Squidoo News

Archive for February, 2010

Today’s Weekend Workshop LOTD is a quick read from awelldressedbullet, and provides screenshots and short directions for Lensrolling and Rating lenses.

One of the easiest-to-use built-in promotional features of Squidoo is Lensrolling. Lensrolling allows you to connect with related lenses so visitors have options for learning more once they’ve read your lens. You can Lensroll any lens, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, and the Lensrolling feature automatically displays a lens image and short description.

Rating lenses, ie. giving them between 1 and 5 stars, is a feature you can use to show a lensmaster and their future readers how helpful the lens was to you. It’s simple to do when you’re logged in, and it gives lensmasters a real boost to see you liked what they did. And if you didn’t, you can send a constructive note for them to improve.

http://www.squidoo.com/my-squidoo-tips3

Nominate a great how-to lens at lotd@squidoo.com

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The Answer Deck is, by far, the best place to send Squids with enquiring minds.  And with all the good information, tips, and advice you’ll find there it pays for even experienced Squids to spend some time there on a regular basis.

If you’re a Giant Squid and have special knowledge about Squidoo, (how to create the fanciest lensography, or how to sell books like a mad woman, or how to get incoming links using articles), you can create a lens to share there.  So before you start building your next Squidoo Tips lens, visit the Answer Deck and use the button there to create your own branded Answer Deck lens.

And the next time you receive a question from a new Squid looking for help and good advice be sure to point them to the Answer Deck.

Whether or not you visit to learn, or share, the Answer Deck really is the best place to help your fellow Squids.

Learn more here: Big Answer Deck FAQ

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In case you missed it, we just released a new Saint Patrick’s Day lens theme.

It’s green and lean and lucky.

Just edit your lens and pick the theme from the Workshop.

Hey, maybe it’s just the thing for your Guinness Recipe lenses…

Happy Friday!

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“Well, I’ve been kind of busy the past few months. Christine and I finally hooked up and six weeks ago she gave birth to three baby boy cubs. Their names are George, Tommy, and Andy. [Darn], I’m so proud. They are so cute and tiny.

“As is tradition I’m going to hang around the family for a while and then I’m going to have to go my own way. It’s a strange tradition and not something I’m looking forward to, but I’m not about to change what cheetahs have been doing for generations. Christine promised to keep in touch after I’m gone.”

For all the lenses on Squidoo about animals, Cheetah – Elegant and Graceful by sharpturn takes the cake for creativity. Spotted with links, photos, and videos, this lens tells the truly remarkable tail, er, tale of Charlie the Cheetah and what his life might be like in Africa.

This lens benefits Big Cat Rescue.

http://www.squidoo.com/cheetah-elegant-graceful

Nominated by a_willow. Build your own creative charity lens today!

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Here’s a list of all the Squidoo Giant Squid lenses that were awarded Purple Stars during the week ending 2/26/2010.  As always, they appear in no particular order and each is worthy of a visit from you.

• Romantic Marriage Proposals
• Surviving a Heart Attack
• Mystic Squids
• Coloring Fun for Adults
• Taking a Great Self Portrait with your Camera
• Australian Shooters must be Licensed
• 10 Great Central Florida Day Trips
• Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Carrie Prejean – Miss California 2009
• Photofunia Style Photo Editors
• Gold Panning in Idaho
• Goldfield Hotel – Paranormal Investigation and Ghost Hunting
• American Black Bears in all their Glory
• Dark and Noble Ravens
• 10 Things Kids can do to go Green
• Amish Friendship Bread Starter
• Red Olympics Mittens
• Facial Tic or Hemifacial Spasm?
• We DO Have a Soul
• Olympic Pins

Not sure if a Giant Squid lens you’ve found is Purple Star worthy?   Here’s a quick guide:

If the lens makes you say WOW, or if you think EVERYONE should read it, or if you think the lens is really creative, or if you publish a lens you want the whole world to see;  NOMINATE IT!

You’ll know it when you see it!
And when you do see it,  please take a moment to send it to purplestar@squidoo.com

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I guess nobody likes eBay videos or eBay humor anymore (and that is entirely possible).

