An integral element to every lens - guestbook

An integral element to every lens should be the guestbook. When selecting the building blocks or modules that I like to have for my Squidoo lenses, there are a number of modules that are signature to the lenses I create. The guestbook is perhaps one of the most integral elements to every lens. That is my opinion that I know I share with many lensmasters. I have many a time contacted a lensmaster to suggest that they might want to consider adding that guestbook.

I used to think that there was nothing lonelier than an empty guestbook with no reader comments. You know, after over 3.5 years authoring lenses, I have stumbled upon some of my lenses whose guestbooks stand empty! Gosh, that is so unfortunate that not one visitor took time to say hello. So, what is lonelier than an empty guestbook? Why, it would be a lens with NO guestbook included. I can't tell you how important that guestbook is to invite in your reader to share their thoughts.

Think about this: when was the last time you attended say a wedding? Remember that guestbook that the bride and groom had to capture the memories of their blessed day?



That's a picture of a lonely guestbook, but it is from a new lens and has yet to experience its first visitor -- hopefully the reader likes to leave comments in guestbooks. New lenses awaiting guestbook comments: Bodum Glassware -- Award-Winning Design and Luigi Bormioli Glassware -- Designed in Italy.

Oh, and by the way? It seems comments on Google blogs are now like the lonely guestbook of lenses. Please let the writer know that you dropped by ... leave your paw prints and a meow.

One of the rock stars of Squidoo

One of the rock stars of Squidoo -- a tribute by another lensmaster! I am surely not the first to blog about the Topicability of Squid Angels at Squidoo. But I do want to mention something you probably already know, a new group of Squid Angels were given their wings recently. Many a new lensmaster got outfitted for those feathery wings. It was a good thing to see so many of the male persuasion joining us of the female persuasion. I'm someone who likes a little balance to my daily life, and I will turn to a man to get his take. Oh oh, don't throw tomatoes anyone! It's just a matter of Yin and Yang or a bit of "He Said, She Said" to even it all out. Men sometimes can sum up the situation in an objective manner for us women.

Oh my -- I must apologize for going off on that tangent. It happens, tangents, when you don't blog every day, but some young hound dog has gotten me thinking. There is value in blogging daily. Think of it as mental therapy -- a chance to get a load off your er chest and perhaps connect with a new reader. Or, delight your existing readers.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah! One of the rock stars of Squidoo -- a tribute by another lensmaster! I was just getting into my second official day of Squid Angel duties -- to visit new lenses -- when I spotted this lens by Heather426, Holley RocketMom. It was time to stop and do a blog post!

Holley Adams is a Georgia peach and a rock star on Squidoo. I've blogged about Holley previously, Friends, Buddies, Chums and Then Someone Quite Special and am including that blog link as you can't get enough goodness in one blog post. Holley aka 24websurf joined Squidoo on July 18, 2008. That's a bit over a year. I'm not sure when I first met Holley, but it is thanks to Squidoo. Holley is a Giant Squid and a Squid Angel.

So, are you already a lensmaster at Squidoo? If yes, be sure to take a moment to check out Holley and the beautiful tribute lens by Heather. What's that? You are NOT a Squidoo lensmaster yet? Well, what are you waiting for -- hey, come and join me on Squidoo and start writing about your passions and interests. Need some help? I've mentored and helped many a lensmaster and Giant Squid at Squidoo. Check out my profile for a list of my interests. I'm JaguarJulie in case you didn't know.

Hey, we can use more rock stars ya know!

Twitter Twitter Everywhere - love Twitter

Twitter Twitter Twitter! Twitter Twitter Everywhere! Don't you just love Twitter? Wow, what did we do before this social media phenomenal platform became available to us? Coincidentally and topicably, I was just getting ready to pen a short positive blog post this morning for Topicability and what do I hear? I hear Hoda and Kathie Lee chatting in my ear about Twitter and what if you Twitter something you don't want to Twitter?

