My Personal Squid Journey

I checked back into the Squidoo dashboard, but at least a year had elapsed. My page was no longer listed; it had slipped into red "need to be edited", gray minus sign limbo. I was aghast, since I had no idea that could happen. It is funny how many mistakes we can make when a newbie in an unfamiliar area of the internet.

The good thing, actually two good things, would be that there are many tutorials and I got cracking on making my lens again become available in Squidoo seach and featured results. The second thing is the monsters got my attention. At first just finding them amusing, and then igniting my curiosity to see what would give points, and how much... and then the levels got my attention. I worked at trying to level up. I like the way Squidoo encourages writers to compete with themselves to do better.

In all this exploration I found many very fine quality lenses that taught me how Squidoo best operates with HTML and CSS. I actually know too much for my own good and it took a little while to figure out that the paragraph tag and not divs or headers are useful for the modules. My lenses change in appearance according to new tricks that I learn from master lensmakers - if I like the way something looks, or want to try a suggested css trick... that gets incorporated. Still experimenting with that.

Watermark Events

From the netherworld of the WIP region to...ta-da! LOTD. Today I received that very coveted (by me) honor of "Lens Of The Day". How did that happen? Well, as you just read, I got cracking, and one of the first lenses I started was Gardens to see in Ohio It is a topic I know well and built expertise in during my life, I love the subject, and other people find it useful. So that is a good recipe for a lens, it seems. After getting 100% finished ( as marked by the level inside the editing area), I took a chance and nominated it for the LOTD. Yes, I took nomination into my own hands, but was taken by surprise when it was chosen ( very quickly).

On that last note: timing is probably key. We are at the beginning of the vacation season when people want ideas for things to do. Gardens are at their peak at the beginning of summer. So these two factors synchronize with the topic of the lens. That is important in terms of combining search trends, peoples interest, and your webpages. At least that is my opinion. Maybe I just got lucky :)

"Top Categories
As consumers plan vacations and holidays, the travel category trends up from May to June with apparel and home goods heating up the summer." -from the mouth of Google, in their newsletter

I know I feel lucky, and blessed, and honored that people like something I worked on and love as well.

***** Guess What? *****
I have received several purple stars!

Read more about purple stars later in this lens...

Which lens won?
Tussie Mussies are Victorian nosegay bouquets, and my lens about them was honored with the purple star. Happy dance for August the 17th, 2011. I used the Flickr pictures module in that one, and the day of the purple star wouldn't you know that the set I chose was no longer available from there? I replaced it, but there is another tip:

Keep checking on Flickr sets when you use that module- not obsessively, but to make sure your lens remains well cared for and complete.

As you go through the lenses I made, you can see I am trying out different looks, borders, decorative letters, modules. There are lots of modules I haven't yet tried, and just learned to compile my own favorites.

Among the things I like on this platform is the fact that you can make a lens about anything that interests you, and the variety of topics lend themselves to different designs for the way the pages work. On a typical blog the look and the topics are best if they have a more cohesive group focus... but on Squidoo it is like going into a lollipop shop and choosing all the colors and flavors that strike your fancy. At least that has been my approach.

Favorite CSS trick:

So far, I really like using the bold tag with a large font for a first letter. You can see an example of that in my new lens, Beautiful Peacock Feathers. The size of the letter and border can change, as well as the colors used.

<b style="font-size: 60px; float: left; background: #f0f0f0; color: red; line-height: 40px; padding-top: 2px; font-family: times; border-bottom: medium; border-left: medium; border-right: medium; border-top: medium; border-style: ridge; margin-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px" > </b>

and I just tried out the "sticky note" here :)
<p class="sticky_note">

Be sure to close the tags around the area, like the first letter or the block of text </p>
Tags have to be "closed".

If you copy code and it doesn't seem to work, maybe there are extra spaces, or no space where there should be.

Other Things

The quests also encourage me to stretch myself as a writer... to try different topics than I might be comfortable with, or consider writing about. I've done two, now... and hope to do another sometime in the next month or two.

          

One of the very valuable things about participating on Squidoo are the free marketing lessons provided. The idea of making money from what you do is commendable in the Squidoo community, unlike many others online. I appreciate the openness of that, even while I find it stretches my own comfort level at times. ( Yes, I cut my teeth online in the "free is good, commercial is bad" atmosphere).

I don't think we have to capitalize on everything, and I still think free is good, but I understand that confidence in the value of what we contribute is also good.... and if one is to continue contributing, there has to be a source that feeds the flow ( or pays the bills.... however you want to term it).

So my attitude is: whether I make money here is not the point, the point is the lessons I am learning as I spend time here.

At the same time, I would like to build an internet business somewhere along the way....

One thing I had to get used to is the limited number of HTML tags that Squidoo allows. Not a complaint, just an observation. It is mostly a matter of finding all the many things that can be done by styling the <p> and <b> tags. Breaks are allowed, but they are unnecessary, since it is included in the automatic formatting. If this sounds like a lot of Greek to you, it is OK- just get yourself a simple HTML and CSS reference book and use it to design those two tags.

I would sum up the situation as Squidoo is a very simple blogging platform. They reduce the amount of mistakes that can be made which not only saves time, but creates a smooth readable experience for visitors. All in all a good thing.

HTML for Squidoo

One thing I noticed since becoming an active Squid is how much things are changing- over the past few months everything from the structure of the levels and rewards to the basic platform have been undergoing change. You will notice it especially if you visit any of the lenses dedicated to recording the perks given for leveling up. Some things seem to be automatically added now, like access to certain themes, etc.

