A few Words about Squidoo and a link to its...

I've found that I really like using Gather to write. The interface is simple and clean and, after having tried other social media and social bookmarking sites, I've found that everything on Gather just comes together really well. I personally think a gather subdomain is the closest thing to keeping a journal online that I've yet seen (I just don't count myspace or facebook, despite their popularity).

However, there are other writing platforms out there. Some are pure blogging platforms such as wordpress and blogger. Some are sites that let you pump your stories and other stories that you like such as Digg and Reddit (I really like Digg because, even though the whole popularity thing is pretty corrupt, Digg still functions as a good source of alternative news, i.e. news that I don't see posted anywhere else). And others are vehicles that allow you to publish content that, for the most part, is designed to get the word out about what it is that you do, what it is that you like, or what it is that you feel you have some knowledge or expertise in.

Squidoo is one of those sites. I have to admit, when I first did a squidoo lense, I found it a bit daunting, as in "what the heck is this". However, the system really is fairly simple. You write a page on squidoo, but you also assemble a webpage as well. For example, if you want to include a link list of links that you think are appropriate to your page's content, you can do that. If you want to include a pole, you can do that as well. You can also create an RSS feed for terms you select and have the feed results appear on your squidoo page. Not bad really. But the thing that really stands out most is that squidoo pages, when assembled, have a fairly clean, orderly look that is easy on the eyes. And this is what I like about gather as well.

But here's another reason why I like squidoo. I came across the blog of squidoo's founder, Seth Godin. Seth's blog is really refreshing because it seems to talk about some very basic ideas and concepts. Here's a snippet from a recent post:

If you do generous things, people think you are a generous person.
If you bully people, people assume you are a bully.
If you ask dumb questions, people figure you're dumb.
Answer questions well and people assume you're smart and generous.
... you get the idea.

He then follows this up with:

This leads to a few interesting insights.

1. If people criticize you, they are actually criticizing your behavior, not you.
2. If you're not happy with the perception you generate, change the words you type and the messages you send.
3. When you hear from someone, consider the source. Trolls are almost always trolls through and through, which means that you have no obligation to listen, to respond or to placate. On the other hand, if you can find a germ of truth, can't hurt to consider it.

I don't often bookmark personal blogs, but this one I have. Good words, good stuff.

Here's a link to Seth's Blog:

Seth Godin