A Purple Star Surprise

I find it interesting that we never really know how someone feels about or evaluates a lens we do. To some extent we know by the lens ranking, but that can be somewhat contrived with the proper advertising. I have always found it interesting that my top ranked lenses were usually lenses I would not have anticipated to be as highly ranked as they were.

So, imagine my surprise when out of the blue, I get an email saying I had received a purple star for one of my sites. I have been so busy with family and other endeavors lately that I have not had the time to be as concerned with Squidoo and my lenses as I previously did. (A temporary status, I hope.)

When I first did my lens on my home town of Rome, Georgia -- it was a labor of love. I had no marketing content and was not concerned with whether anyone cared or not. I did it because I enjoyed doing it. Yes, I hoped it would be of interest to some, especially those from my home town. Yet I never would have considered it to be of interest to as many people as seem to have visited the lens since I first published it.

So first, thanks for those who considered it worthy of the purple star. It is an honor.

Second, to those who wonder how they can get a purple star for a lens they make, I have some advice. Don't seek after it. Enjoy what you do; do every lens as a labor of love; and let your peers evaluate it when it comes to their attention. If it is really a quality lens (from their viewpoint, of course), you will get the appropriate reward when your time comes.

Although, I am proud of the lens and thankful for the purple star, I would not change anything in it purposely to seek an award. I'm having fun and the purple star is simply a mark of how much fun I had creating this lens.


I hope that other giants will have the pleasurable feeling of receiving a purple star award for their favorite lens. With or without the awards though, keep enjoying the journey. My journey has just begun.