Archive for August, 2009
Homeless in America
August 29th, 2009
Today’s LotD selection is about the spirit of permission and idea spreading.
GrowWear’s lens Homeless in America features powerful black and white photos and quotes from photographer Tom Stone. “All images are from American Poverty, a set of 186 photographs of the homeless and poor in San Francisco. Ten images are presented below along with Tom’s commentary about each one.”
She uses the content with his permission, generously organizing the highlights for a whole new crowd of readers. Because she thought it was important. Because she was affected by Tom’s work. Because she wanted to get it in front of more people.
Think about what happens when you give your fans the platform, the freedom and the power to quote from, point to, ‘top 10′ (yes it’s a verb), highlight, spotlight, excerpt, mashup, recommend, talk about your content.
What happens when you make something great. And then give your fans room to run.
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Week 1 of the Giant Squid Community Fair is a Sweeping Success!
August 29th, 2009
The Giant Squid Community Fair is in full swing. We’ve gotten some wonderful lenses and dusted a few Purple Stars on the spectacular entries. Here’s a peek at what the fair goers have entered:
The Art of Creating Jewelry by lakeerieartists
Halloween and Fall Table Centerpieces by WebSpinstress
Madame Squidtema At The Giant Squid Fair by BevsPaper
Live Theatre (or Theater) in Colorado by EclecticWAHM
Mr. Cabbagehead and the Screaming Radishes by Susan52
There’s still one more week to get your fair entries in! Enter now and win a blue ribbon for your lens!
Purple Stars Awarded Week Ending 8/28/2009
August 29th, 2009
The following knock-out lenses have been awarded with Purple Stars during the week ending 8/28/2009.
Be sure to visit each of them to congratulate their owners. As always, the lenses appear in no particular order.
Ten Things You May Not Know About Korea
Eight Layer Salad – A Delicious Recipe
Factor Y ~Supporting Male Lensmasters
Dogs in China: A Horrific Story
Lens of the Day is Back
August 28th, 2009
Did you know it was missing?
If you’re new to Squidoo, you might have never noticed a lens of the day (LOTD). In the busyness of all the changes and activities going on at Squidoo recently, the task of choosing and writing about a LOTD, every day, sort of fell by the wayside. No problem. Everyone needs a vacation.
But now it’s back and I hope you’re paying attention.
I believe in learning something new every day and LOTD makes that task easy-peasy. Make it a habit to look on your dashboard page, at the bottom of the left-hand column, every single day for a new lens of the day. Click and take a look at the lens and think about why it might have been given the LOTD honor. Then read the corresponding entry on the Lens of the Day blog for Megan or Kimberly’s write-up about the lens. Does that assessment match yours? Do you agree or disagree? Did you see a module you’ve never used before? Was there something else about the way the lens was crafted that you could apply to your lensmaking? Did you meet a lensmaster you hadn’t yet met? Did you learn something new?
Whether you agree or disagree with the LOTD choice or subject matter, always take something away from the lens or the blog, something you can apply in your life as a lensmaster. It’s those little daily lessons that will, in the end, make your lenses better and, perhaps someday, worthy of a lens of the day honor.
Updates and Inspiration for September
August 28th, 2009
We’ve got something on the table for everyone this September!
The Giant Squid Community Fair competition is well underway and we’ve gotten several excellent entries but there’s plenty of room for more so if you’re a Giant stop by and enter, or vote for your favorite lenses in each of the seven categories. If you aren’t a Giant you are very welcome to visit and vote.
The fair will be accepting entries until September 4th, 2009.
September 4th is also the day that the Giant Squids go “Back to School”.
Back to School is an 8 week course similar to Giant Squid Summer School with all new lens assignments, new tips and more fun. If you would like to participate in the “Back to School” Program shoot us an e-mail at giants(at)squidoo.com.
And finally September 30th, 2009 is the deadline to apply for Giant Squid or Squidoo’s 100 Club membership.
Stop by my Giant Squid Mentor lens if you’ve got questions about either of those programs and I’ll be happy to help.
I hope you’ll find inspiration in one or all of the above fun Squid programs.
Open Invitation:
Giants! Share your news by way of the Giant Squid Community Showcase.
If you are a Giant Squid with a new blog, a new website, a new project, or any other BIG news you’d like to share with your fellow Squids drop me a note at robin(at)squidoo.com and I’ll be happy to publish your guest post here at the Showcase.
