Squidblog

This week we started featuring Spotlight Charities on the Non-Profit Nook at SquidU Forum. Lensmasters who read the forum or are hooked up to @squidoonews can see these notes everyday, and learn about charities that are doing great things on and through Squidoo. So far, we’ve already put the spotlight on the Dolphin Communication Project, Alive Magazine, and Critter Camp, with many more charity spotlights to come.

With 365 days in a year, chances are good your charity is coming up very soon, and you’ll want to make sure your lenses are the best they can be. What does it take to build an enticing welcome mat for prospective donors?

1. Make sure there’s a guestbook module on every lens, so readers can offer instant feedback and support. This opens the door to discussion and opportunities. Readers can quickly tell you about spelling errors or invite you to their group for like-minded charities. Plus they love signing your lens in public support of your projects. You can even use a guestbook module as a discussion board.

2. Turn your “Contact Me” option ON, so mentors can contact you with suggestions and feedback. If they can’t get a hold of you, they can’t ask questions and get that special human contact many people require before choosing to donate. (Visit Take a Dashboard Tour to learn how.)

3. Have a stranger visit your lens. Can they tell what your organization does? If not, chances are lensmasters can’t either. Revisit your lens info basics so there’s no question what volunteers are supporting. We love sharing more about our Spotlight charities, and that’s hard to do if your lens isn’t clear about what you’re all about.

4. Put a photo in your intro module. Otherwise it shows up as the big orange default image in featured lens modules, such as Charity Central. Many lensmasters and groupmasters won’t feature lenses that don’t have intro modules. So for that extra promo boost, spend three minutes fixing this.

5. Borrow from your official website. Many of our charities have awesome looking websites! What kind of information can you borrow and reformat for your lens? If your official website includes all the details about what you do, how to contact you, how to get involved, etc., a simple rewrite is all it takes to get that information on your lens. For big opportunities, you can even break it up and put it on many lenses. You could have one lens for “about us,” one for “volunteer opportunities,” one for “our store,” etc.

6. Go through the list of “Angel Requirements.” This is a very basic list put together by our SquidAngels that outlines the absolute minimum things lensmasters should do in order to be considered for a blessing. Another must-see list is on the Critique Me forum.

7. Ask for advice. The Critique Me forum is specifically set up to offer helpful advice about making your lens better. But just posting it here isn’t enough. Set aside time to follow through on the tips. The lensmasters who frequent this part of the forum are veterans who know how to get attention using lenses. They’ve got the goods, and participating in this part of the forum is like having a Squidoo marketing team on your side.

Having a lens on Squidoo is one of the requirements for being accepted as a charity on Squidoo, but we all know that just being on Squidoo doesn’t equal instant success. Having a GREAT lens is a small thing that will make a big difference in how potential donors see you. Putting your best foot forward on Squidoo is a key step in making the most of the tools Squidoo has to offer.

~Kimberly
Community & Charity Organizer

What ONE thing is your charity doing today to make a difference?

If you’re not already on Twitter, shame! (And we mean that in the best way possible. Get started at Twitter.com.) If you are, start a conversation today, with TWTTRSTRM.

Five quick ways you can use TWTTRSTRM for charity:
1. have users suggest their top lens ideas
2. have your volunteers show their commitment to hours of service this year
3. ask followers what the most important issues are in their local communities
4. promote events and accept RSVPs
5. spread virtual hugs to donors

You could even post that TWTTRSTRM is the ONE thing you’re going to do today to reach your goals.

Squidoo’s planning a little database maintenance tonight (actually, Wednesday morning).

Total downtime should only be about 15 minutes, and will happen anywhere between 12am to 4am EST.

Gil’s gonna be brew some coffee and stay up to keep an eye on things, so I’m sure the work will go as smoothly as ever.

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up!

Facebook Connect is now alive and kicking on Squidoo.

We call it SquidooConnect. (Clever, isn’t it).

If you’re on Squidoo and on Facebook, then this is your bridge to lens sharing goodness, this is your rainbow connection.

