SquidLog Daily Digest

SquidLog Is Changing!

Squidster — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:21:13 +0000

You may have heard the news by now, SquidLog is growing into a full-blown social network! To reflect our new status as a network, we’ve moved to a new domain now called SquidLog.net instead of .com

SquidLog Network

It may take a bit of adjusting to the new look and feel but we believe the added functionality make it worth the effort. Help is always just a forum post or direct message away.
Unfortunately, this means that subscribers to our feed (via RSS or email) may have to resubscribe to our new feeds, now located here:

We’ve put in a request to Feedburner/Google to transfer all existing subscriptions, but we’re not counting on it. On the other hand, updating your subscription is quick, easy, and most importantly, instantaneous.

SquidLog is run by well-meaning volunteers so please bear with us while we continue to improve the site.

We hope to see you there!

Possibly Related Posts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Giant Squid Open Mike BTR Show Review 9/28/09 | AJ & Squidoo Etiquette

mukunda22 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:30:50 +0000

Squidoo etiquette is a hot topic these days, as AJ writes her series on this topic on Squidlog, the hottest Squidoo News Magazine on the Internet.

You might wonder why anyone needs to be reminded to be kind to their fellow lensmasters, or anyone else on the various social networking platforms.

Common courtesy may not always be followed and this could be due to a number of reasons.

First of all, people are in their own separate realities as they create blog posts or lenses, or respond to any number of people all over the world by means of the world wide web. People are sometimes oblivious to the fact that they are not really alone, at all.

Second of all, a certain percentage of people are drawn to the internet and Squidoo included, who have a range of disabilities that may include infirmary, depression, Asperger’s, or Autism, or perhaps a terminal illness, or any number of other diagnoses.

Granny Sage made a very wise observation: respond to people by what they are trying to say, not how they are saying it.

Another way to look at it: the first human response is almost always of the ego. Let that response go. Wait for your highest inner power to answer. If this does not arise, then do not comment at all.

The Squidoo Forum was used as an example throughout the show. People fail to read the rules and guidelines. They do not take the time to familiarize themselves with the Squid-Nots. They allow their Ego to dictate a knee jerk and often rude response.

If you are annoyed by the rudeness of another, use some self-discipline before shooting off a one line comment meant to cut down a person at the knees. Again, look at the heart of the message, not the tone. Or simply ignore it.

The discussion turned to Twitter. I personally think that Broadcast messages are very rude. Lately, I’ve been getting Twitter direct messages asking me to join a person’s Mafia Family.

How idiotic is that?

Aj’s rule of thumb is to never criticize in the comment section of a lens. Praise in public, constructively criticize by contacting the lensmaster privately. Don’t be like some of the Doctors I have seen who scream at nurses in front of patients. This rises forth within my psyche what we described as righteous indignation on the show.

Do not respond to people while in the throes of Righteous Indignation, although I would like the doctor I am thinking of to read this and think before he does his screaming again. But he wouldn’t think I was talking about him, the Perfect One!

AJ and Joan think it’s rude not to put a Bio-picture of yourself on your Squidoo Lensmaster page. When you fail to do that, an orange squid defaults as your identity. I tend to think that if a person is not internet savvy at all, they just don’t know any better. Some lensmasters establish identities by using avatars to represent themselves. Stargazer, Ohme, Susan52 and even AJ have done this, and it works on Squidoo very well.

Charly Leetham responded in the chat room by saying that many marketers forget there is a real human being behind the purchaser. People forget that first and foremost, building relationships is the most important thing.

I asked AJ how she thinks others see her. AJ said that she feels people do not understand her sense of humor, which she is better able to express through her Squidlog articles. I thought it was hysterical when AJ called someone who responded inappropriately on a lens of hers as a “toe-rag.” Her cheeky side, as she calls it, certainly came out in that remark!

Spamming is a problem almost anywhere you go on the internet, but especially on Squidoo. This is why the Angel Blessing (and appropriate Dinging) program was established on Squidoo. Angels oversee all lenses being published and can see where spamming arises, and nip those in the bud. They also can see great lenses and lensmasters in the making and encourage these by incurring a blessing. Even as we did the show, many were waiting to hear if they were accepted into the Angel Program–or not.

All in all, spamming is bad etiquette. I think it takes people some time to know exactly how to conduct themselves on Squidoo and everywhere else they go on the internet.

Once the learning curve is overcome, anything is possible!

Join us on Giant Squid Open Mike October 19th when our guest is Charly Leetham, discussing email marketing and building a list, and how this ties into Squidoo.

