New Guestbook on Squidoo

Whew! Have you all been keeping up with the superhero flash speed of Squidoo's engineering team? They have been producing like crazy in the last several weeks, and today they issued another wonderful development, a brand new Guestbook 9000! Well, that's what Megan Casey is calling it, and who am I to argue.

Here is what our guestbooks on all of our lenses can do now: (from Megan's blog post)

• An option for Squidoo lensmaster-only commenting (with inline login). Not new, but improved.
• Commenting login via Twitter and FacebookConnect. Even if your readers aren’t logged in Squidoo lensmasters, they can still comment easily in your Guestbook module, with credibility and non-anonymity, via Twitter and Facebook connect.
• Threaded comments and improved design.
• An option for readers to follow new Guestbook comments by email. Have you ever commented on a really great lens, or in an especially heated or interesting Guestbook, and wished you could easily know when someone replied there? Now you can, if you choose to follow a Guestbook by email. You can easily unsubscribe from the module when you’ve had enough. (NB: The person who owns the Guestbook and the lens can choose to approve comments first, so no bad comments get emailed to those following).
• An option for a reader to Tweet, Facebook or email his comment. This means if you get people talking on your lens, and if they in turn share their comments outward, you get new, relevant people visiting your lens and joining the conversation.

For more information on this development, and how to use it, read the rest of the post by Megan here.

You can follow the Howling Squid Review directly from Twitter.

How Do Use Your Guestbook?

A question came up on the new Rocket Moms forum from Jimmie, and I thought that I'd expand it to this forum to get some more imput from other lensmasters. Jimmie's question is this: "My question is about the Guestbook. I notice that sometimes my Guestbook is called New Guestbook and sometimes called Reader Feedback when the lens is first created. I almost always go in and rename it simply "Guestbook." So, what do you think? Is calling your guestbook a plain old guestbook a problem? I know that some angels have no default module titles as a blessing criteria. What else do you ladies call your guestbooks?"

Here is my response:

Jimmie,
Here is my take on your question. There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing the default title to Guestbook. For some reason, they sometimes are default titles New Guestbook or Reader Feedback. I think it depends on how you add it, from your template or adding a module.

I look at the guestbook as another place to entice the reader to get involved with the subject that I am writing about. I try to ask them a question to answer or offer them a chance to contribute information to the lens. Of course, not everyone does that but it gives them the opportunity to interact with you instead of just a generic comment. You can also ask them if they have any questions about your topic. For instance, if you are talking about homeschooling, and how you get past certain obstacles, they may have encountered a problem or issue that you haven't and want some ideas to help. This is when the guestbook becomes a real part of your lens. It can help you generate ideas, and the discussion will draw more people in. :)

Now, I am asking you readers, what do you think? What can you add?

Interact with Your Readers

Keeping your reader's attention to keep them reading all the way down the page is one of the goals in writing a great lens.

One of the best ways to do that is to interact with your reader. Squidoo offers several interaction modules that are simple to implement on lenses.

I have found that there are three modules that always get readers to interact. These are not the only three modules, but if you are looking for responses, they are the best ones.

Poll module:

The poll module is a simple one to implement. You ask a question, and the readers pick one of several choices to answer. It is anonymous so if your subject is delicate, people can feel assured that you won't know which was their answer. I tend to put the polls near the top of my lenses when I use them. Usually I use them as a survey of feelings or likes and dislikes. I like to give at least three choices. Remember to always give a choice that means "I don't know or I don't care or it doesn't affect me". Here is an example of a poll in my Living with Dysthymia lens. You will notice that the poll is only the fourth module in including the introduction.

Duel module:

I love the duel module. I don't always use it for a duel. Sometimes it is just a place that people can offer opinions. Most people like to express their opinions on topics that they are interested in. Especially if they have personal experience. Duels are fun because they lay out nicely in the lens, you can see the people's avatars next to their comments, and it breaks up the lens nicely. This particular duel in the Living with Dysthymia lens asks almost the same question as the poll. I broaden the question by asking if they live with anyone who has experienced depression.

Guestbook:

Guestbooks are slightly controversial on Squidoo. I personally prefer lenses that have guestbooks or at least some way to reach the author, but I understand perfectly why someone wouldn't have one. Some lenses in particular get a lot of spam comments. It seems to particularly true in guestbooks more than any other kind of interaction module. However, it is another chance for your readers to interact with you and let you know they were there. You can set up all of your comment modules so that you have to approve the comments. It only takes a few minutes to check your comments page in your dashboard to read them and approve them. You will probably find that the same people will not always take advantage of all your interaction modules on a lens, but the more chances they have, the more chances are that they will respond to one of them. I myself don't always fill out polls or duels if I don't have a strong opinion. Sometimes I don't know enough about the topic to leave a comment. Here is the guestbook for the same lens. I like to ask the reader a question related to the lens they have just looked at. It gives them a reason to leave a comment. Depending on the lens, it can be more or less specific.

Another option you have for all your comment modules is to turn off the html in them. By doing so, you eliminate the links to outside sources. I didn't do this at first, but I do now, even if I am encouraging people to leave a link. I can always copy the link address and put it in my browser. Not everyone agrees with me on this. This is my compromise between having the comment section and cutting down on spam.