[If you're not on Facebook, or Squidoo for that matter, then you can stop reading now. Take a pass, don't collect go, and nothing in your life will change.]

So, what does this do for you?

In short, it makes it easy for you to brag about your best lenses to your Facebook friends, get feedback from them, find out which of your fellow Facebookers are here on Squidoo, and even invite more Facebook friends to join you making lenses here. It’s not spam or noise, because they’re your friends, and you choose to share as much or as little as you want.

Over 9,000 earlybirds have signed up for SquidooConnect already. And even if you haven’t yet, here are a few tips to get you zooming off in the right direction.

1. Go to your profile page on Squidoo, scroll down to Social Settings, and make sure you’re logged in to Facebook and successfully connected right now.

2. Check out these 7 Cool Reasons To Use SquidooConnect. Oh, there are many more. But this is a start.

And if you run into any snags during this beta testing period, you can join the Q&A, and for serious bugs please don’t hesitate to let us know about it here.

Go Squids!

I am confounded by the culture of required tipping.

Why am I expected to tip my cab driver, even if her driving made me carsick and she nearly wrecked us twice? Why should I tip the guy who cuts my hair at a pricey New York City salon, but didn’t give me a style I liked?

And why can’t I give $10 to the nice UPS guy who always remembers my name and asks how work is going? Or to the woman at the checkout stand who scribbled down her favorite cranberry bread recipe and gave it to me. Taking it a step further, why can’t I tip the authors I’ve read, for working hard to inspire me. Or my friend when he gives me a lift to the airport. Why shouldn’t I pay (and in fact, would get arrested for paying) my doctor a bonus for her amazing bedside manner and dedication?

Here’s why. It’s because when you use money as a way to say thanks, the currency of ideas and service and friendship changes. Some people are offended to get a tip, some people are offended NOT to get a tip.

When it’s an unexpected treat, a tip or reward can make people smile. When it’s expected or asked for or demanded, it’s hard to delight anyone.

The good news is, online, there are none of the crazy industry standards and moral customs that demand tipping. Even better, there’s a chance to really invent your own, better way to say thanks.

If you’re looking for a way to express gratitude (not just gratuity) here’s a thought: Try it with words. Say thanks and spread it around. Champion the person and do him or her a favor in return. Post a shout out or retweet an idea or email a recommendation or feature them on your Facebook profile for a day. Give help or time or kindness, not money.

Of course, your waiter at dinner tonight will probably hate you for it! But people online will be bowled over by your help. And it will mean a lot more than $50 cents in a tipjar.

Last week we released Twttrstrm, the very addicting Squidoo-Twitter power punch. Here are a few tips for keeping your Twttrstrms (and your followers) on their toes.

0. Start here.

1. Make a clear, compelling, specific statement or question.

2. Have a point of view.

3. Publish your Twttrstrm page (yes, it’s a Squidoo lens). Then tweet your question to kick off the conversation.

4. Don’t be shy about asking friends to retweet it for you.

5. Curate the discussion — reply to feedback. Don’t just reply; amplify.

6. Find another influential Twitterer on your topic and @reply them to see what they think of your twttrstrm.

7. Fill in the “liner notes” around your Twttrstrm page — flesh out the topic at hand with videos, links, pictures. That’s what the rest of the lens structure is for; background on the question.

8. Keep tweeting the Twttrstrm, and kindly retweet some of your followers’ best replies. Better yet, invite them to make their own Twttrstrms and reach their followers with it. Snowball a go go.

9. Know if your Twttstrm has a shelf life. Your “Best line in the Inaugural speech” Twttrstrm is probably over and done (but a fun time capsule for later). Whereas the “What’s for dinner tonight?” Twttrstrm could keep going for a year, if enough people enjoy swapping daily stories about steaks and taters!

10. Here’s a fun one: start a game that brings the power of Squidoo and Twitter together. A daily treasure hunt. A twitterhaiku contest. A “tweet your favorite charity lenses” drive. Get your followers engaged and spreading your tweets (and therein your Twttrstrm lens) and you not only get more traffic; you earn more influence.

