Jingle Jangle everybody! Today is the "cat's meow" for me, Jaguar Julie. Yep, I am a cat lady so my take on this is, "HEY man, that's like 36 years in a cat's life!"

36 years??? Say what? Well, I am talking about those of us, YOU and ME, who are spending their times writing and connecting on the internet in various social media platforms. Like Posterous ... oh and Squidoo, Google blogger, Twitter, Stumpedia, and perhaps Facebook.

For me, I've been around a while. You might have noticed and then again, you might not have noticed. I started good golly some time in the 1990s ... I was experimenting with a personal home page over at CompuServe Our World. That was fun at the time. I even remember doing a celebrating memorial for Princess Diana. I was busy honing my craft on Angelfire and ThirdAge where I was blessed with lots of traffic that pushed my personal homepage into the top spot overall on that site for several years. Then, ThirdAge did away with those personal homepages. But that was OK! I mosied on over to StyleHive and then BAM, it was an awakening of sorts.

BzzAgent had been keeping me busy for a few years as an agent in the "word of mouth marketing" movement. Is movement the word I want? Hmmm. And, then one thing led to another ... BzzAgent introduced me to Squidoo! Oh Oh! That was the defining moment. That was March 21, 2006.

Today it's March 21, 2010 ... somebody said something about this being an equinox day, I think Wikipedia told me that this morning. Yes, I am celebrating a milestone today. Yes, it is my 4 year anniversary writing and creating content in lenses on the platform Squidoo. I've met some GOOD people along the way. I've earned some royalties. I've enjoyed the community spirit. And, today I am thankful for everything according to Squidoo.

Thank YOU hugely, Squidoo ... I am celebrating the POWER of Squidoo.

In internet life, one year can be thought of as a small eternity. Now, imagine if we quadruple that time and arrive at 4 years. Wow. FOUR years! I'm trying to fathom such a stretch of time in "internet life" being active, contributing, positive and productive on any one site.

Can you personally fathom that? Have you been involved in a site for 4 years or more? Well, come to think of it, I do know a handful of fellow Squidoo lensmasters who already celebrated their 4 year anniversaries in the 4th quarter of 2009. Bravo and hearty congratulations to my fellow writers and authors and creators and artisans. That is indeed remarkable.

So, here I am sitting at my computer on a Sunday which just happens to be Valentines Day. Oh, this would be another milestone for us. We were married on February 14th in 2003. That makes today our 7-year itch, er, anniversary ... seven years of wedded bliss. Well, I told you that I was a positive thinker and feeler.

Last night we returned to Casa Marina at Jacksonville Beach to celebrate our 7-year wedding anniversary. We were married there all those 7 years ago. A group of some 2 dozen of our friends joined us on that sunny day. It seems like yesterday.

So, I'm sitting here looking at the picture that Posterous captured for me this morning. People Who Matter ... the first theme/template for my lensography. That was a milestone day for me. Jaguar Julie Lensography was chosen as the first lensography to be lens of the day [LOTD]. That helped to boost the lens to #1 in People ... and ultimately to #10 overall. The very special lens also went on to be awarded a purple star for quality content.

Today is an important day of reflection. Reflecting on friends and meaning and anniversaries. Hope your day is equally blessed.

How many spam emails do you receive in any one day? How do you recognize what is spam, phishing, or unwanted email? Do you think that those people sending out those type of emails KNOW they are sending spam or unwanted; or do you actually think those people think what they are doing is 100% legal.

What do you do when you receive those type of spam, phishing or unwanted emails? After all, are we not entitled to take appropriate action when presented with spam or phishing emails?

If you have a moment, please be sure to click through and see some of the examples that I have included about the "well known" spam emails. It is important to note that unwanted types of emails have changed over the past few years as we have become more dependent on the internet.

For those of us who write as lensmasters on Squidoo, we are presented with the opportunity to report unwanted spam emails to HQ and let HQ get involved as a "second" opinion. HQ will then make the decision on whether or not to contact the other lensmaster with a standard cautionary email.

Are you a lensmaster who has received a spam-like or unwanted email? Have you ever reported such an email?

