a Work In Progress lens.

We had seen the adsense revenues for even the top lenses dropping month by month, due to the increasing number of undeveloped lenses also sharing in adsense revenues.

Headquarters has rectified this and has established a tight tier system for lenses which awards the adsense pool based on quality, traffic and other factors. Unpublished or undeveloped lenses will no longer share in the adsense pool and dilute it for the performing lenses.

Now the top tier of lenses received $3.80 in adsense revenues alone, making such a page worth approximately $900 on the open market! This is without considering the value of additional revenues the page may be generating.

Squidoo has graduated from a purely fun site with lots of potential to a serious investment grade site.

As I continue to work on updating the Mall group, this new system restores the usefulness of lensrank when I consider how I will feature and promote the Mall on Squidoo and its member lenses.

NOW is a great time to work on your Works in Progress lenses and make something great out of them~

Hair Raisingly Busy!

2007-06-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

Last posting was that stats 2.0 is done! There is a LOT of information to go over and I have been doing so. I want to begin to discuss some of that information and a LOT of other things, like the eBay conference, what we know about lensranking, welcoming new people and discussing some interesting and wonderful things our lensmasters are doing to reach out to people and sell to them once they are at their lenses.

Brush ups on tips and techniques and how they are being used at the merchant lenses is a great topic, and the developments in the mall group itself.

I plan to begin posting with more regularity again next week! See you then!

Celebrate!!!! Squidoo Stats 2.0 Launched!

2007-06-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

What lensmasters isn't ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED with the launching of the new 2.0 stats!

Eye candy to the committed lensmaster!

Great features, great information, great function.

Corey Brown and Gil did an outstanding job. Its no wonder that Seth Godin, in his book 'The Dip' acknowledged them as 'THE BEST', along with Megan Casey.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Gil and Corey.

Your work is absolutely remarkable!

#6 Lensrank: Janet21

2007-06-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

Janet21 has a great lens on the top 100, #6 today! Her 50 Kids Birthday Party Themes: Cake & Cupcake Ideas and Supplies is a very hot seasonal topic!

This is a lens that she can continue to work with, and even alter the title and contents to observe which is the most successful and productive for her in any season.

She has an incredible collection, with all the great names to use as keywords, if you are interested in kids stuff. She has Spongebob Squarepants, Winnie the Pooh, Batman, Barbie, and a huge list of other popular and fun cakes and supplies.

She seems to be very successful at drawing oodles of traffic this way.

She also has two lenses in the top Most Profitable line up.

We know that Janet is starting to earn some income on Squidoo! How about you?

Another Squidoo Success Story!

2007-05-31T19:25:00.000-05:00

Director Tom writes to me:

Greeting from Tom :-)

Here's some quick news to keep you up-to-date on my latest happenings. Feel free to forward this email to those who might benefit from it...thanks!

1. I will be re-joining Moving Pictures in Middletown, CT, starting June 4.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future direction of corporate television. The recent emergence of social media and web video outlets will propel personal stories captured from employees in corporate videos to even greater audiences. Corporate stories captured on DVD will now be just the beginning of sharing that story.

2. "Director Tom" website: "Bringing Brands to Life"
In an effort to help others "bring brands to life" through min-documentaries and to acknowledge the power of employees as "heroes" and "storytellers" in corporate videos, I launched DirectorTom; Branding with Remarkable Corporate Videos nine months ago.

That first month had only four readers! Thankfully, with a lot of help from folks sharing and spreading this conversation, the readership has soared! It's incredibly rewarding to know that people across the globe have been touched by this concept. The "heroes" in my films over the years have certainly taught me, in fact, that each person's story can change the world for the better.

3. Award-Winning Videos are Changing the World with "Heroes."
Speaking of "heroes" and "changing the world," the four teen "heroes" in the two videos I recently produced for the Epilepsy Foundation are, indeed, changing the world.

The two videos are used thoughout the junior high and high school national public school system to help change the misperceptions many people still have towards those with epilepsy.

Both videos were entered in two film festivals. The film, "Take Charge of the Facts," has already recieved two awards; a Telly Award and the Ad Club of Connecticut Award.

"Out of the Shadows," a day-in-the-life of documentary featuring four teen "heroes" with epilepsy, just received a Telly Award, as well.

The stories of these "heroes" are truly remarkable and are, indeed, changing the world.

That's it for now.

The conversations are happening...the stories are spreading. Feel free to jump into the pool (you won't get wet...promise!)

:-)

Thomas R. Clifford
Corporate Documentary Filmmaker & Story Katalyst
"Let's see that again!"

Pocahontas, Her Majesty the Queen & Squidoo

2007-05-28T17:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Margaret,

I wanted to drop you a line to tell you about this amazing cameo order and my recent trip to Virginia. My original enquiry cameo via my Squidoo lens on gemstone portrat cameos. So Squidoo really works - Go Figure !

This has been such a busy two months. I was contacted in late March and asked if I could make a copy of a cameo brooch first given to Pocahontas 400 years ago by the King while she lived in England.

I was flown over in early April to examine the original which is at the Jamestown museum in Virginia. I stayed in Virginia for a few days and made time to visit some previous customers who live near Washington D.C.

I then returned to Wales and made the cameo brooch. This was carved out of natural layered agate and set in a Palladium frame set with natural American seed pearls.

I flew over to deliver the cameo to the museum in early may. It was given to the Virginian Indian nations who performed a ceremonial blessing and then presented it to the Queen on May 3rd in Richmond.

I saw the Queen during her visit to the Jamestown museum on friday 4th, May. This is an amazing museum and you really must visit it if you are ever in the area.

I had bought over my family and we had a short break in the Shenandoa national park and then re-visited my previous customers around Washington D.C. We also made time to visit the Capitol buildings, the Smithsonian natural history museum and the air and space museum near Dulles airport.

It was such an amazing time and now I have the satisfaction of knowing that one of my cameos is in the Royal collection in Buckingham Palace, England.

I have put up a quick page on my website that has a picture of the cameo. Visit it here: Queen's Cameo

Thanks, Gareth Eckley.

1001 Members! Very, Very Busy!

2007-05-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few days. As you can see, I've been very busy. We have 1001 members in the Mall group, and I'm working on some new projects to promote you all.

You will begin seeing some real differences between all the ecommerce groups as Squidoo grows, and I hope the Mall will stand out more than most of the others, in its own unique way.

We're all hoping to make a living with our internet merchandizing, and my projects are just for that purpose.

If you have any suggestions, please email them to me. We will all need to stand out more and more as time goes on.

Congratulations to all of you for a successful group so far. The proof will be in our incomes as we move forward.

I admire and enjoy all of you!

New! Live Dashboard Traffic Stats!

2007-05-17T19:10:00.000-05:00

Wow, thanks to Gil, today he announced in the squidu lounge that the traffic stats on our dashboards are LIVE! Now when you sit starting at your dashboard, you may have something to see!

It seems the upgrades were an enormous project, perhaps that tiny staff bit off more than it could chew for a little while! However, it seems that they've gotten a handle on all of that and provided us a new surprise. Well done, Gil!

He reports that there are three people per second looking at a Squidoo page, which is awesome, and that there are some new dashboard design plans in the works.

Stats 2.0 is STILL ON THE WAY.

Read it for yourself. We have a lot to look forward to.

953 Lenses in the Mall Group Today

2007-05-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm VERY behind! Today there are 953 lenses in the Mall group, and I expect it to be 1000 by next week. Since I look at every lens that applies to the Mall, this huge number of new lensmasters is keeping me very busy.

This month I'm a Citizen Squid, doing what I can to help out in the lounge, and various small projects that headquarters would like to help with.

I also inherited a project that I would like you to help with:
NAME THE SQUID!

I got this project by purchasing a large number of lenses from the former Citizen Squid, Angela Harms. This lens was started in January as an effort to name our mascot, but it didn't get far.

The entire lens benefits Chimp Haven and so I have enlisted the help of chimps to encourage visitors to vote.

Help us name the Squid that is our mascot and trademark! Go to the lens and vote on the names and even suggest some yourself.

If you would like extra links to your page, this is the arrangement. Anyone who lensrolls the Name the Squid page can put any links they want to on the page plexo. One lensroll, one link.

For any Mall on Squidoo member, I will also provide a link here to your website or squidoo page.

