Purple Stars

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My Purple Stars on Squidoo

What are Purple Stars on Squidoo? According to Megan Casey, Squidoo's Editor in Chief: "Purple Stars are fairy dust. They're magic. They're surprises. You'll never know when or where they'll arrive...."

Purple Stars are no longer one of the perks of being a Giant Squid, so anyone can nominate a lens, and anyone can win one.

When the Purple Star programme was introduced on Squidoo, a lot of questions were asked. Squidoo Lensmasters are on the whole a pretty fair minded bunch (at least the ones I know are) and there were fears that a new set of artificial boosts may cause an unfair imbalance in the Squidoo Lens rankings. I was one of those who was worried. However, once it was clarified that the lenses would only get a small boost, then my concerns were allayed.

The Squidoo Purple Star programme has really taken off. I don't think I know anyone who has not got one of those warm and fuzzy feelings when they have received an email from the Giant Squid Organisers, Bonnie and Robin, to tell them they have received a Purple Star.

I am so proud of the Purple Stars I have received so here they are, all in their own Purple Star Lensography.

Do you have a Purple Star?

What do you think about Purple Stars?

What does having a Purple Star mean to you?

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1: Bullying at Primary School

Purple Star awarded: 02 July 2009

School bullying

A Purple Star was awarded to Bullying at Primary School on the same day that I was informed that I had become a Giant Squid! To say it was quite a day is probably an understatement.

This was the second lens I ever published - it was due to be my first lens but I got side-tracked when I met BBC Radio personality Janey Lee Grace. My bullying lens was one of the reasons I joined Squidoo. I wanted to share the story of the incessant bullying my daughter, Sparky, suffered over three years and what we did to finally put a stop to it.

The lens not only shares our story but also outlines the steps that parents can take to put a stop to Bullying, particularly when they feel unsupported by the school. There is also a poem that Sparky wrote, aged 10, while she was being bullied and also a link to the diary I was advised to keep - even now, it is very painful to read.

To receive a Purple Star for this lens was very emotional for Sparky and me.

Image: Crying Girl by tawnybarker on Zazzle

2: 10 Best Plants for Bees

Purple Star awarded: 09 July 2009

Weigelia is a great plant for Bees

Having only just been awarded a Purple Star for Bullying at Primary School, it was a huge surprise to get another, just a week later, for 10 Best Plants for Bees!

This was the first lens that I made and went out into my garden to take my own pictures for the lens. Bees are not the most patient of photographic models, so while I got some great photos of the flowering shrubs in my garden, often all I would get was the blurred back end of a bee!

3: Auditory Processing Disorder

Purple Star awarded: 13 August 2009

Auditory Processing Disorder affects 1 in 10 children

My lens about Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is another very personal lens. Published on 12 August 2008, it chronicles the process and battle we had to get a diagnosis for our youngest daughter Lizzie, who clearly was struggling at school and no one could tell us why. The lens is my attempt to get the word out and make more parents aware of the condition.

It is believed that APD affects 1 in 10 children and yet remains one of the most difficult of learning difficulties to diagnose, because so few people working with children are aware of the condition. Yet, diagnosis can make a huge difference and the strategies needed to help them are often very low cost (and in many cases no cost) to implement.

This is the only one of my own lenses that I have personally nominated for a Purple Star. I did it because I already had a Purple Star for Sparky's lens Bullying at Primary School and I wanted to redress the balance and get one for Lizzie too!

4: Environmentally Friendly Halloween Lights

Purple Star awarded: 05 October 2009

Happy Halloween Poster

Environmentally Friendly Halloween Lights was the first lens I made where I tried to narrow my niche. I am a great believer in "Going Green" and like to relate environmentally friendly ideas to holidays and products.

My research elicited the fact that after Christmas, Halloween is the holiday that sees the most extensive use of lights. I was very pleased to discover that it is extremely easy to cut our consumption of electricity by buying easily available low enery LED lights.

This lens was also the first time I turned to Zazzle for illustrations for a lens.

The Purple Star was not just a personal accolade but an acknowledgement of the huge importance of finding environmentally friendly products that enable us to not only enjoy holidays like Halloween, but also conserve energy and cut our carbon footprint.

Who manages the Purple Star programme?