I have received hundreds if not a thousand or so emails when you consider I have been active on Squidoo for nearly 4 years. As I am writing this post, I'm thinking about the very few times I have actually taken the time to report such a spam email to HQ. It has only been a very small fraction of the spam emails that I receive that have ever gotten reported.

It's interesting to note that many lensmasters have written on the SquidU Forum about spammers spamming their plexo links throughout their lenses in addition to sending them unwanted, spam emails. Yes, I too have had my share of all this. I have had spammers add 5-6 links at a time, in one plexo module, to various weight loss, wedding, get your ex back, or similar type sites.

When and if I do report, it takes time away from my positive lensbuilding and lens-managing activities. What I am saying, is that it is always a carefully-thought about action that I should report something; there has never been any type of a knee-jerk reaction to doing a reporting. If I took time to report each and every unwanted spam contact email that I get from Squidoo, I would surely flood the small HQ staff. So, I just don’t do it.

Don’t you ever wonder WHY? Why is that person sending me this unwanted spam? How can they NOT realize that this IS spam? I don’t know. I’m thinking the person surely must be from a different “culture” than mine where spam is more acceptable??? I’m in the USA.

Scenario: Let’s consider that I receive a spammy, unwanted email. Instead of taking the action of reporting that to HQ [as I am told that I have the right to do] I decide to reply to the original sender that I didn’t find their email helpful or that I would prefer they don’t send me any of those emails. What do you think would happen? Well, aside from the fact that the original sender would now have your email address. Would that original sender reply back, “Sorry that I ‘bothered’ you.” Or, “I apologize for the unwanted email.” Do you think that the original sender would understand?

Bottom line. Don’t you agree that if the receiving “party” is an intelligent, well-read person that THEY can determine what they don’t want to receive in an email; i.e., that something is spammy or unwanted.

OK … so the shoe is on the other foot … yours! What are YOU going to do?

This Squidoo lens was originally created on May 23, 2008.

Oh, by the way, the following is a list of the various lenses which occupied the Top Spot #1 overall on Squidoo indicating the number of days in that number one spot for the months of May 2009 through December 2009:

Twitter Applications List You'll Ever Need = 44 days
Homeless in America = 41 days
Best Baked Macaroni and Cheese = 33 days
Bruce Lee - The Little Dragon = 23 days
Are you a Stay at Home Mom (or Dad) = 22 days
Top 10 Best Green Gift Ideas 2009 = 15 days
500 Hats On Squidoo = 13 days
Zazzle 101 ... How to make a profit on Zazzle = 13 days
Stuffed Cabbage = 12 days
Woodstock Music Festival 1969 = 10 days
Halloween Songs = 9 days
Kevin Skinner~WON~America's Got Talent = 5 days
100 Things I'm Thankful For = 1 day
Megan Fox's Tattoos = 1 day
The Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff (for Charity) = 1 day

###

Let’s talk about my experience with that Squidoo du Jour – the top spot on Squidoo … it’s been a once in a lifetime type of experience – that I never expected to happen – and one that has been the most meaningful experience with a couple of bumps in the road! Meaningful because Stuffed Cabbage is a TRIBUTE to my inspiring namesake grandmother, Julia Nagy. She taught me how to make Stuffed Cabbage, my favorite comfort food that evokes memories of grandma every time I think about it and every time I prepare the recipe.

On April 16, 2009, my Stuffed Cabbage lens earned a purple star -- it's that special award for lenses with quality content made by Giant Squids. On April 19, 2009, my Stuffed Cabbage lens made it into the #1 spot overall on Squidoo; occupying that spot for 24 days. That lens was originally created on December 21, 2007 – that’s just over two years ago. As of today, this lens has spent 499 days in the Top 100. Since the lens FIRST hit the Top 100 on Squidoo, it was “knocked out” of the Top 100 for ONE day [I do believe] – perhaps it was dinged by a Squid Angel? I don’t know.