Oh, yes! I've seen Twitter members think they are sending a DM and then announce something that shouldn't have been sent to the general public, to their followers! Oh dear what to do about that? Once you've sent a public tweet and you really shouldn't have tweeted a private personal message? Gosh, you sure could lose a couple of followers that way -- it could be viewed as a 'betrayal of trust' after all -- a simple mistake and it mushrooms.

So, looking at what I receive from Twitter when I earn a new follower [oh brave soul thy are!] I have chosen the name of newloyalfollower as an anonymous name to protect the innocent -- at this time, there is NO twitter user by this name.

newloyalfollower (newloyalfollower) is now following your tweets on Twitter.

A little information about newloyalfollower:
1234 followers
654 tweets
following 1678 people

You may follow newloyalfollower as well by clicking on the "follow" button on their profile. You may also block newloyalfollower if you don't want them to follow you.

newloyalfollower may not appear in your follower list. newloyalfollower may have decided to stop following you, or the account may have been suspended for a Terms of Service violation.

I think it is great that Twitter sends me email notifications of my followers. What's funny though is that I have had several spam and porn followers that I see following me from time to time, but I don't get emailed notifications about them -- they just seem to pop up in my followers list -- Why is that? Perhaps if these type of twitter users would focus on the positive, they would be more successful online?

What seems like it might stand some improvement is the wording, "You may also block newloyalfollower if you don't want them to follow you. newloyalfollower may not appear in your follower list. newloyalfollower may have decided to stop following you, or the account may have been suspended for a Terms of Service violation." I can block my newloyalfollower; my newloyalfollower though might have decided to stop following me already! Or, my newloyalfollower might already be suspended.

I don't know, my head is full of my day job at the moment and I'm taking a break to pen this thought. That wording in that email sounds wrong to me -- it sounds like a Twitter Etiquette treatment is needed. Do you agree? Maybe you don't!

I write a lot about Twitter, both here on the Topicability Blog and also on Squidoo. How Often Should You Send a Twitter Update debates the frequency of your twitter updates. Twitter vs. Tattoo -- Which is MORE Popular? further debates the popularity of these two topics as traffic-getting lenses on Squidoo.

Exploring the best of tweets on Twitter, I have a number of TwitterList lenses:

• Best of Guy Kawasaki on Twitter
• Best of JaguarJulie on Twitter
• Stuffed Cabbage * on Twitter
• Brands in Public on Twitter

Bringing it full circle, alas on those days that Twitter Twitter Twitter Everywhere is NOT everywhere -- Life Interrupted -- Yours, Mine and Ours! It's a day without Twitter you all.

P.S. Got some time on your hands and feel the need to write and express yourself? Hey, join me on Squidoo! Get busy and express yourself.

Hey let your hair down

Hey let your hair down once in a while! Sometimes it is good to let your hair down once in a while -- that is an expression meant that sometimes you should express yourself in the vernacular to let your fellow writers, friends, buddies, chums and pals know a little more about you in an appropriate setting. What the heck am I talking about?

Ah, it would be a new forum thread that was recently opened up called Squids Gone Wild on the SquidU Forum. Normally, I am quite a serious lensmaster -- at least that's what my hubby is always saying. He is always encouraging me to laugh more! Yes indeed, I kid you not. Growing up and attending Catholic school put the fear of God and the nuns into me way back in my formative years. You know you had to be careful or the nun would bring you up to the front of the class to whack your knuckles with a ruler. The really 'bad' ones got the paddle in the back room. Oh, and sometimes you got to stay after class and help dear sister clean the blackboards!

Whew, thanks for stimulating that moment of deja vu and nostalgia. So, nothing terribly profound today -- no new etiquette post -- I'll leave that to the experts as I think I've scared away my readers with my take on etiquette. ;)

Let's think of something fun today. So, when was the last time you let your hair down? Care to tell me about it? Something topicable -- Trick or Treat? Hey, Halloween is around the corner -- what say you? What is your stance on Trick or Treat?