Squidoo Happenings

On The Mend - my daughter

I became a Squidoo contributor, in the "Aging Gracefully" niche. See the badge in the sidebar?

 I had to break momentum when my daughter's medical emergency required my support. She is fine, now, but I took a week or so to help take care of my grandchildren. I didn't feel she needed me for actual tasks as much as emotional support, since she recovered quickly.

 I'm a little slow to hit my stride, so it will take awhile to get back in the saddle, but life doesn't wait for us. I have always had my family as my top priority- although they don't see it that way at times. I did think of some ways to expand my niche... and will likely have a writing Marathon, which is the topsy-turvy way I go about things.

Look for Aging Gracefully

Squidoo contributors are "Giants" who volunteer to create a niche of interest in chosen topics. I find them very active on Google plus- too active, really. They have some of the old "Squidoo Angel" privileges of boosting lenses. I don't like to over use social media to promote too much of my own work - people get bored with you. I should be a little more social, though.

 I have done little of that. But then... as I said I was on a hiatus. The first trip to the South was to visit my children and grandkids, but my one daughter wasn't well. Then I returned home to Ohio, only to have the call and turn right around back for another week's stay.

 Isn't this a part of aging gracefully though?

Healing and strengthening relationships, helping out the younger generation in ways we wish we had been supported when at that stage in life?

 I think so.

Watch in this blog for the updates on lenses that become part of growing this topic as a niche in Squidoo.
One lens asks What Is Your Beauty Secret? Hopefully there are lensmasters who have tried some of the products listed and want to review them!
Another is "Just What the Doctor Ordered"

Changes At Squidoo

I haven't written here very much because there were so many huge changes at squidoo and I wasn't sure where they were going. I stopped writing lenses for awhile and was very unsure of the new formats.

However, I found I love the new formats for writing, although they make no earnings for me.

Here are the biggest changes:

• Lenses now are geared towards personal stories, anecdote, shorter and much more original.
• Amazon links are limited
• Shorter, more succinct writing.
• All original content, including photos is desirable. Made new just for Squidoo is not mandatory, but certainly what best fulfills the new ideals.
• Focused through the new formats, one single focused topic centering around one personally used product is the new lens norm.
• Quest that guide topics has stepped up considerably. (Although it is the quantity, not the presence of these quests that has changed)
• No more Squid Angels. Squidoo retired the program of peer review and points and ranking boosts from the Angel squad. I missed it briefly and then was over it.

These are the most noticeable changes, and while the rate of change towards the new goals has slowed, it will continue to be more evident. The filters shook up the community mid-year, but now the guides on publishing, the new formats, and the quests all work towards changing the face of the content at Squidoo.

My Newest Lenses

• Sitting Pretty In an IKEA Chair
• Soaking In A Hot Tub 
• Review of The Hobbit Movie 
• Conversation Starters 
• Lalaloopsy Party 
• Best Scents For The Home 
• My Garden Weeding Wonder

All are done in the new format.

Squidoo Action

Spring will be here soon-before you know it

While I have posted a new lens or two, with all of the actions that Squidoo is taking I have been working on sprucing up my older lenses and making sure they are up to snuff. Quite a few have had Amazon products that went out of date, and others seem to have had some problems with some of my photos. Especially some of the affiliate photos.

As I go through lenses to update, I tend to add new content... that's just the way my mind works. This kind of distraction is why I never can clean up my house. I tend to get caught up doing some little organizational thing or fixing something broken, or sorting through papers. It takes me forever to get things done.

Anyway, new lenses published:

• PC to Mac the story of how I made the switch. This lens was on the back burner for more than a year, I think. but I have plenty of experience to draw on to update it, now.
• Out of Your Gourd Gardening tells the story of all the gourds I grew a couple years ago and the neat projects that I want to make of them.
• Flowering Hanging Planters made a sale recently and it is a fairly new lens with loads of beautiful hanging planters. Some truly unique and beautiful planters that I know I would love to own.
• In time for St. Patricks Day, the Claddagh symbol lens showcases the many ways this adorns products and also has the meaning and symbolism - it was a fun lens to produce because I love Celtic culture.

There were more, because I haven't updated this site with all of them, but that is a start if you want to check them out.

The updated lenses are too numerous to mention, mostly my gardening lenses. Although there is an avalanche of winter themed lenses falling to the bottom of my Squidoo account. I may have to allow some of them to go WIP. Not sure I can keep up with that amount of work in the spring, with all my RL garden chores coming up. Plus there is always the visits to the grandchildren!

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I'm hoping that the new software sweeps don't end up snagging my lenses, even though I have so much originality built in that I shouldn't worry about it. We'll see. It certainly is shaking up over there! Trying to take more pictures and hope that I have plenty of original material to work with for this year. The reduction Angel blessing is actually a blessing in disquise for me. I was worried that I wasn't active enough, but it looks like I was overdoing it. That is me!

Squidoo Stirs The Waters

Well, it seems there is drama afoot at Squidoo, and the tentacles reach into the reefs of some of the lensmasters. Is this some obscure goobledegook? No, but it is about "spun content".