On the morning of April 22, 2009, not quite a full 3 days after my Stuffed Cabbage lens achieved the top spot, I received the first of a number of emails from a “fellow” lensmaster. The email was not a short one, but said something like this – paraphrased to not directly quote any “privileged” communications:

Knock Knock, do you happen to see who is beating at your stuffed cabbage door? … I bet I can take over that top spot from you! I have to have that number one spot … this is as close as I have ever got! Are you gonna give it up to me … do I have to get creative and get that sucker from you? What do you say? Wanna fight for that number one spot? … My ‘top lens contender’ doesn't really deserve to be where it is. My traffic is down … the lens hasn't made a sale since Christmas! Only thing it is riding on right now is the purple star and the angel blessings!

… yada yada and so on … getting more unfriendly with each successive email!!!

It is important that I have included the “theme” of that initial email from a “fellow” lensmaster so as to make everyone understand MY FEELINGS on leaderboards and on spotlighting lensmasters’ lenses in the top spots.

In the past, Squidoo lensmasters had gotten used to seeing the very same lenses over and over in that top spot. I’m thinking that the algorithm at that time was MORE tuned to high traffic and perhaps clickouts. Unfortunately, THAT original algorithm kept the same lens(es) in the top spot for hundreds and hundreds of days. I’m pretty sure about that in the fact that as handful of prominent lenses were in the top spot in my first years on Squidoo. I never ever thought I COULD have a lens in that top spot!

I originally joined Squidoo on March 21, 2006, but really wasn’t making many lenses until I was challenged to go for the Giant Squid 100 Club in the Summer of 2007. Up to that time, I might have created 3 dozen or so lenses. But, I was pretty aware by the Summer of 2007 that the likelihood ANY of my quality lenses would ever occupy that top number one spot on Squidoo was SLIM to NONE.

Well what I want to say about all this is that life is not a competition or life should NOT be a competition. We are not here or on Squidoo as lensmasters to be battling with our “friends” or fellow lensmasters to knock them or their lenses out of coveted positions. Any sort of “competition” should really be with ourselves. Personally, I am always trying “harder” each and every day to be a better person.

LEADERBOARDS – I am not a fan of leaderboards which serve to point out those lensmasters now described as “tall poppies” by other lensmasters. I personally had NEVER heard the terminology of “tall poppies” until maybe one year ago. It actually was probably the first “tall poppy” on Squidoo who clued me in.

By the time that I was clued in that I might be a “tall poppy,” I had already experienced a one star rating here and there on some of my very early lenses. Then, out of the blue, something happened! It was identified as a lensmaster with multiple IDs from Brick, New Jersey who for some very odd and unknown reason, started one-starring hundreds of my lenses! I blogged on the Topicability blog about this phenomenon. They even came back weeks later with new IDs to resume their one-starring activity! Could it have been because of the leaderboards?

Well, since that one-starring activity, I’ve had my lens topics “imitated” … seeing many lenses on the same topics as my lenses. Imagine too that a squid angel or many squid angels might come along and bless that “newer” lens by the other lensmaster? That can surely put a damper on the day. Even some lensmasters have “encouraged” other lensmasters to come along and look at the top lenses and do lenses on the same topics!!! Personally, I do not recommend this kind of imitation – I encourage uniqueness and originality!

So, we are into a new year – twenty-ten – 2010. What are your goals for this year? What would you like to accomplish? Did you actually get a lens into that top spot – well congratulations to you. Personally, I would like to see the leaderboards done away with to focus more on uniqueness and originality. I’ve suggested that there be different ways of looking at multiple lenses and lensmasters within the topics or categories.

Reach for the stars … and be the best that YOU can be! Be original and unique … we are all unique individuals and should be celebrating ourselves and our originality and uniqueness. Reach out and hug a friend. Reach out and thank a fellow writer or lensmaster for the inspiration. Reach for the stars!

Can you believe this? Believe in fate, karma, kismet etc.? Well I do -- I am a very spiritual person who believes in things like angels, guardian angels and spirits who are with you to support you and protect you. Just the good stuff you know.

Well I've written about the beautiful Make a Wish bracelets and other jewelry ... but do you know what? I had a bit of a secret wish that I wouldn't mind receiving one of these Make a Wish -- Personalized -- Bracelets for a Christmas present. They aren't too pricey, but just pretty eye-catching with all the bells and whistles of the stars!

So, I come to find that our company has purchased a number of these make a wish bracelets that were personalized with the us ladies of the office -- and that they engraved the company name and year on the back side. Pretty cool for an office gift. Hopefully, the company won't ask me to report this on my W-2 for the year?

