The Introduction Module in Squidoo

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Ranked #131 in Squidoo Tips, #15,672 overall

Introduction, Contents and Discovery Tool

The introduction module in squidoo has an inbuilt table of content. Do use it!

And do upload a picture as an intro image - not having one will stop people from featuring your lens on theirs. And no - just using HTML to put a picture in there does NOT count.

Any questions about the introduction module? 

[Please read the rest of the lens before asking your question.]

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  • Reply
    Mickie_G Mickie_G Nov 21, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
    Yes, I am such a dummy that I do not know how to use the new intro module format. Can you tell me what format it uses so I can learn it? For example, I do not know how to use the "headers" "normal (DIV)", etc. What does this mean? I was so used to using my own html to make borders and such, this new format is driving me nuts. Thanks for your understanding for this 100 Clubber who should know what to do.
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Nov 21, 2009 @ 1:15 pm
    You're clearly not used to WYSIWYG interfaces. No worry: you can use all your old code simply by clicking 'code' :)

    That was the short answer. A longer answer is that you no longer have to use HTML and CSS to spice things up. You can change the font size of anything you've typed by selecting the text you want to change and then selecting the font size of your choice. The same for borders and headings and all that. And the result can be seen right while you're doing it - so go and experiment. :)
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Sep 15, 2009 @ 2:42 am | in reply to Rcweg
    I don't understand the question.
  • Reply
    Rcweg Rcweg Sep 14, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
    What is the final home of lens url definition?
  • Reply
    Swisstoons Swisstoons Jun 10, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
    [in reply to spirituality

    Thank you very much! I appreciate your help.
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Jun 5, 2009 @ 7:58 am | in reply to Swisstoons
    IF the photobucket pictures are open source, you can save them on your own pc, and then upload them in the introduction module. Otherwise you might search wikipedia for your subject - all pictures there are open source. Same thing: upload (aka save) to your own pc and then upload them to the introduction module.
  • Reply
    Swisstoons Swisstoons Jun 5, 2009 @ 7:34 am
    I've recently discovered Photobucket and have used three or four of their pics on a couple of my lenses by inserting them into text modules. I'm constructing a new lens and would like to put one of Photobucket's photos into my intro module, but can't do it as intro photos have to be on my hard drive. Is there a solution for this problem? I don't have any pics of my own on the subject of this under-construction lens. In fact, this is preventing me from following through on MANY ideas I have for lenses. Thanks.
  • Reply
    TopStyleTravel TopStyleTravel Apr 9, 2009 @ 10:23 am
    Great information, 5 stars. Good pictures and explanations. This lens helped me remember how to edit 'Explore Related Pages'. Thanks
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Dec 3, 2008 @ 2:41 am | in reply to MonkeyGum
    You already have a profile photo.

    Perhaps you mean a picture in the introduction module? You can do that right in the introduction module itself where it says 'lens photo' you can click on 'upload photo'.
  • Reply
    MonkeyGum MonkeyGum Dec 2, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
    How do I add a profile photo? I've followed the instructions that seem to suggest that I should be able to do it from my dashboard, then 'edit your bio'. There isn't any option in there about uploading photos. Any ideas?
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Introduction: Intro-text and picture 

Use a picture and text



Make sure you put enough text here, because if you don't your readers will be led out of your lens before you know it with the new stuff discussed below.

Get a picture in the introduction module

It's a good idea to upload a picture, because that picture will show up all over squidoo and make your lens look more attractive.

What you do is click on 'upload photo'. This will appear when you have the introduction module in editing mode.

The picture can sometimes refuse to upload. If that's the case, try making it smaller (maximum 500px wide).

The widest pictures to show up in the introduction module are 250px wide anyhow. So you might as well make it that small.

Table of Contents 

Apparently the folk of squidoo want you to have a table of content very badly, so they put it in your introduction module. As soon as you have 5 modules or more, do turn it on.

First let me show you how the default screen looks with the table of content option turned off:



The same screen looks like this once you click on on:



Make sure you click on most of your modules here. But if you have several that have the same title, only have the first in the table of content.

 

aka don't try this at home :)

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Discovery tool 

It's a bit hard to keep up, but the discovery tool is back. It moved from the center of the screen to the side bar. It's a scrolling list of 6 related lenses - three of which you can add yourself in the introduction module. The others are determined by the tags you used on your lens - so pick tags that you've used on related lenses, as well as tags being used by other people who have lenses related to yours.

Right now (October 2009) the links are in an i-frame. This means that while ordinary visitors can see them, the links do NOT count for search engines.

[Source for the screenshot and the information here: Squidutils]

How to... move the 'Contents at a glance' stuff down on the screen 

It's an annoyance to many lensmasters that we now have just a bit of text before visitors to our lenses are enticed away from that lens.

