Lens on Lens

This lens is really a personal journal, rather than a traditional Squidoo Lens.

I am using it to record some of the design criteria I have tried, used or abandoned in attempts in the very early beta stages of Squidoo.

Some Ideas are likely to have wide spread applicability (indeed some that I used very early on were discoverd by others independently ... for example use of internal links to specific modules within a lens) while other (especially those being used in the Massive lenses I have developed (which in some ways seem to be the antithesis of the Squidoo concept) may not prove viable in the end....

Well, if you only read one thing here... this should be it.

On the other hand, if you want to know why I do what I do (at least when it comes to Lens design) then the What I Do module is the place to go. This is a connective thread that describes briefly the modules I consistently use across all my Squidoo lenses (inlcuding for example the "Connective Web" module you are currently perusing). It also contains some ideas on Lens branding and publcity and finally ends with a module on how I "work the concepts" -- some examples in action.

Next, What others do contains pointers to other lens design Lenses ... and some views from the world at large on what seems to work and why.

In the Promotion Zone I discuss the whys and wherefore of promoting a lens.

Finally the No Go Zone contains things that I avoid like the plague... things that just don't work for me.

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Connective Web
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If you want to experiment with Lens design, you owe it to yourself to start from an understanding of the design goals of the originator of the concept....

.... regardless if you then change or "embrace and extend" the features you bring to the table, at least you will know the why and whereof....

The Philosophy behind Squidoo Everyone Is An Expert (about something)
A must read for anyone designing a lens

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Connective Web
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The module Design Concepts explains three special text modules that I tend to incorporate in my larger lenses to both ease the process of navigation and to act as a connective glue -- that is, to put the contents of a group of modules in context (hopefully especially useful for users who are perhaps exploring a complex topic for the first time). Also covered here are navigation aids and the chunking of "Amazon" Modules that I feel is especially important in a lens that covers a broad topic.

One of the extremely beneficial features of Squidoo is the overall branding that is enforced on a Lens regardless of the author. In A Question of Image however I take a different tack and review several techniques I use to give a least a hint of individuality and at the same time a unique brand image to lenses I have covering related topics.

In the spirit of a Lens not being so much a repository of knowledge as a pointer to it, this lens finally start to act like a lens in Sample Execution which points to examples using the myriad of concepts discussed here.

When one is just not enough, its time to interlink lenses .

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Connective Web
Connective Thread
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These are some of the concepts I am testing for incorporation in my Lens architecture.

As illustrated above, I use an Orientation Module that mimics the prologue of a book (or editiors message of a magazine)to give a feel for the contents of the lens.

In all my long (require more than 2 screen roll downs to view) Lenses I incude a Connective Web module that has links to each of the modules in the Lens. I make this more than just a collection of links by including a brief commentary - similar to those often found in the last pages of the introduction chapter of non-fiction books.

In the case of my longest lens, I thought there was a need for a further subdivision so i added another type of linking module that I've called a Connective Thread that gives a connecting summary of a group of (sub)topically related modules within the overall lens structure.

One of the most useful tools for navigation in a lens that is large in scope is the use internal jump points... this lens is essentially nothing if not an example of this....

I am very selective in the use of blog/rss feeds... for the most part I will only include such a module if I am so sure that the content will match the theme of the lens that it is a 'no-brainer'. Even though I have several blogs, I sometimes put a story in because it seemed REALLY important, or perhaps was just bright and shiny, that doesn't otherwise match the theme of the blog...but a lens is ALL about being an expert on something... and the jolt of something that doesn't belong could result in the reader abandoning ship.... I just don't see the risk-reward being in balance... if there is an individual blog posting I want to reference, this is a different matter... and a link to a "permapost" is always appropriate in this case.

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Connective Web (example here)
Connective Thread
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In all lenses, regardless of field or topic, I use the same picture for Orientation Module a blueprint with associated design tools including compass,protractor, pencil and eraser.

