One of my most personal pages, I Had a Mini-Stroke and What Happened Next, was featured on Squidoo Lens Review which is an honour particularly as the review was so complimentary.

Writing about something as personal as my health was very difficult. In my daily life I don’t go around discussing my health with people I don’t know so writing about it on the web is even more outrageous. In fact, I’m a very private person and don’t really discuss my life much with people I don’t know well. Writing about my life was a big step to take but it is one I recommend to anybody who is knew to Squidoo or other web writing.

You don’t have to reveal details of your health or anything very private, if you don’t want to do so. Bringing some personality to your writing, though, helps people enjoy reading your pages and to like you, hopefully. Just express an opinion on some aspect of the subject or write about a personal experience even if it is just how easy or difficult you found a product to use.

If you are writing a book review, tell us if you enjoyed the book and why you like it. Don’t keep it impersonal. I want to know if it’s worth buying and if you don’t tell me whether you liked it or not, then how can I know?

You can even inject some personality into a recipe page. Tell us if you make the dish regularly and how much you and others enjoy it. Think of ways to include some personality into anything you produce online. Of course, on most pages you don’t need to do this all the way through, just when it is appropriate.

Cat Mugs for Cat Lovers

My new lens, Cat Mugs for Cat Lovers, has been done in response to a Fresh Squids Challenge to Nail that Niche.

This encourages new lensmasters to drill down on a subject and make their lenses as specific as possible – covering a very small niche. The thinking is that the more ‘niche’ a lens is, the better the chance of not only getting targeted traffic but also making sales.

This makes sense. If people are looking for cat humor or mugs featuring cats, for example, hopefully my lens will come up on their search and they will visit. While there, they are more likely to find something they want to buy or at least click on an affiliate link and maybe buy other things which will earn commission for the lensmaster, in the case of this lens, that’s me – fingers crossed.

I hope that people will find this lens humorous. It’s meant to be. The cat related pictures and sayings on the mugs make me smile as do the quotations and pictures of cats which I’ve included.

I hope I’ll be able to add more lenses to this particular niche which is the advice given on Fresh Squids.

Why, you might ask, am I doing something suggested on Fresh Squids when I’m a member of the Giant 100 Club? It’s because I can always learn something new. As it happens, I had known about concentrating on niches and most of my lenses probably qualify for that description. I’ve made very few of them very commercial, though, so I thought a lens about coffee mugs featuring cats would be an interesting experiment.

Sylvestermouse's Avatar on Squidoo

No, I’m not suggesting you shake the tentacle of a denizen of the deep blue sea but rather learn about one of the great people who write on Squidoo. The first in this series is Sylvestermouse, AKA Cynthia.

I became aware of her when she posted a critique request for her first lens (web page) in Squidoo’s forum – Sewing in the House of Sylvestermouse.  I took a look at it and, although there were things that needed to be done, it was obvious to me that Cynthia could write in a good and interesting way. I made some suggestions, as did other people, and she actually implemented them – not something that always happens. After that, I’ve taken an interest in her progress and she has done very well, having made many interesting lenses. I now think of her as my ‘baby Squid’ who is growing up fast.

Read what she has to say about why she joined Squidoo and her thoughts on different aspects of the network.

Why did you join Squidoo?

Originally I joined Squidoo to promote my ebay store.

If it was to promote your business, what made you go on to build so many different lenses which don’t do that?

I found that I enjoyed reading and writing lenses so much, that my store has become secondary. I have met some really great people on Squidoo and I truly enjoy the community.

Would you call yourself a Squidoo addict?

The Original Sylvester Mouse

Absolutely! Sometimes I am so busy reading and writing that I forget to eat or sleep. Once I have locked on to an idea, I simply can’t stop until it is finished.

In addition to working on my own lenses, I try to read every new lens of my fellow teammates on Team One as well as the challenge lenses of the Rocket Moms. When reading lenses, I find the educational element of some lensmasters so intriguing and the personal element of others so captivating, that I simply cannot stop. It’s like a good book you can’t put down.

How are you finding the journey to become a giant? Is it stressful or are you enjoying it?

Surprisingly, I am loving every minute of it.

Have you found your Giant Challenge group a great help and support?

Now I could write for days on this subject! I have the creme de la creme supporting me and helping me. I have been amazed by their tenacious attention. I barely get my lenses published before one or two of them has already commented and they are so sweet in the way they gently correct and guide. We are a small group, but if I had searched the internet over, I could not have found a more devoted alliance.

How are you enjoying Rocket Moms? Are you learning new skills?

Rocket Moms

Rocket Moms has given me a separate challenge altogether.

It has taken me longer to adjust to the larger group, but again, I have made several wonderful friends.

Around my home, I even refer to these lensmasters by name when I am relating their stories to my family. Literally hours of conversation and dinnertime entertainment have resulted from my Rocket Mom’s association.

This week’s travel assignment has been wonderful for us. We love to travel and I have shown several of the lenses to them as suggestions for planning our next adventure. I have a whole “collection” to choose from now.