Have you seen the Y Factor?
August 27th, 2009
The Y Factor is a cool new group by lensmaster Drifter0658.
Here is an expert from Drifter on the Giant Squid Community Showcase.
Men have become the gender
minority in usage of the Internet, and with the volatile shifts in
world economics tossing more and more men to the wolves, males are
turning out by the droves to find personal financial security via the
Internet.
But, the way men traditionally
have used the Internet is not focused. We jump from one “cool” site to
the next. Couple this with the late start at working from home and
frustration can set in at the notion of being successful online.
Factor Y is a new group for male Squidoo Lensmasters that is designed to support the males working on the Internet.
Through time tested methods, Factor Y will help the men realize the
power of Squidoo as a tool in their efforts to gain success in any
online endeavour they partake in.
For more information on Factor Y, a down-loadable Info Kit can be found at the Factor Y Home Office, or at the “public” blog. Factor Y can also be followed on Twitter.
I can’t wait to see what the guys come up with next. GO FACTORY Y!
I’m A Bread Head
August 26th, 2009
A short list of a few things I really enjoy about Annalise’s I’m A Bread Head lens, in no particular order:
- There’s a short and personable introduction to the lens. “One of the things I constantly hear from my friends is how amazed they are that I bake my own bread. People are so intimidated by breads. Poor yeast! It is SO misunderstood!”
- It’s a short lens. Yes, it’s true, sometimes short and sweet is all it takes.
- Terrific use of handpicked YouTube videos to illustrate what she’s talking about.
- A simple and annotated list of cookbooks for sale on Amazon. I don’t feel like I’m being sold to. I feel like I’m getting a secret insider recommendation.
- That photo of those Amish dinner rolls! Oh boy.
- That she’s using this lens as a kind of satellite to her bread blog, Knead to be Loaved (hah). Pairing up lenses and blogs is smart.
- That this is one of the very first lenses Annalise has created. Now that’s what I call getting off to a good start.
One thing I might change about this promising little lens?
Use it as a jumping off point for 20 more lenses! Instead of just one lens about “bread”–which is kind of a big topic to get a handle one with just one page–imagine the offshoots. How about a lens on how to measure flour? And one about how to bake those Amish dinner rolls. And another about the Tuscan bread (anyone else want that recipe?), or about why she writes her blog and what her 10 most popular posts have been, or even a SquidLit lens reviewing the cookbooks she features here. And on and on.
Once you see how you can break a big topic into niche parts, you can probably also see your way to more traffic, more royalties, more creativity and fun.
That’s it. Gobble up. And if this wasn’t enough for you, go see all these other mouthwatering bread lenses on Squidoo.
Have fun, Bread Heads.
Have you seen the Y Factor?
August 26th, 2009
The Y Factor is a cool new group by lensmaster Drifter0658.
Here is an expert from Drifter on the Giant Squid Community Showcase.
Men have become the gender
minority in usage of the Internet, and with the volatile shifts in
world economics tossing more and more men to the wolves, males are
turning out by the droves to find personal financial security via the
Internet.
But, the way men traditionally
have used the Internet is not focused. We jump from one “cool” site to
the next. Couple this with the late start at working from home and
frustration can set in at the notion of being successful online.
Factor Y is a new group for male Squidoo Lensmasters that is designed to support the males working on the Internet.
Through time tested methods, Factor Y will help the men realize the
power of Squidoo as a tool in their efforts to gain success in any
online endeavour they partake in.
For more information on Factor Y, a down-loadable Info Kit can be found at the Factor Y Home Office, or at the “public” blog. Factor Y can also be followed on Twitter.
I can't wait to see what the guys come up with next. GO FACTORY Y!
Remember this?
August 26th, 2009
world? The clock is ticking. Tick-Tock. I'd like to challenge every
single person to set a goal of where you want be by Sept 1, 2009.
That's 3 months, the entire Summer. Remember the clock is ticking.
Big or small. Makes no difference just as long as it's a constructive goal that will Change the World!
If you met your goal send me a blurb at bonnie@squidoo.com and I'll share it on this blog! Only 6 days left until Sept. 1st?
2009 Giant Squid Buddy-Up Project Update! Part 2
August 26th, 2009
We are starting the 4th week of the 2009 Giant Squid Buddy-Up Project and I am thrilled to say that even more lenses are coming in from the Giant Squid Buddies. You can watch their progress right here! GO GIANT SQUID BUDDIES!
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