UnSpun by Amazon: Best Squidoo Lenses

2007-05-06T18:14:00.000-05:00

Tag Lensrolls

2007-05-06T02:24:00.000-05:00

Looking at our current top Mall on Squidoo lens, the Dooney & Bourke handbag lens, by thestyleguru, I see that the lensroll was probably chosen by Squidoo based on designer handbag tags alone.

In that lensroll are 5 directly competing Squidoo lenses, two with ugly placeholders.

The first one is Coach Handbags by KC.

Next Wholesale Designer Handbags by pspdownloads. This lens has no avatar or intro module picture and so it looks very ugly on this page.

The third lens in that lensroll is the Brahmin Handbags by athomesource. This one has a beautiful picture of a crocodile handbag in their intro module.

Next is a very clever take on a designer handbag lens by jaguarjulie, called Bag Lady on Squidoo.

The last one in that lensroll is "I found this great website to buy handbags at up to 75% off," by tonyt. This lens has no pictures, so our lensmaster has ANOTHER ugly placeholder, but it also has no product, only a link to an unknown website that promises amazing savings for new handbags.

Now, if you add to that the 4 paid Google ads for Dooney & Bourke handbags, including a discount ad, you can see that it is a formidable amount of competition for this lensmaster to overcome.

Thestyleguru also says in their bio: "I'll save you loads of time by helping you find information on all of MY interests. Free or at the most affordable prices for You. Whether it be fashion, books, the hottest trends, or just helpful tips on info we all look for and want to know. Let me be of service to you... Enjoy!! -thestyleguru".

From this we get the impression that everything, including the lensrolled pages, are all condoned or recommended by this lensmaster!

The power of Squidoo has been, at least up to now, THE POWER OF PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION. In this case, and in the case of all other lenses with serious competition, that personal recommendation has been DISEMPOWERED.

You can say, 'this is a performing lens, otherwise it wouldn't be so high in Squidoo Lensrank.'

I say, yes, it peformed BEFORE the layout change, and BEFORE the lensroll became so prominent. The old layout ignored it if you had no lensroll. The Google ads were much less prominent, and your intro module was larger and more striking to the attention. Now, it puts a lensroll in place FOR YOU if you haven't done so already, maximizes the Google ads and diminishes the introduction module in every way.

Tomorrow I will discuss options for this particular lensmaster to help save their lens from obscurity.

I hope that you will look at this lens, compare it with the others, and offer your own suggestions. We will all benefit from improving our lenses, and this lensmaster isn't the only one having this difficulty.

Spare Cycles & Squidoo

2007-05-05T23:34:00.000-05:00

On the long tail blog, Chris Anderson discusses 'spare cycles'. He has described spare cycles as an 'awesome power.' This is his primary explanation of why there is such an explosion in blogging.

Spare cycles are also being used to begin building small businesses, and an opportunity to create an additional 'royalty' income for people who may otherwise be wasting their time with television or non-essential matters.

For example, no one would accuse Janet21 of having much time to waste, as a mother of three children. Yet she, too, seems to have enough spare cycles to build lenses like her Novelty Pillows lens, and a website, and to begin growing an extra income for her family.

Janet doesn't have a LOT of spare cycles, but she certainly makes good use of them! This lens is #8 in the Mall on Squidoo group, and she is already producing income from this lens, even though it is a new one. Your spare cycles, like Janet21's, can really turn out some performers!

No matter who you are, your 'spare cycles' are probably always unpaid time. One of the wonderful things about Squidoo is how fruitfully you can use your spare cycle time to build something that will enrich your future.

New Layout, New Lensroll!

2007-05-05T17:47:00.000-05:00

It is a very important layout change of our maxed pages at Squidoo!

The lensroll is now much more visible to your visitors, and is much more important. While we don't know all the details about the new lensroll feature, the longest lensroll I have, on Michelangelo's David, shows 7 items in its lensroll.

The lensroll is meant to be a 'tour-guide' around Squidoo, of your personally recommended lenses. Up until now there hasn't been a limit on how many other lenses you could put in your lensroll. Now, it will require some thought when selecting other lenses.

First, to keep the look of your page as attractive as possible, try to choose lenses that have pictures uploaded into the introduction module. Without that, the lensroll shows an ugly orange placeholder with a question mark. (If you are wondering why your lens doesn't featured in the Mall group, this is most likely the reason).

If you don't have a lensroll, Squidoo chooses the lenses for you. They could be according to topic or tags. These may not be the best selection for your lensroll.

With the many duplicate product offerings, for example, coach handbags, you could end up with all of your competitors in your lensroll.

It is time for all the lensmasters in the Mall on Squidoo group to begin considering how to best use their lensroll. The clutter of the new layout means that anything that will help you keep the visitor's focus on what you want them to see, and what will most benefit them and you, will be much more important as the time goes on.

Next I will discuss various strategies about lensrolling and how you can best use it.

Megan Made a Great Offer! Calling All Squids!

2007-04-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

Megan Casey made a very generous offer that can help YOU to learn more about Squidoo, how it works, and about the lensmasters coming into Squidoo!

Every month they'll be choosing 4 lensmasters to act as Citizen Squids for the "Citizen Squids Brigade," for things like helping newbies, working on the newsletter, and doing various small projects.

There are a LOT of fabulous Squidooers out there, and I think you are one of them!

Don't miss your chance to be part of what is up and coming at Squidoo and on the internet!

The Stumble is GONE!!!

2007-04-26T12:14:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo!

THE STUMBLE IS GONE!

816 Shops in the Mall as of Today!

2007-04-25T11:32:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, the Mall on Squidoo is growing very fast! Today there are 816 shops, all of which want to be featured, highlighted, and get visitors to them! There will be more by the end of the day.

There are some really wonderful shops that are begging for traffic and repeat visitors, not to mention sales!

I look forward to the announcement from Megan about the decision that she will make about the stumble, because it will have an enormous effect on how I organize and manage the Mall group.

In any case, I plan to aggressively promote the Mall on Squidoo, and we may just have to accomodate the stumble as best we can.

I have plans that excite me, but I am actively seeking, and welcoming any suggestions you may have that would benefit all of us at the Mall group.

Pressing Right Along...

2007-04-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

The anger that the information provided by magicality provoked, at least with the forum moderator, is quite a surprise to me. The positive reactions to that information from all but one lensmaster seems to me that nearly everyone is interested in the statistics.

Fortunately Gil has promised stats 2.0 which will probably clear up everything.

So, I think I'll bow out of the discussions around lensrank for the long term, just press right along with my pages and groups, my website and my business, and let headquarters do whatever it is going to do without comment from me. I can't seem to get on the right side of those discussions no matter what.

I have no interest in 'doing battle' with people I like and admire so much, or with the concept of Squidoo altogether, with which there can be no reasonable dispute.

The new phase of the mall is coming up, and the form of it will depend on the headquarter's final decision on the stumble and how it will work.

What we will do next, here at the Mall blog, is take a look at some performing lenses and see what is so good about them.

This will be FUN!

An Extremely Helpful Page

2007-04-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

Much Thanks to Magicality for this incredible accomplishment!

Sometimes what we THINK is going on turns out to be different than what is ACTUALLY going on.

Here you have a way to gauge your lens performance against the top 100 lenses, though things like sales aren't counted for much on the global LR scale.

Looks to be Staying...

2007-04-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well fellow commerce merchants, based on Megan's posting on the squidblog last week, it looks to me like the stumble arrow will be staying. The announcement hasn't yet been made, and so it isn't official.

Further, jeffryv, lounge moderator, made the point that Stumbleupon has a commerce section where merchants pay $.05 per showing to a stumbler. The benefit of it is that there is nothing else showing but your website when the individual stumbles, no adsense for anyone else's benefit, no other advertising, just your own page.

So, clearly Squidoo headquarters sees some potential for income and for interest among people for a stumble through Squidoo.

I expect Megan to announce with a couple of days Squidoo's final decision, how it will be implemented, what we can expect, and how they think it is best for us as lensmasters and merchants to use it.

Big Bad News that Just Can't Wait...

2007-04-14T15:03:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to post again until the stumble function on our lenses was finalized and decided on.

However, this just came to my attention and it is EXTREMELY WORRISOME for me, as the Mall groupmaster, as it SHOULD BE FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

The duplicate lenses are now being singled out by Google and assigned SUPPLEMENTAL STATUS in that search engine, which means that any lens that is buried in that way isn't even worth the paper it is written on.

