It's called an embeddable plexo, a tool that allows you to grab a plexo from your lens and share it on your blog or website.
Like this one (from this lens):
Add Your Romantic Valentine's Day Decorating Ideas for the Bedroom
Cool? Yeh, I'd say so!
Read more about it right here then let me know how you might use this fun feature.
Showing posts with label new features on squidoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new features on squidoo. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Blast Off With RocketSquids
Heard of RocketMoms on Squidoo? Then you know how successful lensmasters can be when they learn together and support each other.
Now, meet RocketSquids, the latest innovation by Squidoo, especially designed for new-ish lensmasters, those with at least a couple of lenses but fewer than 25.
If you fall into that Squid-demographic and want to learn from some of the best lensmasters on Squidoo how to do what they do, then join us!
Here's more information from MomWithAHook, one of the RocketSquids mentors.
Now, meet RocketSquids, the latest innovation by Squidoo, especially designed for new-ish lensmasters, those with at least a couple of lenses but fewer than 25.
If you fall into that Squid-demographic and want to learn from some of the best lensmasters on Squidoo how to do what they do, then join us!
Here's more information from MomWithAHook, one of the RocketSquids mentors.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Weigh In On the Latest Round of Changes on Squidoo
How are you liking (or not) the new lens layout, new themes, and this week's other changes on Squidoo?
I'd love if you'd leave a comment here and/or on my Facebook page to share your opinion.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, this page will enlighten you.
So, comments?
I'd love if you'd leave a comment here and/or on my Facebook page to share your opinion.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, this page will enlighten you.
So, comments?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Progress Bar on Squidoo - Pros and Cons?
Have you seen the new progress bar on Squidoo? In case you haven't, go look at one of your own lenses now. On the right, just below your bio, is a green bar showing "lens progress" with a percentage posted next to it. Click on "see your progress" below the bar for details. There you'll see a list with 11 items, with the completed ones checked off.
New lensmasters that I know really like the progress bar. As they make a new lens, they are prompted to complete each one of the steps (write more in your intro, add an intro photo, pick a topic and subtopic, add a social module, etc.). It's very encouraging for these young Squids to achieve some immediate gratification as well as to be able to gauge their progress.
The last two items on the list, "Get at least 20 SquidLikes" and "Get SquidLiked By a Giant Squid," have generated some controversy among experienced Squids. While the first nine items on the progress list are items that lensmasters directly control, completion of the last two items requires other registered Squidoo users to visit and "like" the lens, with at least one of those "likes" being from a Giant Squid. While there are ways to promote a lens within the Squidoo community, most lenses are written with a different audience in mind. Most lensmasters would be much happier with 20 visits to the lens from strangers rather than having 20 fellow Squidizens visit and like the lens. In fact, many people couldn't care less how many SquidLikes a lens gets in its lifetime - as long as it gets search engine traffic from shoppers.
While a number of people have voiced their concerns (some rather loudly) about these last two "requirements," at least one person has suggested that the first nine items on the list should comprise 100% completeness while the last two be added on as a bonus. That seems like a good idea. Obviously having traffic from shoppers is very important, but it's also true that participation in the social aspects of Squidoo figures into lensrank calculation. So, having those peer "likes" has potential monetary benefit, too.
I've been around Squidoo long enough to know that almost all changes create controversy and, occasionally, chaos among the troops and some lensmasters can be very vocal about their disapproval. "This too shall pass" is usually the way I handle situations like this one, but I'll admit that I was glad, and somewhat relieved, to hear the positive feedback from those in my small group of young Squids about the progress bar.
My plan is to take those last two items on the progress list and use them as an object lesson for teaching promotion of lenses in general and participation in the Squidoo community in particular. If others will stop worrying and simply adhere to TOS and not beg, bribe, or otherwise plead for their 20 "likes" but use good promotion and social media practices instead, I think they'll be far better off. Which I'm pretty sure was the reason for the progress bar in the first place.
New lensmasters that I know really like the progress bar. As they make a new lens, they are prompted to complete each one of the steps (write more in your intro, add an intro photo, pick a topic and subtopic, add a social module, etc.). It's very encouraging for these young Squids to achieve some immediate gratification as well as to be able to gauge their progress.
