Don't Have A Cow Man!
In other words, there is no need to panic. I will explain why.
Lensmasters, like myself, that are active in the SquidU forums are well aware of what is happening here, however, many lensmasters may not be. That is why I will take a moment to explain some things.
Squidoo is making some changes in the way our lenses look and function. This is a GOOD thing! It is called progression and moving the site forward to make Squidoo better for all of us.
Unfortunately, change never comes without it's share of uncertainty and frustration. At first glance, some lensmasters love the new layout while others hate it more than they hate brussel sprouts! (if you happen to love brussel sprouts, then just insert something you despise in that sentence and you will get the idea).
Regardless of which side of the fence you are on or if you are still sitting on the fence uncertain of which side looks better, that is okay. You are not alone. However, you can rest assure that Squidoo headquarters is listening patiently to our concerns, ideas and feelings towards this new layout design. That is part of what makes Squidoo special, the people behind the scenes listen to us even when some of us are downright screaming at them! That is why it is so cool to be a part of this community. We have a voice. You can bet on that.
Most of this lens will contain polls covering the various layout changes. (thanks, bdkz for the Poll idea!)
This is an ongoing lens. I will be adding new polls as features are added and/or changed as well as moving polls to the bottom of the lens that may or may not still be applicable.
From Megan Casey
a.k.a. Squidoo Editor in Chief
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Creating the new lens layout
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The team at Squidoo has been working overtime in creating a new set of looks for the pages that people see when they come to Squidoo. This lens is designed to help you see our thinking and to keep you updated on our progress. THE SHORT VERSION: The...
Where can I find more information about the site changes?
Do you love the new layout and dashboard and want to take a moment to praise Squidoo for a job well done? Or, do you have some concerns and want to give headquarters a shout out?
Below are the current SquidU discussions on the new layout and dashboard. Get involved!
Am I seeing things? New template?
2 points
NEW new max layout coming soon
0 points
New Dashboard is here!!!!
0 points
Daily Digest Page WHY?
0 points
One more round of dashboard upgrades
0 points
The Bio Box is on the move!
6/28: The Bio box has moved to the top of the right-hand side column.
Last round of Dashboard Updates
6/06: The following changes were made to the new dashboard.
The New Dashboard Updates
Another poll based on the 6/06 dashboard updates.
* If there is something you don't like about the new dashboard and it is not listed below, please post it in the guestbook.
Another Top 10 List by Category Poll
New Poll added 4/24 based on forum discussions.
As of 4/24, over 50% of lensmasters voted that they are glad to see the Top 10 list by category removed from the new design. On the previous lens layout, the Top 10 list was at the very top of the right column.
Width of the Content Area
New Poll added 4/21
Thanks for the poll suggestion, asiacue!
Look Who's Blue!
New Poll based on 4/18 design update
Based on our requests, Squidoo has changed the Orange Box to Blue.
Stand out from the Crowd or Search Box?
New Poll: requested and added on 4/18
Thanks for the poll suggestion, Gil!
Update: Text has been changed to "Share your knowledge. Make a difference.
Where the heck did the Top 10 list go?
The Top 10 list by category that was on the sidebar has been left off the new design.
What's up with all that white space on the top of the lens?
Some lensmasters have mentioned the fact that the top section of the lens now has too much white.
What are your overall feelings towards the new lens design?
Did I miss something?
If you have any concerns regarding the new layout design other than the ones mentioned above, post them here and I may add a poll for it!
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ideadesigns
Best Information about the new lens layout! Right under the title is advertisement and lens bio. Perhaps move both to the left column. With bio on top. So far, I like it. Posted June 11, 2008 |
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pyle_mountain
I like the new dashboard. Most folks don't care for change but I know I'll like it even more as I become more adjusted to it... Posted May 30, 2008 |
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SusanVillasLewis
One of the thoughts I just had that I'd like to see on the Daily Digest (rather than repeats of information about lenses needing help. Why are there two lists that essentially say these need the most work?) is something like - Hey, you haven't sent a SquidCast on these. That would be a useful stat to track. I'd love to see ones I haven't sent a cast on at all and ones that haven't had a cast in more than 60 days. Posted May 30, 2008 |
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WhippetTalk
I am fairly new still to Squidoo, but I like the changes I have seen so far. There are few little things I think need to be worked on. All in all, I think it's a step in the right direction. I only wish we could place some content in the white space on the right side instead of seeing all this unused space there. Posted May 29, 2008 |
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LDWorld
Cool. Good Job!! Posted May 24, 2008 |
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Alban
Thanks for this lens. Regarding the white space in the title, I think a gradient background color design might look good. Posted May 12, 2008 |
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AMK
I had a break and put a lot of time into building a lens only to have a top discovery tool I did not ask for. I look at this as plain outright rude. I am not just angry. But I am seriously considering leaving. Even with the ability to turn it off. Its still a very disrespectful way to do things. Quite frankly I am apalled that squidoo would stoop so low :-( Posted May 11, 2008 |
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triathlontraining
Thank you for taking the time to put this all together for everyone. I'm glad Squidoo is taking our thoughts into consideration. :) Posted May 07, 2008 |
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kiwisoutback
Great job on this lens. Personally my biggest complaints are the white bar on the side being completely empty (especially in the longer lenses) and the space between the intro and first module. If the intro is too short, which I usually leave as one paragraph, it leaves a large white space between that module and the first. Posted April 29, 2008 |