We have SO MANY COOKIE CUTTER DUPLICATES on Squidoo now that we are running the risk of having some serious problems with more and more lenses being diverted to supplemental, and Squidoo becoming less and less favored in the Google search rankings.

If that happens, the whole benefit of Squidoo is OVER.

So, aside from the issue of the stumble arrow and its effects on the groups and the lenses, this issue will be FRONT AND CENTER for the Mall group.

If you have a lens that is duplicated or has been duplicated and you have no original content, then please consider the following for your membership in any of my groups:

1. Do you have good, original content?
2. Is your lens focused on a topic?
3. Have I seen you anywhere around??? Guestbooks, email box, forum?
4. Can anyone contact you?

Those who have all FOUR will be featured lenses and I will promote you as much as I can.

Those who don't will be booted from my groups. If you have more than one lens, I will look them over too, and make my decisions.

While We're Waiting to Hear....

2007-04-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed the new arrow at the top right corner of your pages, which directs visitors who have just arrived on your page to immediately leave for a 'stumble' which takes them to the #1 in the topic category your lens belongs to.

Like Digg, it assumes a 5 second attention span on the part of any visitor and gives tham a command to take them elsewhere.

Most good lenses require more than 5 seconds to get a sense of what is really on the page.

Most good lensmasters are working very hard to drive traffic to their own lenses just to have it, what?, driven out???

The stumble arrow will be up for at least another week. I can't make any new decisions about what to do with and for the Mall group until I know how this is decided.

It is much too much unremunerated work to examine and organize over 700 lenses into a pleasant browsing experience for potential customers, just to have them bounced around squidoo like superballs. I am going to use this time to take care of some of my lenses and other projects, and will begin work on the Mall groups again when I know what is going to happen with this new feature.

In the meantime, for your enjoyment, take a look at this.

#1, #2 & #3 Today (MP, MP, LR)

2007-04-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

This is a first for me, and I think a first for Squidoo, too! I have both First and Second positions on the Most Profitable list, and the Third position on the Lens Rank list!

The #1 today is an 'out of season' lens, meaning that you might think that at the end of winter, no one would be interested in buying a shearling coat! I've learned, though, that out of season lenses, like Christmas lenses, can surprise us, and it is a good idea to continue to update them anyway.

I'm watching the MP list, since I manage the Mall group, and I'm looking to see which of our merchants make it there! I want to focus on featuring those lensmasters, while also featuring the small business owners who's best sales will probably never show up on Squidoo's list. These are all success stories, and around here, it seems like success breeds success!

Cuban Missile Crisis #1

2007-03-30T16:55:00.000-05:00

John Fenzel, being a true hero, rode in on his white horse at the very last minute and won the OFFICIAL Squidoo Lens of the Year!

The Lens of the Year is Cuban Missile Crisis Lens, a lens that has been deserving of such an award since the day he wrote it.

Though not selected as Lens of the Day, John's other lenses are equally as stunning, such as The Peloponnesian War (a personal favorite of mine, The Balkan Wars, Carl von Clausewitz, and Vietnam: We Could Have Won; all of which comprise a corpus of work that is second to none, anywhere.

In other extraordinary contributions to the Squidoo community at large, John masters the History Group, and is a jurist on the grassroots Squidoo Lensmaster's By Invitation Only panel for the People's Choice Awards.

Congratulations to John Fenzel!

DESERVING Winner of the Official Squidoo Lens of the Year Award!!!

Big Day at the Blog- Spam: Its NOT What's for Dinner!

2007-03-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

Thanks Gil, for the announcement about the measures to deal with the tsunami of spam.

Read his blog here, folks!

He thinks 10 spammy lenses was bad, good thing he didn't get a REAL dose of it!

Thank you Squidoo for helping with this!

#1 MP Today!

2007-03-30T15:10:00.000-05:00

Today, I have SEVEN lenses on Squidoo's top 100 Most Profitable list. I also have the #1 listing!

It wasn't intentional, to be sure! Who would ever think that a lens about Catholic Apparitions and Miracles could draw some business?

Well, the folks who have survived the Rwandan Genocide will be thankful, I'm sure!

When will I see YOU on the top 100 MP???

Remodeling: Starting with the Rock Stars!!!

2007-03-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

When I took over the Mall group, it had approximately 50 members. It didn't grow much at first, and my own commerce lenses were a LARGE part of the population.

By next Monday, I expect to have over 700.

I am going to update my Squidoo Mall lens today. This will be useful to you to know the minimum standards and what to check for on your lenses.

For the remodeling, I'M STARTING WITH THE ROCK STARS!!!!

What it Takes to Be #1- John Fenzel

2007-03-28T14:34:00.000-05:00

Fabulous John Fenzel on his Stumbleupon Blog today quotes Vince Lombardi:

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win. Continued.

Another brilliant man who deserves the award Lens of the Year for his Cuban Missile Crisis, or any of his other work, for that matter.

He has an uncanny sense of timing...

King-Maker or King: What Squidoo Can Teach You

2007-03-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

I'm SO GLAD I'm NOT a politician!

As groupmaster, it falls to me to be sure that as many of my group members know about important community events as possible.

Why? Because Squidoo is ONLY AS GOOD AS THE COMMUNITY MAKES IT.

As community members, it seems to me to be important to give everyone all the opportunities possible to make it better, more responsive and give greater chances to everyone to succeed, increase traffic, improve sales.

As a community member I've been disappointed in the participation level in the Lens of the Year award. It is an important, VERY IMPORTANT contest that gives the internet pubic something promoted as the BEST of Squidoo.

Those are the things that determine how squidoo looks to outsiders! Those are the things that help determine the quality of traffic that comes into squidoo from elsewhere. Those are the things that determine whether we will have people wanting to shop, visit stores, check out our informational pages, even create lenses of their own and become another member of our community.

So, taking it seriously, I have been emailing many, many members who, it seemed to me, to have a real interest in the outcome of that contest.

The response has been dismal at best. There are many business people who don't even have their 'contact me' function enabled.

So, while Squidoo has itself received an award as a community that has 'Passionate Users,' it surprises me how few within that community are passionate at all, even about their own businesses.

I have discovered, about myself, that I am a campaigner. A King Maker, not a King. If I wanted to have someone be passionate about something, I would want someone like me to get involved.

Now, back to doing what I can to make Squidoo the best it can be....

Trail Blazers- Dino Dino

2007-03-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

Trail Blazing!

Yes, Dino, and me, and YOU are trailblazing what is possible for small business with Squidoo. We are right at the beginning of this great adventure, in the place where the 'rubber meets the road', at that spot where the promises that have been made, the potential that is there, meets the reality of hard work, persistence and goal setting.

Yesterday I posted that I have 7 lenses on MP. I have 14 lenses with some amount showing on the dashboard.

DinoDino also has 7 lenses on MP.

His work is TIGHT. His lenses, if you are looking for certain things, are really exacting. You get the information you need, that you want, and not more.

He is an excellent example of what a committed Squidoo business person is, at least in my estimation. He offers clusters of related products, all in his inimitable style. Once a person gets to know him, they know what to expect. Clients LOVE that.

Change just for the sake of change gets tiring to people and they see it all the time anymore. They like to know, if they go to Dino's pages, what to expect. They like to know what to tell their friends and have it be exactly as expected. They can rely on Dino, and they'll send their friends.

That is the best way to a 'passive' income.

Congratulations at the beginning of a very lucrative career, Dino. It is a great pleasure to watch your business grow, lens by lens, MP by MP.

Over 600 Mall Members!

2007-03-26T19:02:00.000-05:00

Today I have gone through the huge line up of applicants and, out of the ones approved, have now exceeded a membership of 600 commerce lenses!

I also have the distinction of having 7 lenses on the Most Profitable list, and one lens at #2 lensranking today!

I am receiving about 50 good applications to the Mall per week, or more. Does anyone doubt that by the end of the year we will have several thousand members?

We will! We will also have MANY DUPLICATES and MANY COMPETITORS for the traffic that is getting drawn into squidoo.

There are a LOT of decisions I'll be making over the next few weeks.

We want the Mall to be the best we can make it, and the best draw for traffic we can create.

If you have a lot of competitors in Squidoo, then perhaps you want to take a new look at your lens and make sure it is REMARKABLE. At least, to me.