The last two items on the list, "Get at least 20 SquidLikes" and "Get SquidLiked By a Giant Squid," have generated some controversy among experienced Squids. While the first nine items on the progress list are items that lensmasters directly control, completion of the last two items requires other registered Squidoo users to visit and "like" the lens, with at least one of those "likes" being from a Giant Squid. While there are ways to promote a lens within the Squidoo community, most lenses are written with a different audience in mind. Most lensmasters would be much happier with 20 visits to the lens from strangers rather than having 20 fellow Squidizens visit and like the lens. In fact, many people couldn't care less how many SquidLikes a lens gets in its lifetime - as long as it gets search engine traffic from shoppers.
While a number of people have voiced their concerns (some rather loudly) about these last two "requirements," at least one person has suggested that the first nine items on the list should comprise 100% completeness while the last two be added on as a bonus. That seems like a good idea. Obviously having traffic from shoppers is very important, but it's also true that participation in the social aspects of Squidoo figures into lensrank calculation. So, having those peer "likes" has potential monetary benefit, too.
I've been around Squidoo long enough to know that almost all changes create controversy and, occasionally, chaos among the troops and some lensmasters can be very vocal about their disapproval. "This too shall pass" is usually the way I handle situations like this one, but I'll admit that I was glad, and somewhat relieved, to hear the positive feedback from those in my small group of young Squids about the progress bar.
My plan is to take those last two items on the progress list and use them as an object lesson for teaching promotion of lenses in general and participation in the Squidoo community in particular. If others will stop worrying and simply adhere to TOS and not beg, bribe, or otherwise plead for their 20 "likes" but use good promotion and social media practices instead, I think they'll be far better off. Which I'm pretty sure was the reason for the progress bar in the first place.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
New Themes on Squidoo!
There are four of them, announced here with samples linked here.
My Think Pink lens has been waiting for years for the bubblegum pink theme and I'm very happy with the way it looks.
Next task will be to go through my list of lenses and see if any others might be candidates for an easy face lift. I like the timing - pink in time for Valentine's Day and all the rest just ahead of spring cleaning and spruce-up time!
What do you think? Like the new themes? Which is your favorite? Leave a comment to let us know.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Squidoo Lens Reorganization Project for the New Year
If you've been thinking that you need to get more organized in the new year, you're in luck when it comes to organizing your Squidoo lenses.
This SquidBlog post is a heads up on the new, three-level categorizing system coming soon to a Squidoo near you. I think everyone will be thrilled to know that we will soon be able to categorize, sub-categorize, and sub-subcategorize each of our lenses. (Well, not everyone. Sometimes change doesn't come easily to Squidoo lensmasters, but I digress.) Clearly, having a new, more specific way to assign topics to our lenses should be a good change.
Once the system is live, lenses will be re-ranked within the new topic areas. Seems to me this should allow more lenses to rank higher on more top 100 lists, but we shall see. Before the new topic ranking is published, Squidoo will allow a week or two for lensmasters to go through our lenses and find a proper topical home for each one using a bulk topic recategorizer tool.
I love the timing of this release in that it coincides with the natural inclination many of us seem to have this time of year to tidy up and organize our belongings, including our pages on Squidoo. Begin thinking of how you'd like to group your lenses and watch for further announcements of the new topics. This is one change I'm really looking forward to.
How about you? Does re-categorization of your lenses sound like a positive move? I'd love to read your thoughts in a comment below.
This SquidBlog post is a heads up on the new, three-level categorizing system coming soon to a Squidoo near you. I think everyone will be thrilled to know that we will soon be able to categorize, sub-categorize, and sub-subcategorize each of our lenses. (Well, not everyone. Sometimes change doesn't come easily to Squidoo lensmasters, but I digress.) Clearly, having a new, more specific way to assign topics to our lenses should be a good change.
Once the system is live, lenses will be re-ranked within the new topic areas. Seems to me this should allow more lenses to rank higher on more top 100 lists, but we shall see. Before the new topic ranking is published, Squidoo will allow a week or two for lensmasters to go through our lenses and find a proper topical home for each one using a bulk topic recategorizer tool.
