How To Use The Facebook Fan Page Module On Squidoo

Squidoo offers a Facebook Fan Page module, but it can be a bit tricky to figure out. This is a quick walkthrough of how to add your Facebook fan page of choice to your Squidoo lens.

First, find and add the module - you'll have to search for it by hitting the little 'browse modules' link. It is called the 'Facebook Fan Box' so search under 'f' or use 'face' or 'box' to find it quickly.

The Facebook Fan Box only needs one thing to work - the identifier number. This is the unique digit that gets assigned to fanpages, as they get created. It must be a Fan PAGE - not a group, or 'normal' profile!

New fan pages are easy, because until you get a certain number of fans, that number is right there in the URL. But after a certain point (currently 35, but it changes) people can rename the page link to something relevant and easier to remember. Like my own fan page http://www.facebook.com/flynnthecat

This means no number!

There are a few different ways to get the identifier number. So fear not, I'll show you! I'll be using my Squidoo page on Mother Gothel (cause it needed the update) and the Mother Gothel Fan Page - which has the URL http://www.facebook.com/TangledMotherGothel

Sometimes when loading, you'll see it flash past and change in your browser address bar - in which case, ctrl+z in the bar should let you find it again (varies with browsers). Or older links to the page will still have it, or the RSS feed.

The most reliable is to copy the link of the profile image itself and look at that link to find the page's number. This is the example I'll walk you through now...

You can do this by right clicking on the picture and then picking either 'image location' or 'image URL' and then pasting the link somewhere to have a look at it.



Or by choosing 'image info' or 'Properties' (the different names depend on whether you're using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or another browser), and then you'll get a pop-up box of some kind, with the image URL somewhere in it (these will also look different, depending what you're using).


The image location of the example I'm using, Mother Gothel, is this

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs478.snc4/50556_144752412231185_8763_n.jpg

You want the longest single number
50556_144752412231185_8763_n.jpg

Copy 144752412231185 and paste it into the module box and save it.

The Facebook Fan box widget may not always appear in the Workshop - in fact it never does, the first time it's added, that I've seen. Publish your lens to see the widget, check it worked, then edit further if you need to.

This is what it looks like published (with 'activity' turned on)

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