How I Became a Giant Squid

This is the first and most important step because Squidoo is a community driven site. So, it behooves anyone who wishes to advance within the community to learn the protocol, standards, and preferences. This does not mean that you have to create lenses on topics that Squidoo users dictate, it means that the standards of quality when it comes to lenses are primarily determined by the lensmaster community itself.



Still don't get my meaning?



In plain English, when I first began to aspire for Squidoo greatness, I learned that the best way to gain lensrank and subsequent exposure was to get your lens blessed by a Squid Angel. However, Squid Angels only bless lenses that they deem to be worthy; the real creme of the crop on Squidoo. Subsequently, many Squid Angels have created lenses about what it takes to get blessed. Although there were some variances from angel to angel, the general must-haves were the same; a collective standard.



So I made that standard my minimum standard.



That way, I would have the potential to be blessed often, with the assurance that all of the lenses I created using that formula would meet community standards on lens effectiveness and superiority. Turns out those same people who convey the standards of excellence actually know a thing or two about what works in internet marketing, web presence, website effectiveness, etc.



So, learning and adopting the standards of the community in which you wish to excel makes practical sense on a number of levels, wouldn't you say?

Creating 50 high-quality lenses takes a bit of time. So, if you're only creating lenses here and there in your spare time, chances are that you won't become a Giant Squid for a long time. Think about it: if you created one Squidoo lens every 3 days, it would take you AT LEAST five months to make 50 lenses, without even taking into account the issue of quality.



It doesn't have to take the rest of your life to achieve this goal!



What I did was commit to creating lenses on a set schedule - that's how The 60 Day Squidoo Challenge was born! Using the 60DSC, I became a Giant Squid in 2 months.

There are lots of different lens modules and even lens types to use here on Squidoo. Furthermore, with a basic knowledge of HTML and CSS (or a handy dandy cheat sheet), you can even augment the lens modules to reflect your own personal style! Giant Squids take advantage of all the different ways to express themselves so that their lens portfolios are diverse, interesting, and enriching.

Who wants to see the same thing 50 times over?

If you become a Giant Squid, it will be because a lot of squids who have come before you spent a lot of time contributing to the community atmosphere and database of lensmaster support info. It takes squids supporting other squids and their efforts to keep the community going. Some Giant Squids even mentor up and coming Giants!



We're one big, happy family!



So, how do you support the Squidoo family? Refer new users. Visit lenses and rate/favorite/comment when you find something useful or remarkable. Visit SquidU and offer input and support. Donate some of your Squidoo power to charity. Share your lens creation tips and tricks in the Squidoo Tips category.



Just do what you can to help squids and Squidoo succeed. Things have a way of coming back to you that way ;-)