Created by MeganCasey
Welcome. This page is a quick overview of our strategy--and your wishlist!--for the new lensmaster Dashboard.
Your fans are waiting!
You asked for it...
You got it!
It's high time to update and improve the lensmaster dashboard.
For 3 reasons:
1. If you've got 100 or 200 or 400 lenses (and so many of you do!) the existing dash is pretty darn unwieldy.
2. Even if you only have 5 or 10 lenses, there are still a lot of opportunities to make your dashboard smarter, friendlier, and easier to get around.
3. The lensmaster dashboard is one of Squidoo's most visited non-lens pages.
So here's what we're going to do.
First, I want to round up a wishlist of things you guys would like to see on your dashboard. What would help you keep an eye on lenses that are working, triage lenses that need love, and generally manage your lens universe? Post your wishes below. Make a reasoned case for each. We can't implement all of your requests, and some might not fit into the grand scheme of things, but you know we're listening!
Next, I'll synthesize all the feedback and post our big picture strategy, to let you know what direction we're taking this and why.
Third, I'll post some comps for you guys to review and play with and offer any feedback on. (If I'm lucky I might be able to let some of you into our testing sandbox, so you can really dig in and play with a working prototype).
Last, we'll launch the new dashboard and, as always, gather up playtesting feedback after you've had a few days to see it all in action.
Good?
Good.
Let's go.
Quick note
Thanks guys. You two are rockstars.
But first, a little background and strategy for you
* The lensmaster dashboard receives 4.3% of page views on the entire site.
* It's the most viewed page by lensmasters.
* At the moment the Dashboard is just an index of lenses, an A-to-Z, a laundry list.
* There is enormous potential here to help lensmasters make more, better, more easily watchable and editable lenses. And, more importantly, to get out of your way and give you more controls.
So, imagine you're a lensmaster returning to Squidoo. (Hey, look, you are). You're probably coming back to see how your lenses are doing (are they getting traffic? comments? do people like them? have I made a sale?). Or you're ready to make a new one.
We know who you are. We know what kinds of lenses you've made. We know how they're performing.
So, I think we should act like a little bit like a Concierge. Help you see a quick overview of what's new in your Squidoo universe today. Highlight lenses that need work, lenses that are doing well, even ideas for new lenses worth creating. And then we should get out of your way and put you in charge, really in charge, of how you manage your roster of lenses.
What do you think?
Remember:
The whole idea of a dashboard is that it can show you, at a glance, what's happening in your world. What do you need to know, right now, to take action?
What features do you want on the new dashboard?
Removing a feature could also be a feature!
Add your wishlist items here. Is there a dashboard feature you've been lusting over? Something that will make your lens rosters more manageable, easier to take action on, prettier to look at, faster to edit? A toolbox, a sorting feature, a to-do list section, a set of filters, perhaps multiple mini-dashboards all in one place?
Ideas big and small, bring em on.
The only rule: no dumping on other people's ideas, and no negativity. Let's focus on how to improve, and go from there.
Thanks!
I'd love to be able to group my lenses
Either by topic, category, or key words16 points
Universal default settings, so I can make changes to ALL my lenses at once
Example: I want to be able to edit my bio and pic on all my lenses. Or I want to turn the TOC and Discover Tool on or off for all my lenses. Stuff like that.14 points
I want to be able to run my own "to-do" list right on my Dashboard
So I can store notes for particular lenses. And so I can make a list of which lenses to work on next.12 points
I'd really like to look at the dashboard and see if one of my links is messed up
So I know at a glance which lenses need my attention first.10 points
I'd really like to sort my lenses
It would be very useful to be able to sort lens by lens title, rank, visits, $$ and edited. For fast ways of finding a lens and finding which need more work, etc9 points
Group Admin
When approving new lenses for groups I would like check boxes to approve or deny multiple lenses at once.9 points
How about a mega-toolbox? There are so many neat lensmaster tools that go unnoticed...
