Susanna Duffy, Squid Angel

I’ve known Australian Susanna Duffy online for several years and she has always made great web pages. It’s a talent she’s transferred to Squidoo and now makes great lenses too.

She was made a Squid Angel a few months ago and she has carried out her Angel duties assiduously – I wouldn’t expect anything else from her.

How does she find time for all her many activities and enterprises? I have no idea except I suspect she works long hours and doesn’t waste too long sleeping.

Read more about her in this interview.

When did you join Squidoo?
There are really 2 dates which mark my entrance into squidoo. The first was September 2006 when I joined and made a lens as a backlink to a website. After that I went off about my other business leaving that lens to sit alone, unattended, without a backwards glance from me for exactly two years.

I didn’t return until September 2008, a date which marks my ‘real’ Squidoo start. Things looked different – squidoo had changed! More to the point, I had also changed and from that day last year I embraced Squidoo with passion.

Would you call yourself a Squidoo addict?
One third of my time online is spent on Squidoo, I’m more addicted to my online business if addiction is a word which can be used for online work. I make 70% of my income online. The business is called Virtual PA.

What do you like best about Squidoo?
Squidoo is fabulous and fast! And where else do you find such a friendly community? Like all communities, there are ups and downs and the occasional pest, but the wealth of supportive lensmasters far outweighs the complainers. SquidU Forums are a source of answers, advice and tips for everyone of all levels.

What annoys or irritates you about it?
The abuse of Squidoo is more than irritating, it’s quite sickening. Cheats, liars and scammers have to be hunted down to clean it up for the rest of the world. They give us all a bad name.

Which was your first lens and why did you write it?
My original foray into Squidoo was about my first love, mythology. I’ve since turned that first lens into a lensography which lists some of my lenses on the topic. It’s still not what could be called a ‘good’ lens, it needs work, but I’m attached to it now and read the few comments with fondness.

I now have a much better understanding of what makes an interesting lens but it’s hard to say goodbye to my first shaky attempt.

What is your favourite lens of your own and why?
I’m particularly fond of my Roman recipes. I’ve been trying lots more too so I’m planning a second (or third) lens on this topic.

The fascinating part about ancient Roman recipes is that they have no measurement of ingredients, no explanation of many of those ingredients – and no instructions! You have to guess it, cook it, taste it and then make a judgement for modern palates. It’s like solving a mystery, a two thousand year old mystery.

I have a small restaurant, Cafe Porridge, and specialise in ancient foods so I’m always experimenting with something new – or ‘old’.

Have you enjoyed your time as a Squidoo Angel?

Nowadays I’m an Honorary Angel and I have truly loved my time with wings. Cleaning up the baddies in Squidoo has been a constant delight although not as delightful as blessing excellent lenses.

The Curious Town of Coober Pedy

You write about many different topics – Australia and Australians, myths and legends, recipes, to name just a few. Do you have a preference for a particular one or more subjects amongst those you’ve covered?

Mythology is my number one topic but I write on Australia as so many people really know very little about this vast continent. My favourite about Australia is The Curious Town of Coober Pedy.

Recipes? I love my kitchen.

Why are you particularly fascinated by mythology? Do you think some of them are based on real events and have just been embroidered over the centuries?

Stories told for thousands of years have an impact on us today. They don’t last because of fashion, taste or religion, they remain in our consciousness because they have an ageless message to give us. Look at the story of Demeter. As I say in the introductory module, myths can be read as symbols, and can be used as working templates for modern times. If you read past the supernatural, Demeter is relevant for women of today. Right here and now.

Have you any ambitions to fulfill on Squidoo?

I want to be in the Squidoo Hall of Fame! If we had such a thing. I should write a lens about it

Art and Design Group

I run an Art and Design Group on Squidoo. I clearly set out the criteria for membership right at the top of the page. A lens must have relevant content and not be just copied from Wikipedia and it should be well illustrated.  It mustn’t be just a prolonged plug  for a Clickbank product.

This doesn’t seem difficult to understand but so many people either don’t understand or they don’t bother to read the criteria.

Over the last week I’ve looked at about a dozen lenses that have applied to join the group. Most of them had very little or nothing at all to do with art or design. The lensmasters  must have thought that, because they had some pictures on them, they automatically qualified. Others were just plugging their Zazzle stores where they were selling stuff with designs they had done themselves. In some cases, this would be fair enough. Unfortunately, the ones I’ve seen recently have all been very derivative. They have also done two or three designs, then shown what seems like an endless list of products, all using these same few designs on them.

Having said all that, there are some great lenses in the group. Take a look at this one, Cheryl Craig, Aboriginal Artist to see some great art  by an artist who is descended from the Wiradjuri people in Australia.

Now have a look at these brilliant chess sets, designed and sculpted by Frankie, the lensmaster who has written about them. Then there is The Louvre: Essential, Little Known Tourist Tips which was chosen as Lens of the Day last year. The lensmaster, Margo Arrowsmith, uses her personal experience to give prospective visitors to the Louvre tips for getting the most out of their visit.

There are also several tutorials on different techniques. You can go through step by step instructions on drawing birds complete with detailed feathers using coloured pencils or doing an airbrush drawing of a wolf.

These are just a few of the brilliant lenses in the Art and Design Group. It’s obvious that some people who apply to join, not only do not read the criteria for membership but don’t even bother to check out any of the lenses or they would see that their own were not acceptable.