I'm thinking this is cool that you can wish for something and it happens to be a make a wish item -- circular reference perhaps?

So do you wish upon a star or perhaps a wishbone? I must admit that I have made many a wish in my life time and have even tried chicken wishbones. It wasn't good luck for that chicken though huh?

Have you seen the cute little make a wish bracelets? These make great stocking stuffer gifts or just a unique little gift for that special person in your life who might believe that wishes can and do come true!

I like the concept behind these make a wish bracelets. And, I like the daintiness -- is that a word? -- of the tiny sterling silver charms -- the daisy, heart, peace symbol, star and wishbone! I'm picking the star. How about you?

Have you made a wish ... did it come true? Mine did!

Isn't it the story that you work and work and work, take one wrong step and where are you?

Why Back to Square One! This expression use to drive me bonkers in that corporate world. I've been in that corporate world for many years -- no, wait, I'm a work-at-home-workaholic now! So I've left the corporate world for my friends. They know where to reach me -- I'm now working like a freelance doctor who is on call 24/7.

So, I thought it was interesting that this particular Squidoo lens is once again sitting at the very bottom of my lensrank at a cool 271,198 -- wow! Isn't that one number?

Square One -- Been There, and MOST Definitely, I Have Done That! What about you? What is your take on all that square one jazz?

Have you experienced the thrill of a flyover / fly over of military aircraft at any sporting event? The thrilling moment for us was experienced at a Jacksonville Jaguars football game. After the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem, we know to turn our eyes to the skies above our Section 146 in the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Normally, I have no idea what to expect -- just that we will have a flyover. This particular game, I have got to say that the flyover was so "frigging / friggin' awesome" that it prompted me to literally drop everything on Monday morning and write about it. It was an inspiring, ah moment.

And, here is the very video of that flyover -- thanks to another Jaguars fan who captured that incredible moment on video and uploaded it to YouTube for all to see -- over and over again.

This morning, it was my start of the day. I sat and replayed that less than 2 minute video -- and watched those four F-15s flyover. Wow, I say!

My dear Amazon dot com -- how do I love thee? Well let me tell ya!

Amazon is a mega-brand that is the go-to resource for ecommerce for online shoppers.

Dear Amazon dot com, I've been meaning to take some time to tell you how much I love you! You have exceeded my expectations -- daily! You are there for me each day without fail. So, I am taking this opportunity to tell you what you mean to me.

Topicability readers, today we continue on our discussions about Twitter and Twitter Etiquette with a very special interview with GypsyOwl aka Deborah Bryan. Topicability is providing this interview today to help those of us who might need a little help with our Twitter updates -- how to not flood Twitter; how to send meaningful Twitter updates; bottom line: what are some of the do's and don'ts of Twitter Etiquette?

GypsyOwl was selected after a rather extensive analysis of the Twitter Score for a number of Squidoo lensmasters using Twitter. According to the Twitter Score Report, GypsyOwl ranks at a 7.8 out of 10. Of all Squidoo lensmasters analyzed, GypsyOwl had the highest Twitter score! JaguarJulie ranked at a 7.3 out of 10. Quite a few though could be found with a Twitter score of under 3.0!

Deborah, thank you for taking time today to agree to this interview for Topicability. So, let's begin, shall we?

Q. How do you use Twitter in your daily life?

A. Twitter has several applications in my daily life.

• It is a great way to stay connected with family, friends, and associates.
• I use it to touch base with Team members during project development & deployment,
• My clients use it to alert me to emails (since I use an email management strategy) so I will retrieve timely updates at un-scheduled times.

Q. How do you promote your Squidoo lenses through Twitter?

A. I have a variety of processes in place to promote my Squidoo lenses through Twitter. A couple of these include:

• Posterous account - Auto Tweets to my SquidGypsyOwl Twitter profile. My Posterous account showcases many lensmaster's lenses. I submit a lens sighting (by email) to the account and have an auto post installed so it will post to my SquidGypsyOwl Twitter profile.
• Direct Tweets - Through my GypsyOwl Twitter profile. Direct tweets are about 'sections' of a lens (the updated portion or the most popular section). For this I will create a tweet or click on the "twitter" icon near the section I want to promote on the lens and then revise the tweet.