Giant Squid Organisers

Giant Squid Organisers Bonnie and Robin manage the Purple Star programme on Squidoo. Each week they sift through the nominations and make the awards. Lensmasters are notified via email.

Controversy about how Purple Stars are awarded?

An issue raised in the SquidU Forum

Suggestions have been made in the SquidU Forum that it would be fairer if there was a Purple Star Review Committee, rather than leave the awarding of Purple Stars to the Giant Squid Organisers, Bonnie and Robin.

What do you think? If you think the system is unfair, then tell us what, in your view, would make it more fair.

What would you change? Even if you think the current system is fair, is there anything else you would like to see added to the programme?

Is the current process of awarding Purple Stars fair?

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Yes, the current system of Bonnie and Robin managing the Purple Star programme is perfectly fair

StacyBirch says:

It's fine, I just wish I had one, purple is my favorite color.

favored1 says:

More is not always better. Keep it the way it is.

CanHealthInsure says:

I think it's fair the way it is.

patsydoo says:

They doa great job - change is not always a good thing!

jvillekid says:

Bonnie and Robin are doing an excellent job...keep it the same!

daria369 says:

I never even gave a thought to the fairness of any Squidoo awards. I just mind my own business and try to do my best with every new lens - and am thrilled whenever I receive a blessing or another purple star.

Tipi says:

Bonnie and Robin are doing an outstanding job with the Purple Stars.

Donnette says:

I think both Bonnie and Robin are outstanding human beings. The fact that they give of so much of their time to review what I am sure are hundreds of nominations for Purple Stars, speaks for itself. They know what a top-notch lens looks like, what it needs to contain and how it should be presented. They are the perfect Squids for the Purple Star Programme.

Khaleeka says:

They do an awesome job at awarding purple stars and others probably don't realize what a tough job that is.

BarryHuddleston says:

If a person earns the right to become a giant squid, then they have the right to vote people to a purple star.

No, it would be more fair to spread the responsibility of awarding Purple Stars amongst a review committee

musicaldreamer says:

There are some really great lenses out there that I would love to nominate for a purple star

Draconius says:

I have to say that Bonnie and Robin do an excellent job and they do a lot for Squidoo but I will also say that with a site of this magnitude that some help would probably be appreciated.

resabi says:

My comment can go on either side but I'm putting it on the empty side to balance... I think Bonnie and Robin do a great job of awarding Purple Stars. I'm also thrilled with the new system that allows recipients to take part in the process. There are lots of lenses on Squidoo!

dotcomboy says:

I would like to see a 'Lensmasters' Choice' award where the Lenmasters-at-large vote among a selection of Lenses

 
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5: Trooping the Colour

Purple Star awarded: 22 October 2009

Queen Elizabeth II - Trooping of the Colour

Trooping the Colour was published on 19 May 2009, as part of the first ever RocketMoms Challenge, when the task for Week 5 was to make a holiday or commemorative lens. The temptation with Father's Day approaching was to make a lens on that topic, but I already had my lens I love you Dad, so I went for something very, very different.

Trooping the Colour is probably the most colourful military pageant we have here in England and celebrates the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's Birthday is actually in April, but the official celebration does not take place until June, in the hope that the weather will be dry and sunny - it often is!

It was such a surprise to receive my Purple Star for this lens as it is one that had ceased to be topical for that year. I know I have Tipi to thank for the nomination.

6: Christmas at AJ's

Purple Star awarded: 24 November 2009

Christmas at AJs

Published in good time for Christmas, on 09 October 2009, Christmas at AJ's was the first lens where I ended up with contributions from five family members. I knew I wanted to publish a lens about a traditional Christmas but was not quite sure what direction to take.

It was during a visit to my parents, I got talking to them about what Christmas was like for them as children and it provided me with some interesting material. I even found a photo on Flickr of the street in Wales where my mother grew up and got permission to use it. I continued the narrative with my Christmas memories and then rounded it off with notes written by some of my children, who tell us what Christmas at AJ's means to them.

I had already learned from the interest generated by my bullying and APD lenses that personal stories often do very well on Squidoo and it was very rewarding to see the positive response to this family and traditional Christmas lens, as it has received several awards in addition to the Purple Star.