My goal is to turn as many of you as possible into well known small business people who are making an extremely good living from Squidoo. I'm on my way, are you?

Being Remarkable- Storytelling & Business

2007-03-24T09:10:00.000-05:00

Director Tom, a fabulous Squidooer and remarkable storyteller, is having remarkable success with his business, with his fan base, with his blog. His business is making corporate videos. His passion is storytelling.

Why is Squidoo useful to him? Because it is a point of conversation and interaction with people who want their businesses to benefit from remarkable storytelling.

"Being Remarkable" as Seth Godin puts it aren't just pretty words. Not only is it crucial to live an interesting life, but it is crucial to a successful business venture. Read how Tom is being 'remarked on' by All Business.com Blog, Nettie Hartsock.

If you are being remarkable, like Director Tom, then people are remarking on you and your business, and they are likely doing it in an interactive way. Read Tom's terrific interview with Nettie Hartsock.

Squidoo is a CONVERSATION. It may only occur by email, or through interactive blogging, but it is a conversation all the same. Here is Tom's remarkable conversation with the ever remarkable Liz Strauss.

You cannot neglect your conversations in Squidoo if you wish to become, and to stay remarkable. Participate. It is social networking at its finest. Wonderful things can and do happen.

The alternative to being remarkable, something to remark to others about, is to be irrelevant. To be so boring that NO ONE wants to interact with you.

You can learn a LOT about being remarkable, in life and in your business, by reading Director Tom's website, his squidoo pages.

How Do the Rest of Them Do it?

2007-03-23T18:48:00.000-05:00

The bark park group had a meeting tonight, where they are asking for my help cleaning up that HUGE PLACE. I've been a little preoccupied with my business and my squidoo lenses, and honestly don't/can't spare the time.

However, there is ONE person at the group who has been a BIG FAN of my David lens since the day I published it. She knows that the lens is up for the Lens of the Year, and she thinks it should be.

She visits it often, has emailed it to her sister and friends and to all her email list, and, while they may or may not build squidoo pages yet, they have commented very positively about it.

She mentioned around that perhaps the group would like to help me!

So they were voting at one table, while the rest of us were at other tables having dinner and talking.

All of a sudden, though, they couldn't sign up anymore.

In a way I'm glad. There's been so much gaming of everything that one can go into despair. On the other hand, I have about 600 lensmasters in my groups that I work hard to help, and I've emailed everyone I know, and barely got 40 something votes!

Well, I have promises. I have those who promise to go home and vote for me from their computers there. Is it enough? I doubt it. If I don't do certain non-urgent (to me) things when they're right in my face, I'm liable to put them aside and forget about it until MUCH later.

If you're not a true gamer, you get stopped. If you are, nobody can stop you!

I still have a list of 600 people that want my help, and will want it in the future. How is it that the last I checked, with over 109,000 lenses, we have probably less than 200 total votes?

The winning lens will be the VERY PUBLIC FACE of Squidoo for an entire year. YOUR reputation as well as mine, and Seth's and everyone's, will be affected by which lens takes the day.

Well, good luck to everyone. Let the best lens win!

Michelangelo's David on Squidoo

2007-03-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

It is a difficult race for Lens of the Year, and Michelangelo's David is running tight now between 2nd and 3rd place (for now).

If you are a Mall member, and you haven't seen or commented on this lens, please take a good look, rate it and leave a comment here: Michelangelo's David. Then, once you've seen it, go to the Lens of the Year page and vote for your favorite.

It is the community thing to do!

Lensmastering- Most Profitable List

2007-03-23T07:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday when I went to bed, I had SIX lenses on the Most Profitable (MP) list.

This morning when I woke up, I had SEVEN lenses there, not all of which are commerce lenses, but have related items for sale.

Mornings have become much better when, with my coffee buddy Thor, I can see my work becoming productive.

In total, today I have 14 lenses with some amount showing on my dashboard. The MP lenses represent multiple/repeat sales.

I didn't know I could get so excited by a new $6 or $8 showing up unexpectedly!

What fun!

Group Mastering - 2

2007-03-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

TO DO A GOOD JOB

Groupmastering so many wonderful commerce merchants, and with so many legitimate but similar lenses, I have decided that as part of my Mall re-development, that I would create companion oppportunities.

You may have noticed additional Mall groups that I have begun on Squidoo. These provide, like chain malls, more opportunities to feature lensmasters without directly competing with one another.

As they grow, each will take on its own distinctive character and shopping experience for visitors and, I hope, develop its own 'fan base' and return visitors.

Do not expect to be featured in all Mall groups, since I want to give everyone a great chance to be found by our growing shopping traffic and to be specially featured.

The categories of Mall are ones that the membership of the current Mall group is showing to me, and there may be more to come.

I hope your 'contact me' function is enabled, because if it isn't, you may find your lenses booted and not understand why or which Mall I want you to apply to.

I welcome your suggestions and comments. These are for all of us.

Caution for Affiliates

2007-03-18T20:38:00.000-05:00

Affiliate sales are an important part of revenue generation for many Squidoo Mall members. I have had a recent experience that concerns me very much for you.

An affiliate module of my own on a page, using an iframe, recently had its account number changed somehow. The auction went from showing Amish quilts at auction to showing Brittney Spears memorabilia. At first I thought the auction house had changed, but I checked my identical iframes on other pages and those were fine.

It appears to me that someone knows how to go into iframes and change account numbers to take sales commissions, and if it happens to you, you may never know it unless you check them every single day.

A few months back when Squidoo was flooded with a wave of spammers, following their own links revealed a strategy of changing the adsense codes in people's blogs and websites, and without the page owner knowing it, the adsense revenues would be paid to the scammers. I'm not making this up, someone called the scammbuster found the info, took screenshots, and made this proof known to lensmasters, Google, the authorities and to Squidoo headquarters. I saw their posts myself.

Untended lenses with your own affiliate modules are ripe to be plucked in this way.

It is clearly important for you to 'make your rounds' frequently to check the payout account codes in your affiliate modules to ensure they haven't been changed by someone else.

Since I'm not interested in supporting such thieves, as I manage the Mall Group I will be watching which lenses are old and stale and which are maintained and reasonably fresh. I will not permit the Mall on Squidoo to become a magnet for such thieves, and neglected lenses are all too easy a target.

I will be adding a 'what's fresh' module to the group page as a means for me to monitor who's lenses have been freshened recently, and which ones are being neglected.

For the protection of every lensmaster in the group, I will be culling old and neglected lenses, whether they have independent affiliate modules or not. I can't count on my being able to tell the difference.

Groupmastering & The Mall Group #1

2007-03-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

Remodeling

I have been remodeling the Mall Group, as I have announced here. It is a VERY BIG PROJECT for me.

Growing Fast!

The Mall group is growing faster than I can get the remodeling done. We now have over 500 members and getting close to 50 applications per week for membership.

Gaps

There are clearly some gaps in our 'shopping coverage' which I am interested in suggestions about how to fill.

Duplicates

There are also an enormous number of duplicate lenses applying. This should be of great concern to every lensmaster in the Mall, and yet the participation and interaction between Mall members is almost non-existent.

Serious Business People

Having FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE as a small business owner, with the ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE Squidoo can make with the success of a business or a project, it seems to me that it is only the serious business people who should be supported by the joint efforts of an active and vibrant Mall group.

I will discuss these things in ensuing posts. I am very concerned that much of your hard work is being duplicated and plagiarized. I believe that serious people who want to make the most of Squidoo, and the groups they belong to, will be able to brainstorm ways of dealing with this problem and still succeed.

I expect and anticipate your suggestions and comments.

Participating in Squidoo- Duplicate Lenses

2007-03-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

There is a dramatic surge in duplicate lenses. In a big way, this is because of the increasing number of affiliate programs that are doing 'mega marketing' to get loads and loads of people who are willing to set up websites for free just to get a commmission on their products.

Here is a blog post from Bum Marketing about how to duplicate the higher traffic affiliate lenses, primarily offering click bank products. Recommending the 'Squidoo Tricks' ebook shilled by Tiffany Dow, and 'Squidoo Secrets,' these combine to guarantee that anything you do can and will be taken and 'rewritten' in order to copy and perhaps 'improve on' your performing lenses. This could indeed be done for any lens that doesn't have original and difficult to duplicate content.

