Introducing lenses. (By Seth Godin)

A LENS FILTERS LIGHT AND SHOWS US WHAT WE NEED TO SEE.

It focuses on some elements and hides others.
Lenses are often different and frequently personal. ("Don't wear your friend's glasses," mom shouts; "you might go blind!")

An online lens is a page, a single page, that highlights one person's view of the Web-not the whole Web, just one tiny part of it.

A lens gives context. When it succeeds, it delivers meaning.

A lens can tell you which books, records, and Web sites are the best way to appreciate Miles Davis. A lens can show you the ten most important things you need to know about copyright on
the Web. A lens can highlight the key players in the hospital crib business and give you the confidence you need to go ahead and buy something-without worrying about whether you missed a key player or didn't understand a critical choice.

A lens quickly answers the question "What do I need to know?"

I call the person who makes a lens a lensmaster. A lensmaster uses the tools available online to provide links, feeds, abstracts, and lists to users who are trying to make sense of a topic. These
are users in search of meaning, users in a hurry, users who won't wait.

Give users meaning, and they are far more likely to take action.

A lens is the perfect companion to a blog. A lens amplifies a blog; it doesn't replace it. A lens gives the surfer a window into a blog and into the world that surrounds it.

A lens doesn't pretend to deliver the complete truth, any more than a blog does. Instead, a lens says, "Here's my take on what you need to know about this topic."

The idea is simple: A lens provides meaning and the links necessary to take action on that meaning. A lens is a guide. Provide the meaning, and the surfer will go ahead and take the
action.

UNLIKE A BLOG, just about every single item in a lens is connected to something on the Web. Lenses don't hold content. They point to content. And like all good guides, they comment on
what they point to.

That's why we're launching a co-op called Squidoo.com.
Squidoo lets lensmasters build lenses quickly. Then it connects those lenses to other relevant lenses and provides a search engine to make it easy for any Web surfer to find the right lens at
the right time.

THE BENEFITS OF A LENS
include:

• Lenses are free.
• A royalty payment. Royalties are earned from all the keyword clicks, affiliate income, and referral fees the lenses generate.
• More traffic to your blog and your Web sites.
• A way to build credibility for yourself and your organization by serving as a trusted guide.
• Increased search engine rank for you and the pages you point to.

Lenses are free. You can start one at no cost, Squidoo will host it for you at no cost, and you can even generate a profit. Your royalty payments can be sent directly to you or to your favorite charity or organization. Our goal as a co-op is to pay as much money as we can to charities and to lensmasters.