7: The Year of the Tiger

Purple Star awarded: 19 January 2010

2010 The Year of the Tiger

It was a lovely surprise to receive a Purple Star for the The Year of the Tiger only six days after it was published! Following a little bit of detective work, I confirmed my suspicions that Kathy McGraw had nominated the lens, for which she receives my grateful thanks.

This lens has also been something of an experiment. I am continuing to develop my Zazzle store, AJ and Family and I want to explore the viability of not just creating lenses to showcase my products but also creating artwork and designs for specific use on my lenses. The upcoming Chinese New Year, when the Year of the Ox turns into The Year of the Tiger provided me with the exactly the right opportunity I was looking for.

Two digital art tigers were created especially for the lens, a Bengal Tiger and a White Tiger - because 2010 is The Year of the White Tiger (also known as The Year of the Metal Tiger). I think it is rather spooky that one of the colours for people born in The Year of the Tiger is....yes, PURPLE!

8: St Tiggywinkle's

Purple Star awarded: 04 February 2010

Baby Squirrel

St Tiggywinkle's is the biggest wildlife hospital in the world and my affection for the place dates back a long time. In the lens I tell how the St Tiggywinkles was first set up in a shed at the bottom of Les Stocker's garden. There's also some stories about the wildlife I have taken there and there's also some photos from a visit we made in April 2009.

The lens is full of photos that Les Stocker, who was originally a photographer, has taken of various animals - and yes it is OK because they are from AllPosters.com, for whom I am an affiliate.

This Purple Star really took me by surprise as the lens is one of those that does OK but is not one of my most successful lenses.

9: Purple Star

Purple Star awarded: 12 February 2010

Purple Star on Squidoo

OMG (that's Oh My Gosh)! My Purple Star lens got a purple star!!

This was one of those lenses made on an impulse. There was a discussion going on in the SquidU Forum and I decided to make the discussion available to a wider group - not everyone active in the Squidoo Community is active on the SquidU Forum.

The discussion asked whether the current method of awarding Purple Stars is fair - if you have a view then join in the debate on the lens!

10: Tiger Clipart

Purple Star awarded: 15 March 2010

Tiger clipart

Tiger Clipart is probably one of the lenses I have promoted the least on Squidoo and so I was very surprised (as well as delighted, of course!) to find an email waiting for me when I logged on one morning, to tell me that the lens had been awarded a Purple Star.

Tiger Clipart was written to complement my Year of the Tiger lens as I could see from my Squidoo Dashboard that I was getting traffic from Google for the search phrase Tiger clipart.

Clipart is a highly searched phrase, but I wanted to add more to the lens than just links to Tiger Clipart, Tiger graphics, Tiger pictures and Tiger Tattoos. So I made the lens into a complete resource for any Tiger project that you can think of.

11. Squidoo Induction

Purple Star awarded: 01 June 2010

Squidoo Induction: How to Squidoo

I found out that I had been awarded a Purple Star for Squidoo Induction when I was appearing live on Giant Squid Open Mike, the Blog Talk Radio Show I take part in on the first Tuesday of every month.

I had been thinking about publishing Squidoo Induction for the past year but had never got around to doing it. But the looming deadline for the application to join the Giant Squid 100 Club on 30 June motivated me to increase my lens production and so I finally went ahead and did it.

The lens was only published on 30 May and to get a Purple Star within just 2 days of publication is a very special honor indeed!

12: Soap Nuts

Purple Star awarded: 16 September, 2010

I was surprised but delighted to be informed that my lens about Soap Nuts had been awarded a Putple Star while still a WIP (Work in Progress). I had completed the lens and published it on 15 September but there had been no lensrank update to give it the green light.

I had blogged about the Lens and promoted it on Twitter but was asrounded to get the email to say I had received the award!

13: Starsigns

Purple Star awarded: 17 September, 2010

starsign

What's your starsign? was the first TWTTRSTRM lens I published, just to try out the template.

I must admit I have been surprised by how well it has done as it has consistently been one of my highest ranking lenses.

14: My goldfish swims upside down

Purple Star awarded: 18 September, 2010

Goldfish swims upside down

My Goldfish Swims Upside Down was the first lens I made as the result of knowing how to solve a problem. When I was trying to find out the cause for our poor goldfish swimming upside down, I realised that while people were searching for the solution to a problem, the solution was hard to find.

