Why Join Squidoo?

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 40 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #827 in Squidoo Tips, #132,403 overall

Squidoo is You!

It's true! Squidoo “is” you! Here, you will find your home. Let me show you around and help you settle in.

Join Squidoo. Your fellow lensmasters are here waiting to help you and support you in your Squid adventure.

Let's begin...I am going to answer some of your questions, and I'm going to ask you some questions as well.

Can I be myself? 

Yes! In fact, you are encouraged to be who you are.

Whether you are serious-minded or a goofball — or somewhere in between — there is a place for you here.

Check out our very own Squidoo superstar, chefkeem, at his hilarious best with his Ms. Keemie lens. Get yourself a good laugh, and see just how much of you that you can put into your own work.


featured lens Ms. Keemie's Free Love Advice Column

It doesn't matter why you're looking for advice on relationships or love - Ms. Keemie simply knows best! Falling in/out of love? Relationship with mother-in-law gone south? Best friends miffed? Lapdog growling atcha? Ms. Keemie's love advice column i...

Potential Squid:

Are you ready to let us meet you?

Can I make money? 

Yes, you most certainly can! What's more, you may set up your earnings to be given automatically, in part or in whole, to any of a host of charities such as Action Against Hunger or the Children's Defense Fund — you may even keep all of your earnings for yourself and your family.

Lensmasters bdkz, Susan52, and Mulberry are but three Squids who receive royalties from the lenses they've created. A lens from each of these lensmasters is shown below.


featured lens Cameras for Kids

Whether you're struggling to find something to keep a child busy, wish to spark a life long love of an exciting hobby, or hope to stimulate learning through a less traditional approach; photography, especially with a digital camera may be at lea...

featured lens Kindle Wireless Reading Device from Amazon

Lighter than a paperback, more powerful than WiFi, able to leap the library in a single, uh, click? - it's Kindle, the portable wireless reader from Amazon. The Kindle Wireless Reader from Amazon is the perfect anytime gift for your favorite...

featured lens Unique Toilet Seats For Your Home

There is an entire market out there for unique themed toilet seats. There is a seat for every decorating style on the planet. I especially love the clear acrylic designs. Here are the lastest and greatest designs in toilet seats.

Potential Squid:

What can you recommend
to your readers?

Do I have to be a writer? 

The short answer is yes, but let me qualify it. At Squidoo, it's about "your opinions, your recommendations, your ideas." You'll find, after you have created a few lenses, that your writing gets better and better. You'll find that, when you go back and look at your first lenses, you'll be able to polish them up with your new skills.

Squidoo can be the place where seasoned writers get "in their flow," but it can also be the place where people "become" writers. All Squids have the opportunity to thrive and grow here. Don't fear writing, embrace it.

AJ2008, seedplanter, and Drifter0658 are three of my favorite writers on Squidoo. DO NOT compare yourself to these or any other writers. Admire a writer's work and learn from it, but remember, your home at Squidoo is who you are and what you bring to the table. Squidoo is about competing with no one but yourself. Once you get into that mindset, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.


featured lens A Quilt Story: Voices from the Great Depression

When I run my hands over the warm quilt, I'm greeted by a flood of memories. Memories of my dad's 80th birthday. Memories of my parents, who are both gone now. And memories of Spring of 2000, when my mom arrived with a special request. My parents...

featured lens Drifter's Tales

Out from under the murky sludge of his past and into the light of the living, the creature crawls. Using the powers of the Ancients, he smites indifference and the wanton abuse of the human nature that drives some to just slide by. This is Drifter's...

featured lens Bullying At Primary School

Bullying at Primary School is about everything that I learned when my daughter was bullied at school and gives tips and strategies to use when dealing with the school. I hope your children are never bullied, but if they are then perhaps our experien...

Potential Squid:

Have you ever written an email? How about a letter home?

Can I write about whatever I want to? 

Here, I can't give you a categorical yes answer. Squidoo does have an official Terms of Service. But, basically, you can write about your interests as long as they aren't hate-mongering or pornographic.

Lensmasters Joan4, dc64, and kab write about varying topics. Lensmaster OhMe (Joan4's sister) writes mostly about her hometown. Below, are the links to each of these lensmasters' current top-ranked page (as listed June 28, 2009).


featured lens Life as a Foster Child

This is my story as a foster child. I hope it helps someone understand us, especially the foster parent. I hope it makes the case workers really listen to us. I hope it changes the system, but I'm afraid it won't.

featured lens Dolphin Swim in the Florida Keys

We did it! We did swim with the dolphins! Actually I swam with the dolphins twice. My husband, daughter and I went for our first dolphin swim! It was as awesome as I expected. I talked about it so much that my friends and I decided to go back about 5...

featured lens The Best Movie Kisses of All Time

Here you will find some of the best movie kisses of all time. I will not be presumptuous enough to put them into some ranked system, because it is far to subjective - the movies are too different, and the kisses are too different. They cannot be prop...

featured lens Freedom Fest in Pendleton SC

Freedom Fest in Pendleton South Carolina is an old fashioned Patriotic community celebration that is fun for the whole family. We have Games For The Children with prizes, Great Food including watermelon wedges, Live Music, Bingo with the Mayor, Bake...

