google

A while back, I did a post on the Hey Monkeybrain pagebuilder at Squidoo. It lets you host a debate on whatever topic you choose. To try it out, I made a fun page about how "Google is Evil." And guess what... Now, that Evil Google Monkeybrain page is in the Top 50 at Monkeybrain debate central! In fact, as of today, it is Number 9! The Squidoo team sent me this nice Monkeybrain badge to show off, so here it is. If you haven't tried Squidoo yet, you should check it out. It's free, easy, addictive, and completely legal! Hey, have you said "Monkeybrain" lately? It's kind of fun. :-)

Thanks to Lewis for the heads-up on the latest page-builder from Squidoo! It's called Hey MonkeyBrain, and it's just as much fun as it sounds.

All you have to do is come up with a statement that you'd like to debate. Something like, "Innies are Better Than Outies," or "Britney Spears is a Genius," or "Ninjas Rule; Pirates Drool." You get the idea. Type in your main idea, add a few supporting details, click the magic page-builder button, and invite all your friends to join in the fight. The best part about the debate format is that the comments generated by visitors keep the content of the page fresh and unique.

Also, Squidoo is a revenue-sharing site. You build pages (called lenses) for free, and Squidoo pays you a percentage of revenue generated by traffic to the site. Let me warn you: Squidoo is addictive. Even without the royalty payments, building lenses is really fun!

You can visit my new MonkeyBrain page on the topic Google is Trying to Take Over the World, and sound off in the debate. While you're there, make your own page and get in on the Squidoo fun!

The good old Golden Rule. Really, it works online just like it does in real life. Sounds too low-tech to work in the virtual world? Well, it's not. I'll prove it in five easy steps.

1. First, develop a nice, friendly, informative profile page on yourself. This can be your myspace page, your blog, your Squidoo lensmaster page, or whatever. You don't have to give out your personal information. Include a link back to your blog, or whatever else you'd like visitors to click on.
2. Then do some surfing. Look for blogs or pages that are well-written and interesting. Find something you really like. Have fun!
3. Don't just lurk. Participate in polls, give some stars, add some appreciative comments to the guestbooks. Be genuine. Be kind. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Remember the Golden Rule, and treat others the way you would like to be treated.
4. Usually, you can add a link to your comment. This is where you put the address to your profile page, or directly to your blog. Don't use a spammy, junky link. People don't like being tricked into clicking on spam!
5. If you've been kind, people will read your insightful comment and want to know more about you. They will click on your link, visit your page, and maybe even leave you a nice comment too. Perhaps they'll check out your sidebars and ads. If your page is especially wonderful, you might even get a Digg or a bookmark, or even a regular subscriber. Who knows -- you might even make a friend!

Give the Golden Rule a try, and see if you get good results. Even if you get one quality visitor for every ten quality visits you make, you will have made Cyberspace a friendlier place. And that's good for everybody!