Join us on Moon, Moo & You: The Collective Wisdom, October 20. Guest to be announced!

Possibly Related Posts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Janusz

MiMi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:30:28 +0000

Quoting Janusz: If you need a Logo, Avatar or pic for Lens… Get in contact * RequestBook below [on lens]* I don’t care whether you are a full fledged Krakan or brand new to Squidoo. —FREE Logos for the Squidoo Community

More Janusz

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

20 Months Of Squidoo, Blogs, And Online Marketing – What Now?

chefkeem — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:32:03 +0000

After signing up with Squidoo.com, on January 31, 2008, I spent at least 60 hours a week for the next year or so, learning the ropes of Squidoo lensbuilding, blogging, social networking, giving back to the community, and how to make money online. During the last few months, I let go of some less important activities and shifted my focus toward newly-defined goals – make money with blogging and help small businesses create a powerful online presence for themselves.

Needless to say, Squidoo is a powerhouse learning facility for all things online, and then some. SQUIDOO means to me…

School for
QUality
In
Daily
Online
Operations

I’ve met the most loving and generous new friends, but I also saw some of the worst spamming and simply stupid behavior which often doesn’t make any sense to me, at all. What are these people thinking? Do they really believe I will click through to any of the 150 links they just spammed my blog with? Do they really believe I buy into their third re-send of a ’sneaky’ email in which they try to sell me a course explaining ’sneaky’ email re-send tips?

The notable exception is PotPieGirl with her One Week Marketing Course. Jennifer is truly committed to customer service and I consider her materials the best on the market.

So after a while, I distanced myself from all the online income hype and began to study the writing of smart and good guys only…Seth, Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, and a few others. I wanted to prepare myself for a future when ebooks about making money online with affiliate marketing have run their course and a new paradigm of online marketing will begin.

I asked myself, what can I offer to people that is useful and unique and will save them time and money even if they pay me for my services? What have I learned in the last 20 months that can benefit small businesses and individuals so they don’t have to go through the same tedious and time-consuming process?

I know how to set up a blog and a Squidoo lens
I know how to add interesting content to a site
I know how to fit my posts with appropriate key terms
I know how to promote my content
I know how to get most of my content on the front pages of Google within a (sometimes surprisingly) short time!

Guess what – I know more about this stuff than 99 percent of all online users. And so do you if you’re a passionate Squidoo lensmaster and blogger!

In the future, more people will shop online more often and for more things, and more money will be made with affiliate marketing as well. But courses on how to make money as an affiliate marketer will be harder and harder to sell. And I’d rather sell my own product, anyway. So, my knowledge on how to sell your own product is my product. I can teach others how to sell their own product, or do it for them for a fee. I am an online presence consultant. And so can you!

Some of my current projects include…

BreadHealthy.com – designed to increase the online presence of master baker George Eckrich, co-founder of Dr. Kracker wholegrain flatbreads.

DramaMusicals.com – English-language site of Michael Kunze’s European Hit Musicals, set up in preparation for the 2010/11 North American premiere of the musical REBECCA.

SquidLog co-founder Squidster is my partner in these and other ventures. I couldn’t do it without her impeccably good taste and skills in web design and all technical issues. In addition, Squidster, Ron Passfield, and I are in the process of creating a small business online consulting site. Our synergy is incredible and we experience the great creative energy that comes with good team work. Aside from having to earn a living, of course – our main motivation for working together comes from the desire to help others succeed in today’s online jungle.

The big question is always, what do people need help with the most? And how can we provide support in the most efficient way?

Another big question is: How can we build a consulting business based on our collective knowledge and at the same time give back to our community of friends by sharing ourselves in a time-efficient way and, of course, for free?

We know from our experience as Squidoo lensmasters that a focused community can achieve great things for everyone involved. Many of you have started their own social networks on Ning or other platforms. Drifter Alex is doing a marvelous job with Factor Y and now Crabbybeach. We seem to be more than ready to take our online activities to the next level. However, the danger of spreading ourselves too thin is always there…nobody can be an actively contributing member in ALL of these new networks, as much as we’d like to support our creative friends in their great initiatives.

After months of research, trial and error, Squidster came up with a great concept: SquidLog.net – a social network for social networks. Here we can all do our own thing with blogs, groups, and public or private forums…and we are ALL connected through the network’s home page. If we wish to do so, we can share our wisdom across the entire platform for everyone to see (instead of having to log into a number of individual networking sites), or we can make our groups more exclusive and for members only. The possibilities are endless with a large number of unique features!