This is also what they teach others who are new to Squidoo but coming in based on their 'outreach.' These new people form groups having 'contests' to vote each other's lenses 'up' (and other's down? its happened before, but I haven't seen these folks mention that as a strategy yet), and these contests primarily vote their OWN things up FIRST, others after, and repeated contests, repeated new people desperate to make a living on the internet, all come along happily for the ride they're being taken on.

Along with the spam lenses (splenses) that this approach creates, which groupmasters see, it poses for you the difficulty of creating the types of lenses that aren't easily duplicated.

As I cull the Mall group, I'll be looking for the telltale signs. I also won't be able to serve lensmasters well if there are too many duplicates of the same type of lens.

While these lens duplicators are coming in by the thousands to supplant the work you have done, consider ways that you can make content the king of your lenses and make things difficult to duplicate. It will help you very much.

Lens of the Year Plexo!

2007-03-15T18:55:00.000-05:00

Seth has started a Lens of the Year Plexo, and I was happy to discover that my lens Michelangelo's David was on the list and getting votes! Woo Hoo!

So, if any of you are fans of my work, and my favorite lens, get to that Plexo and VOTE on the David you love!

Thanks bunches for your support!

Participating in Squidoo- Squid U Conversation

2007-03-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a comment I posted in response to complaints about spam lenses in the forum:

RK, yes, it is a VERY TOUGH act to balance for Squid Staff. They MUST show an incredible rise in numbers and interest with as few staffers as possible. They must also prove that Squidoo has Google juice which keeps many of my lenses on the first, second and third page! It is an amazing achievement.

On the other hand, if all kinds of 'squid-crap' also gets high Google rankings, it will REALLY damage the real prize Squidoo offers and it will get terrible labels from people outside of squidoo.

Staff has to find a way to both grow at light-speed and to keep the squid-crap from flooding and damaging search engine results on Google, or that 'juice' will dry up FAST.

Lensmasters are the content providers that make Squidoo really good. They can earn money for the content but aren't 'paid providers.' In the same way, certain lensmasters are the advertising providers for Squidoo, earning money for doing it but aren't 'paid providers.'

Squidoo knew what was coming, so they went out of their way to get some 'heavy hitters' in the content arena before the oncoming flood. They got National Geographic, Martha Stewart, Rolling Stone Magazine, Jane Goodall.

So, Squidoo has these as a 'foundation'.

Next thing to do is to get the really committed lensmasters to organize the provided content, which is the future of Squidoo, so they started groups.

The groups use committed people like KCStargazer, Relache, Damon and Me to police and judge content for certain purposes so that all the good content won't be washed away in the endlessly repeating floods. Good lensmasters work hard to get their groups and the content in them to rate high in Google.

It is a masterful strategy and it is working so well. As a result, using lensrank as a purely motivational tool for newbies means that the inbound streams of new lenses will continue at about 1 lens per minute, +-, and the work of sorting it out is done by the groupmasters.

If ever accusations are made that Squidoo is little more than a haven for splenses, it is very easy to show off these great groups- who could then say there is no content here?

As the groups build up with time, as they are, they will rise taller over the flood of crap lenses. The duplicates, the get rich quick stuff, the affiliate only stuff, the intro only lenses will eventually sink to the bottom, and all the congo lines of people who brought their competition in with them will all find their low level.

The good content will stand out through groups.

Participating in Squidoo- Google's 0.02% Rule

2007-03-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

Hype is one way that Google determines whether a website is worthy of a high page ranking. We have been told that Google algorithms consider any superlatives of over 0.02% to be overly hyped, and such websites drop and will continue to drop in the Google page rankings.

Our new Mall ranks quite high in Google rankings, and my intention is to make this a brand new internet shopping experience for people who have never tried Squidoo. So, when Google makes it generally known that their algorithms now account for hype, then this must also be a concern to me to keep our page rankings high and increase our traffic.

Furthermore, a 'hype factor' higher than Google algos allows puts Squidoo at risk overall. Right now we are highly favored by Google and as we have seen, that favor could/can/has changed overnight for many a website!

As I remodel the Mall on Squidoo I am observing the amount of hype and superlatives in each page. If there is going to be highly complimentary descriptions, I would like them to be in the context of the Mall group!

Just one overhyped lens means there can be no superlatives of any kind for the next 98 lenses!

Take a new look at your lenses, your titles, your descriptions and your tags and minimize the hype and superlatives that you use. This way your lens won't be an overall drag on the page rankings the entire Mall can receive from Google, and all the efforts I make to improve our Google presence won't be hampered.

Participating In Squidoo- You Affect Others

2007-03-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

The groups you belong to can be an excellent source of support.

You can visit other lenses, even competing lenses, and learn a lot about what makes a good and profitable lens or what could improve your business.

Group masters, on occasion, create project and activities to benefit everyone in the group, or at least responsive lensmasters. Those things increase your visibility, give you a chance to see what kind of a difference some things can make, and get you better known among Squidoo lensmasters.

If your groupmaster asks your participation, give it!

They have LOTS to keep track of so they don't leave anyone behind. Make the necessary list-keeping to a minimum and try to be there for your fellow lensmasters.

It will create a great reputation for you!

Participating in Squidoo- More on Groups

2007-03-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, groups and group masters are your best friends. Just joining a group will help increase your lensranking and traffic. First, applying to a group gets you at least ONE visitor. One visitor to your new lens is traffic, is movement, and that is very important to Squidoo. It might also get you a star ranking of some sort, 1 to 5, which is an actual interaction with a viewer and a sign that it is at least attractive enough for someone to 'do something' with your lens.

A group is a collection of lenses that are related somehow, according to the mind of the groupmaster. They have an idea of how they will promote the group, what it is about, and what keywords will get the group as a whole a decent and improving google ranking and traffic.

Just like Google likes it when a website has reciprocal, similar links, so too do you benefit by having your lens in a group with similar lenses. The group page can be a 'landing place' for potential audience or customers from outside of Squidoo, and from there it is easy to find all the other lenses that may interest a visitor. This is known as the proximity effect or even viral marketing.

When you are ready to join groups, it is an extremely good idea to look the group page over carefully and see what the groupmaster is doing with and for the group. They may have posted minimum standards and, before you apply, be sure your lens actually meets those minimums. If you have any questions or doubts, email the group master. They are interested in having their groups be the best they can be, having a great selection of lenses to offer visitors, and perhaps filling some gaps the groupmaster might see. Group masters appreciate contacts prior to application. It gives them a chance to give you a little guidance in what works best in the group, what may be improved on your lens, and some additional ways you may fit in.

They can also advise you if there are any contests, resources, blogs or project that they have developed that may be very good for you. Participating in activities can increase your visibility, improve your lensrank, and give you some great ideas for new modules or marketing ideas that could increase your sales or traffic to your blog or website.

Once you are accepted in a group, once a week check in at the group page or resource your group master has provided. Comment on the page if there is a module. Vote on the plexos. If the groupmaster is looking for other lensmasters to do a round robin or group lens visit, be available to do that.

You might discover your groupmaster has submitted your lens to LOTD, or in a contest that will bring you a lot of visibility. You may be blogged, or dug, or submitted to delicious by your group master. Each one has their own ideas of what to do with the group.

Groups also give you an opportunity to lensroll similar lenses and help you to become a tour guide for visitors.

Being in a group, or more than one, means that you have others interested in your success, not just you alone.

Participating in Squidoo- Groups

2007-03-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

AS IT IS AT THE TOP, SO IT SHALL BE AT THE BOTTOM!

Be Outstanding or Be Washed Away!

The sea of Squidoo lenses is, like MySpace, filling fast.

How is it you will stand out in a crowd? How will your lens, your one little lens, will show up amongst hundreds of thousands or even millions?

It will be groups that make your little lenses stand out, stand up, be counted, be FOUND.

Participating in Squidoo- Lensrolling

2007-03-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

The Right Side Bar:

The right side bar on your lens is mainly wasted space, especially if there isn't much that you've done to make use of it. Squidoo has given you several limited options for using that space, otherwise it is available to them for any type of advertising they want to do, either with their new plexos, or with Google ads, or both.

It is really important for you to use ALL the space available to you in the best way possible for you.

Lensrolls

Since links are everything in the internet era, at least if you have a page of some sort, the Squidoo set up has provided a number of ways for you to 'link up' and the lensroll is one of the best ones.

It is very, very easy for lenses to get really long. Just getting the best information and links on a lens takes up lots and lots of 'real estate' on your page. It is extremely desirable to have as many links as possible on your page, but who wants to give up prime space just for that?

