Think You Should Try Squidoo...? I say Squidon't!

10 replies
Squidoo was one of the first places I made money online. I published a lens about how to use Netspend prepaid debit cards to verify a Paypal account and got a crapload of signups. Of course, only a small percentage of those who signed up actually followed through and loaded their card with money after activating it.

Still, I made like $500 from this alone. I remember how exciting it was.

I started using it before I had my own site, but even after I got a site of my own, I liked to still use Squidoo for unrelated promotions (like the Netspend offer).

Alexa Smith warned me and others on this forum that Squidoo are oftentimes all over the board when it comes to changing rules and deleting lenses. Turns out she was right.

I signed in to find almost all of my lenses locked up and the reasons were ridiculous. Some of the funnier ones were "overuse of HTML" and "suspicious inbound links."

Suspicious inbound links!? Seriously?? The funniest part is that Squidoo goes on to explain that there is nothing you can do about this one, as you can't control who links to your lens. Uh...welcome to the internet. lol

I deleted my account and won't be looking back. My lenses had hundreds of likes and were nothing but top quality, so it's their loss.

Some will still be able to make money with them, but I left purely based on the way they are treating their long time top users and for their poor handling of their new policies. Good riddance!
#squidont #squidoo
  • Profile picture of the author usfemail
    I totally agree with you. I also was using Squidoo to create an income online. However, recently with all the changes they have been making.

    I had several of my lenses locked as well. There is no explanation as to why they are being deleted.

    I no longer focus on Squidoo. Thank goodness that was not my only source of income.

    I no longer use Squidoo as a source of income. Although I still did make some income last month, I am sure that it is going to come to a halt.

    I don't even log into my squidoo account anymore.

    Sorry to hear about your Squidoo lenses.
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  • Profile picture of the author StarkFrank
    I don't know more about squidoo, but I agree with your decision in that case, and go ahead, don't look back.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by ashloren View Post

    My lenses had hundreds of likes and were nothing but top quality, so it's their loss.
    Undeniably.

    And you're putting it mildly/modestly, too: (at least) a couple of your lenses were tremendous (and you know it's not like me to rave about people's lenses!). I think some/much of the valuable information on the one I liked best is perhaps on your main blog anyway (of which I continue to be an admirer!)?
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    • Profile picture of the author Bellerine
      As a merchant that accepts PayPal, if the lens was about a way to circumvent their verification process with false/temporary information, I'm glad it's gone.

      Sorry if that was harsh, and I, of course, wish you personally nothing but the best, but the amount of money honest businesspeople lose to fraud from such scams is disgusting and shameful.
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      • Profile picture of the author ashloren
        Originally Posted by Bellerine View Post

        As a merchant that accepts PayPal, if the lens was about a way to circumvent their verification process with false/temporary information, I'm glad it's gone.

        Sorry if that was harsh, and I, of course, wish you personally nothing but the best, but the amount of money honest businesspeople lose to fraud from such scams is disgusting and shameful.
        So is the stifling of adult content in corporate America (i.e. Paypal's "Acceptable Use" Policy which apparently lumps adult products with gambling sites, pharmaceuticals and firearms, to name a few).

        Any company that penalizes sexually themed products simply for being sexually themed (and despite being perfectly legal) can go to hell for all I care, and I'd be glad they were gone too.

        I've never scammed anyone nor am I a fraud.
        Signature
        -Ashly Lorenzana
        AshlyLorenzana@gmail.com
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        • Profile picture of the author Bellerine
          Originally Posted by ashloren View Post

          So is the stifling of adult content in corporate America (i.e. Paypal's "Acceptable Use" Policy which apparently lumps adult products with gambling sites, pharmaceuticals and firearms, to name a few).

          Any company that penalizes sexually themed products simply for being sexually themed (and despite being perfectly legal) can go to hell for all I care, and I'd be glad they were gone too.

          I've never scammed anyone nor am I a fraud.
          Issues you take with PayPal's policies are completely separate from utilizing PayPal to rob legitimate businesses.

          I am glad to hear you never scammed anyone. The description of your Squidoo lens sounded quite a bit like "How to Falsely Verify a PayPal Account." Such information is generally used to steal from people. So you can understand my confusion.

          Gripes with PayPal shouldn't be taken out on honest people trying to make a living.

          Good luck with your outside-of-Squidoo ventures.
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          • Profile picture of the author ashloren
            Originally Posted by Bellerine View Post

            Issues you take with PayPal's policies are completely separate from utilizing PayPal to rob legitimate businesses.

            I am glad to hear you never scammed anyone. The description of your Squidoo lens sounded quite a bit like "How to Falsely Verify a PayPal Account." Such information is generally used to steal from people. So you can understand my confusion.

            Gripes with PayPal shouldn't be taken out on honest people trying to make a living.

            Good luck with your outside-of-Squidoo ventures.
            Couldn't agree more with you on those points. I have never been one to condone ripping off legitimate business people, that's not my style.
            Signature
            -Ashly Lorenzana
            AshlyLorenzana@gmail.com
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfe655
    What will you use in place of Squidoo?
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    • Profile picture of the author ashloren
      Originally Posted by wolfe655 View Post

      What will you use in place of Squidoo?
      Luckily I had already moved onto bigger and better things. Now I'm mostly making money by providing writing services and collaborating on a couple of products.
      Signature
      -Ashly Lorenzana
      AshlyLorenzana@gmail.com
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    No one will remember Squidoo in two years. The day they converted their links to nofollow was the beginning of the end.
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    -
    Ron Rule
    http://ronrule.com

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