My Squidoo Lens

Here is my Squidoo Lens - needs A LOT of work!

A while back I wrote about Lenses by Squidoo. Squidoo is from "Agent of Change"  Seth Godin and friends.

Basic idea: Search Engines don't do a great job, although they are good at finding things.

The problem is that we are not often are not searching for something, at least not initially. When we first start researching a subject, we are on "a quest to make sense."

There is no "right" answer to our search, and besides, the top hits are usually trying to sell us something. We might be interested in buying, but not UNTIL what we are researching makes sense to us.

Lenses are simple websites built by opinionated experts  that don't contain much material, but they have links to LOTS of useful information.They can help us make sense. For example, a Lens on identifying goat species by sound would have links to all the sources the Lens' author would think are most valuable on this topic, for example this one.

A Lens is just a simple Website, just like a Blog is just a simple Website. A Lens has a specific format and layout, just as blogs are all pretty similar in format and layout.

From the Squidoo FAQ:
WHAT'S A LENS?

A lens is one person's view on a topic that matters to her. It's an easy-to-build, single web page that can point to blogs, favorite links, RSS feeds, Flickr photos, Google maps, eBay auctions, CafePress designs, Amazon books or music, and thousands of products from hundreds of other trusted merchants. You can pick whatever content you want to put in your lens to bring context to your topic. Then, when someone is looking for recommended information, fast, your lens gets his started and sends him off in the right direction. It's a place to start, not finish.