When you are writing your lens, hopefully you are doing it from the viewpoint of the audience you wish to reach. You, hopefully, have some idea about the customers or viewers you are attracting. Your lensroll is a way to reflect your knowledge of them and/or your topic.

Squidoo lenses only

You can only lensroll Squidoo lenses, at least at this time. Because of this, your lensroll is also a useful measure of how you participate in Squidoo, to those who are looking. The lensroll shows in the right sidebar to anyone looking at the page. So, what should you consider when lensrolling?

Relatives

First, you can save some real estate by linking your other, RELATED, lenses. If you, like many other fine lensmasters, do lenses in 'clusters,' it is a good idea to link them together somehow like a necklace. If you are using your prime real estate on your page for external links, (which is a really good idea) you can still link all your pages together by putting them in the lensroll.

Know your Audience

Second, lensroll the Squidoo pages that WOULD INTEREST YOUR VISITORS. I can explain this best by example. Michelangelo's David audience is likely to have several different types of interests. Fine art and sculpture. History. Catholicism. Photography. Travel. Michelangelo. The Renaissance. For the David, the list goes on and on.

So, as I cruise through Squidoo, if I happen across a particularly wonderful lens on a topic that I believe would be of interest, and to the taste of, my David readers, I put it in the lensroll.

The same is true of some of my Amish lenses. For example, if someone is interested in Food, I lensroll other lenses that a foodie might really like.

Squidoo is growing fast

Your audience will have a harder and harder time finding you in the middle of Squidoo, as it adds lenses by the thousands. If they are repeat customers, because they have bookmarked your page, your page can become their 'landing spot' for them at Squidoo. Your lensroll will be, in effect, their 'Squidoo Tour Guide'- a place where you share special things at Squidoo for their benefit, a place where they can easily find what is new in their interests. This increases the 'stickiness' and the return visits to your pages.

One way people browse the web is to bookmark favorite spots, and when they arrive at that page, go from there. Follow links from there. I have many places on the internet favorited based on their good links alone! That way, I always know where to find something I want. I am a repeat visitor to many sites for that reason. I am not the only person who browses this way.

Lensrolling is an advantageous way of becoming 'sticky' and a valued resource for your visitors. They know where they can find certain links and things of interest.

Stand Out in the Squidoo Crowd

Very few people make thoughtful and good use of their lensroll. Someone may come along and build a page almost exactly like yours, with your links and their text thrown in. How will you compete? Using your lensroll in an intelligent way is one way to do that. It will set you apart in Google ratings, in Squidoo rankings, and with your audience.

As useful as the lensroll is to a lensmaster, very few people even bother to try it.

You be special. You be smart. You make sure you're found by the right people.

Participating in Squidoo- Leaving Comments

2007-03-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

Recently someone asked: "Why should I leave a comment? What's in it for me?"

The first step in participating in Squidoo is leaving comments on every lens you see, and you get a LOT out of it.

The first thing you get is an external link to your own work. The web itself is called the interNET, with the foundational implication that we are all NETworking. Web 2.0. Presumably, this is why you joined Squidoo in the first place, to NETwork. Leaving your link wherever possible makes you part of the network, both in Squidoo and on the internet, and makes it much, much easier to find you.

The second thing you get is NOTICED. The lensmaster who wrote the lens you commented on notices the comment. They will most likely look you up and see who you are. They may leave a comment for you, and in that case, extend your own NETwork. You have just gotten a very nice reciprocal link without even trying!

The third thing you get is KNOWN. There are some very interested and influential people browsing lens after lens in Squidoo. There are contests, reviews, talent scouts, lots of things are going on. Those people could do you a lot of good. They look and see who is participating, who is leaving comments. If a lens you have commented on becomes a winner in a contest that is driving lots of traffic to that lens, your comment remains there for people to see. If you've left an interesting comment, some interested people may look you up!

Leaving comments on people's lenses inspires confidence in you, for those who see your avatar or picture in many places. It tells them you care about your lens, your business, you website. It tells them you care about your position, your prominence, your reputation. It is like a 'mini-sales call' or leaving behind a business card for people you haven't yet met.

As I go through and cull the Mall membership, I won't be culling lensmasters who I know are participants. I know this by seeing your comments on other's lenses, in the contests, on the blogs, in the forum.

You get far more out of commentary than you put into it. You're a business person, right?

We're all in this new dance together- or we're not!

Upgrading the Mall on Squidoo Group

2007-03-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

Prepare Yourselves! This is the best advice I can give you right now. As Squidoo grows, I anticipate about 750,000 lenses in Squidoo by the end of the year, I really need to re-do the Mall, its structure, and get ready myself for the huge influx of new lenses that want to be here.

To prepare you, I will be doing a series of tutorials called 'Participating in Squidoo'.

I will be using these tutorials as a measure of how much support you will receive from me. Since there are serious limitations to what a group master can do, I must do my best, within those limitations, to make the Mall Group the best it can be.

We all want it to bring more traffic, more purchasers, more repeat customers.

After I have completed the tutorials, I will be remodeling and reworking the Mall group to reflect these tutorials and how you have applied them.

MySpace for Businesses: MySiteProfile

2007-02-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

Myspace does not like to be used for small business networking, and I've heard stories of how people have been booted from there because someone detected a hint of business tendency on their page.

MySiteProfile is probably the best alternative that I can recommend. They encourage small business owners, though their interests are primarily graphic designers and web designers, and if you have a small business you are welcome to develop your own profile page. So far it is still very small, last time I checked it was about 175 good members. In such a case, it is very easy to be seen in the group, develop some new friends, and create an easily found profile.

It is free to join, and there are no ways to earn money by recommending your friends, but the pages are very easy to set up (mine turned out beautifully in just a short while) and it will give you additional external links to drive traffic and improve your google rankings.

RED HOT: Awesome Websites & Blogs

2007-02-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

Many of you have developed incredible websites and blogs, and made squidoo pages to promote them and drive traffic to them. This includes me, and even with Squidoo, these websites and blogs can still be hard to find.

So in conjunction with the Mall on Squidoo group, page and blog, I have developed a Squidoo lens: Squidoo Web Companion Sites; and group to gather together and highlight your websites, blogs and personal pages.

I invite you to add yours, to make it easy to find.

I have included all three, because not everyone has all of them. If you only have a personal page, please add it to the plexo. If you only have a blog, add it to the blog plexo. If you only have a website, add it to the plexo.

If you have any combination, please add them all to the correct plexo.

I will also be working to promote this page and these links, which, after all, is one of the big reasons we decided to Squidoo too!

Squidbooks!!!

2007-02-13T22:07:00.000-05:00

One of our leading lensmasters, jackclee has just published a great new lens, with an incredible idea! He calls it Squidbooks, and it is about using Squidoo lenses to be the publishing format for your book!

Using a beginning lens, he recommends the url be the title, and each additional page have the same url with a number behind it, each Squidoo lens then becomes part of a book. The lenses link one to another at the bottom of the page, so as one finishes reading, one can 'turn the page' just by clicking on the link!

I recommend that you take a good and careful look at that lens. Many of you have interesting lenses with so much content, that they can be turned into profitable and monetized books without the need of a publisher!

Here is a wonderful idea for doubling up the effect of your work. Your content/commerce lenses can not only be storefronts, but actual books! You can be a published author in your own right, with the knowledge you are already sharing. Thanks, Jack, for an awesome idea!

New Mall Member Wins Lens of the Day!

2007-02-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

I'd like to offer the congratulations of all of us at The Mall on Squidoo to Snaz, a new member and new lensmaster, for winning Lens of the Day on his beautiful commerce lens Lumix & Panasonic Cameras. This is Jerry Schnese' first lens!

Jerry, like DinoDino, have a special affiliate relationship with Amazon. DinoDino has been a star lensmaster and top performer and Jerry, like Dino, has exhibited an enormous amount of talent in the field of ecommerce.

My suggestion is to have all of you drop by these gentleman's lenses and see for yourself how nice they really are. Be sure to examine their techniques, how and what they write, and how it makes YOU feel by the end of the lens! While you are there, be sure to give these lenses the star ranking you would like if it were your lens, and always, whenever possible, leave your comments and compliments!

Especially leave your congratulations to Snaz for his Lens of the Day. I'm sure he'll appreciate it very much.