In contrast, I use a set of pictures for my Introduction Modules -- with the exact image used being dependent on the broad topic. For example, I use the image shown in this lens (an impossible three prong widget)-- that I first used in my "Me,Myself And I" lens -- whenever the lens is primarily about me or my opinions. For lens on Management I use a "Lightbulb" as "Hot Air Ballon" metaphor, and for my Cybernetics Lenses, I use an image of a man catching "shooting stars"

Again, in all lenses I use the same picture for the Connective Web module -- a caricature of the web of life - the DNA double helix.

I return to the use of a unique picture for each Connective Thread (example here)module as there are usually many of these modules within any given Lens and it is useful to distinquish between them as a navigation aid for the user.

A very small point, but I always use a subtitle for a Module header - I jsut think the double line band of grey works so much better than a single line which squeezes the content.

This gives me the ability to make Use of Common subtitles - a connective web, a connective thread and the term "Macroscope" across similar structural elements in all my lenses.

All of these features are designed to be subtle but to still impart a common "look and feel" to my lenses that works within the Squidoo Master Branding.

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Connective Web
Connective Thread
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Many of the topics I deal with in Squidoo are, to be as polite I as can be to myself, somewhat arcane, and unfortunately not at all well known even in concept let alone in the "how to use" sense. In these case the lens has multiple, conflicting design goals and needs different elements.

In the case of my interest in the field of Cybernetics, I face a science that is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. It has many subdivisions that cover every thing from business management through to quantam physics...in pure science and applied science aspects.

It is simply not possible to cover all the facets in one lens... so I have multiple lenses but how to organize?

It's of course as easy to have pointers to other Squidoo lenses as it is to link to any web resouce - but sometimes this is not enough. In this case I create a "Master" Lens that simply serves as guide to the other "facet" specific lenses. The metaphor in use is the old standby of the scientific and technical press - the "Series" with one volume to cover the surface and specific volumes to deal in depth with specific interests.

An example is my Applied Cybernetics lens which has some minimal expository sections, but is really a set of pointers to facet specific lenses.

In fact, I have four major Cybernetic lenses that serve as gateways to deeper studies. Users can pick the facets of the field relevant to themselves and not be distracted on relevant modules in the lens they are viewing.

In addition I have collective lenses to cover aspects of the study that do not neatly fall into the four 'master' categories. Examples of these are my Cybernetics Library and History and Biographiesstudy of the giants of the field.

In each case I have a specific module to point to related Lenses in the series... it is simply not good enough to rely on the "other lenses like this" link from the Squidoo sidebar...its too general purpose (in in the beta,at least, inconsistent) to provide the type of "Series" collective structure I envision here.

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Connective Web
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It goes without saying that there are many other viewpoints on effective Squidoo design techniques and practice... some other's worth having a look at are included in the Primers on Construction module.

Learning from others is of course what Squidoo is all about, but sometimes more than a Lens is needed. Some more formal approaches, including peer review and interview with an expert can be found in Critiques and Commentary.

Some Lenses I like is an eclectic collection ... many of the ideas found here will be used to give my lenses a "work over" to help them be what they can be.

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Connective Web
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This section describes things I have tried that just did not seem to work.... of course ymmv ...

I really can't say it strongly enough Technorati just doesn't fit the Squidoo genre. I use it all the time in my blogs... where it fits like a glove, but in Squidoo, well no.

I say no to a Single Amazon Module while embracing the inclusion of many... strange but true.

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Connective Web
Connective Thread
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According to Squidoo the following can be said about this module:

Basics: This module helps lensmasters highlight blog entries about the topic, theme or subject of their lens.

Purpose: To automatically pull in frequently updated headlines from blogs monitored by Technorati.

So lets see... the whole point of a lens is:
Squidoo: Everybody is an expert on something so I really want to put a module on where I have NO CONTROL over the content??? I don't think so...

I started using this module in several of my lenses... but in each case the results tended to be from uninformed and sometimes fanatical bloggers...
I can see using a well edited feed through RSS... say BBC or other reputable news source, or blog whose content and editorial skills I respect... but see no reason to put this particular module in my lenses which are on complex targets... if my lenses were on more "popular" or "fads" or "current trends" based issues, my thoughts might be quite different...
but for now ......I'm the expert, and maintain editorial control, so......no Technorati for me.