Monday, September 10, 2007

It Pays to Squidoo!

I started creating lenses (pages) for Squidoo in March of 2007, not real sure what I was doing or how long I would be on the site. I like the idea of having my online content all over the web so it seemed to make sense to add it to Squidoo.

Now, after being on the site for 6 months it is clear to me that Squidoo is exactly how I would envision a successful online content site. I have content on Hubpages, Associated Content, my blogs and online newsletters but none have been as successful as my content on Squidoo.

Sure, my main blog gets lots of activity, with nearly 200 unique visitors a day but the revenue being generated through Google's adWords and Yahoo sponsored ads is minimal. I need to get the activity up to a 1,000 visitors a day before the numbers start to improve. In contrast, my monthly payout from Squidoo for July (paid in Sept.) was more than all of my other online content combined and even more amazing, it was 100% more than the previous month's payout from Squidoo.

Squidoo is both fun and profitable. The actual dollar amounts are small but the trend is fantastic as my payouts have grown exponentially from the $1.57 I earned my first month.

Squidoo is like Wikipedia on steroids. Just compare the Wikipedia profile on one of my favorite TV shows "Scrubs" with the best "Scrubs" profile on Squidoo.

Squidoo management isn't resting on their laurels either. They just recently launched SquidWho, a Who's Who on the net that has really taken off (read my take on SquidWho here).

You are not going to get rich building lenses on Squidoo but you can certainly earn some extra cash as you enjoy the process of building content on the Internet. In fact, I liked SquidWho's format so much I replaced my blogger profile with a SquidWho profile. Squidoo also is one of the top referrers to my blogs.

I think Squidoo and SquidWho are worth a look.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Death by Popcorn!


I was doing my normal websurfing this morning, looking for ideas (good or bad) when I came across this news article from the AP Doctor warns consumers of popcorn fumes. I hadn't even read the article before I brokedown laughing.

"A pulmonary specialist at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years."

Okay, after all of these years of Microwaving popcorn this is the first case. Also, he developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years."

The doctor went on to say "We cannot be sure that this patient's exposure to butter flavored microwave popcorn from daily heavy preparation has caused his lung disease," cautioned Dr. Cecile Rose. "However, we have no other plausible explanation."

This is laughable, what other dangerous activities has this man been involved with in the past several years? Maybe, he got lung cancer from checking his own breath every morning after he brushed his teeth. I don't want to make light of the fact the man has cancer but for any sane person, let alone a doctor, to publicly proclaim that the fumes from popcorn may cause cancer, is ridiculous. Though it did give me something to post.

Microwave popcorn is now a high risk behavior please use caution and stop smelling the popcorn before you eat it. The Popcorn lobby will be up-in-arms and I'm sure Orvil Redenbacher is rolling around in his grave.

In fairness there has been some data that suggests a problem in the manufacturing of microwavable popcorn.

The July letter, made public Tuesday by a public health policy blog, refers to a potentially fatal disease commonly called popcorn lung that has been the subject of lawsuits by hundreds of workers at food factories exposed to chemicals used for flavoring.

"In response to Rose's finding, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make. It noted that diacetyl is approved for use in flavors by the federal Food and Drug Administration."

Where is Steven Colbert when you need him. Please Steven get to the truth of this matter

Monday, September 03, 2007

Is SquidWho For You?

The site with a funny name just added a new wrinkle. Seth Godin recently announced it on his blog so I thought I would do him a solid and also mention it here.

Squidoo just announced a new Internet tool called SquidWho a virtual "Who's Who" on the Internet that doesn't limit who can be included like Wikipedia does. Have you ever wanted to see your name in bits and bytes? Do you want to recognize a special person in your life, maybe a teacher, pastor, friend or family member? Now you can with SquidWho. Here's what Seth had to say:

Are you notable enough? I think so.

It occurs to me that the web is redefining what notable means, and so are we. Famous used to mean Gene Kelly and Mae West, or Sandy Weil and Bill Gates. But with the long tail, notable means: you're the #1 player on your tennis team; you're the top of your marketing department; you're a blogger lots of people read and talk about -- you're the best and most" notable" in your niche, however small. That's the kind of famous that SquidWho is about...

This being the web and not the real world, we decided to take matters into our own hands and launch SquidWho. The people-powered open who's who online. If you think someone is notable enough to warrant a bio, then they are. Your call, not ours, not some invisible editor's.

If you don't like the bio you see on someone, build a better one. It's free. Royalties go to charity. Best one wins. (Here's a good one).

The obvious ones (Bono, Mother Theresa and Jaco) are already taken, but that's okay. Build a better one. Not to mention the room for six billion more.

So, take a moment to check it out. It's fun and stress free but watch out it can be addicting. I've already created several:
  • Monty Python - The funniest comedy group of all-time! Don't Argue With Me!
  • Nolan Ryan - My favorite ballplayer growing up.
  • Will Smith - My favorite actor, always makes good choices for roles (except Wild, Wild West)
  • Jessica Alba -Okay, before you start calling me a "dirty old man" this was a test to see how a popular name would do on Squidoo (BTW over 250 unique visitors so far) and I certainly enjoy finding pictures to post.
I know you are all very busy in your everyday life but take a few moments to check it out and create a SquidWho lens about your favorite person or group. Even fictional characters are acceptable.

Okay, one mention about eBay (I've got to stop doing that). If you are a memorabilia seller, why not create SquidWho lens on several of your hottest selling people and drive them to your eBay listings. Check out my lenses to see what I did, each of them links to eBay memorabilia listings as well as Amazon listings.