"By Invitation Only" Best Commerce Lenses

2007-02-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

Although there have been a few fits and starts, the "By Invitation Only" group is now in full swing. Nearly all the votes are in, and once they are, the winners for January will be announced. Is it you?

Be sure to enter the February contest! If you haven't yet, or you don't know what to do, click on the plexo to the right and it will take you where you need to be- to enter your commerce lens, VOTE on all the ones there, and LEAVE YOUR COMMENT!

DinoDino, whom you know and love, and who is one of the finest commerce merchants in Squidoo, has very graciously become a member of the jury for "By Invitation Only."

There probably isn't anyone more knowledgeable about what it really takes to make a great commerce lens, a great Squidoo lens, and build customers and relationships. We are delighted to have such a great advocate for you, the Mall on Squidoo merchants, in that jury!

The Mall on Google

2007-02-06T00:47:00.000-05:00

Something is going right for the Mall on Squidoo, as DinoDino, one of our best commerce lensmasters, has so graciously discovered! Our Mall group ranks quite high in Google for Squidoo related links!

Such a ranking when people look for Squidoo links is very encouraging, and hopefully is the first step in bringing new shopping traffic to our pages.

I suggest you add 'mall on squidoo' in your tag phrases, to be linked up more closely with the rankings of the Mall.

Mozilla Firefox & Squidoo Lenses- Easy Add Content

2007-02-05T12:33:00.000-05:00

Some of the most useful tools that I use to add content to my squidoo lenses, whether they are content oriented or commerce, are the Mozilla Firefox extensions. As I am browsing the internet, for news or following great links, if I find something relevant to one of my lenses, I use that tool to place it in my lens.

You must have a link module for this to be useful to you, but if you don't you are given the option of creating a new one. Once you add your link, if you like it will publish your lens for you as soon as you've finished.

Be careful, though, because in this way I have published a number of lenses before their time!

Since great content and good links are all needed for good Google rankings, I suggest you try out the extension and see how you like it!

New Social Networking Site

2007-02-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

There's a brand new social networking site, free to join, that is primarily for internet professionals and artists, but everyone is welcome to join the site.

They are working to create a network of people who are knowledgable about internet technologies AND for people who are learning them. Like other sites, there are places to put a gallery of pictures, your music, and dating info. There is plenty of room to put your blogs, websites and even your squidoo pages.

Here is the description by the founder:

MySiteProfile.com is a search engine friendly, online community and social network for bloggers, web designers, developers and various types of artists. It gives its members the opportunity to brand themselves through a personalized profile page in which they can promote their businesses or services, as well as their talents and interests, while gaining recognition amongst other like minds. Although MySiteProfile.com was intended to be used by web marketing professionals, we welcome all persons interested in the offerings of this site.

It was easy for me to make a very nice page, and since there are only 174 people, plus or minus and growing, it is a good time to begin your own profile page and get networking!

Peacocks Pressing Right Along!

2007-02-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

In the Mall on Squidoo, we are just like a peacock with his tail down. Strutting along, pressing right along, and hopefully when we receive visitors our tail fans out and we show our best and most beautiful.

The star ranking algorithms as they are stand. According to Gil, it is inaccurate to say that they are 'broken' though there are many who have felt that way. So, since it appears that there will be no major changes that make the algorithm more predictable, it is time to go through each of the individual feathers in the Mall and shine them up!

I am reinstating the star ranking that I give to each lens that comes across my desk, just as I explained in my tutorials. We will count on all those factors being the primary ones in play as they have been since I started.

I will also be looking for additional things that will be important in your lensrank, but more importantly, we will be looking for GOOGLE rankings, which will be the place where your primary customers come from.

If we can spruce the place up, we won't need star rankings to be the lovely peacock at Squidoo!

Right From the Horse's Mouth

2007-01-30T12:04:00.000-05:00

There we have it! In the forum Gil revealed that the star ranking algorithms will REMAIN A MYSTERY! This is to ensure a prevention of the 'gaming' that destroyed the star ranking algorithms since the beginning of the year.

Behavior DOES have its consequences, for lots of people.

I apologize to you, then, my admired internet commerce confreres, who work so hard to create beautiful and resourceful squidoo lenses for your customers.

So, accepting reality then, we will press right along and find the best advice, the best techniques and the best lenses on squidoo to help you be your best, regardless of star rankings.

You're all stars to me, anyway!

I Follow the Links of Every Lens that Applies to the Mall

2007-01-29T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have found a number of problems when I do this. Sometimes the links actually redirect me to a pornographic site.

Other times, when I have examined the lensmaster's main page, I have found unfinished lenses with 25, 30, over 50 five star ratings, meaning that they had a congo line of people giving out high star rankings regardless of content.

However, this lens horrified me more than any.

In this case, I was directed to "Hitler" at videosense. His videos were parodies, most significantly, parodies of the Jewish Holocaust and the SS.

Squidoo has its hands full just with policing adult content. Groupmasters are on the front line of what it means to be squidoo, and as these many things come across my desk, I am responsible to turn them over for TOS violations and for whatever else it is expected of me to do.

It can make, and has made me, very unpopular.

These Are People Working Squidoo To Their Advantage

2007-01-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

That is the title of the groupmaster's FEATURED LENSMASTER module.

Application to the Mall Group

2007-01-29T17:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a screenshot of a lensmaster's page, by ALI HABIB, that applied for entry into the Mall group on squidoo.

I refused the lens today without comment, but found it front and center on an internet marketing group page. On her group page, as I looked once again at the lens, it had FOUR FIVE STAR RATINGS, even if it didn't have any comments.

What kind of groupmaster do you want providing company for your lenses? I reported this lens as a hideous terms of service violation. What kind of group master do I want to be for you?

The Long Tail and The Caravan

2007-01-28T22:12:00.000-05:00

SMALL SHOPKEEPERS

It was not so long ago that big box retailers, like shopping malls and Walmart, were rightly accused of destroying the small businesses that populated downtowns and supported families for generations. These types of marketing outdid nearly all the small businesses in pricing, selection and convenience. They purchased cheap goods manufactured in foreign lands, offered products that served the same purposes as the goods offered by small, independent retail shops, and did it at far lower costs.

Entire cities suffered great economic hardships because of this change. Downtowns were gutted, and people went to work for these retailers, losing income and lowering their standard of living. Cities suffered from the loss of revenue. Many cities have not recovered to this day.

THE LONG TAIL

The internet, and Squidoo in particular, has leveled the playing field of the small retailer with the giants like Walmart. Once again, small shopkeepers, like yourselves, can offer high quality and unusual products, without having the disadvantage of higher overhead that destroyed those small businesses before. Even though those large corporations continue to offer cheaper goods badly made, here is your entry point into the national market, making yourself available to customers who are sick and tired of shoddy products and cold corporate 'service.'

THE CARAVAN IS COMING

You are in on the ground floor of something very, very big. Squidoo has nearly doubled in size just since I started, and at this growth rate, by Sept. 2007, will be TEN TIMES larger than when I began; and by the end of the year will have over 3/4 million lenses!!!

PLANT YOUR ROOTS NOW

In order to survive the great flood of lensmasters who are coming, it is critical for you to plant your roots now. Well rooted trees planted in solid earth survive floods far better than green shoots and slender trees poorly planted.

Your lenses MUST be superior, a tough act to follow, submitted to Google NOW, before your competitors come in, looking to overtake what you have begun.

WHY?

The reality, on the ground, is that many parts of our country are having grave economic difficulties. The new opportunity that Squidoo provides along with those realities means that many people will be seriously pursuing this opportunity. Their financial survival may depend on their success or failure. There will be a lot at stake.

DUPLICATION

I am already seeing it happen, and you may have noticed it too. There are pure affiliate module lenses that are easily duplicated by anyone who can build a squidoo lens. If one lensmaster seems to have a successful lens on videos, another lensmaster looks over the successful lens and builds one A LITTLE BIT BETTER; with more content, more links, a few more of the same products. A slicker title, better tags, even a better bio, any place where you haven't invested great work in great content, becomes a weakness others can and will exploit. As more and more lenses are built that are just like yours, your potential for attracting buying customers will be more and more diluted. There will be more and more lensmasters competing for the same customers.

BLACK AND WHITE HATS

Black hat SEO is what will be filling up the Squidoo lens roster in such enormous numbers. By its very nature, black hat SEO takes chances with standard practices outlined by Google; by its nature it takes risks. By its nature it attracts people who are also risk takers.