Or maybe I’ve just ignored my lowest-ranking lens for too long.

Either way, it’s number 169 of my 169 published lenses. I just checked and it appears that every single video link is working. That, frankly, is amazing.

I actually kind of like this lens. So I tweaked a few things, put a poll near the top, and twittered it. It’ll be on its way to Facebook as soon as I finish here.

Lensrank is 282,491 today. What will it be tomorrow?

Want to help bump it up? Check it out.

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Mysticmama has just opened 2 new sites. The first is Mystic Squids: a private Ning community for Metaphysical, New Age & Spirituality minded Squids. Mystic Squids is open to all Squids interested in having a private place to share these interests with other like-minded Squidoo lensmasters. It’s a “private” site, because only the front page is open to the public, everything else that goes on inside Mystic Squids stays private, so Squids have a safe & non-judgemental place to talk about things from Astrology to Wicca.

Mystic Minds:  is an even bigger project. A Blogging Community, much like Squidlog or Crabbysbeach, except open to the public, not just lensmasters. The site is built in the Wordpress platform & open to anyone who wants to blog about New Age, Metaphysical &/or Spirituality subjects…The “New Age” or metaphysical niche is massive & includes everything from science to spiritual, philosophy to psychology, Astrology to Tarot, Angels to reincarnation to Alternative realities & even science fiction… So there are literally thousands of blog possibilities.  All Squidoo lensmasters are welcome to join both sites.

What’s your good news?

Did you start a new blog?  Find some Squid Success?  Receive a special honor?   Are you going to be a Grandma?  Did you get a new puppy?  Start a new business venture? Get published?  Reach a milestone, or create a special new lens?

Whatever your good news is, no matter how large or small, we want to hear about it!

Share your Giant Squid Good News with me (rms) and I’ll blast it out to the community for you next Thursday, right here, at the Giant Squid Community Showcase!

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The craft world isn’t safe from the recycling trend, and now that you have a sleek new Kindle, it’s time you found something productive to do with all those books you have laying around. Why not make a purse?

Book purses are the ultimate cute gift for teachers and librarians, and I bet you know at least a few little girls who would love to carry around their favorite books. Don’t need another purse? Adapt one as a bible cover, or use it to hide goodies on a shelf.

My favorite how-to lenses show you how to make one specific item, then shares ideas on how to adapt the item for different styles and uses. I’m not always that creative right out of the chute, and this lens is right up my alley.

If you think turning books into purses is a little different, you should see what BevsPaper does with old shoes!

http://www.squidoo.com/book_purses

Discuss this lens on Facebook.

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It’s a buyers’ market, and if you’re one of the thousands of homeowners trying to sell, you know how fierce competition is. Lucky for you, lensmaster roamingrosie is an expert at Home Staging 101.

If you’ve never heard of staging, you’re in for a real treat. “Staging allows buyers to see themselves in your home and helps to make them want to live in (and buy!) your house,” says roamingrosie. It’s not has hard as it sounds, but it does take a little time and a little elbow grease. The results are a showroom-perfect house that has its best face forward to prospective buyers and helps you get the most out of your selling price.

Staging know-how aside, how did roamingrosie make this particular lens so great?

1. step-by-step instructions
2. lots of examples
3. easy to read; no geek-speak
4. links to learn more
5. all the sales modules are relevant

http://www.squidoo.com/home-staging-101

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In the next day or two you’ll notice that your YouTube modules look better than ever. Nothing you need to do but sit back and enjoy.

What’s fixed/new:

1. The video player is back to normal size.
2. If you are showing multiple YouTube videos in a module, your readers will no longer have to click over to YouTube to view them. Clicking the thumbnail plays the video right in the lens.
3. In the module editor, there is no longer a separate (confusing) option to show 1 video or multiple. If you choose one video, you just get the big player. If you choose more than one, you get the video player and thumbnails at the bottom.
4. A bug with YouTube searching was fixed.

Small update. Cleaner new style.

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