The thing is that Squidoo is putting teeth into their call to action for quality content, this time by locking down transfer and selling of lenses. I have never attempted to use those features, so I cannot comment on its impact, but I can say that something has to be done about the way spammers and empty-headed spun websites have taken over.

So I'm in favor of the changes.

I am also unaware of the longterm impacts, but if it is like any of the other restrictions on freedom that we can see in society at large, then it is too bad, but a necessary outcome of the lack of self regulation.

I do remember getting some of my lenses snagged when there was software that flagged duplicate content. It was super strict on things like quotations.  That did cause me some stress and consternation, but on the upside of instituting better methods of citation, etc. I think I have become a more responsible writer than I was before they took action. Even if we can cite or post images without attribution required, it does seem as though we have been educated in better online  etiquette. And that is a good thing.

My, What A Big Eye I Have

My eye(s) opened wide when I read about Squid angels selling likes, blessings, etc.  I mean I might have guessed that where power resides, there is room for abuse, but it seemed so silly and sad.

I love the Squid angel system because it allows different people's tastes and perspectives to help rate lenses. It makes for a better sampling of popular taste on what makes a great lens. It also serves as an encouragement for potentially great lenses. Not everything I "bless" with a Squid angel blessing is top notch, but it is good going on great

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I'm one of those Angel people. I guess I have a say in all this for that reason. If you are entrusted with the ability to raise ranking and promote lenses, a certain level of pride and integrity goes with that.

Otherwise, what is the meaning of all this?

/rant

Well, it is time for me to write about some of my lenses that dropped into WIP status again. They are red, but they have plenty of original opinion and content. At least one also has some quotations sprinkled through it. {sigh}

I do have some issues with overly strict interpretations on using images and quotations. I use Pinterest quite a bit, and in certain instances things are in the public domain, and taking a proprietary attitude towards those things just makes our communication and culture poorer for it.

Like Bible verses. How is using the Bible as quoted wisdom or a reference on a topic making it "duplicate content"? And what if someone cannot possibly know and understand the biographical information about a famous person without quotations or photos? We can't all draw an "original" picture of the person. ( Well, I could, if hard pressed, but I would probably just drop the inclination to pursue taking the time for writing such a piece)

There are other examples, too ...which come under "curating" categories, which people often simply do not understand. I personally think it is because they don't bother to do much reading or learning about things other than their small circle of interest. If you have an insatiable appetite to learn you know that gathering information from many sources is important to gaining an in depth understanding.

/really the end of that rant

Example of a published, but 'dropped into the red' lens. I guess I should go to work and add to or update Top Internet Bellydance Sites

Listing Squid Angels

 Small Update

I am at a crossroads. I loved the idea of listing all the Squid Angels who have blessed my lenses, but the cold reality of keeping up with lots of lenses, trying to visit as many lenses as possible, keeping up with quests... well, you know what I'm going to say, "It is becoming too time and effort intensive to list everyone".  In order to be fair, I may have to take those areas of my lenses down. Right now I am undecided, I still reciprocate all the the visit I can and try to find one or more of the lenses to bless.

Upbeat, Downbeat, and Deadbeat

I started out the day pretty upbeat, and went out to get some Valentine goodies to treat the kids, and some chicken soup and juice for my son who has come down with the flu. It was lightly snowing, and everything went well.

I couldn't resist and bought a couple bacon wrapped scallops for me- which I seared and ate for lunch. I am the only one in my family who will eat them, so it is nice to get a small amount on occasion. Today was that occasion! That was the upbeat part, because it is always fun to shop at Wholefoods, and I brought home yummy cupcakes for the kids (per their request, Ha!)

Then I started work on the computer. Someone hacked my WP account again. After I had spent hours cleaning it up, reinstalling my wp and themes, getting rid of things that shouldn't be there. Their favorite seems to be to inject code into the config files, and then from there do other stuff. I had changed the admin name, but I probably need to change all my names and passwords, now.

That, and the fact that some of the lenses I had tried to improve slipped further down, was a little downbeat, too.

The deadbeats? Namely, Christmas Sweaters, in which I had updated, and tweaked the content. Thankfulness is dangerously low. I'll need to see if Amazon stuff is missing, etc.

Others dropping? Deck the Halls, probably since Christmas season is over. My fireside chat is down near the low numbers (which are the bigger ones, like Alexa ratings) , -so that should be updated and maybe reworked a bit. It probably has too many topics.

Belly Dance Fitness has dropped.

 Red Rose Petals was a brand new lens, so it is struggling, but I think it is a good lens, so it might turn around.

My wild and crazy musical carpet ride is not expected to do much... not sure what to do with it.

And I don't think people 'get' the mushroom factor. I guess your have to be a diy.

Oh well, I have some lenses that are doing extremely well, rank wise, so that makes me upbeat overall. Scandinavian decor has steadily been moving up and people seem to really like it. that is heartening since it is a brand new lens. It is pretty.

The Quaint Cottage Garden is moving up and some very nice Squid angels blessed it. I try to always list them on the page they blessed, so I will need to add some in later tonight.

That is the Squidoo news for today, folks. And almost forgot to say that there have been quests coming out the kazoo. I can hardly keep up!