Polar Bear: 2nd Runner Up LOTY 2007

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

Cuban Missile Crisis #1

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!!!

King-Maker or King: What Squidoo Can Teach You

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....

How Do the Rest of Them Do it?

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!