Squidblog

Everyone at Squidoo is googly-eyed in love with Firefox. You may recall we even made a Squidoo-Firefox Extension.

But this post isn’t about how much we love Firefox. It’s about how much other people do.

There’s a little site (not so little at all, really) called SpreadFirefox. They are a group of really smart people who care a lot about getting the word out about Firefox. They believe there is nothing that a large community of enthusiastic volunteers can’t accomplish, and we agree with them!

So, to help out a bit, we’ve created a SpreadFirefox Headquarters on Squidoo: www.squidoo.com/spreadfirefox/hq.

Take the Firefox Challenge: If you’re a fan, you’re invited to build an official SpreadFirefox lens. Just click the “Build My Own Lens” button on this HQ page and you’re on your way. The HQ page will then feature the newest lenses and lensmasters participating in the Challenge.

Support Firefox. Help out with a big idea. Have some fun.

I Tube.

You Tube.

We all scream for YouTube! (Sorry, sorry. I’m ashamed of myself, truly).

Okay, maybe we’re not screaming, but we are really excited about the new YouTube module.

It’s a slick and easy way to feature videos on your lens.

If you have a lens about Siamese Fighting Fish, let’s say, your YouTube module could feature betta swimming around. Angrily.

A lens about your favorite music group, in this case a “pez obsessed pop punk ska band” would–by necessity, almost–sport a video of a rare live performance.

And if you’re busy fighting for the rights of comic book professionals everywhere, your YouTube pick would (of course) be a rousing video by someone at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, explaining the purpose and goals of the organization.

Broadcast yourself.

Broadcast your topic.

Make your case.

Go wild.

Among the new features we introduced today is the Lensroll — a way lensmasters can link to their favorite lenses within Squidoo quickly and easily.

We’ve taken a cue from the link list module, learned a little from the idea of the blogroll and added this new element to lenses’s sidebars — and toolbars. As you come across lenses you like — that focus on topics similar to the subjects of your lenses — use the Lensroll to build your own mini-networks of like-minded lenses.

The Squidoo team is proud to announce the results of our first occasional lens building challenge.

Earlier this spring, we encouraged Squidoo lensmasters to build lenses focusing on the popular blog Boing Boing. We were surprised and delighted by the wide range of approaches lensmasters took to the project — as well as the very focused subtopics that they honed in on.

Without further ado, the top three participants — and their lenses:

1. How Boing Boing Is Changing the World: Lensmaster Erin Banister chose to show the different ways Boing Boing is active in progressive movements online. Her lens touches on Boing Boing’s coverage of the war in Iraq, digital rights management and privacy. We were impressed by the concrete and explicit idea that blogs — and lenses — can help motivate people to make changes in their lives and communities.
2. Boing Boing Goes Body Art: When I think about Boing Boing, I don’t necessarily think about piercing and other modes of body modification, but sure enough, it’s a not-so-subtle undercurrent. Rachel Schwarz highlights some of the blog’s best body mod-related content, including “dermagraphical grafitti” and other further afield body hacking practices.
3. Boing Boing Trips: I also didn’t think about Boing Boing as a travel guide until Sarah King served up this Boing Boing-inspired lens. Sarah indicates that Boing Boing can be a useful tool for backpackers, expatriates and other geeks on the go.

Congratulations to the above three lensmasters — your presents will soon be on their way — and thank you to everyone else who participated. This was a fun experiment!

Thanks to the incredible people at CafePress, and our partnership with them, we recently introduced The CafePress Headquarters on Squidoo.

This is CafePress’s own front door on Squidoo. Shopkeepers and enthusiasts are invited stop by the HQ page and make an official CafePress lens. See what hundreds of CafePress members are doing to promote their shops and favorite designs on Squidoo.

BTW, with the new CafePress 2.0 ubermodule, Shopkeepers can easily feature their own bestselling products, new designs, and comment on each. Get your merchandise in front of a whole new crowd and sell more stuff.

Here’s a fun mescla of brand new CafePress lenses to feast your eyes on:

• Cartoons & Comix, by Howard Cruse. Howard’s comic strips and humorous illustrations have appeared in many national magazines, including Playboy, The Village Voice, Artforum International, and Heavy Metal.
• J Goode Designs: A great lens by a smart Shopkeeper.
• The National Postdoctoral Association : That’s right, nonprofits are Shopkeepers, too.
• Help Orphan Puppies. How can you not.

But first, 3 things you should know.

1. You might have gotten a murky email from us today, saying something to the effect of: “$8.30 has been donated in your name to Acumen Fund.” Or just: “You earned $0.50 in cash.” Period. Not very clear, is it? Basically, our computers erased the personalized notes we wrote and sent you cryptic data instead. HAL apologizes. As do I.

2. We will contact you with all the correct earnings info very soon. Stay tuned.

3. Most importantly, I want to share some earnings feedback with you. We just came out of beta a few weeks ago. And since we sent all our beta test money to charity, we’re betting no one is going to retire on their royalties yet! But already some of you have earned as much as $40 (dinner for two). Others have earned about $1 (have a cup of coffee on us). And still others have pooled their money to send thousands of dollars to places like Room to Read, which helps build schools for children in developing countries.

Chances are that what you’ll be seeing in this first paycheck is just a drop in the bucket. If you’re more interested in spreading ideas and traffic than making money, just send your share to a charity, where every bit counts.

Or, check out SquidU’s tips for upping your earnings: www.squidu.com/Learning_Library/making-more-money.

Thanks!