I love the timing of this release in that it coincides with the natural inclination many of us seem to have this time of year to tidy up and organize our belongings, including our pages on Squidoo. Begin thinking of how you'd like to group your lenses and watch for further announcements of the new topics. This is one change I'm really looking forward to.
How about you? Does re-categorization of your lenses sound like a positive move? I'd love to read your thoughts in a comment below.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Social Squidoo: More than Just a Fan Club
Lensmaster ideadesigns became my 900th fan on Squidoo the other day and left a comment to let me know. I was honored and truly appreciated the kind comment.
Do you join fan clubs on Squidoo? I hope you do. And I hope you leave comments on lots of lenses, too. Sincere comments. Did you know that now you can leave comments on profile pages? I love that new feature, great for a general comment to the lensmaster as opposed to a lens-specific comment. Comments are wonderful tools for building social relationships on Squidoo.
Have you looked at your profile page lately? If you haven't, take a look at the new design. It includes your bio and lens list on the left with a comment area below and a "trophy cabinet" on the upper right followed by a few profile stats - including the number of lenses you've rated and how many you've favorited. Do you look at those numbers on other people's profiles? I do. It's a great way to gauge how active that lensmaster is within the Squidoo community.
The importance of the social element of Squidoo is something that some lensmasters overlook. In fact, the profile page provides a great opportunity to make a good impression, so its contents (specifically the bio) should be well thought out and written in a way that complements and promotes your online brand and reputation. Try to give your readers a glimpse of the real you, the person behind the lenses. Don't lose out on the opportunity to start a great relationship with each visitor who takes the time to read your profile page.
Relationships are important in social networking, so open up to others, leave a few comments and join a few new fan clubs every day on Squidoo. The investment in time could be a great investment in the future of your online business, even well beyond Squidoo.
Do you join fan clubs on Squidoo? I hope you do. And I hope you leave comments on lots of lenses, too. Sincere comments. Did you know that now you can leave comments on profile pages? I love that new feature, great for a general comment to the lensmaster as opposed to a lens-specific comment. Comments are wonderful tools for building social relationships on Squidoo.
Have you looked at your profile page lately? If you haven't, take a look at the new design. It includes your bio and lens list on the left with a comment area below and a "trophy cabinet" on the upper right followed by a few profile stats - including the number of lenses you've rated and how many you've favorited. Do you look at those numbers on other people's profiles? I do. It's a great way to gauge how active that lensmaster is within the Squidoo community.
The importance of the social element of Squidoo is something that some lensmasters overlook. In fact, the profile page provides a great opportunity to make a good impression, so its contents (specifically the bio) should be well thought out and written in a way that complements and promotes your online brand and reputation. Try to give your readers a glimpse of the real you, the person behind the lenses. Don't lose out on the opportunity to start a great relationship with each visitor who takes the time to read your profile page.
Relationships are important in social networking, so open up to others, leave a few comments and join a few new fan clubs every day on Squidoo. The investment in time could be a great investment in the future of your online business, even well beyond Squidoo.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monstrous Changes on Squidoo
Kimberly hinted about it this morning, then this evening Megan released official word about the SquidooPlus system, due to begin implementation tomorrow. So lensmasters won't be caught totally by surprise by the changes if they've paid attention to the banner on their dashboard. Check out Megan's SquidooPlus lens and then read the SquidMonsters FAQ lens for more information about the new system and where the monsters fit in.
My prediction? You're going to love these little guys and all the goodies they bring with them. So get back to Squidoo, do what you usually do, and watch what happens. Starting sometime tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
What You See is What You Get
A couple of important items to share.
The new Squidoo WYSIWYG editor is here. You'll find it in the intro module of your lenses. Very cool. Try it and see if you like it.
I hope you're following Gil on Twitter. Good way to help keep up with news, changes, and resolution of problems. Better yet, download the SquidUtils toolbar, which follows Gil automatically. It's the only way to see at a glance when there's Squidoo news and when lensrank has been updated. The toolbar also provides quick links to your lenses and access to tools you didn't even know you needed, helping you to become a more efficient lensmaster. Once you've used the SquidUtils toolbar, you'll never want to be without it.