Imagine what we can do if we collect and share the advanced knowledge base of our community of friends – all under one roof! I can’t help but think this is definitely worth a try.

Read more about our exciting features in Squidster’s article:

“What Is The SquidLog Net And How Does It Work?”

Sign up for a FREE membership and start building your own social network within our powerful community of supportive online entrepreneurs. You could even move your existing network or group under the umbrella of SquidLog.net.

Please let us know what you think about this new adventure!

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

© chefkeem for SquidLog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: blogging, online business, online marketing, Social Networking, SquidLog net, squidoo

Possibly Related Posts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

GypsyOwl

MiMi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:30:38 +0000

Quoting GypsyOwl: I believe that each of us have the potential to be creative. What ever our passion, there are creativity aspects involved. Nurture Your Creativity! —GypsyOwl’s Home Page – Lensmaster Lensography

More GypsyOwl

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Twitiquette: How not to get unfollowed on Twitter

AJ — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:26:25 +0000

I like Twitter, it is one of the Social Networking sites that I can be seen on most days, but it never astounds me how many people mis-use it!

Quote from Lensmaster pkmcr (Paul):

Twitter is a way of connecting with other people who share your interests or who might be interested in what you have to say. Please do not view it simply as a source of traffic for your Squidoo Lenses, Blogs or other Websites

Well said Paul!

In the article that introduced this Squidlog series, I said:

“I love birds. I don’t mind being woken by the dawn chorus. But if the same bird sang the same song outside my bedroom window every day and that song consisted of just three notes, that were tweeted over and over and over again, then even this bird lover would probably end up reaching for a 12 bore!”

Yes, I have reached for the 12 bore on a few occasions on Twitter. There’s a difference between promoting a lens and obsessing about it so much that you Tweet the link every hour of your waking moment, for seven days – heck it may have been more than seven days, but I wouldn’t know, I just unfollowed that particular Tweeter. I blocked. I got the Spammer off my Twitter Home Page and out of my life. Sorted!

And that is all you have to do! You don’t have to Tweet messages on Twitter with an underlying meaning, hoping the person will get the hint, you just Unfollow!

And who taught me that?

Squidoo Lensmaster John Dilbeck. It was in answer to a general Tweet I posted about “over tweeting” and what to do about it. John’s excellent advice was:

unfollow

as that is the way the Twitter community moderates itself.

In his lens How to use Twitter Paul also says:

“Twitter is a fantastic way to get more traffic to your blog and build a relationship with your readership.”

“Build a relationship with your readership” – a point missed by many, many people on Twitter!

In his Factor Y Blog, fellow SquidLog Author and Lensmaster Drifter0658 asks the question: “Is promotion a natural act?” and we both agree it is, but Drifter makes the point so brilliantly when he says:

It is a natural act and sometimes the only way that anyone will know anything about what we have to offer, but too much tarnishes the horn we toot from.

But in the case of Twitter you can change “toot” to “tweet”!

How many one sided conversations do you spot every day on Twitter? You know the ones. The people who always Tweet their own links but who NEVER reply to other people’s Tweets and who certainly never promote anyone else. The people who are basically talking at you but who do not have the slightest interest in you or what you might have to say!

Is Twitter just a challenge to see who can get the most followers?

Not in my book! To date I have 405 followers and I follow 351. Do I feel guilty about not following the people who follow me? No, not really. I never asked them to follow me and if they unfollow me, I am not going to get worked up about it.

I regularly unfollow people. The people I have nothing in common with. The people who use profanities (my children are regularly in my den with me doing their homework); the people who Tweet links that make me feel uncomfortable – I am not a prude but don’t appreciate that kind of stuff from people who are actually strangers. Particularly inappropriate links from men who I do not know. Creepy!

So who DO I follow?
Put Squidoo in your Twitter Bio and I am likely to follow you. Add the words “anti-bullying”, “green”, “natural” or “environment” and I may just follow you whether or not “Squidoo” is there. Share interesting links and I will follow you. And if you are Stephen Fry, then of course I will follow you!

Why am I so picky?
Well I want to be able to build a relationship based on common interests not the outside chance that a new follower may just get me more followers, many of whom I don’t really want anyway.

And if you are like me and happy to lose Twitter followers (sometimes), here’s a hilarious blog telling you just how to do exactly that: 30 Surefire ways to lose followers and irritate friends on Twitter – I particularly like #14:

Post lot of useless tweets like, need to go to the restroom, driving on Sierra Nevada, how your cat loves 2 days old noodles, about your tulip plant that died last night or even about how drunk you are right now as you type this tweet.

