Squidiquette

The SquidU forums are amazing. They are the friendliest, most helpful forums I have ever visited. There is a forum for chit-chat, one for help, one to share tips and tricks, one to ask for a critique, and so much more. You can really learn a lot from the SquidU forums.

Some things to keep in mind when posting on the SquidU forums:

1) There are real people behind those avatars and they have feelings.

2) If you spam, it will backfire and not give you more traffic. You will become known as a spammer and people will ignore you and you will most likely get kicked off the boards.

3) Things sound harsher in print. Subtle jokes get lost when people can't see your facial expression or hear your voice. Reread your posts before submitting and make sure they can't be taken the wrong way.

4) Asking for help and advice is great, that's what SquidU is for, but don't forget to give back. If you learn something helpful, share it. If someone helps you out, say thank you.

5) While we all have a big beef every now and then, don't be a chronic complainer or whiner on the board.

Remember that being a good citizen at SquidU not only keeps Squidoo a friendly community, it will also help to get you traffic. So, really being nice, helpful, and friendly on the forums benefits everyone.

Squidoo is a community. While Squidoo is growing fast and getting new lensmasters all the time, when browsing lenses and forum posts you will often come across the same friendly faces over and over, just like strolling down the sidewalk of your hometown. For this reason, if you stick with Squidoo you won't remain anonymous for long, unlike with other social networks and online communities. That means that if you are a bad Squidizen it will come back to haunt you in the form of lack of visits, ratings, and lens participation.

If you want to be successful with Squidoo, you must practice good Squidiquette throughout the Squidoo community. If you are rude, mean, greedy, or just overly withdrawn here at Squidoo you will not get a lot of lensmaster traffic or ratings. So, if you don't care about keeping Squidoo friendly and running smoothly, be a good Squidizen for yourself and your future success that will soon follow.

The Forums
Wondering how good Squidiquette on the forums will help you as a lensmaster? Think of your lensmaster profile as your own personal brand and every time you participate on the forums, you're advertising that brand. Are you advertising yourself in such a way that people want to click on your avatar and check out your lenses?

Politeness isn't the only way to get positive attention from the forums. Good quality posts will get you some traffic and maybe even a fan or two. If you have some knowledge that other lensmasters would find helpful, then share it. If you have a great sense of humor, then make us all laugh. I'm willing to bet that you have something positive to contribute to the Squidoo community. So, be a good Squidizen and share.

Community Participation
Maybe you thought you could make your self promotion lenses, hit publish, and watch the success roll in. But, if you really want to climb up the lensrank ladder, you are going to have to participate in the Squidoo community. That mean visiting lenses and being a good Squidizen when you leave messages in people's guestbooks, participate in their interactive modules, and when you leave ratings.

If you leave a friendly remark and maybe even some helpful advice in someone's guestbook, they are likely to click on your profile and check out some of your lenses. Other visitors to that same lens may also read your comment and then click on your lensmaster profile as well. As you can see, spreading the love around on other people's lenses can help you by getting you seen and noticed. Just make sure you're noticed in a good way.