That's all for now. Carry on.
The new Squidoo WYSIWYG editor is here. You'll find it in the intro module of your lenses. Very cool. Try it and see if you like it.
I hope you're following Gil on Twitter. Good way to help keep up with news, changes, and resolution of problems. Better yet, download the SquidUtils toolbar, which follows Gil automatically. It's the only way to see at a glance when there's Squidoo news and when lensrank has been updated. The toolbar also provides quick links to your lenses and access to tools you didn't even know you needed, helping you to become a more efficient lensmaster. Once you've used the SquidUtils toolbar, you'll never want to be without it.
That's all for now. Carry on.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Get More Traffic from the New Squidoo GreetBox
Greetings! If you've been around Squidoo awhile you might have noticed a recent drop in referral traffic to your lenses from within Squidoo. Some of that traffic used to come from links on other, related lenses. With the lens layout changes from a couple of months ago, those Squidoo-generated links ceased to exist.
Where did they come from in the first place? They were a result of a lensmaster's opting in to the Discovery Tool, which is found on a tab in every lens's intro module. The tab is still there and, I'm happy to report, the Discovery Tool is now working again, although in a different way.
Click on the Discovery Tool tab for any lens and you'll see space for three different lens URL's. It's up to you to provide links there (if you want to) to lenses related to your own. Naturally you're going to want to include your own lenses, or you can choose somebody else's lens.
So what happens to those links? With today's introduction of the GreetBox on Squidoo, when someone finds your lens by way of a search engine and clicks through, they will see your lens but with a GreetBox at the top. The new, non-logged-in-to-Squidoo visitor will be greeted and provided with links to three lenses that, in case your page doesn't actually provide what they were looking for, they can visit instead. While this may sound like an invitation to exit your lens, well, in a way it is. Squidoo wants to provide what the searcher was looking for and if your lens doesn't fit the bill, the visitor can either hit the "back" button - or he can choose one of those three lenses instead of yours. I vote for the latter choice, wouldn't you? Let's keep our visitors on Squidoo!
If you'd like for one or more of those three alternate lens choices to be your lenses, then make sure you opt in to the discovery tool and provide related links. That's the good news. The better news is that if you do opt in (and all of your lenses should already default to the opt in), your lens just might appear as a related link on somebody else's lens. However if you opt out, don't expect traffic from anyone else's GreetBox because your lens won't be eligible to appear there.
The GreetBox is in an experimental stage on Squidoo right now. Read more about this exciting new traffic tool on the Squidoo blog.
Where did they come from in the first place? They were a result of a lensmaster's opting in to the Discovery Tool, which is found on a tab in every lens's intro module. The tab is still there and, I'm happy to report, the Discovery Tool is now working again, although in a different way.
Click on the Discovery Tool tab for any lens and you'll see space for three different lens URL's. It's up to you to provide links there (if you want to) to lenses related to your own. Naturally you're going to want to include your own lenses, or you can choose somebody else's lens.
So what happens to those links? With today's introduction of the GreetBox on Squidoo, when someone finds your lens by way of a search engine and clicks through, they will see your lens but with a GreetBox at the top. The new, non-logged-in-to-Squidoo visitor will be greeted and provided with links to three lenses that, in case your page doesn't actually provide what they were looking for, they can visit instead. While this may sound like an invitation to exit your lens, well, in a way it is. Squidoo wants to provide what the searcher was looking for and if your lens doesn't fit the bill, the visitor can either hit the "back" button - or he can choose one of those three lenses instead of yours. I vote for the latter choice, wouldn't you? Let's keep our visitors on Squidoo!
If you'd like for one or more of those three alternate lens choices to be your lenses, then make sure you opt in to the discovery tool and provide related links. That's the good news. The better news is that if you do opt in (and all of your lenses should already default to the opt in), your lens just might appear as a related link on somebody else's lens. However if you opt out, don't expect traffic from anyone else's GreetBox because your lens won't be eligible to appear there.
The GreetBox is in an experimental stage on Squidoo right now. Read more about this exciting new traffic tool on the Squidoo blog.
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