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Meeting Kansas Lensmasters

03 May

I was hopeful that I might squeeze in some visits to Kansas lensmasters while I was there all of April. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but I’m keeping it in mind for my next trip to my native state, probably in October. The month started with a sad event, the hospitalization and loss of my 87 year old father. I was glad to be there to help plan the celebration of life event and to assist my mother and sisters with the myriad responsibilities that follow a death.

The month ended on a happier note with the wedding of a  niece. She’s a librarian in Kansas City and used a book theme throughout the wedding and reception. Quite a treat, and it inspired me to make a Squidoo lens about ideas for A Librarian’s Wedding.

Here are some lenses by the various lensmasters that I wanted to meet. Hopefully I’ll have another chance to connect with them.

Marsha32…..My Toothbrush Rugs tells about this vintage craft.

HSSchulte….. How to Reuse or Recycle Denim Jeans has lots of craft ideas using old jeans.

LollyJ…..Christmas 1916 tells the story of LollyJ’s grandparents.

lclchors…..Taming a Wild Mustang tells of her experience with a 4 year old wild horse.

Perhaps you’ll have time to visit some of their web pages.

 

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2012 in Family, Kansas, Squidoo

 

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Drowning in Comments

27 Mar

I don’t know if I’m getting more comments these days or just getting more disorganized. In the past, I kept up pretty well visiting other lensmasters and approving the comments they left on my lenses. Now it seems I always have a backlog of fifty to seventy comments to return.

Maybe I’m making too big a deal of it. I doubt that other lensmasters are counting the days until I return their visit. It seems the polite thing to do, but there is no mandate to do this. Perhaps I should just swoop in and approve them all, then start fresh trying to keep up.

My lenses did receive 17,212 visits this week. Most don’t comment, but enough do that it is becoming a chore to keep up with them. I value the comments, so I just need to find a more efficient way to move through them and make the return visits. I’ve met so many new people that way, so I hate to give it up.

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Posted by on March 27, 2012 in Squidoo

 

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Spring Lenses on the Rise

10 Mar

It’s good to see the upswing of spring and summer topics. Winter may be on the way out. Here are a few that are climbing for me. The first one moved into tier one already. I’m hopeful that it will stay there for April, May, June, July, August and September at least.

Create a Tuscan Patio Create a Tuscan Patio
Do you love a sunny space, edged with rustic planters spilling over with lush flowers? Can you picture yourself in Tuscany with stone pavers underfoot and …
Ten Humane Ways to Get Rid of Chipmunks
Ten Humane Ways to Get Rid of Chipmunks
If chipmunks are making you crazy, consider these ways to protect your plants and property without actually killing the cute crittters. Maybe they’re digging…
Cottage Names: Ideas Cottage Names: Ideas
You want the perfect name for your vacation home. It isn’t easy to find just the right phrase for a cottage or cabin that expresses your creativity and suits…

 
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Posted by on March 10, 2012 in Squidoo

 

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Showered with Blessings

16 Feb

On Squidoo, a blessing from a Squid angel is highly prized. First of all, it means an accomplished lensmaster really liked your page and thought it worthy of a blessing. Multiple blessings can significantly boost the lensrank of a Squidoo page for a short time. In my experience, it seems to last about two weeks.

During January 2012, the Squidoo angels busily scattered 134 blessings on my lenses. Wow, I was overwhelmed. It was lovely. The Pinterest Tips for Squidoo Lensmasters received the most which boosted it to a single digit lensrank. Just getting into the top 100 on Squidoo is a dream, but to make it into the top 10 for even a short time just amazed me.

Other pages that were popular with the angels included A Civil War Childhood and Using Smilebox on Squidoo.

I’m noticing that getting Lens of the Day seems to really attract the angels. Obviously a lens is pretty special to get that honor, so additional recognition (angel blessings) are like icing on the cake. If you look at the top 100 lenses, you’ll spot a number of recent LOTD pages there.

The only unfortunate part of the Pinterest lens getting LOTD and lots of angel blessings in January, is that it is a new lens. The first month of a lens (Squidoo web page), doesn’t count in the tier payouts since it is only a partial month. I’m crossing my fingers that it will hold its ranking as a tier one lens through February so there will be a monetary reward to go with the lovely blessings.