So after I had sorted out our poor, sick goldfish, I made a lens about it. The lens has performed consistently well and ranks very high in Google searches for the main keywords.

15: How to Research Keywords

Purple Star Awarded: 13 October, 2010

How to research keywords

How to Research Keywords was made to illustrate the keyword research method discussed in the 06 April 2010 broadcast of Giant Squid Open Mike on BlogTalk Radio.

It is a step by step guide on how to research keywords using the free Google Keyword Research Tool.

16: Remembrance Day

Purple Star awarded: 07 November, 2010

Poppy Fields

Remembrance Day was made only a couple of days before Remembrance Day in 2008, when I was awake early one morning and could not sleep. I thought it was probably too late to make the lens to get any traffic for that year, but visits from the Squidoo Community meant it did quite well.

Since then the lens has received regular traffic, even outside of November.

17: Pro Articles

Purple Star Awarded: March 09, 2011

Pro Articles

Pro Articles is a new free articles submission directory, that is carefully monitored to ensure that only quality content is submitted.

Pro Articles is owned by myself, bevspaper and lakeerieartists.

18. Tunnel Carpel Syndrome

Purple Star Awarded: April 05, 2011

Carpel Tunbnel SyndromeActually the correct name for the condition I am currently suffering is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - this is another lens where keyword research has helped me to find a phrase that has the potential to help the lens rank high in the Google Search returns.

Publishing health lenses can be tricky, but as I actually have this painful condition, it has certainly helped me write it from a very persoanl perspective.

19. Aries

Purple Star Awarded: April 25, 2011

AriesTo get a Purple Star awarded for my Aries lens was very uplifting because of many reasons (which I can't explain publicly). Aries is the first of a series of Astrology lenses that I have to admit I should have completed a long time ago!

I have always been interested in Astrology and because it is such a popular topic, finding keywords and content that will get you well ranked on Google is quite a challenge!

20: Stop Procrastinating Tips for WAHMS (and Dads)

Purple Star awarded: May 15, 2011

What are you waiting for?My lens Stop Procrastinating - Tips for WAHMS was published as a result of me making a lens about Time Management.

Procrastination, which is one of the huge barriers to effective Time Management, which I realised is a topic in its own right.

I used to teach Time Management to adult students, so both are topics I feel comfortable writing about.

21. Zazzle Reviews

Purple Star Awarded August 30, 2011

Meerkats on the LookoutI made Zazzle Reviews to showcase my family's Zazzle Store. I really like Zazzle but have not posted enough products in the Store.

Having said that we still make sales without much effort so I really need to spend more time on it.

22. Learn Squidoo: Step by Step

Purple Star awarded October 05, 2011

Learn Squidoo Step by StepThe Learn Squidoo: Step by Step Guidebook is a free ebook that was made through the collaboration of a group of lensmasters who share what they know and what works for them.

The original Step by Step was authored by ten Lensmasters, but the current version is authored by three.

We are very proud of this purple star!

More about Purple Stars on Squidoo

Megan Casey, Squidoo Editor in Chief, explains

In her Purple Star lens, Megan Casey explains all about the Purple Star awards and what to do to nominate a lens. You can nominate other Giant Squids' lenses or you can nominate your own - providing you are a Giant yourself.

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What makes a Purple Star worthy lens?

Giving the final word to RMS

Guidelines from Giant Squid Organiser rms

The Purple Star program depends on the eyes of the entire Squidoo community to find the most deserving lenses.

Not sure if a lens is worthy of your nomination?

Here's a few pointers that will help you decide:

The next time you're reading a lens that makes you say, WOW! Nominate it!

Or if you find a lens that you think EVERYONE should read because it contains something really important, or interesting, or innovative; nominate it!

Or if you find a lens that you think is really creative, nominate it!

Or if you finish a lens of your own and feel really proud of it; nominate it!

You'll know it when you see it!

AJ is Always Juggling

But sometimes she drops the balls!

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So what do you think about Purple Stars?

Love 'em or hate 'em, let's have your views!

Unfair? A great accolade? Worthless? Warm and fuzzy?

We want to know!

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