11. Lucky number 11: Be interesting. Be useful. Imagine what body of feedback and answers would be helpful and content-rich and fascinating to have preserved in one place on your page.

BONUS: Don’t wait for someone else to run something interesting. You do it.

Now that Barack Obama is the official 44th President of the United States, millions of Americans are excited about what the future holds. Even if you didn’t vote for him, it’s hard to deny the excitement of the citizens on Inauguration Day. Obama doesn’t just stand for “government,” he has come to stand for hope of all people.

What do you hope for? What are your dreams and wishes for the future? What are you doing to create what you see yourself doing 10, 25, or 40 years down the road? How about tomorrow? How are you creating a better Friday for yourself? What tips do you have for others to do the same?

Sounds like a lens idea to me!

The list of charities we’re sponsoring is gr-grow-GROWING!

Here are some of the latest additions to our family:

Dolphin Communication Project
The Dolphin Communication Project is a nonprofit science and education organization involved in the study of dolphin behavior, communication and cognition.

The Volunteer Way
The Volunteer Way and their hunger relief partners throughout Florida assist 17,000 families each month. We give hungry people a hand up and a kind word when they come for assistance.

Nomsa
Nomsa works to restore hope and build community, as well as meeting the basic needs of the homeless, with the ultimate goal of holistic, sustainable life change.

Critter Camp
Providing a safe, healthy, happy forever home to abused, abandoned, & unwanted exotic and unusual pets.

Alive Magazine
Made purely of content submitted by these young women, Alive strives to encourage women to create the positive media they want to see by publishing their artwork, stories, photography and poetry.

TLC Animal Shelter
T.L.C. has served Homer Glen and Will County Illinois as a private, non-profit, humane society, dedicated to the prevention of abuse, neglect, and cruelty to animals. The shelter provides refuge for an average of three to four thousand animals yearly.

Built on Respect
We identify small communities working towards sustainability, and use a DIY approach to teach community members skills so they may be seen and heard, and compete in a global marketplace.

Stop by to say hi! (And if the mood strikes, whip up a lens for them.)

If you’re sitting at work waiting for the weekend, here’s a little Friday Fun to speed up your day. Have you started a Twttrstrm yet?

What 2-4 muppets best describe you?

What’s the best breakfast food for staying healthy?

Where were you in 1987?

Do Twitterers tweet too often?

What type of tattoo do you have? (Post a pic!)

What are your top 3 or 5 iPhone applications?

What celeb would you like to see on Twitter?

What are you reading right now?

What’s your favorite inspirational quote?

Shoutout for Chris Brogan!

What vegetarian questions do you want answered?

Robin wants to know what’s for dinner tonight.

Darren wonders What Twitter Features You Wish Existed.

EnslavedbyFaeries is curious who is making real money on Squidoo.

And I’m asking what people like most about Mashable, and who your favorite Squidoo lensmasters to follow on Twitter are.

Just for starters.

Welcome to TWTTRSTRM. (No, we didn’t have enough money to buy vowels). It stands for TwitterStorm.

Ask a question of your Twitter followers and easily gather all their answers in one spot. Here’s what Mashable and Darren Rowse over at TwiTip have to say about it.

Twttrstrm is a Squidoo plug in and a stand alone site that allows any Twitter user to start a discussion or ask for advice or just create a record of a thread. “Should I buy a Blackberry or an iPhone?” or “What do you think of Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop?” or “Short reviews of The Dark Knight” or “Where should I get sushi in San Diego?” (Get more ideas for Twttrstrm uses).

Here’s the magic part: as your followers click through and respond, the storm spreads to their followers. So, in short, it’s a threaded, viral, structured conversation in the middle of the Twitter melee.

It’s free and really easy to use in tandem with your Twitter account. The unsung bonus is that you can even earn royalties from the Twttrstrm conversations you create. For you or for charity. Just like any Squidoo lens.

Read more about Twttrstrm, or just dive in and start making some of your very own weather systems. www.Twttrstrm.com.