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Squidster
Just voted in your polls. I am less than happy about the Explorer-box, and would rather see the bio somewhere on the top right area. But on the whole, I am very impressed with the SquidTeam's responsive interaction. They just rock! Posted April 27, 2008 |
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rms
This is great! Thanks for putting this together. Posted April 25, 2008 |
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JasonE
I am very happy following the changes which were implemented on April 18th, but as you suggested above, I should note that ideally, I would still prefer a bit larger font. All said however, I think that the pages now look better than they ever did before. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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asiacue
thank you for collecting all this stats, should be very helpfull in further improvements. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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Barkely
Great idea, it feels good to put my opinion into your polls. The main change I'm not sure about is the Explore Related Pages section. I've left it on some lenses, and taken it off others to see if it makes a difference in traffic. I wish it was lower on the lens. I'd like people to at least see what's there before they're tempted to click off to somewhere else:) Posted April 20, 2008 |
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makingamark
The 'Explore Related pages' poll seems ignores the fact that by turning if off, we eliminate traffic to our lens (ie our lens won't feature on other lenses). This is a major disincentive to turning it off. Posted April 20, 2008 |
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spirituality
What I noticed is that I can't change font-size myself with CSS as easily as before. Say I want quotes to have font-size 14px (I have a lot of quotes) - on the new lenses I've created the code stays in but the lettering stays small. I like having the choice to make letters larger, because the font-size on squidoo is smallish. Not too small for me, but nearly too small non-the-less. Posted April 20, 2008 |
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Adelaide
Great lens, it's good to see what other people think of the changes at a glance, rather than having to trawl through pages and pages of rants on SquidU! Posted April 20, 2008 |
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Janet21
Hi Mac! I revised the poll wording to 'Contents at a Glance' and 'Explore related pages' so it is clearer now which one each poll is referring to. Thanks! Posted April 19, 2008 |
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Mac33
Ummm...which one is the Discovery Tool? Is that the "Contents at a Glance" or the "Leave my lens and explore someone else's before you've had a chance to read mine" section? Or something else? Cool lens, thanks for creating these polls! Posted April 19, 2008 |
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piratechicks
The discovery bar looks ugly but at least you can turn it off. They should make an option to move the bio to the sidebar because I don't like the new placement and it makes the intro start even further down. Posted April 19, 2008 |
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Chadrew
Wow, that was a lot of polls! :) Posted April 19, 2008 |
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Crystal_Booth
Thanks, Janet, for creating a lens where we can all vote and express our opinions. I'm sure the Squid Team will take our voice into consideration and tweak the new layout into a great thing of beauty! Posted April 19, 2008 |
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happy-jack
Changes they take time, the new material is open Posted April 19, 2008 |
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CherylK
There's still a lot of white space in the right column so I suggest that you put the list of fans there. I really liked seeing the fans as well as who favorited a lens. Isn't that how it used to be? Plus I think the "discovery" tool should appear there in the right column. Posted April 18, 2008 |
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charlino
Nice lens, great topic. Posted April 18, 2008 |
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Jimmie
Great job, Janet! I loved having a place to vote my opinions. Posted April 18, 2008 |
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giltotherescue
What about adding a poll for the "Stand out from the crowd" message at the top? Posted April 18, 2008 |
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Lizald
Brilliant idea for a lens. Posted April 18, 2008 |
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clouda9
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to vote! Posted April 18, 2008 |
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Rock_The_Ice
Wow. I like the idea here! I wish I'd have thought of this lens... Posted April 17, 2008 |
The polls below were originally based on new site features which have since been updated and may or may not still apply. I have decided to leave these polls on the lens for future reference.
The Orange Box
Update 4/18: Background color changed to blue
The orange box includes the new 'Contents At A Glance' Section (Table of Contents) and the new 'Explore related pages' (Discovery Tool). Both of these can be turned on or off. It is your decision whether or not you want them on your lens. You can access this the information in the Workshop Intro Module.
Do you like the new Dashboard?
New Poll added 5/29 based on the new dashboard design.
If you select answer #3 below, (I like it, but there are a few things I would like to see changed), please post your areas of concern in the guestbook below.
What happened to the lensrank stat?
6/30: Lensrank stat has been added back onto the top of the lens.
The 'Favorited By' stat on top of the lens
6/30: 'Favorited By' stat has been removed from the top of the lens.
The New Home for the Bio Box
Update 5/9: Yay! The Bio Box is moving! Gil said so. :)
The Email Me ~ Contact Me Dilemma
What do you think?
Update 4/18: Text officially changed back to 'Contact Me'
Should I invest in a pair of glasses?
Update 4/18: Requested font size increase implemented. If you still have issues with the font size, please post this in the guestbook.
There have been some concerns raised regarding the size of the text. Megan has already addressed this issue and said they will look into it.