by 52 people |
When I first got online ten years ago there were probably more personal webpages than commercial ones. Geocities and Tripod ruled and it was fun to play with this new toy that allowed us to tell everyone way more than they really cared to learn about us.
Squidoo has made the personal page fashionable again, and it's easy to create a really great, organized one using the pre-formatted modules. Here are some tips and ideas for creating your own About Me lens.
What will you include?
It's hard for people to start talking about themselves, but once you get them started, it's often hard to get them to shut up!
What will you talk about on your About Me lens? Here are some ideas to get you started:
What will you talk about on your About Me lens? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Your career
Even if your lens doesn't focus on your job (ie, resume lens) you can still share a bit about what you do. How did you get into it? What kind of training did you need? What is your schedule like? What's the most fun, least fun about it? - Your family
Awwww...we want to see all the cute photos of your spouse/partner, kids, dogs, cats, chinchillas, etc. - Your Hobbies
Do you race modified stock cars on the weekends? Have a 4000 piece keychain collection? Build wooden trellises in your backyard? Show off your hobbies. - Your Oddities
Yup, you're weird. But that's ok! Are you double jointed? Do you have an aversion to butterflies? Do you fold your socks? Can you only drink the REALLY fresh milk? (Um, ok, only the last two apply to me...) - Tell me about your childhood
Where did you grow up? What was your house like? What are some of the things you remember? - Goals and Ambitions
What do you want to be when you grow up? Even if you're grown up, what else do you want to do? (If you're over 18 and not grown up, high five!) - Fun Photos and Games
Just like on MySpace, you can share fun images and links to games on your About Me page. - Your Squidoo Lenses
Don't forget those!!
Do/did you have another personal page?
My first personal page was on Tripod. It had a gorgeous light mauve background with dusty blue, purple, and rose text. I wish I had a screen shot...
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The best About Me Lenses on Squidoo
Personal lenses are popping up left and right on Squidoo! Here are some of my favorites.
- Nicole Danielle Seitler, my 'Darling' Wife!
- It's obvious that Travis is in love! An awesome lens about Nicole. Travis also has a great lens about his son, Joshua.
- I AM: Kimberly Dawn Wells
- This lens rocks - and I can say that because I made it. ;) It got long, so I redid it, and it got even longer! Visit it to find out how I used it as a personal table of contents and linked to my other Squidoo pages, which go into more detail.
- What you need (okay, want) to know about Seth Godin
- I think Seth should add more to his lens about his near-death experiences. According to his latest book, they're fairly common occurances. ;)
- I Squidoo Headquarters
- Once you've created your About Me lens, add it to the I Squidoo headquarters group.
How will you format your lens?
As I mentioned above, my first About Me lens got so long that I split it up into smaller modules, used each module to give readers a quick view at my interest, and then linked to other Squidoo lenses or websites I'd created that go into more depth on each topic.
If you don't have as much to share, or don't WANT to share as much, OR just need to start out with a basic lens, you can include 5-8 modules that have all your highlights and add more as you go. When they get too big, create a lens just for that interest and link to it from your main module.
If you don't have as much to share, or don't WANT to share as much, OR just need to start out with a basic lens, you can include 5-8 modules that have all your highlights and add more as you go. When they get too big, create a lens just for that interest and link to it from your main module.
Use modules to your advantage
Many of the modules available on Squidoo are perfect for About Me lenses because they're preformatted and allow you to easily add that personal touch without a lot of work.
Find out what I mean:
Find out what I mean:
- Flickr
Easily add photos from your personal online album. - YouTube
Have a video clip? Post one to play in-lens or several that can be viewed separately. - Digg
Are you a digger? Link to your profile. - Del.icio.us
Are you...well, innuendos aside, post a list of your favorite bookmarks for a given keyword. - Technorati
If you're slightly famous, add a Technorati module and see who's blogging about you. (Or your business, or product, or favorite sports team.) - RSS
This module makes it easy to add a rolling feed from your blog. Just set your desired number of posts and update intervals. You're live! - Quick Poll
Find out how much people really know about you with a quiz, or let the audience pick whether you should buy the silver car or black one. - NetFlix
Make a little extra cash when people sign up for NetFlix after seeing your favorite movie titles. - Amazon, CafePress, SuperStore
These three modules, also money makers, can be used to display your favorite movie, music, and book lists, great clothing and gift ideas, and fun things from your Wish List. - News Feeds
Several news feeds are available, and you can find one close to your area OR that comes from your favorite network/newspaper. - Google Maps
Where are you? Or, map some of your favorite places to visit, locations you've lived, or future travel destinations. - Guestbook
This is important - let people give you lots of kudos with a guestbook.
Was this helpful?
I hope you got some great ideas for creating an About Me lens!
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- Katwoman55 Katwoman55 Sep 18, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
- Thanks so much! This was very helpful. Kudos!!
Kat...here is a HUG too! ((((((*))))))) =^..^=
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- ABeautifulSecret ABeautifulSecret Aug 5, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
- Great information! Thanks for creating this. 5 Stars.
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- foreverme foreverme Jul 6, 2009 @ 5:51 pm
- Thanks, KDW. I've never had a personal page because I find it difficult to write about myself - I just feel boring and don't like to toot my own horn. But thanks to your tips I think I can attempt it now.
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- lakern26 lakern26 Jun 17, 2009 @ 11:21 pm
- Thanks for the great info! I'm just starting out and am totally clueless, so these tips are very informative.
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- chass071775 chass071775 May 24, 2009 @ 11:38 pm
- Hey this is has some great tips!
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