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2012 in angel blessing, Lens of the Day, Squidoo, webpages

 

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My Diverse Topics – Getting Ideas for Web Pages

13 Feb
People sometimes ask me where I get my ideas for my web pages on Squidoo. I grabbed a sampler here of new and old pages. Let’s look at where the ideas originated. The first one on anime wigs was inspired by my niece.
Pink Anime Wigs Pink Anime Wigs
Momisms - Sayings from Moms Momisms – Sayings from Moms
This one was inspired by sayings on Zazzle products. I was looking for graphics to use with my Writing Triggers for Family Memories. The Momisms intrigued me, so I figured others would enjoy the trip down memory lanes as well.
The Valentine Birthday Boy - Owen Lee Martin The Valentine Birthday Boy – Owen Lee Martin
This page was in honor of my brother on his birthday. It includes a request for a card shower to brighten his days in the nursing home.
Make Doll Clothes without Sewing Make Doll Clothes without Sewing
I recently treated myself to a Toni doll like one I played with in the 1950s. She arrived from the eBay seller with only one dress to her name. While whipping up a few outfits for her, I took photos to make this page and a second one.
Seadrift, Texas Seadrift, Texas
This page was inspired by my aunt who loves this tiny coastal town north of Corpus Christi.
Long Overdue Library Books Long Overdue Library Books
I recently saw a news article about a book returned to a library after 127 years. That started me digging to find what the longest overdue book might be. Find the answer here.
Newbie Lens-Making Mistakes on Squidoo Newbie Lens-Making Mistakes on Squidoo
I was spending a good amount of time giving tips to new lensmasters on Squidoo. Finally wised up and made this page to help them get started.
Old Time Gumball Machine Old Time Gumball Machine
This one came from a writing friend, but I’m adding more nostalgia topics like this.
 
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Posted by on February 13, 2012 in Internet, Squidoo, webpages, Writing

 

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My Top Ten Pages on Squidoo

13 Feb

Of the 500 web pages I’ve created on Squidoo, these are the ones at the top:

 
Pinterest Tips for Squidoo Lensmasters Pinterest Tips for Squidoo Lensmasters
Pinterest and Squidoo make an awesome duo. If you haven’t tried Pinterest yet or are a little puzzled about how to use it with Squidoo, here are tips for that….
Wine Cork Crafts Wine Cork Crafts
I’m amazed by the many uses for wine corks. Years ago, a good friend made a cork board for us using wine corks. It was a great housewarming gift for our new…
Library Book Display Ideas Library Book Display Ideas
Library users are often overwhelmed trying to choose from the huge selection of books filling the shelves. Libraries that feature books in displays help overcome…
Create a Tuscan Patio Create a Tuscan Patio
Do you love a sunny space, edged with rustic planters spilling over with lush flowers? Can you picture yourself in Tuscany with stone pavers underfoot and … You…
Writing Triggers for Family Memories Writing Triggers for Family Memories
Your memories of childhood may have receded, but with a little prompting they come to the surface again. Writing down these memories creates a wonderful legacy…
Save an Old Barn: Ideas, Resources and Funding Save an Old Barn: Ideas, Resources and Funding
If you have an old barn in the country, it may have fallen into disrepair. If it’s over 100 years old, the barn has the wear-and-tear of many years on its roof,…
Storytime Ideas: Themes for Librarians and Circle Time Storytime Ideas: Themes for Librarians and Circle Time
I started my career as a children’s librarian presenting eight storytimes a week. Over the years, I used a lot of themes in storytimes and I knew librarians…
WWII Airplane Nose Art - Pinups WWII Airplane Nose Art – Pinups
I first became intrigued by airplane “nose art” when I saw an old photo of my uncle, Ralph Martin, that was taken back in World War II. He was standing jauntily…
How to Draw Cats - Cute Cartoon Cats for Kids to Draw How to Draw Cats – Cute Cartoon Cats for Kids to Draw
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved drawing. It’s a fun activity and all you need is some paper and a pencil. Because I’m a cat person, drawing cats was a favorite…
Alligators: Fun Facts Alligators: Fun Facts
These toothy reptiles rule the swamplands in Florida and along the Gulf Coast of the United States. I knew little about alligators before I moved to Florida….
 