How to use Twitter on Squidoo

Squidoo provides a tool that enables you to Tweet directly from your Lens. When you Publish, following an editing or updating session, you get this message: “Publish successful!” Some very nifty little links are provided to enable you to let the world know you have updated.

But WHOA!

See that Twitter link? Sorry Squidoo, I love the majority of tools you provide us with, but *gasp* that Twitter link probably results in more irritation on Twitter than any other Squidoo-related stuff!

One way to Tweet a Lens update on Squidoo

Click that Link and what happens? The lens is Tweeted with the very uninspiring message:

I just updated: http://www.squidoo.com/squid_etiquette

Boring! Boring!! BORING!!!

You cannot personalise the Tweet because you don’t even land on Twitter in order to hit the Update button. It is all done automatically.

So my advice is do NOT use that link!

What to do instead? View the lens and use the Twitter shortcut at the top of the page.

The BEST way to Tweet a Lens update on Squidoo

The advantages of using this icon to Tweet your updates are:

1) It takes you to Twitter and you can personalise the Tweet

2) It counts as a Clickthrough – which helps Lensrank

But please, please, please do NOT Tweet if all you did was correct some typos! People will feel they have been tricked into thinking you actually added something of interest.

Paul has some great tips on Twitiquette, so I won’t repeat them here, other than the one about the use of capital letters:

Don’t use all caps in your updates. This is one of those general online etiquette tips that applies to Twitter as well.

My view is to use Caps on just one word with caution. Even if you are doing it to emphasise a point, there is a danger that people won’t think you are Tweeting – they may think you are shouting or your tone of tweet is actually self righteous indignation!

(OK, so perhaps sometimes you might just want to shout…….)

Seth Godin has a brilliant blog post about Righteous Indignation which over recent weeks has helped change my attitude to quite a few things on Squidoo and on Twitter. Seth said:

What if, just like becoming a cannibal or painting your face green, you eliminated righteous indignation as an option in your list of responses to various situations, no matter how unfair? What if the people you work with weren’t permitted to indulge? Just think of how much more you’d get done and how much calmer everything would be.

These days I am opting for calm on Squidoo and Twitter, where I just calmly UNFOLLOW! Oops, did I just use caps then?

Next week I will be talking about Multiple Accounts on Squidoo.

Today, 12 October 2009 I am discussing all manner of Squidoo Etiquette and Netiquette with Kate and Joan on Giant Squid Open Mike at 4pm EST (9pm UK) – hope you will join us!

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Possibly Related Posts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Laniann

MiMi — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:30:32 +0000

Quoting Laniann: I believe there are many paths and roads one can take to reach the destination. For us to be able to draw from the fountain of universal wisdom, we need to have a means to do so. Some people draw from the fountain through prayer, some by talking with psychics or astrologers, others with coins, tarot cards, ruins, yarrow stalks or any of a number of related objects, still others by meditating, interpreting dreams or listening to the still small voice inside. —Hopping On The Bus

More Laniann

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Giant Squid Open Mike BTR Show Review 9/28/09 | New Greeter Challenge

mukunda22 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:38:09 +0000

The Giant Squid Challenge for 2009 was our GSOM topic on 10/5. The following is how this latest challenge is set up and who is in charge of what. This time around it is one big team instead of several teams seemingly competing with the other, if only in jest.

Interested lensmasters should read the following lens and follow those directions to apply. http://www.squidoo.com/new-giant-squid-challenge

The challenge is led by Robin.

Then, there’s the ning which is by invitation only.

The ning is divided into subject groups. Each greeter manages a specific study area (”group” in ning vocabulary). Greeters are answering questions or referring lensmasters to the place to find the answers to their questions. Members are encouarged to join all groups and ask questions as needed. They are all one team.

As stated, there are no specific teams as in the past.

Here are the following Greeters for this next Giant Challenge!

Ohme (Nancy) Creating a Local Network using Squidoo

Crystal (luvmyludwig) – Making a Good Lens Great! — how to polish a lens with all the “extras” to make it stand out.

Mimi (growwear) – Photo Studio — all about photos, where to find them, how to use them, copyright issues, etc

KAB — Squidoo Co-Brands –How to personalize a co-brand lens, what the co-brands are, etc

Michelle Willow (a_willow) Squidoo Tools – Squidoo blogs, squidcast, tweets, dashboards

Joan Adams (joan4) – Writing from the heart –help with lensographies, personal lenses

Bonnie (justbon) -Squidoo earnings elevator – advice to help you increase your squidoo earnings

Bev Owens -(Bev’s Paper) Mod Squad – all about squidoo modules– using them effectively, placement, etc

Rajays – Promoting your lenses – tips and tricks to promote lenses the right way

Robin will have a suggested lens subject every week, but not required. There is an active forum for critiques.

