Pinging the Abyss

I've just started the Rebel Squid, a new blog about writing on the web. Its long-term purpose is to get people to realize that they need to branch out instead of publishing all their content on one vaguely creepy, secretive, hierarchically structured network platform.

Some of the authors who write for Squidoo are good friends of mine and I have nothing but respect for them, but I wish they were less involved with this company.

Squidoo doesn't offer detailed earnings reports (although it does take a 50% commission on Amazon and eBay sales made from individual member-published pages).

It has an inner circle of devoted volunteers who spend huge amounts of time promoting the network and mentoring new members. The company and its inner circle urge "lens-masters" (active members of the network) to crank out 50-100 web pages of original content to be published on the Squidoo domain... for unspecified rewards.

It's a pretty sketchy operation, and at this point I would not encourage anyone to publish any more than a page or two on Squidoo. Use it to promote your blog or your business, if you want; that shouldn't take more than one page and maybe half an hour of your time.

Disagree. I think the current recruitment system in the United States both creates and sustains socioeconomic inequality, but making military service mandatory for all citizens wouldn't solve this problem. I'd rather increase scholarships and other financial aid for kids who can't afford college, so they won't have to join the military in order to get an education.

... so I can punch you.