Since all Squidoo skills are new to me, there is no question that I am learning new ways to improve my lenses.

Do you think these small groups are helpful and give a greater feeling of community?

Ha, ha, ha! Well, clearly I didn’t read the questions in advance before I started answering the first ones. I guess I shall let this be a lesson to me! Yes, I believe it would be extremely easy to be lost in the sea of squids and never reach one’s individual potential without the “family” or “school” of fellow lensmasters. If I had not had encouragement from my mentor (Cynthia says she considers me to be her mentor)  and my team, I probably would not have written any lenses after the first two. I felt so dejected when my second lens received less than a 5* rating. I remember thinking “what do they want?” I found it isn’t easy to write instructional lenses for crochet even though I tried very hard to think from a beginners perspective.

What do you like best about Squidoo?

I like the opportunity to learn and expand my personal horizons. I enjoy the challenge of presenting a thought and evoking a response because, again, I am learning something about the subject of the lens or about people. My favorite example of this so far, was my lens “Hangin’ with Vampire Bats.” I could almost feel the cringes of the readers when I read their comments.

What annoys or irritates you about it?

When members give lower ratings without explanation or critiques. I really do believe if you think a lens is lacking, you should contact the lensmaster and ask questions. Usually if you ask a question, the lensmaster will add content to their lens that supplies the answer. Thus, the results are a better lens.

Hangin' With Kangeroo Rats

You must love animals, you’ve written many lenses about them…

Yes, I do indeed love all animals even the ones that are commonly unlovable. Um…perhaps I like the unlovable ones even better. I suppose that is the “protect the underdog” inclination that is the drive behind some of my lenses. I have even found that I have a certain affinity for squids.

Are you going to expand on your needlework or handicrafts series of lenses?
I definitely have plans to write additional craft lenses. As you can tell by the two I have already published, they are extremely time-consuming endeavors and I want to make sure I am using a helpful and easy to follow format before I write another one.

What do you enjoy outside of Squidoo?

Is there an “outside of Squidoo?” Okay, all joking aside: I enjoy many activities from traveling to sewing at home. I love nature, planting seeds and watching them grow, watching the birds and animals that temporarily brighten my life, occasionally swimming or riding horses. I used to even water ski and fish. I would still enjoy water-skiing if there was a lake that would permit it close by. People could just laugh at the “old poo” on the water-skis. I love to read. When I am not “doing” something, I like to read about someone else’s adventures. I like to cook what my family likes to eat. There really is a difference in liking to cook and liking to please someone else with your cooking. I have had a full life of many kinds of adventures but my focus remains on my religious beliefs and my family.

Cynthia is a lovely person as well as being a good lensmaster. She is very generous with her praise of other people’s work and takes time to look at many Squidoo lenses. See a full list of her lenses on her Sylvestermouse page.

Rocket Moms on Squidoo

I must be crazy joining the Squidoo group, Rocket Moms, right now when I’m so busy. It involves writing a new lens every week on some aspect of a certain subject, which is posted on Mondays. This week it was A Favourite Toy so I chose Meccano.

At the same time, I had to write a lens about Using Pictures Effectively for the Wiwon Challenge Group by next Monday.  I was only asked to do it on Wednesday so it didn’t give me a lot of time especially as I’d just started one for the Senior Squids weekly challenge on bugs. That one has had to go on the back burner. I might have time to work on it tomorrow.

The good news is that I’m not one of those retired people who is bored out of her mind. I never expected to retire. I thought, as I worked for myself, I’d just carry on working forever. I’ve always been so healthy it didn’t occur to me that my health would mean I’d have to give up.

Squidoo is so good for people like me who can’t work. It gives us a purpose, goals and even deadlines sometimes. On top of that, there’s also a great sense of community which has been enhanced by the smaller groups that have been set up over the last few months like Rocket Moms, Senior Squids and the Wiwon Challenge Team. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes writing and making web pages.

Logitech Mouse

Copyright Red, Used under the Creative Commons License

My right arm is very painful at the moment and I’m certain it’s RSI (repetitive strain injury). I had it before about 5 years ago and cured it by buying an ergonomic mouse and keyboard.

The keyboard it the kind with the a support for the wrists along the bottom and the keys for the left and right hands angled away from the centre. The mouse held my hand on the side with rather than flat and parallel to the desktop. Within a week or two of buying these, all pain was gone and I’ve been fine since then until the last week.

Unfortunately, my mouse stopped working properly and needed replacing and I just could not find another like it. I had to buy a regular mouse instead. Now I’m in pain from my wrist up to my shoulder. The only way I can use my computer is with my lower arm well strapped and with a small rolled towel for support under it.

I’ve seen lots of mice on eBay that claim to be ergonomic but nearly all of them just don’t change the angle of the hand which I believe is the problem. I’ll have to go to a big computer store and try some. In the meantime I shall struggle on – there’s no way I can give up using my computer as I’m a complete addict!