Viral marketing and social networking means that there will be long lines of networks and 'downlines' all trying to duplicate those things which have been successful. Your own success, if not carefully plotted out and cared for, will be what draws the attention of those who are happy to duplicate your work in every respect.

White hat SEO will be what saves you, what improves your business, improves your google rankings, nourishes the roots of the small business you planted.

AUTHORITY SITES

White hat SEO tells us that Google NOW LOVES authority. It loves sites that are linked to by others, that get a link on Wikipedia, that bring content to the internet, not just advertising.

Becoming an expert in what you are selling, offering easy contact for your customers, giving information that only you can provide, showing your product and your knowledge in an appealing way; all of these things will help you to be considered an authority by Google and will help your small business grow well in spite of the flood of incoming lensmasters.

We have come full circle back to the value that the original small retailers offered to downtowns in every city in the world, but was lost. Google somehow knows how important those tiny, specialized retailers actually are, and has revamped the web algorithms to 2.0 to bring this back to life.

LENS CLUSTERS

Lens clustering is an extremely good way to demonstrate yourself to be an 'authority.' As you grow in knowledge of your products, as you research and collect links, tips, techniques, information and increase your collections, the opportunities show up for multiple lenses on related, if not the same, products. Your good content lenses will link to each other, relate to each other, and Google will read this as authority. Build an independent website to which your lens clusters can direct traffic and increase your visibility and your reach. Follow your chosen industry and blog its developments. Just because your squidoo lens is drawing traffic NOW is not a reason to neglect your lens, neglect your small business, or to ignore what the future clearly holds.

THE LONG TAILED SWORD?

The Long Tail can be your great opportunity. It can also be what stretches the market too thin for anyone to make a living. This two-edged sword is what you will need to consider as you gear up your business for the future. Will you do it?

Lensranking has been ADJUSTED

2007-01-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

Now that the lensranking has been adjusted, I'll be posting about how to get your rankings up according to the wisdom bestowed from the 'best of places' that seem to influence the decisions.

Consequently, the plans I have had for the Mall have had to be changed somewhat.

I will discuss these things in future posts. Hang on to your hats!!!!!

Star Ranking Atrocity

2007-01-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

At this time, the top 100 by lensrank has become inexplicable by any of the standards that have been previously used. I have asked for clarification of the algorithms that make this a useful tool for all of us. As yet I haven't received this clarification, which I hope is forthcoming soon.

Until it is, though, and while I'm delighted to see some of our Mall lensmasters rankings improving, my previous tutorials about lenranks and stars are suspended and I consider them to be useless.

As a groupmaster, the tools such as most profitable, most emailed, and top 100 by lensrank could be extremely helpful to assist group members in achieving more, becoming more profitable, obtaining more traffic and becoming more visible to the internet community, both inside and outside of Squidoo.

Until it becomes clear how to use these tools in a reliable manner, I am developing alternative ways to support you and your work.

Affiliate Lenses & the Long Tail Market

2007-01-23T05:59:00.000-05:00

Squidoo is quite unique in that it offers many different possibilities for adding affiliate modules to your lens.

One way of approach to this is to add affiliate modules that support the content of your lenses. For example, a lens about a young girl's stuffed animal collection is FULL of content about the specific characters she loves. The affiliate modules that she selected enabled her to offer some of those characters for sale, so if a person became interested and involved in her hobby, they too could own some of those animals. This is a SUPPORT module.

The second approach is to create a lens that is ONLY affiliate modules. One chooses a topic, say garden rakes, slaps up several affiliate modules, looking for every possible garden rake offered by all the Squidoo affiliates, add the tags, and a bio that says 'hello world, this is my bio, I can edit it later' or 'I hope you buy your garden rakes from me.'

The long tail means, among other things, that there are A LOT OF ENTRY POINTS into the market, just as your squidoo lens is. It means if you could easily build a lens on garden rakes, because traffic looking for garden rakes is X per month, adsense ads get X per month, and you expect a residual income of X per month; so could many other people. They can all sit at their computer and in a few minutes have a lens just as compelling and with just as great a selection as yours. The potential for sucess becomes more and more diluted.

Go out of your way to know your products, know what you like and don't like about them, build some credibility with your audience. I expect that Diddl will be a very successful lens as it finds its audience and market, and the audience and market find that lens.

Building Great Commerce Lenses #1

2007-01-19T15:25:00.000-05:00

A great feature that can help your sales and the overall look and feel of your lens is the bio feature. It is one of the entry points to your lens, a window.

It is very easy to overlook this, especially when you are busy, but customers do not. Actually, when we signed up for squidoo, our understanding of what we were doing was in one place. After having DONE it for a while, our understanding takes us to another place. Usually, though, our initial bios don't change.

What many lensmasters don't know is that your bio can be different for each lens! My corvette lens doesn't benefit from my bio that I did for the Amish lenses, and vice versa. When I edited the corvette lens bio, it did not change the bio on the Amish lenses. This is a terrific feature for you to benefit from.

The very best lenses all have certain elements in common:

Who
What
When
Where
Why
How.

The bio is the best place for why, and why you, to be explained. An excellent bio that explains why you like the products you offer, or why you designed them, why you're pleased with them, is very encouraging for a visitor.

We only have one chance in front of a potential customer. If they feel 'satisfaction' when they come to your page, they will likely come back again and again. This 'stickiness' is what makes for repeat sales and your success as you build. Don't overlook what a strong bio can add to your page.

Tutorial: Five Stars- Genius!

2007-01-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

If, after today, you receive 5 stars from me, it is because you have struck me as a creative or marketing genius. Your commerce lens is PHENOMENAL!!!

You have ALL YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW. People look at your commerce lens and say WOW!!!

The five star rating is the best way I have to tell the world that you BELONG in the top 100 ranking on squidoo.

It is the best way I have to tell the world that you are an up and comer!

These lenses, and the lensmasters who make them will receive my unmitigated, solid, continuing support. These are GRANDMASTER LENSMASTER COMPETITORS.

They each have a tight-focused niche. They each have something very special about them. It could be creative, artistic, quirky, humorous, activist, intellectual, informational, it could be anything, but they REALLY STAND OUT IN THE CROWD.

You say Margaret, I only sell T shirts, knit socks, sell breadboxes. How could that EVER get 5 stars???

Even the most pedestrian, ordinary things can be extremely profitable lenses, if you are the phenomenon I think you are.

Now, go out there and blow everyone away!

Tutorial: Four Stars- Rock Star!

2007-01-17T14:09:00.000-05:00

If you have received 4 stars from me, this means that YOU ARE A ROCK STAR!!!

You will likely be featured as a NOT TO MISS STORE. I may write a review of your commerce lens and blog it, just for fun. You may discover that your lens is lensrolled into the Mall on Squidoo lens. It may even be favorited. I may have already emailed it to other great lensmasters to see, or to friends or family. I will purposely visit ALL YOUR OTHER LENSES AND THIS TIME, I will do the same. I will email the best ones to other great lensmasters to look at. I will email them to family and friends. If possible, I will lensroll them into one or more of my own lenses or groups. I will keep your best lenses in mind for good contests, or for a review. I will favorite each one that I really like. I will consider you among the first bunch of FEATURED LENSMASTERS.

How do you get this?

You'll have a great intro. You will have great information about your products. Great pictures. Your lens will be focused. Your bio will be pertinent to this specific lens. I will be convinced that you have done everything you can to take care of the customers. Your mugshot will show up in other lenses by comment, you will be participating in the blog, in the lounge, in contests. I will see other lenses in your lensrolls.

A four star rating from me means that you are a winner, someone to watch, and a great example of a great squidoo'er.

Tutorial: Three Stars- Good Solid Lens

2007-01-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

Three stars mean that you have convinced me that you are a good, solid business person.

I am willing to email your lens to someone who I know who happens to be looking for your product, or who I am sure would like it very much.

Does it need to be perfect? No, not at all.

It means this:

I can CONTACT YOU. If I have a question, I at least have a way to get hold of you.

You have a good introduction. That means a relevant picture, some sort of introduction that helps me be oriented to the focus of your lens.

Starting from today, NO COMMERCE LENS MISSING A CONTACT ME FUNCTION WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN TWO STARS FROM ME.

No exceptions.