We All Have Something Valuable to Say…
Sep 6, 2008

I really believe that – that everyone has something valuable to say, and something to contribute on at least some topics. And I love how the web provides a means for us to be heard. Especially in recent times, it’s so easy to step up and have your say on any topic.

You can start a blog, or create a Squidoo lens, for example. You can edit Wikipedia. You can Twitter, or comment on blogs. It’s now so easy to make a contribution and have your voice heard online.

Now, thanks to a Help A Reporter (a free service by Peter Shankman), that ability to have your voice heard is stretching to print

The playing field is being leveled, and we’re all being given more and more opportunities to show our expertise, and let our voice be heard.

The platforms are there – and increasing. Are you making use of them?

Thanks to Seth Godin for pointing out the service.

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Some Great People to Check Out
Sep 2, 2008

Over the past summer, I had the honor of being involved in an internship with Seth Godin and Squidoo. I was one of the virtual interns, part of a Basecamp group which got to try out different stuff. It was interesting and I got to interact with a lot of great people – really creative, intelligent students from around the world. It was a huge pleasure and honor to get to interact with Seth himself as well.

Anyway, as part of the internship, Seth has posted a PDF of handmade bios of some of the interns. Yes, I have a page in there, but that’s not why I’m sharing it. I’m sharing it because there are 15 other really intelligent, creative, awesome people mentioned there, who I highly recommend you check out. You might find someone who you’d want to work with or connect with (given the quality of the people there, you probably will).

So yeah, here’s the PDF.

Share Your Superheroes
Jun 18, 2008

We all have people who have influenced us, who have made a difference in our lives. Some of mine are listed here.

Squidoo has organized a really cool contest, meant to honor these people. Make lenses on your everyday superheroes, and stand to win $500 for a charity of your choice.

It’s a great way to thank those who have made a difference in your life, and contribute to charity at the same time.

Who are your everyday superheroes? Here’s a chance for you to thank and acknowledge them.

My Best Squidoo Lens So Far
May 31, 2008

I’ve recently started creating lenses on Squidoo. And this lens on Brilliant, Bald Marketers has had the most traffic and generated the best response out of all my lenses so far.

The success of the lens got me thinking. What sets that lens apart from the rest? I think that one lens has generated the best response because of a couple of things.

Firstly, it makes use of all forms of media. It’s (in my opinion), the most engaging of them all – making use of videos, pictures, RSS feeds, Twitter, etc. We all know people don’t like reading just chunks of text.

Secondly, and more importantly, is that it’s human. It’s a serious topic (marketers you should be following), but it takes a lighthearted view of it (bald marketers). In doing so, it makes it more entertaining and fun, in a way.

This is purely what I think, of course. So I might be wrong. And despite it being the best of my lenses, it’s still quite fresh, and in terms of absolute statistics, it’s not that highly ranked.

But I do think that these are two important points that we can learn from. And these two points can be applied to any website or blog or anything you’re developing, of course. Make use of as many forms of media as possible to form an engaging experience, and make it human and fun.

What do you think? What do you think is the strong point of that lens? And how can we learn from that apply it to whatever else we are developing?