Potential Squid:

What interests you?

Do I have to know HTML, CSS, and SEO? 

No, but learning it here and there as you go along will only make your lenses better. There is plenty of time for that later, though. For now, concentrate on the ample tools Squidoo gives you to make a lens with no experience whatsoever.

Bookmark these lenses from lensmasters trekkiemelissa, greekgeek, and Spirituality.


featured lens HTML And CSS Mentor

Many of you start writing your lenses without any HTML and CSS, but as you start understanding Squidoo, you want to learn how to spice your lenses up. HTML and CSS is just the ticket that you may be looking for. Here, on this lens, you will learn fr...

featured lens CSS Codes: Easy Tutorial and Quick Reference Guide

SHORTCUTS! Jump to how-to section on: Margins and padding around paragraphs Indented first line Colors of text and paragraphs Squidoo color codes Borders of paragraphs Troubleshooting spacing glitches Aligning Text and Images Text formatting (bold,...

featured lens SEO for squidoo - getting found in google: search engine optimization

SEO - search engine optimization - has many different facets. This lens goes over the main ones - especially how they effect making successful lenses on squidoo. An elaborate version of this lens, with details about blogging, twitter and more, can...

Potential Squid:

Easy to get started, huh?

How do I become a Squid? 

Click here. You will be taken to a form where all you have to do is follow the prompts. Don't over-think it; just answer the questions and fill in the blanks as best you can — even to the point of typing in, or choosing, what "sounds" the best. This first lens of yours is your training ground, your classroom, your hands-on learning tool. Go through the whole process and see what you come up with. If you've stayed with me this long, I can promise you that it will be a fulfilling creative experience.

Lensmaster CCGAL made her first lens, and fifteen days later, it won Squidoo's coveted Lens of the Day award. Check it out.


featured lens Heritage Heirloom Cutting Boards

Meet Bob, the Cutting Board King. Bob is his name, Butcher Block Boards are his Game. It started out innocently enough; my husband found himself with too much time on his hands after medical retirement, so I encouraged him to finally pursue his dream...

Potential Squid:

Are you ready to become a Squid?

Do I really have to do my first lens all by myself? 

No way! What did I say about this community? Support is here!

See all of our mentors here or click below to go directly to our wonderful First Lens Mentor, Lensmaster lakeerieartists.


featured lens Making your First Lens Mentor

EVERYBODY can Squidoo! You can too! It might take you an afternoon to 'get the hang of it', but that afternoon can be LOTS of fun. You don't need to be an expert in anything 'internet-y' to be able to build a beautiful, useful and successful Squido...

Potential Squid:

Are you feeling the love?

Potential Squid's Poll 

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Who are some lensmasters that are new and good? 

Plenty of lensmasters hit the floor running. The following three lensmasters joined Squidoo just this year, and they have done some excellent work.

   • Lensmaster luvmyludwig has been here since January 8, 2009.
   • Lensmaster momtothezoo has been here since February 25, 2009.
   • Lensmaster puzzlemaker has been here since May 11, 2009.

I asked each of these ladies a question; their responses follow. Meanwhile, here is a lens from each of them.


featured lens Life In My Grandmother's Time

This lens includes my own personal opinions. It is based on my memories and times shared with my grandmother, when I was a child, growing up in Pendleton, South Carolina. My grandmother, Mary Grace Martin Ledbetter, born September 11, 1896, lived wi...

featured lens Real Ice Cream

This recipe is for real ice cream. It has only 3 ingredients: cream, sugar and vanilla (also a dash of salt). Here you'll find the basic vanilla recipe and you can take it from there. Add fruit or other stuff if you like - I'll show you how. Why do...

featured lens Bipolar Disorder And Me - Two Bears and a Lady

Bipolar, two polar bears, get it? I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder around a year ago, but looking back I've shown symptoms of it since about age 11. I am now 28. I tend to deal with it and talk about it with humor as you can tell from the playfu...