I'm not one to pay close attention, but you can't help but notice things coming and going in the background. Like page breaks. I once had them, now I don't... it seems I will get them again when I reach Giant Squid level. But we shall see.... I say as I rub my chin thoughtfully.
::updated::
page breaks went away and are not coming back- for anyone.

Keep Track of changes on SquidHQ

You can get paid on Squidoo. So how does that work? Things called tiers are involved.
The three levels are:
Tier 1: Average ranking 1 - 2,000
Tier 2: Average ranking 2,001 - 10,000
Tier 3: Average ranking 10,001 - 85,000
If your lens ranking falls above 85000 mark, there is no payout.

Squidoo pay day and tier system explained.

At least, that is the way it works at the time the information is written, the numbers within the tiers may change, but it is a picture of how the payout system basically works. For more detailed accurate info, see the Official Payout FAQ page.

"The average ranking is calculated from your average overall ranking for a whole month so any lens that you first publish after the 1st date of the month will not be counted for that month tier payment. " - Squidoo Lovey

I'm not yet familiar with the payout system, but I earned a couple dollars now that I've been working on Squidoo for 4-5 months. Like most earnings online it takes some time and work for your earnings to accumulate and show something for the effort- so I'm not concerned about the small amount....

================== LOTD and Purple Lenses ==================

I found it necessary to nominate myself, maybe I was impatient to be discovered, but the reason I did is actually because -like blogs- Squidoo is exploding with new lenses. If you wait to be discovered and don't promote your own lenses, you might get lost in the crowd. I happily received both for my Garden to see in Ohio lens, but now am struggling with whether it would be greedy to nominate more of my lenses. Would it? I think I might try again soon- it is such a rush to see all the nice comments,etc.

You know, we can also nominate other lenses, and that will be a project I will participate in later this year. I want to find at least three that I would love to see featured.

Now... where are those links for the nominations? Here is the nomination form for LOTD.

The Purple Stars information is a little tricky to track down- seems it changed a bit over the last few years. In the forum you can find this info:

"Everyone can nominate a Giant Squid lens for a Purple Star.

To nominate a lens simply send the url (link) to purplestar@squidoo.com.

The Purple Star program depends on the eyes of the entire Squidoo community to find the most deserving lenses.

Not sure if a lens is worthy of your nomination?

Here are a few pointers that will help you decide:

The next time you're reading a lens that makes you say, WOW! Nominate it!

Or if you find a lens that you think EVERYONE should read because it contains something really important, or interesting, or innovative; nominate it!

Or if you find a lens that you think is really creative, nominate it!

Or if you finish a lens of your own and feel really proud of it; nominate it!"
- from forum topic answer by rms

================== Squid Themes ==================

Squidboo Theme
Squidlit Theme
Squidwho
Lens List
Squidquiz
Cafepress
Big Red Bow
Cupcake Club

The Squidwho theme seems to be inaccessible, I'm not sure about the others. Except for Big Red Bow, Cupcake Club, and Squidboo- I've used those lately.

One of things I most like, and yet sometimes don't like, is the commercial aspect of Squidoo. I love the way that the desire for success and revenue is in the open, and I am engaging fully in it; but at the same time, like everyone else, I don't like to feel that I'm being sold to constantly.

I take a sort of "Third Tribe" view , which is not surprising since I subscribe to their site. I want to earn income and I want to give value-both. I am a fan of Seth Godin whose brainchild this platform is, and it seems that is exactly what he promotes: Earn while giving value. As someone who started out in the "everything is free" internet, it is sometimes hard to adjust one's sights to the balance of commercial marketing and the educational motivations ... but I think Squidoo is one of the pioneers in making it work. A big reason to have the community self patrol for abuses which inventive spammers love to exploit.

Most of the lenses I visit and squidlike have been good examples of working to create a balance... I see a few that are too much "sell" for my tastes, but not many. I like the great many of the lenses I've read, they are interesting and informative. It is amazing how much talent is on the internet- I am always amazed by that!

Behind the scenes info is helpful; I liked reading Squidtheory

You can join Squidoo, to write your own pages, earn some income, or just participate in the community.

Join Squidoo here.

Once you join Squidoo, you might like a guide in how to navigate the seas. Squidoo Induction

Stupid like me, that is. I seemed to have lost all my lenses in progress, and I think it was because I triggered something. I had made a new lens, then realized the url had a major spelling error. Being the somewhat obsessive person that I am I made ANOTHER lens to duplicate the work I put into the first one before deleting it.

You can see where this is going, already...
Duplicate content is a big no-no on sites where it is important to have original and quality work. I think I figured out a better way to solve my original problem and not appear to duplicate.

There is a link on the right sidebar that allows the author to download the lens to their computer. I should have downloaded the erroneous lens, then deleted it, then made the new lens with the work that came from the saved file. Oh well. And further, to keep from making the mistake another time: double check the spelling in the url link you choose before saving it as your desired lens.

Yep. I could have done that.

Thankfully, they all came back. I don't know if someone sprinkled fairy dust on them or what... but what a relief!

::update::
Guess what? Found out what happened with the disappearing unpublished lenses...and it wasn't me. Whew, what a relief.

I know it can be hard to add in the proper credits... you get in a hurry or something interferes with the task at hand, but really try to add the links or names of those who put their Flickr photos or other goodies out there for common use.

Like the lollipop photo by Steven Snodgrass on Flickr.
The Squidgraphics are cute, from Squidart or Squidville. I know I found them somewhere.