Squidblog

[UPDATE: Stickers sold out f-a-s-t. Hopefully we can get more from Sticker Giant soon!]

A fun Tuesday treat: Squidoo stickers from Sticker Giant!

Here’s a picture of the sticker on the back of my iPhone. Slick.

Get your 3 pack here for 0.99 cents.

Free shipping for a limited time only. The shipping coupon code is (wait for it…) squidoo.

P.S. There are only 382 stickers left in stock, as of this typing. Giants got first dibs, now it’s your turn!
P.P.S. Whatever few cents we make from this go to charity.

Yes, we just gave away $80,000 to charity. But it’s time to share the love with our lensmasters, too.

Some of you may notice that in next week’s royalty payout, you’re getting a little extra. A bit more than you expected. Turns out that this is true. You are getting a bit more.

We’re always tweaking our algorithms, always looking to improve the performance of our software and our systems. In a recent overhaul, we discovered that one of our algorithms was miscalculating part of the payment we were making to lensmasters.

Here’s a confession: We’ve been consistently overpaying everyone all along. While our terms of service have always allowed us to cover our losses before paying lensmasters, we never have. We’ve always paid out of the first dollar in.

Here’s another confession: Based on the miscalculation we found, we’ve also been underpaying you by a tiny percent. That part we didn’t know.

But the good news is that somehow, things wound up just about even. So to make triple sure that you come out ahead, we’ve authorized a one-time bonus adjustment. That means you’ll be getting a little extra next week. Some of you more than others, depending on how long you’ve been around. As they say when you play Monopoly, “Bank error in your favor…” Collect your bonus and pass Go. (But I still get to keep Baltic Avenue).

Another important change you’ll notice is that we’re paying your refer-a-friend bounties sooner.

And as if that wasn’t enough, good news from the eBay front. Remember that reporting problem on their referral bonuses? Fixed. Retroactively. eBay paid us, which means we can pay you. Which means if you’ve referred a successful new eBay member to their site in the last few months, you’ll be seeing a nice chunk of change in your Squidoo royalties.

So that’s the update. Enjoy!

More than ten days ahead of schedule, we reached our goal of giving away $80,000 to charity.

I can’t decide which sentiment I want to share more: thank you, or congratulations. I guess both, equally. Thanks to everyone who voted and got the word out. For believing in the power of microdonations, community, and standing up for something. And congratulations to all the organizations who got votes. We’ll be sending the donations in a week or so.

Also, I wanted to re-post an amazing comment from lensmaster Frankster, who never ceases to impress. It made our day.

First: to Squidoo, a big thanks for walking your talk. You are truly an amazing group of folks!

Second: every charity and voter won. If you voted, you were responsible for your charity getting $2 and raised awareness for your cause. Wildlife SOS, who I voted for, recognizes the opportunity and is thrilled to have been included as every charity should be.

Third: in this one small case, we had to cast our $2 vote for 1 charity. But in our daily lives, we (humans) do NOT have to choose between mothers, soldiers, bears or whoever. We really can do it all. There are enough resources in the world — both people and money to support and even end some of these problems. We each need to do our part — pick a problem then do something about it — walk your talk.

Wow, the $80,000 for charity went fast. Over 40,000 do-gooders rushed to Squidoo to vote for their favorite cause. When you have a big chunk of cash dangling in front of you, it’s easy to get excited. You can see it, you can feel it, and you know the value of it. It is what it is. It’s harder to get excited about 1000 of your volunteers (the same people who went to bat for you in the polls) creating lenses to support you. After all, you never know if each lens will make $8 or eight cents. It can feel like a shot in the dark.

But let me tell you a story. Last year I created a lens to solve a problem. My dog goes crazy over tennis balls. Give her one, and *snap* it’s in tiny pieces within minutes. So I created a lens with a few eBay modules that directed readers to good places for bulk tennis ball sales. It was kind of a stupid idea, really. After all, who goes out of their way to look up tennis balls online?

The first month the lens was live it made $6.87. Then $22.13. Then $32.37. In just over a year this goofy lens has generated over $127 for the Humane Society by selling stuff people were already looking for. Sure, some months are better than others, but what would it mean to you if just 100 people sent you $127 a year? Could you put it to good use? Of course you could.

It’s a little easier to get excited about 1000 lenses pulling for you now, isn’t it?

For Giant hopefuls: First, THANKS. It’s incredible to see so many enthusiastic lensmasters out there. We’ve got literally hundreds (thousands?) of applications to go through, and we want to look at them all. So please stay tuned. We’ll let you know whether you’ve been accepted by Monday (assuming the coffee holds out!).

For Existing Giants: The Giant Squid Organizers wanted to do something a little special (more than usual, at least) for you. So they’re giving out awards for your great work over the last quarter. Stop by your secret Giant Squid blog, or Bonnie’s blog to see who won!

And all fun competitions aside, I just want to say: You showed up. You made a lens. You made more. You put your heart into them. You shared them with the community. Giant Squids or no, that’s awe-some. An overused word that means what you are: awe inspiring.

We’re giving you until October 15th to send $2 to your favorite charity, but I don’t think the money will last that long! Less than two days into voting, eager supporters have already earmarked over $32,000 in donations. That’s nearly half the pot!

(Help us give away the rest by spreading the word.)

This donation was made possible by lensmasters like you and our commitment to setting aside 5% off the top. That’s right, just 5% - pennies at a time - can add up to thousands of dollars.

And, to keep the spirit alive, we’re celebrating October as Computer Learning Month by making lenses for three great charities. Be part of the 5%. Squidoo makes it easy. You make it pretty.

http://www.squidoo.com/computer-month-for-charity

It’s football season. (And though Corey likes to pretend it’s not, the World Series approacheth, too).

Time to throw down some predictions.

Like: Tom Brady will return in time for the playoffs. Or: The Dallas Cowboys will win Superbowl XLII. Or even: Alexander Ovechkin Will Win NHL Scoring Title Again.

You tell us what the future holds.

SquidSports.com