Potential Squid:

Want to know the question and responses I got from these three ladies? Here they are answering this question:

You came on the Squidoo scene making good lenses from the start. What is your secret?

luvmyludwig 

Crystal

First off, thank you so much for including me in your 50th lens. You have been so supportive and helpful since I have joined Squidoo, along with some other really great lensmasters. I am truly honored.

I think the ability to making really great lenses hinges on a person's willingness to learn, but since everyone here is always ready to help, it's not really a secret. When I joined Squidoo, and although I did make some lenses right away, I took a lot of time out to read past posts in Squidu, the answer deck, and other lenses. I knew nothing about html, css, or seo when I joined, and wasn't sure what I was doing, but those resources and some very patient lensmasters helped me through those first weeks.

Writing about something you feel deeply about is also a must for good lenses. I had a lot of pent up emotions that I needed to deal with when I joined Squidoo, so I wrote about those issues in my life. I wrote, and still write, about things that I feel deeply about. I find it hard to write when I don't connect to the subject emotionally.

I guess you could say the secret is to write about what you know, but learn about what you don't know, then write about that too. :)

momtothezoo 

Jeanie

I found out about Squidoo through OhMe, Nancy Hellams. I have never blogged or used a website for writing, though I did have a little book published for my children last year through a Methodist minister from Georgia who has his own publishing company. Nancy and I both grew up in Pendleton. My parents bought her parents home back in 1964. My mother still lives there. Nancy is married to my family doctor from when I was a teenager. Nancy wrote a lens about Pendleton Memories and cast it on Facebook, where I saw and read it. I wrote her a note about how much I liked it and would she like to read the muse I had written about Pendleton. I sent it to her and she used it for her next lens, Growing Up In Pendleton. The response was good so I decided to try my hand at a lens, putting together my muse about my grandmother, adding photographs. I had never done anything like this before...it was all new for me and I kept asking Nancy my 101 questions as they came up...still do! I picked her brain as my mentor and she was a huge help in guiding me. The rest was just common sense of placement, etc. and I love to write. Once I published my lens, she and her sister, Joan (joan4) helped to promote my lens through their contacts and Nancy gave me pointers on that. From there, I begin writing my adopted foster daughter's story, something she had wanted me to do for some time. During the writing of the third part, Nancy sent me a lens that told how to border, etc., and I used some of those hyperlinks to create a more colorful lens. Until Squidoo, I didn't know what a hyperlink was! LOL One thing has just lead to another and I still have SO MUCH to learn!

Therefore, I suppose the answer would best be a great mentor, common sense, the love of writing and the love of your lens' subject. I only write about things I know and love.

puzzlemaker 

Paige

When I originally found Squidoo, I didn't sign up right away. I thought..humm..that's interesting I'll come back to it later. And I forgot about it for a couple of weeks while I tried secret shopping (a total disaster) and taking surveys online (another something that didn't work out very well). It was my daughter who mentioned it again to me. She said, "What about Squidoo?" I had totally forgotten about it and she had to show it to me again on the computer. Looking back, I realize that moment was very significant in my life. I almost missed Squidoo!

I decided to jump in and learn as much as I could BEFORE I would publish anything. Since my online time is limited, I decided I would spend a little time every day learning SOMETHING about Squidoo. I read 2-3 how-to squidoo lenses a day and 2-3 other lenses a day. I visited SquidU once a day to see questions others had, and visited the Answer Deck often. I read Are You a Stay at Home Mom or Dad by Janet 21 and took her advice to heart.

I knew my Real Ice Cream lens would be the first I'd publish. I am truly passionate about this recipe. Sharing it with others became my motivation even though my original intent with Squidoo was financial. Adding the Amazon modules (the potential money making part) ended up being the least important part of the lens.

I knew absolutely NOTHING about HTML, CSS, or SEO when I started (and still don't know it well). I copied and pasted a lot of code and deciphered it by replacing words and numbers and looking at the results. I remember the first time I was able to make a word "bold". It was such a major accomplishment for me!

And one more thing. The bonus part of Squidoo that I did not expect at all is the feeling of community. Thankfully I met OhMe (Nancy Hellams) and many other lensmasters through a group (SC Group) and this has made all the difference. Their help and encouragement has meant the world to me.

Where will I get the time to be a Squid? 

You'll do well to check out Lensmaster a_willow. She has an adored baby and husband, a full-time job, and is one extremely busy lensmaster here at Squidoo. Plus, English is her second language. And that's just some of what I know that's filling her time!

Let a_willow tell you about her Squid journey.


featured lens Journey of Little Croatian Squid

Welcome to my Squidoo memory lane! I'm inviting you to follow my adventures from little Cro-Squid to Cro-Giant who, as of recently, became a flying Cro-SquidAngel! :) This is also my thank you lens to all people who helped me with their advices, sug...

