So You Want To Be A Giant Squid?

What You Get For Being A Giant!

2008-09-05T13:47:36-04:00

A lot of people have been asking me "What do I get for being a Giant Squid?" Well you've come to the right place! Here is a list of what Giants get, and we are adding new perks all the time...so don't miss out!

1. Access to our (secret) Giant Squids blog and RSS feed, full of first-looks at new features and insider tips.

2. A private email address to reach Megan about Lens of the Day submissions.

3. A Giant Squid badge on all your lenses. (And your bio/profile page too--coming soon).

4. Gold stars on all your published, featured lenses. Gold stars not only look nifty to your readers, they also give you a little LensRank boost.

5. Your shot at making The Giant Squids Top 100 list, a list of the top Giant lenses, sorted by LensRank.

6. A Custom Lens Template tool. This is so helpful when you are making a lot of lenses.

7. Did I mention first crack at our coolest new tools and features? For example, the Giants got to hear about HeyMonkeyBrain and Squidaholic .com days before the rest of Squidoo.

8. A special Dashbaord just for Giants.

9. A chance at being featured on the Giant Squid Community Showcase.

10. The power to nomintate! When it's time for the next round of new Giants to join the ranks Giants can nominate the people they think really deserve it.

11. No daily lens limits - You can make as many lenses a day as you want, and you can have as many unimproved lenses under construction as you need.

12. Greenlighting is now active - The SquidDon't spam filter is a thing of the past for Giants. Your trustworthy lenses will never be hassled by the spam filter again. The greenlighting has been activated but if you're a Giant and you find your lenses are still stuck in the filter, please email giants at squidoo.com so we can greenlight you forevermore.

A Halloween Contest for Future Giants

2008-09-05T10:43:02-04:00

Are you an aspiring Giant Squid? Do you need a few more lenses to make the September 30th Goal? Then have we got a contest for you!

Our own Giant Squid Greeter ThomasC has cooked up a super spooky (well not really) Halloween Costume Contest using the SquidBoo Co-Brand. He's even donated the one of the prizes from his CafePress Store. But that's not all...other prizes include a SquidGoody and a featured write-up on the Giant Squid Community Showcase Blog!

So what you you waiting for? The contest runs until Sept. 26th, 2008. Just visit A Halloween Contest for Future Giants for all the details and to add your lens to the Plexo.

Already a Giant? Stay tuned for another Halloween Contest just for you!

Are you ready for a CampFire Chat?

2008-09-04T18:00:00-04:00

We're having a campfire chat session for anyone who is seriously interested in becoming a Giant Squid on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 9:00 pm (Eastern). This CampFire Chat is only for people who are not yet Giants. We'll be having another Giants chat soon so stay tuned!

Here is the link: https://squidsquad.campfirenow.com/804bf

Show up at 9pm EST. (Being a few minutes early is okay, but remember that squatting for hours in advance gives you cramps). First come first entered, up to 20 Potential Giants.

Can't wait to see you there!

Who Got the Booty?

2008-09-04T16:12:27-04:00

I am so excited to announce the winners of the Giant Squid Treasure Hunt!

This contest has been loads of fun and we've gotten a whole slew of new potential Giants on our radar from the entries. There are so many fabulous Lensmasters on Squidoo and I am so excited to be a part of this amazing community!

So Bravo! to all the participants, lensmasters and winners who made this contest possible.

And now for the part you’ve been waiting for…the winners are:

The First Place Winner KAB will receive a shiny new 2 Gig iPod shuffle.

The Second Place Winner JJNW will receive $40 at iTunes.

The Third Place Winner EelKat will receive a Flickr Pro Account for 1 year.

So stop by an congratulate these well deserved winners!

Thanks again for participating in this contest…and stay tuned, we’ll be cooking up more fun stuff for the future!

Nominate A Giant!

2008-09-03T21:28:14-04:00

Do you know a spectacular lensmaster who will knock our socks off? Has someone with Giant potential caught your eye? Do you know a someone who should be a Giant? Let us know!

If you'd like to nominate someone for Giant Squid Status send us an e-mail at giantnomination @ squidoo.com by September 30th, 2008. We can't wait to see who you've found!

Who wants to be in the 100 Club?

2008-09-02T22:32:18-04:00

If you are currently a Giant Squid and have 100 quality lenses you can apply for the Giant Squid 100 Club. Visit THE GIANT SQUIDS TOP 100 CLUB (and how you can become one) or e-mail me at 100club @ squidoo.com to apply!

Happy Labor Day

2008-09-01T17:34:02-04:00

Check out Labor Day Weekend 2008 by violatoroger and find out what this Holiday is all about!

Proof That The Poll Module Works!

