Squidlog.net

Disclaimer: In this article I am not “pointing the finger” at anyone in particular. However, it is a genuine attempt to help people understand that what they think is networking may be interpreted by others as unacceptable and even Spam.

There’s lots of handy little tools to make our lives easier when trying to promote our Squidoo lenses. You can Stumble, post on Facebook, add to MySpace, Tweet, Digg it, submit to Delicious, email, Lensroll and fav – all from the one nifty little tool bar in the top right hand corner of the Lens.

Squidoo Lens email link

Most of these links are self explanatory but should also be used with care. Not all sites appreciate masses of self promotion by Squidoo Lensmasters and we have already mentioned the utterly impersonal message that gets Tweeted via the Twitter link :

“I just updated my page…….”

But what about that Email this lens link?

Squidoo: email this lens

I asked a question about how people view the tool to email lens links in the SquidU Forum and unsurprisingly, different Lensmasters placed different interpretations on what the link is for and how it should be used.

Ener-G (Gia) said:

“I’ve used it about 15 times to email friends who are looking for the information that a lens holds. I’d use it more, but I’m too lazy to go hunt down my friend’s email addresses.”

Mysticmama (Bambi) commented:

“I always assumed that button was for our readers to be able to e-mail our lenses to their friends and family….

I think it’s a good tool for those who want to e-mail their newest lens to their siblings, mom or BFF… but to use it to e-mail their own lenses to fellow lensmasters, just seems kind of spammy?…cheesy?”

Bambi has a point here!

Could it be that some people who receive these emails feel that an assumption has been made on the part of the Lensmaster sending them? The assumption that they want to be told about this new lens?

I then contacted our new Squidoo Tools mentor, Jewelsofawe, to ask what she thought of the Email this lens link and she had this to say:

“I have emailed occasionally to lensmasters but lately only to one person I email with any ways and otherwise I use it to email to people outside of Squidoo. I think that it is up to people individually. I guess if we don’t want people emailing their lenses to us we have to let them know.”

Another very good point!

In the UK, we have harassment laws. They deal with all forms of harassment, including sexual. Loosely defined the law says that if someone is behaving towards you in a way that is non-violent but upsets you or makes you feel threatened or intimidated, then you have to make sure they are aware that their actions are affecting you in that way. Once they are told, and if they choose to continue, then that is harassment as defined by the law and can be dealt with by the law.

Looking at the responses on the SquidU Forum, the general consensus seems to be that we should be very careful using this link, so as not to appear to be Spammy. Not many Lensmasters appear to make use of this tool and those who do, tend to use it to send lenses to people outside of Squidoo.

And I guess that is how I view the “Email this lens” link

Personally I don’t use the link to email my lenses to other Squidoo Lensmasters. There’s other methods I prefer to use to promote my lenses. However, I do receive emails with links from some of my closest contacts on Squidoo. The people who I network with in specific places.

And that, in my view, is OK, even though I don’t do it myself. I have voluntarily joined the network, I have made it clear I want to network and it is a great way for my contacts to let me know what they are up to and also for them to email me a lens that they have found, that they know I would be interested in.

However, if I started receiving “Check out this lens” emails from people who I don’t know that well on Squidoo, then I probably would not like it. (However, let’s be clear here – I am not talking about the messages I get letting me know that my lens has been featured on someone else’s lens – I think we all just love getting those notes!)

What would I do, if I thought the link was being abused?

Check out this lens Spam

Well, I would take a deep breath and email them back, explaining tactfully and diplomatically that I would like it to stop. The conversation would stay between me and the Lensmaster.

It is so tempting to make a general non-specific post on the SquidU Forum, isn’t it? You could hope that the Lensmaster will see it and get the hint. Or you could blog about it.

But all that does is probably fail to get the message across because the other person may not see the post or blog. And if they DO see it, they could feel you are getting at them….

It’s all about letting someone know tactfully and diplomatically that there is a situation you are not happy with. YES! You have the right to do that! You are also doing the other person a favour (note: in the UK, there is a U in favour!) because you are giving them the chance to remedy the situation. Hopefully, you can then both move on without any hard feelings and your dignity intact.

Of course if the situation becomes difficult there’s another course of action you can take, but I would prefer not to go there!

Thanks also to the following Squidoo Lensmasters who contributed to the discussion: Kab, Pukeko, Flynn the Cat, Prosperity66, GroovyFinds and Spirituality.

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