Potential Squid:

Are you motivated?

What do I do after I make my first lens? 

I imagine you will want some folks to drop in and take a look at your work. Before you get the word out, here are some guidelines to follow:

   ♦ Go back to your Squidoo account and upload yourself an avatar — something by which your fellow Squids will come to know you. As you can see, luvmyludwig uses a combination graphic and image, momtothezoo uses her actual photo, and puzzlemaker uses a puzzle that she created. So, upload something uniquely you.

   ♦ While you're there, set your email to allow your fellow Squids and your readers to contact you. Folks who write you will have to fill out a form, so your email address is safe — no one gets your email address unless you write them back.

   ♦ While you are still logged in, visit other lenses by other lensmasters; rate them with one to five stars, leave heartfelt comments, and favorite the lenses you really like. This shows your willingness to be a part of Squidoo. I advise this because your bio page tells folks just how community-minded you are — it shows us how many lenses you've actually rated and favorited.

   ♦ Visit SquidU (our official forum) and introduce yourself.

Once you've done those things, I can pretty much bet that you will start receiving visitors to your lenses.

About commenting: Comment on the lens you are at — about the lens you are at. As a general rule, don't leave your link. Don't ask that the lensmaster visit your site. The lensmaster and visitors to that lens will see your avatar and can click on it to go to your part of Squidoo if they want to know more about you.

The Best Squidoo Lens NOT To Do is my very own Lens of the Day for November 13, 2008. It's a satirical look at lensmasters who use Squidoo strictly for their own selfish gain.


featured lens The Best Squidoo Lens NOT To Do

Oh, yippee yay! This is all about me and my Website and what I want you to buy. I am not going to add any of my personality or give you any information on the lens topic, because that would waste my time! In fact, I don't have a topic! After all, all...

Potential Squid:

Community spirit or selfish gain?

In Closing 

Potential Squid: As you can see here, there are many ways to go about becoming a Squid. Take any route you want, but, to paraphrase Lensmaster puzzlemaker, don't miss Squidoo.

Remember that there is always someone here to help. Ask a new Squid friend, post your question at SquidU (wouldn't hurt to do a search first; the question may already be answered) or choose a mentor's page related to the question. Again, the list of our mentors.

Important study source: The Answer Deck
Frequently Asked Questions: FAQs

Happy Squidooing!

Thinking of joining Squidoo? Are you already a Squid? 

Comments are welcome!

submit
Show All

Lens Love! 

Help others find it...

If you would like to rate this lens, then you can do so here (Squidoo members only)

Add this to your lens »

About MiMi (GrowWear) 

Lensmaster GrowWear has been a member since January 27 2007, has rated 3,408 lenses, favorited 3,176, and has created 70 lenses from scratch. MiMi GrowWear donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "Homeless In America". See all my lenses

Full Disclosure 

What you should know

If you join Squidoo through my three links on this lens, when you make your first $15 at Squidoo, I will earn $5 for recommending you. In turn, you'll earn $5 for each person that you refer after they have made their first $15. It's just another way we benefit from being a part of this great community. So, come on, be a Squid. :)

Credits 

Thanks and appreciation

GreekGeek — Introduction image (adapted)
Squidoo Logo — Used with permission and not affiliated with or endorsed by Squidoo LLC.

Special Thanks 

Thank you to the creator of Squidoo, Seth Godin. I don't know Seth personally, but I like to think that one of his main sources of pride in Squidoo is its people. Thank you for this wonderful platform, Seth!
featured lens Seth Godin!

WRITER of bestselling books about marketing. SPEAKER with a unique style and great reputation. ENTREPRENEUR with a track record. Seth's blog just reached its 3000th post. It is currently ranked by Technorati as the #1 blog in the world written by a...

by GrowWear

My 50th lens! In celebration, this lens is to show potential Squids why they should be a part of our great and beautiful community.

This lens is dedica...

(more)

Explore related pages

Squidoo: The Best Website Ever
Squidoo is a cool website that allows you to build free web pages about whatever...
The Joy of Squidoo
  Be part of the Squidoo community. Squidoo is a great place to share your...
My 100th Squidoo Lens
Well here it is! My 100th Squidoo lens! Boy, what a journey it has been to...
Backyard Photo Ops
I used to think the best pictures required traveling long distances, but I've ch...
Making Your First Lens
This is a very basic step-by-step guide on getting started with Squidoo by makin...
Squidoo Celebration. Accepting All Lenses.
Join Squidoo and add your Lens(es) to Squidoo Groups for more exposure and...

Related Topics

GrowWear Recommends...

Create a Lens!