The solution is pretty simple actually:
make sure you have a few paragraphs in your introduction module

The introduction module gets shown before the blue rectangle which has 'contents at a glance' and 'explore related pages'. So more text (and perhaps pictures) there, means they get moved down.

Alternatively - this is where squidoo may someday put a stop to this - you can:
use a very tall picture in the introduction module

I would not advise this beyond reason, because it just puts in more white on your page and while it DOES move the blue contents at a glance feature down - it also makes your lens look kind of empty if you overdo it.

Still, you can see it at work on this lens. My picture in my introduction module is taller than the text is, creating some white space and moving the light-blue in between stuff down.

Again: if this is misused often, squidoo could just decide to cut off pictures beyond a certain hight - still, for now it would work to move things down.

The end result: the new squidoo look as of August 2009 

'content at a glance' is where your 'table of contents' ends up. In some cases the table of content module also ends up on this spot. I'm not sure what triggers that, but it's probably when you haven't added any text to the module.

So what do you think of this new Introductory module? 

What do you think of the new introductory module

Loading Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

Too many features, I'm going crazy.

spirituality says:

You cannot.

Posted November 02, 2009

EliteSkin says:

How do you make the uploaded photo in the introductory module a link?

Posted November 01, 2009

spirituality says:

Yes, in the introduction module you can see what that module will look like before you hit publish. Just hit 'save'.

As for affiliate links: try to make them first in an ordinary text/write module. That should be easier. As long as they're actually links, not amazon i-frames for instance, you should be able to use them.

Posted October 30, 2009

baka04 says:

A a newbie not to sure how this all works. Can you preview what your lens will look like before you hit the publish button? It seems like my affiliate links will not link up. This was little more helpful. It seems that there is so much information that ones is easily distracted.

Posted October 29, 2009

JoyMiles says:

I have just completed one lens and not sure I like the looks of it with the title of table of contents and discovery tool and nothing to back it up??

Posted August 06, 2009

kaz7622 says:

Having just completed one lens I am now confused.

Posted July 16, 2009

4today says:

I have to confess, I am totally confused about how to get started. I did create a lens, but how to work is confusing. I am having a difficult time with the ins and outs.

Posted December 29, 2008

says:

As a newbie, I'm totally confused and not sure as to exactly what I'm suppose to be doing! I would appreciate some help!

Posted November 29, 2008

annetravel says:

still confusing!!!

Posted November 21, 2008

cutelittleb says:

As a newbie to squidoo.....I need HELP

Posted October 25, 2008

Love the new options

RichMonk says:

Thanks for telling me how to turn off the Explore Related Pages. I'm new to Squidoo and appreciate the help.

Posted May 26, 2009

shipbob says:

I an sure after using it I will appreciate the idea,I am behind this point in ubderstanding now.

Posted April 24, 2009

NikSnowRoo says:

It helped me out - & the good Lord KNOWS that I need help!
Thanks!!

Posted February 22, 2009

kiwisoutback says:

I like the discovery feature on the module, and I'll be taking better advantage of it now based on your tips.

Posted January 14, 2009

Rudy_Horvath says:

I do say that all the new options are great and will be even better once I get a handle on all that it can do.

Posted November 28, 2008

mdvaldosta says:

It's a great way to start a lens, and I really like the control of adding a few of my own related lenses.

Posted November 04, 2008

DirksHomeBiz says:

I only gigured out now how it works
and it seems to be good, thank you.

Posted September 28, 2008

hesika says:

It's a good idea, what I did not used so far... Now I would like to try it out. Thank you

Posted September 25, 2008

SilenasImages says:

I think that I will like them when I figure them out

Posted September 18, 2008

hhdavid65 says:

I'm reading this before I make my first lens. You answered most of my questions.

Posted September 10, 2008

 
view all 34 comments

How to make your introduction module interesting - add your tips 

As the squidoo tips often emphasize: the introduction is what people see first. It is also what gets shown on other places throughout squidoo.

So use it well. Here are tips - and please add your own.

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

Give it a title

Every module should have a title - but on the intr more...12 points

2

Vote Up
Vote Down

Use a nice picture to 'describe' your lens

Get to your picture-editor and create something un more...7 points

3

Vote Up
Vote Down

Use enough text

Long is better than short.2 points

4

Vote Up
Vote Down

Briefly use all 5 W's

Who, What, When, Where, Why...so that readers can more...2 points

5

Vote Up
Vote Down

make descriptive titles

dont make too long titles. just make it short yet more...1 point

6

Vote Up
Vote Down

Use an Allposters Poster for the lens pic

It can be done! Copy the poster to your PC and the more...1 point

FAQ on the Introduction module 

Can you put HTML links in your introduction module?


Yes you can.

And if you don't know how - here's your code:

<a href="http://www.yourWEBSITE.org/">what you want on your link</a>

Did I explain the Introduction module well? 



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