If you make a brand new TwttrList Squidoo lens and you could win a Kindle reading system.

Squidoo is giving away 1 new Kindle reading system for every 1000 TwttrList lenses created. All you have to do is create a (quality) Twttrlist to be in the running.

Visit Make a TwttrList. Win a Kindle for all the details!

I’m excited that Squidoo is taking the effort to change their groups and make them better. Here’s Kimberly’s original post with the new group guidelines: Making Groups Great Do You Have What It Takes?

I posted this in the Squidoo Forums, but I wanted to reprint it here:

I’ll be glad to answer any questions I can (from anyone), and any questions I can’t I’ll direct to Kimberly. I don’t think Squidoo HQ is interested in closing down everyone’s group, I think they just want to clean up the spammy groups that don’t really serve a purpose except to spam their own spammy links out there in one more way (groups with only their own lenses on the group page, groups that don’t even have a group page set up, groups that are set to let everyone in and never update their group page, abandoned groups) .

I would say most lensmasters who are visiting here care enough about their groups, and take care of them enough that they don’t need to worry about their groups disappearing.

Making the cut for the top 100 and the extra prize may take a little extra effort…but I love a challenge, and I think most lensmasters here do too:-) I need to work on my own groups to get them up to snuff.

I’m working on a new lens to help lensmasters work on their group. It’s not done yet (I don’t even think it’s ranked yet, but you’re more than welcome to stop by and let me know if it helps, and give me some feedback on anything else you’d like to see there:-)

Taking Squidoo Groups From Good to Great

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment here, contact me through the contact form at Squidoo, or leave a comment on one of my groups mentor lenses. I’ll get back to you with an answer, and if I can’t answer I’ll direct you to Kimberly.

I’m playing with Squidoo’s cool new Twitter application TWTTRSTRM (TwitterStorm).

My first attempt? So, what’s your favorite party planning tip, or idea? Please feel free to share. I’m still working on the lens, I ran out of play time tonight, so I’ll have to work on it a little more tomorrow.

Here’s the scoop:

TWTTRSTRM is a very cool new Squidoo application that lets you ask a question, or make a statement.

From Squidoo:

This is a tool that helps you to “Ask a question of your Twitter followers and easily gather all their answers in one spot.”

Here’s how it works:

1. Simply ask a question
2. Enter your Twitter ID
3. Create a tracker keyword
4. Pick a category, and a tag
5. Build your TWTTRSTRM, which is a Squidoo lens that hosts the conversation.

Very cool! Have you made your own TWTTRSTRM yet? If you have feel free to add a link in the comment section.

Squidoo donating up to $80,000) to charity and they’re asking you to vote on where the money should go.

Go to the Squidoo Charity Giveaway lens and vote for your favorite charity. You can only vote once. But all your friends can vote too. So get the word out, especially if your favorite charity is involved.

For every vote a charity receives Squidoo will send $2, up to the first 40,000 votes. So get over there and get your vote in! It’s a win win situation.

Squidoo has a wonderful new learning resource, called the Squidoo Answer Deck. If your new to Squidoo, or even if you consider yourself a Squidveteran, the answer deck is loaded with answers to your Sqidoo questions.

What is the Answer Deck? It’s a group of how-to lenses created by wonderful Squidoo lensmasters. These lenses answer everything from ideas to create awesome lenses, to how to get the Giant Squid out of your sink (well maybe not that one yet).

Squidoo’s lensmasters are the experts, and chances are if you have a question, someone else has had that question in the past, and now has the answer posted for all to read.

Check out the answer deck, spend a few hours, or days there. When you come up for air you should be able to create a quality Squidoo lens.

While you’re there check out my new groups mentoring lens, and let me know what you think:)

I got a sneak peek at the new Squidoo dashboard today, and it rocks. I had the opportunity to play around with my lenses in there (all 207 of them).

You will be able to add labels to your lenses, and group them according to the labels. That’s the part I’m most excited about. I have about 5 or 6 different labels that will divide my lenses nicely. No more scanning down a list of over 200 lenses to find the one I’m looking for, only to miss it somehow.

I’m also excited about being able to see which lenses need my attention. Right now I tend to pay attention to the lenses at the top of the lens rank pile, because they are the most visible when I open my dashboard. Now I’ll be able to see which lenses need an update.

To see what others have to say about the new Squidoo dashboard, check out the Lensmaster Dashboard lens.

Or at least new to  the Sqidoo community. One of my favorite lensmasters, BDKZ has started a new blog to help mentor those of you who would like to become Giant Squids.

So You Want To Be A Giant Squid? will help new,  or newer lensmasters learn what it takes to achieve Giant Squid status at Squidoo. The questions will be answered by seasoned lensmasters who have been through the Giant Squid process themselves.

The blog will feature stories, news, interviews, FAQs, and question and answer sessions. The latest post is an interview with lensmaster Susan52, who is a wealth of Squidilicious information. It’s like picking the brain of a great Squid master.

If you’re new to Squidoo hop over and check things out. If you have questions related to Squidoo, or becoming a Giant Squid it’s a great place to ask.

I just finished reading Margaret Schaut’s ebook ‘Masterpiece Lenscrafting on Squidoo.’ It was like being able to pick the brain of one of my favorite lensmasters. 

Margaret takes a sincere look at how to create a quality lens at Squidoo. You can see the love and thought she puts into crating a great Squidoo lens.

I’ve read one or two other books written by so called "gurus" and they have told me nothing more than the basics of creating lenses. A skill which you can figure out on your own in the Squidoo dashboard, or SquidU.

‘Masterpiece Lenscrafting’ went way beyond the basics. Margaret teaches you the thought process behind creating a great content lens. A lens that will stand at the top of the Squidoo pile over time.

Margaret should know her lens "David" has been at or near the number one spot on Squidoo, almost since it was created.

I think the book was definitely worth the $10 price tag. It’s a much better investment for your money than the automatic Lens creator stuff that’s going around right now. So if you want to spend your money wisely, invest in quality.

Squidoo lensmaster Bdkz has a new project, The Squidoo Charity Challenge. She’s challenging everyone to build (or convert) at least one lens a month for the charity of your choice. Check out some of the great lenses by even greater lensmasters donating their lens proceeds to charity.

Check out all the Q and A here.   You can also find out all the April details on Bdkz’s  Squidoo Charity Challenge for April 2008. This month’s charity is the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. 

So make a lens, or convert a lens for charity this month. I’m working on a brand new lens that I hope to have published by early next week.

If you make a lens for April make sure you share it here in the comment section.

Image: stock.xchng