by AJ
AJ is Musing about the Squidoo Community
November 30, 2009 in AJ's musings, Featured by AJ
Following on from Thanksgiving, AJ is taking a break from discussing Squidoo Etiquette this week as she has something else on her mind. Today AJ is thinking about a few people to be thankful for on Squidoo and the roles they play within the Squidoo Community.
Over the last few days a new lens has been published inviting all Squidoo Lensmasters to vote for the 2009 Giant Squid Awards and it got me thinking about the huge amount of work that the Giant Squid Organisers Bonnie and Robin do for the benefit of the Squidoo Community. Not only are they sharing great Squidoo tips all the time, they are running the Giant Squid Challenge, various blogs and RocketMoms but they are constantly coming up with ideas to keep things fresh on Squidoo and I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you.
Other people I constantly give thanks for is my Squidbuddies Chef Keem and Squidster. It is amazing what they have built here on Squidlog and I am so pleased to be part of this Community too.
The Chef is currently very, very busy setting up a new restaurant for a client, so he cannot be as active here on Squidlog and on Squidoo as he would like. Last week I offered to update his Squidlog lens for him. I suggested he transfer it across to me for a couple of days and I would then transfer it back before month end. The Chef was having none of that and insisted that he GIVE me the lens. And that is just typical of Achim’s generosity!
More Lensmasters to be thankful for
Two other Lensmasters who you may not know quite so well are Joan Adams and Mukunda22 (Kate). Both are very involved in the Squidoo Community and have an extremely positive outlook on life and everything it throws at them. If I know Joan she would also be very, very surprised to learn that in The Fluffanutta’s Top 100 Rated Lensmasters lens, she is currently riding very high at #8!
Joan and Kate
A few months back Joan and Kate started a BlogTalk Radio Show called “Giant Squid Open Mike”, which airs for an hour at 4pm EST (9pm UK) every Monday. The show evolved out of their original (and still running) Radio Show “Moon, Moo and you”, when one Tuesday evening in July they held a celebration for the new Giant Squids.
Recently I have been in an on-going discussion with Joan and Kate plus a few other lensmasters we know pretty well, as there’s plans to revise the format of Giant Squid Open Mike. As with any venture like this, it is hard work planning shows and finding guests for each week, so I suggested we get out into the wider Squidoo Community and ask people what they would like to hear on the show.
- What would help you?
- What guests would you like to hear?
- What topics would you like covered?
- Do you listen to GSOM live or do you catch up on the recording in the days after it is aired?
Another issue that is being looked at is the title of the show. Perhaps calling it “Giant Squid…” may make non-Giants think that the show is not for them? What are your thoughts about this?
There’s lots to think about over the coming weeks and if you have any views or ideas then please share them here or contact Joan or Kate via their Squidoo Bio page.
With thanks to 
Overheard on twitter...
Thank you, AJ! (yes, giggling over #8 – thank you for mentioning that, too!)
I am looking forward to hearing responses from the Squidoo community about the show. If it is helpful, it would be a shame to stop it. But if it is not helpful to the Squidoo lensmasters, then, well, we are wasting our time and could be making lenses during that hour, right? lol
I didn’t know there was a Giant Squid Open Mike. It sounds like a great way for Fresh Squids like myself to learn a lot. I’ll have to check out the podcast. As for that, I’d definitely be in the “listen later” instead of the “catch it live” category.
Why, thank *you* AJ, for your relentless quest to enrich, inform and better the Squid society. I also appreciate all your contributions to the SquidLog, which just wouldn’t be the same without you!
I do follow and enjoy Joan and Kate’s radio show as well although I admit I often catch the recording from the widget on our front page while I’m working on the site. I agree that the Giant Squid title might lead some folks to believe it’s not for them, but I also think it may just take a bit more time and PR work to generate a larger following. I hope you will keep it up because it brings us all a bit closer; it’s great actually hearing the voices of our Squidoo friends and being able to communicate in such an immediate way.
Coming up with interesting topics and guests is surely no easy task. It’s obvious that the community needs to contribute to this undertaking if they want the show to survive. My wishlist of topics/guests would include
- Jaguar Julie and an update on the Traveling Squid
- Squidoo and Twitter, how to make the most of this combination
- Squidoo and Facebook, where is the synergy?
- Lensmasters with 300+ lenses. How do they do it and is it worth the effort?
- Bonnie (bdkz), what are her motivators, her inspiration? What does an average day in her life look like?
- Zazzle, how to get started, tips, Q & A with a Zazzle expert (or CafePress, Amazon, eBay, other common “money makers”…)
- Affiliate networks, what are the experiences, tips, how-tos etc. for CJ & Co.
- Joint ventures that have arisen from Squidoo buddies getting together and sharing a common goal
I’m sure I can think of a few more… lol
Wow, I like all of Anne’s ideas. I always thought the idea of having a Squid radio show was brilliant. I was actually surprised to find that they also have a Tuesday show!
But I think they are putting the cart in front of the horse. If the show isn’t a passion for them anymore, it doesn’t matter how many great topics they have to work with….it won’t be fun.
So I think they need to decide if the show is their passion first and if not pass it on to someone else.