A reader asked why I built a specific Squidoo lens, but I’ll answer with a more general answer.

I’ve always believed that member contributed content was the key to online sites. This goes back to my first BBS in 1979 and the followup BBS which was entirely fiction: The Storyboard. I then worked extensively with Searchlight BBS in the ‘90s because it brought the features of a BBS to the web. I contributedcontent.com will someday get my attention.

So I write Squidoo lenses for my own interest and fun. My first Squidoo lens was on Marshall McLuhan which is some indication of my deep interest on the subject on new technology. I’m very intrigued by how Squidoo will do in the longterm. How will Squidoo work when the Web 2.0 spotlight is removed? Will Squidoo work as a site because typically people only view a few pages on a site and move on? Will Squidoo lens primarily work as search results? How do lenses fit into the trackback and tag world of the blogosphere? And I really don’t mean to ask these questions specifically about Squidoo, but about member contributed content. This is all part of the reason I like creating Squidoo lenses.