Catching Up

I didn't realize it had been over three weeks since my last blog post! Several things have been happening, mostly Squidoo related.

Not long after my last post I was named a Squidoo Angel. What that means is I get to see what new lenses have been submitted in several categories (which I'll keep confidential) so I can look them over. A lot of them are very new from new people, and often they were published too soon. Sometimes I'll see some pretty good stuff.

If I spot a really good lens, existing or new, I have the option to give it what's known as a Squid Angel blessing, which gives it a boost in lensrank, although that does fade over time. It's nice to find a really good lens and go beyond just giving it a five star rating and making it a favorite. A blessing is sort of like a sixth star, although I think it gives more of a boost.

On the other hand, if a lens is really bad I can ding it, which will push the lensrank down. It's not about the subject matter usually but more about how well the lens is made. Subject matter enters into the equation only if it's spammy or violates Squidoo's Terms of Service. I've been finding quite a few of those, but that's partly because I've been looking for them. I've gotten to know a lot better lately the Terms of Service and what Squidoo doesn't want to see as lens subjects.

Part of what Angels do is look over the top 100 lenses in the categories we've been assigned with an eye out for lenses that shouldn't be there like ones that are spammy and violate TOS. I spotted several in my first week, but with other Angels also looking at the lists with that in mind, they're not found as frequently.

Early on I went looking for lenses linking to sites offering illegal music, movie and game downloads. Most such sites like that charge people to join, then give them software so they can pirate stuff online. The software is available free, so really people who join are paying out money to do something illegal that, if they really want to do it, they can do for free.