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Posted by on February 13, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

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The Power of Pinterest

28 Jan

Squidoo selected my web page Pinterest Tips for Squidoo Lensmasters for Lens of the Day on January 25, 2012. It received over 1000 visits, so obviously Pinterest is hot, hot, hot. Many commented that they loved Pinterest, a few growled about copyright and others asked for an invite.

Now I have the huge task of responding to all those comments. I’m not complaining, as the visits, angel blessings, LIKES, and voting in the polls propelled the lens right up to a rank of 10 on the following day. The sad part is the lens is less than a month old, so it could be ranked number 1 on Squidoo and it still won’t receive tier one payout for January.

Now if the ranking stays between 1 and 2000 for February, then LOTD will pay off around $50. That would be lovely.

Getting all the comments on that special day is a gift. There were questions and suggestions and tips. These will end up in a module soon on the page so they won’t be buried in the guestbook. Lots to do, so I’d better get to work on it.

Follow Me on Pinterest

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2012 in Squidoo

 

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What Happens After Lens-of-the-Day?

20 Jan

On December 7th, Squidoo featured my page What Were You Doing During Great Moments in Recent History as Lens of the Day. It received awesome traffic and comments on that day and some angel blessings. I had hopes that it might stay in tier one for the whole month of December and earn $40 or $50 from the tier payouts.

Alas, it was not to be. Many product lenses zoom to the top during the Christmas shopping frenzy and squeeze other lenses into the lower ranks. Traffic dropped quickly once my lens was no longer featured. It ended up at 31,000 for the month of December which puts it solidly in tier three. Maybe it will earn $5 for December and again in January if it can remain in tier three.

Well, that certainly is an improvement over the $1.86 it earned for the first 14 months of its existence. The chart below shows the date/rank/number of visits.

November 2011 100,621 38
December 2011 31,019 622
January 2012 61,666 50
 
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Posted by on January 20, 2012 in Squidoo

 

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This Time the Lens of the Day Is Mine!

11 Dec

It’s always wonderful to see your friends succeed and getting the honor of Lens of the Day. Even better though is to have your own lens chosen for that. On December 7, 2011 for Pearl Harbor Day, Squidoo showcased my page, What Were You Doing During Great Moments in Recent History?

One of the questions on the page was What Were You Doing When Pearl Harbor Was Attacked? As expected, many people said that was before they were born. My aunt visited the page and did answer the Pearl Harbor question. She was seven years old at the time. The event frightened her and fearing that the “Japs” might come to Kansas, she took her cat and hid under the bed.

The other questions on the page drew out people’s memories of 9/11 and of the day JFK was killed. There are a variety of other momentous occasions, but I did get one complaint that these should not be called “great events” as most of them were horrifying moments or else great disasters. I see the point the reader was making, but probably won’t change the title at this point. Doing so could mess up any backlinks that might be sending traffic to the page.

For those who like statistics, the page had 525 visitors and received 16 angel blessings on the day it was featured. This shows the lensrank before being Lens of the Day (101,292) and visitors (4). As the surge of visits boosted the lensrank and the angel blessings took effect, the lensrank improved to 550. I’d be thrilled if the average lensrank would stay in tier one for the month of December, but I’m doubtful that it will.

6 December 2011 101,292 4
7 December 2011 64,627 525
8 December 2011 1,675 21
9 December 2011 550 6
 
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Posted by on December 11, 2011 in Squidoo

 

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Another Lens of the Day

02 Dec

It’s a huge honor on Squidoo to have your lens (web page) featured as Lens of the Day. This time it wasn’t one of mine getting that honor, but a fellow writer that I enticed over from eHow. I kept telling my writing buddies about how much fun I was having (and how much money I was making) on Squidoo. Dragging their feet, some of them finally gave it a try.

The results have been awesome. These writers already know how to research topics, use keywords and put together a great article. Now with Squidoo’s tools, they’re turning out first-class web pages on all sorts of topics.

The latest Lens of the Day showcasing a former eHow writer’s work is by Wordstock, better known to her eHow pals as Ann Hinds. Here’s the link to the page:

A 10-yr-old Christmas List A 10-yr-old Christmas List
For the first time, he has to give us a list of the things he might like for Christmas. This is hard for him and for us. No more trips to see Santa and thos…
 
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Posted by on December 2, 2011 in eHow, Squidoo

 

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