8 points
Number the lenses (like SquidUtils)
So that I can see at a glance how many lenses I have.8 points
Group Stats & Management
Add the groups to the dashboard the same way the lenses are, with performance, stats, members; edit, etc.8 points
Introduce me to other lensmasters writing on my topic
Use your Related Lenses formula to suggest Related Lensmasters that I might like to meet and know on Squidoo. If I make a lens about tattoos, it would be cool to see other lensmasters with lots of lenses on that topic.7 points
Tag management
Basic tag management tools would be wonderful: ability to edit tags from the dashboard, see primary tags, compare tag profiles of different lenses, compare tag profiles of lenses in the same category, add one tag to multiple lenses, add multiple tags to multiple lenses, sort by common tags, find 'orphaned' tags, etc.7 points
Indicate number of fans on the dashboard or under stats
Please put the count of number of my fans, that used to run on the previous version of the Maxed view mode, somewhere on my dashboard. This was interesting info for the lensmaster, but agree that it should not necessarily be public.5 points
Sort by SquidBrand
Some sort of color coding or tiny icon would be useful to help identify Squidoo, SquidWho, Squidvids, etc. Then make it sortable like rank, name, earnings, etc.5 points
I want a list of Requested Lenses, lenses other people wish I would build
4 points
A Quick Filter
I'd like to have a box at the top of the dashboard where I can enter a short string, e.g. "xbox", and it will filter the list to only show lenses that contain that string. Matches should be done on name and title.4 points
Steal the best bits from 3rd party addons
...such as the Dashboard Extension and the Advanced Dashboard, so that everyone can benefit from them.4 points
A regular search box like the one on this page . .
. . so I can search for other people's lenses from my dashboard.4 points
"Lensrolled By..." Tool
Who's lensrolled my lenses? It might be useful to know.4 points
Ability to export stats to CSV file
This would give the lensmaster the ability to track lens stats over the long term easily using almost any spreadsheet program.3 points
Un-truncate the titles
I have several lenses that have the same beginning, with a different ending, but with truncated titles, I can't tell them apart without going into the lens itself.3 points
Ability to categorise lenses on the dashboard
Is it possible (within the dashboard only) to create categories of our own for our lenses that we can then sort lenses according to categories (not visible to anyone else). (Eg, "Halloween"; "Needs work"; "Series on polka dot history", etc)3 points
featured Lens Module!
I would Love to be able to set up my featured Lenses modules in advance and save them and then add them to my lenses as I want. Would save heaps of time.2 points
More Comprehensible Royalties Tab
Sometimes a number seems to stick around there for months-- when will it go to the hopper? Also, if it's not Amazon sales, hard to tell what it is.2 points
Improve Organization of Groups Tab/Page
Be able to show/hide all groups in a category. List by lens titles, as in main dashboard, with hover? or pulldown menu of what groups each lens belongs to.2 points
New Page Co-brands in One Spot
ability to make a new page showing each of the co-brands in one place, so we can choose2 points
Video Removed for YouTube Module Notification
Sometimes, I go to my lenses and realized that a video has been removed, yet is still linked to on my lens. I'd love to have a notification telling me that the video is no longer available.2 points
Could we have a different homepage for lensmasters?
When I log in as a lensmaster I am dropped straight onto my dashboard. But I only have 3 lenses and that's not very educational for me. I'd rather see a bunch of other great lenses to learn from or some ideas for lenses or other advice.1 point
A Search Box
So I can type in a keyword from the title of my lens, and jump right to that lens, instead of scrolling back and forth looking for it in my long list of lenses.0 points
An Easier Way to Identify Sales & Earnings
Maybe a link - or somewhere on the dashboard where this can be easily seen and understood.0 points
Check Traffic Stats Algorithm
Squidaholic and the traffic stats tab don't always agree, and people using Statcounter also report discrepancies.0 points
Lens Transfer Info Available & Readable
On long title pages, all the necessary information is buried. Need to upgrade lens/group transfer procedures and make them more accessible.0 points
Some good news for people who don't like change
We haven't made any major updates to the dashboard in 2 years, and it's high time! So we're going to do it in one big overhaul, and give you plenty of heads-up time so that you're not too disoriented by the new dash.
From there we'll make little improvements based on your feedback and every now and then as new features arise, but it won't be an ongoing, volatile process. So breathe a sigh of relief, pour yourself a cup of coffee, work on some lenses and keep an eye out for Dashboard announcements in the SquidU forums.