Q. Do you promote your Squidoo referral link through Twitter?

A. Yes. When I have a promotion which requires registration on Squidoo to participate, I will incorporate the Squidoo Referral Link into the tweet. This is a convenience measure so people will not have to search around to find access to leave comments on the Squidoo site.

Q. Do you have some thoughts on best practices of Twitter?

A. Personally, I believe Twitter use can be best compared to a dinner party at a highly honored and respected friend’s house. You will want to engage, roam around the room, meet people, help people when you can, introduce people to each other, and build relationships. You will always be thinking about your friend and the general rules of conduct she embraces.

Q. What does Twitter Etiquette mean to you?

A. Twitter Etiquette is defined in many ways and interpreted in over 82 thousand different ways. Each user of the service has an opinion and realistically it would be impossible to align with all of these perspectives. Embracing the diversity is the most important aspect of the Twitterverse, which in essence is the reason Twitter, has become a central portal for International communications.

Q. Do you recommend using automated tweets?

A. Automated tweeting services can provide a variety of benefits and they can also be the failing force for users who do not moderate the usage. The following are my personal do’s and don’ts for automated tweets.

Do:

• Set up an automated welcome message (DM). Ask your new follower to send you an @ message. Personally check each new follower (to limit spammers and “follow me - I’ll follow you” scams) and select to follow each one after you have reviewed their profile.
• Send announcements (not about your blog, Squidoo, etc) that will be of interest to your followers. Use this to send 2-3 tweets during different times of a day (one day – two at the most) to ensure your announcement has been seen by a great deal of your followers.
• Set up your #followfriday stream (if you participate) which will introduce your followers to a few people you recommend and include “why” you recommend them. Spread these out, hourly for example, over the day (Friday only).
• Set up Tips about your niche and spread them out (once a day or twice a day).

Don’t

• Self promote or include any links in the automated welcome message. Do not auto follow new followers (see “Do” section).
• Automate self promotional messages, repetitive “read my stuff,” or what could be called “re-tweeting yourself.”
• No need to include a links in your Tips, because if your followers want to find your website or blog they simply click on your Twitter name and find the link on your Twitter profile.

Q. What about what they say -- you are what you Tweet?

A. The most important thing to remember about Twitter is everyone is listening. It is easy to believe at times that there are only a handful of people seeing your tweets. But, the truth is they are being seen over and over again through various applications around the world. Each message finds its way into a time capsule which can be opened at any time by anyone anywhere in the world.

Q. Can you sum up how you think of Twitter?

A. Bottom line, it is really about building relationships. Are the majority of your followers developing respect for you and trust in your recommendations? Are you beginning to remember the names of the people behind the avatar? When you meet new people on Twitter and start to get to know them, do you think of someone else who would be a great recommendation for them?

Thank you GypsyOwl aka Deborah Bryan for your insight on Twitter Etiquette.
GypsyOwl on Twitter | SquidGypsyOwl on Twitter | GypsyOwl on Posterous | GypsyOwl is a Squidoo Lensmaster and Giant Squid 100 Club member. Deborah Bryan has been a member since February 19, 2007, has rated 767 lenses, favorited 792, and has created 163 lenses from scratch. Deborah Bryan donates their royalties to Covenant House.

More about the Author of Topicability, JaguarJulie:
JaguarJulie on Twitter | JaguarJulie Blog On and On | JaguarJulie on Posterous | JaguarJulie is a Squidoo Lensmaster and Giant Squid 100 Club member. JaguarJulie has been a member since March 21, 2006, has rated 5,305 lenses, favorited 510, and has created 489 lenses from scratch.

A Twitter Etiquette Interview with Squidoo Lensmaster GypsyOwl

Topicability readers, today we continue on our discussions about Twitter and Twitter Etiquette with a very special interview with GypsyOwl aka Deborah Bryan. Topicability is providing this interview today to help those of us who might need a little help with our Twitter updates -- how to not flood Twitter; how to send meaningful Twitter updates; bottom line: what are some of the do's and don'ts of Twitter Etiquette?