2008-08-29T16:11:40-04:00

I created a political polling lens on January 4, 2008 and now it's on fire! It's basically a series of polls about the Presidential Election, the issues and who people think is going to be the next President of the United States.

Lenses that utilize the Poll Module are easy and fun to set up. Here's some helpful tips:

Have multiple choices for answers as opposed to just Yes or No.
Ask creative and thought provoking questions.
Keep your poll up-to-date, I just added a new Poll today about Sarah Palin and 40 people have already voted!
Add a Duel Module to your Poll lens to take it a step further. People love to debate an issue.

So does the Poll Module work? Yes...

My lens 2008 Presidential Voting Poll is ranked #2 in News & Politics and #137 in overall lens ranking. As we get closer to the Election my traffic is increasing. So far 1753 people have voted on "Who do you think should be President in the 2008 Election?" for the Democratic Ticket and 1388 people have voted on the "Who do you think should be President in the 2008 Election?" for the Republican Ticket.

To the left are my 7 day traffic stats. I am getting a ton of Google and Yahoo! traffic.

So what does this mean for you? Go create a polling lens and see if you can grab some traffic!

Here's some ideas:

Vote for the Best Restaurants in your City: create a poll for each kind of food. Italian, Mexican, Chinese and have people vote for their favorite restaurants. Try a SquidZipper!

Vote for the Best Games of 2008: Ask people to vote for their favorite video games, board games, Trivia Games. Add an Amazon Spotlight Module to showcase your vote.

You could also have people vote for their favorite: Zazzle or CafePress Shops, Squidoo Lenses, Movies, Music, Concerts, Laundry Detergent, Pets, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers, Ice Cream, College Courses, Amusement Park, Social Networking Site, Jeans, Boots, Holiday...the possibilities are endless!

Got Booty?

2008-08-28T16:01:29-04:00

There's still one day left in the Giant Squid Treasure Hunt!

Don't forget to submit those entries by tomorrow...Friday, August 29th at 5pm EST. Remember you only need to find 20 clues to be entered into the Third Place prize level for a Flickr Pro Account for 1 year!

Visit Giant Squid Treasure Hunt for more information and the list of clues!

An Interview With Giant Squid awelldressedbullet

2008-08-27T08:33:49-04:00

awelldressedbullet, aka Kathy, has been a member of Squidoo since June 14 2007. I first came across awelldressedbullet last year when I was looking for lenses for my Christmas Shopping Group. I was so impressed by her "bullet" products that I wanted to feature them. You can see more about these neat gifts here: A Well Dressed Bullet Official Website!

In addition to promoting her business Kathy also has many, many popular lenses about food, Squidoo Tips, TV and Music. So be sure to check out her entire collection!

What are 5 character traits of a Giant Squid?

1. Love of Squidoo

2. Desire

3. Creativity and Diversity

4. Organizational (for all those lenses)

5. Don't settle. As an example, when using a selling or video module, I spend the time to go through items to choose the ones I want included on my lens, rather than just letting the specific module automatically select them. I try to match the best choices with the content of my lens.

How has Squidoo helped your business grow?

One can never be complacent in business. Squidoo is another great means to reach out to a new potential customer base. I started out thinking of Squidoo as just a means to search for new customers by creating lenses on each of our products. All were business related lenses, they were informative and showcased our products well, and we reached a new customer base. However, after those were all finished, I started to create funny and silly lenses, that's one thing I love to do is to make people laugh. I also like to help out when I can by making the occasional tutorial lens. I even created a few SquidVids, which really were selfish on my part, they were a really quick way for me to locate and listen to my fav tunes. Shhh, don't tell anyone ok? Although I was now creating lenses that I enjoyed, guess what? I started attracting even more new customers to our business from these non-business related lenses. Go figure, see an old dog can learn new tricks.

Your best lens is I Love Avocados, how did you get the idea for this lens?

This was actually my first attempt at a Foodie lens and went with one of my favorite foods. What can I say, I really do love avocados. I enjoy searching for information, pictures and recipes and trying to put it all together in a fun and yummy way! I have only five Foodie lenses so far, but plan for many more. And yes, I have a lensography for those too! LOL

What's your favorite Squidoo Module?

That's a tough one to answer, it all depends on why topic my lens is. I must admit, I don't use a wide range, but try and use a few in each of the themed modules (Basic, Interactive, Selling, etc).

What's some advice you'd like to give to a new lensmaster?

Take your time, don't try and learn everything all at once, otherwise you might get a wee bit overwhelmed and become a discouraged. Learn how to use the basic modules and then start to experiment with the others. Drop by SquidU when you have a question or something has you stumped. There are lots of really friendly and helpful Squids and Squidettes there just eager to help you out. And you might even make a few new friends too. And don’t forget…… have fun!