In addition to the ning, there are specific contest lenses. These are set up by the greeters. Participating lensmasters can add their lenses to the plexos to compete for a spot on the Giant Squid Community Showcase blog in these categories.

http://www.squidoo.com/giant-squid-challenge-lenses-about-me-squidwho-lensography

http://www.squidoo.com/book-lenses-giant-challenge

http://www.squidoo.com/animals-and-nature-lenses

http://www.squidoo.com/entertainment-giants

http://www.squidoo.com/giants-and-hobbies-how-to-do-it-yourself

http://www.squidoo.com/local-lenses

http://www.squidoo.com/giant-squid-challenge-parenting-kids

http://www.squidoo.com/pop-culture-giant-challenge

http://www.squidoo.com/potential-giant-squid-shopping-lenses-showcase

http://www.squidoo.com/pop-culture-giant-challenge

Ohme came on the show today which was a wonderful pleasure! She is purely delightful! She is Pendleton, South Carolina’s Squidoo Queen and has put Squidoo on the map in that town.

Ohme ordered a little Ohme bug which she hides throughout the town of Pendleton. When people find it, they get a dinner on the town, and other assorted gifts! All of this links to Squidoo in some capacity.

Ohme also has a Community Bulletin Lens which gets terrific local traffic. I think she updates that almost every day!

Ohme has a Pendleton Town List of 12 groups of local churches, media, Clemson University, Boy Scouts, the High School, and every week people call her to get on the list.

She said this Bulletin is Pendleton’s newspaper! In addition, Ohme’s Blog showcases Pendleton’s local businesses.

No wonder she is the Squidoo Queen of Pendleton!

We discussed how Local Lenses are wide open territory!

I made one this week which features a local Astrologer, also an old friend of my mother.

I bought a domain name and helped her set up a blog.

Her name is Sheila Audet and she is Astrology’s Astrologer! She will be on Moon, Moon & You: The Collective Wisdom the second Tuesday of every month, starting October 13th, this coming Tuesday, my mother’s 95th birthday.

Kab came on the line whose category is Brands and Co-Brands in her new greeter role. I think she is also involved in Pop Culture topics. Kab joined Squidoo around he same time i did 9/2006. In fact, we are both celebrating our three year Squidoo Anniversary!

Kab went for Giant as soon as this option was available. Me? I didn’t even think about it until Joan told me about doing it, probably for the 50th time!!

Kab created a local lens called “Capitol-District-Twitter” which features all the local businesses in her area who are on Twitter. Joan and I must do something similar for our respective areas. Kab, I couldn’t find the proper link, so if you are reading this, please put it up in the comment’s section?

Every now and again, a new Giant popped in to say that they just heard about becoming a Giant!

How much fun is that?

Join us Monday 10/12/09 GSOM when AJ will discuss with us Squidoo Etiquette.

Join us Tuesday 10/13 When Sheila Audet, Astrology’s Astrologer will be on Moon, Moo & You: The Collective Wisdom.

Thank you Joan Adams for helping me get straight about the new Greeter Challenge!! This was not easy after too many days with very little sleep!

The next deadline to make 50-100 lenses is 12/31/2009.

© mukunda22 for SquidLog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: blogtalkradio, squidoo giants, squidoo greeters, squidoo queen

Possibly Related Posts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

LoKackl

MiMi — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:59:47 +0000

Quoting LoKackl: An interest in “universal truths” takes me on a variety of thought-provoking excursions. These include the poems of Emily Dickinson. Also, books in fiction, non-fiction, relationships, family and real-life travel. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a group discussion on a topic of interest. —Hello! I’m LoKackl – Welcome!

More LoKackl

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

mysticmama

MiMi — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:30:31 +0000

Quoting mysticmama: What you see really is what you get with me. I am very comfortable with who I am, I have no secrets, I try to always just be myself, warts and all as the saying goes.

I’ve lived a hard life, full of challenges that I’ve somehow managed to overcome and still be happy and optimistic. I don’t believe in wasting time on things like regrets, worry or self pity. I am grateful for all of the challenges I’ve faced, they have made me who I am today. —Who is Bambi?

More mysticmama

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh