Squidoo and the Spammers

If you haven’t seen the news around the Net, you should know that Squidoo is in a bit of search engine trouble due to spammers exploiting Squidoo lenses.

I already resent all the things that must be done to squash spammers and Internet thieves, and now it looks like Squidoo is suffering for the actions of the Black Hat SEO types out there who want to take advantage of a good thing.

As is typical with SEO issues, various blogs and forums around the web have various predictions as to what the long-term impact will be on the Squidoo platform.  I personally think it’s too soon to tell.

Other platforms have been penalized by the search engines, but then reinstated in the engines’ good graces after cleaning up the problems they have.  So, while some Squidoo lenses are reporting a huge drop in traffic, I think it’s too soon to tell if that situation is permanent.

Squidoo Fights Back

Squidoo has published two posts on their blog concerning the issue:  Update on Spam Part I and Part II.  It looks like they’re taking very aggressive steps to close the loopholes that have allowed the spammers to be so active on the site. 

I hope those efforts are successful.  Squidoo is a great platform for everything from promoting a hobby to promoting a business.  It offers a chance for people who would never otherwise participate much on the Internet to find their voice.

The situation will bear watching.  I, personally, have my fingers crossed!