SquidU

We asked you to send in your burning anonymous questions - what do you really want to know about Squidoo and how we run? We got some pretty interesting ones, and were able to track down all the members of our Squidoo team to get their input. Here’s what they had to say!

(Questions relating to modules, bugs, promotion, etc are answered through SquidU, email, and the Answer Deck.)

1. I know there are four programmers working on Squidoo - Gil, Corey, Josh, and Blake - but what do each of them REALLY do?
Josh: I design stuff and then code it (html, css, javascript) before handing it off to Blake and/or Gil for back end development.
Blake: I help turn ideas into reality at Squidoo. I work closely with Josh (he makes things look good) and Gil (he makes sure they work right and fast). I especially like building modules and features that help connect with other sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, iTunes, etc.
Gil: At Squidoo my focus is on keeping our servers running speedily and fighting the ever-present spammers and hackers. (We don’t call him GilToTheRescue for nothing!)
Corey: Well, not sure how I was pegged as a programmer… I’m not, but I really wish I was! What I really do? I maintain Squidoo’s development schedule; develop ideas for extending the Squidoo platform, spec them and discuss them with various Squids to decide what’s next; work with most of our partners (like eBay and Amazon, and all the ad partners), and handle operations stuff (the more boring stuff no one wants to know about).
Kimberly: After all that, I get to spread the word and teach lensmasters how to use it. Then I get to show off all the awesome things they’re doing with it!

2. When they’re not working on Squidoo, what kind of fun side projects are they working on?
Corey: As with work, I put a lot on my plate when it comes to play: Hanging out with my wife, daughters and dog (my favorite thing to do), driving (in warm weather) on the slow and scenic path in our ‘70 Karmann Ghia convertible (with my wife, daughter and/or dog), playing my bass, reading a ton, seeing live music as much as possible, and running a site for bass players called notreble.com
Blake: Some of my side projects and hobbies include a blog, some web sites where I experiment with latest tools and tech, reading (I love my Kindle) and playing the Lego games on the Wii with my kids.
Josh: I’m a musician (I play the bass trombone). I also design and maintain websites for musicians and music-related companies. I enjoy video games, reading, movies, food, griping about bad drivers, sarcasm, and above all, hanging out with my family and friends.
Gil: When I’m not at my desk, you can usually find me snowboarding, off-roading, hiking, climbing, and enjoying everything else the Rocky Mountains have to offer. I could talk all day about playing guitar, practicing martial arts, and traveling…but I’d rather do them!

3. How many times a year does Seth fly?
Seth flies every day. Telekenesis and astral projection…

4. How many cups of coffee a day DOES Megan drink?
Two fewer than Kimberly and Corey, but three more than Seth. (If a train leaves the station at 12:05…)

5. What cool features do you see Squidoo having in 5 years?
Gil: Telekinesis-powered module editing, automated first result placement in the major search engines (”just pick a keyword and hit Go”), and a short-circuit switch that fries the computers of Plexo spammers. Or not?
Kimberly: Ditto on the spam busters. Of course, Squidoo will be the online publishing format of choice and a household name, right up there with “I Facebooked you and I Tweeted about my weekend.” Plus we’ll have all sorts of great new learning and sharing tools, but by then they’ll be 4 1/2 years old!

6. Why lensmaster volunteers?
Even before we had official volunteers, we had volunteers. When you know a good thing, you can’t help but share it. Squidoo was built as a social site, and by having peers help spread the word, lensmasters are sharing a million more ideas than just our tiny team of 6 can come up with. Plus, your peers are helping set the rules and standards for Squidoo. It isn’t just us saying you can’t spam; community members’ expectations account for a chunk of our guidelines for greatness. And of course they account for our greatest lenses.

7. How does Seth come up with ideas for his blog?
Seth: The ideas for my blog came from the future. I have 200 left, then I have to stop.

8. How do you all work so well together even though you’re spread out over 6 states and 4 time zones?
Mostly we read each others minds, supplemented via email and IM.

Didn’t get a chance to ask your question that only the SquidTeam can answer? Send them to kimberly at squidoo.com. Have questions about using the site? Try SquidU Forum and The Answer Deck, our two volunteer driven resources that get you answers fast.

Make today super!
~Kimberly Dawn Wells
YOUR Community & Charity Organizer