| Lisa,
I have been on Squidoo for less than a week. Almost daily I see my lens ranking climb. I do not really understand why. Does that mean more and more people are reading my post? I really do not know. I have, however, updated my post numerous times - mostly by adding or changing modules. I do not know how long Squidoo has been on the Net. However, I feel it safe to say not too long. Why? Because they say they are still in their beta stage.
Squidoo strikes me as being a depository to the Net the way Wal-Mart is a retail store. It's a one-stop shop kind of resource. Most folks who shop at Wal-Mart do so to buy more than just one item. They can buy groceries, clothes, hardware, etc. Whereas Wal-Mart is all about low prices, Squidoo is all about topics or "lenses." Squidoo focuses on subjects rather than just words. If you have ever done a Google search on a particular word, you probably did more than one search on the same word. Why? Because the initial search did not provide you with the answer you were seeking. Why? Because Google is simply responding mathematically to finding words. It cannot know what your real "need" is. I believe Squidoo is attempting to address the needs behind the words. That is why when you look at the typical Squidoo page, you find so many different options - what Squidoo calls "modules" - present per lens topic to help you. Links to Amazon.com regarding specific books on a lens topic can be found there. Pictures on the same lens topic via Flickr can be found there as well. Links to a blog, RSS feed or podcast on the same lens topic can be there as well. New modules seem to be added all the time.
Who makes all this possible? Squidoo and the person who created the lens. That person could be you. This is all about you and your expertise and how you decide to present it to the online world through the resources of that world...through one location that is connected to many others.
Think about this. Your home page is connected to other webpages within your website. That is what makes your website work. Right? That's all well and good. But, that does not tell the rest of the online world where you are or what you do. Something needs to happen OUTSIDE your website. The rest of the online world needs to know not only that you are alive and kicking, but where you live. A Squidoo lens is designed to make things happen OUTSIDE your website. A lens is not only outside your website to begin with, it is connected to a great many resources outside itself designed to focus on your lens. And, therein lies it's power.
Squidoo is definitely a Web 2.0 kind-of-thing. In fact, if you go to Squidoo you can learn a great deal about Web 2.0. It's one of the lenses.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM
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