Join Giant Squid Paul (pkmcr) on The Christmas Fair! Here's what Paul's lens is all about:
Welcome to the Christmas Fair on Squidoo! Do you want to have a wander round the stalls or are you a Lensmaster looking to set up your own Christmas Fair Stall?
Here you will find everything you could possibly want for the coming Christmas season.
This lens brings together the great Christmas Lenses from across Squidoo. If you are a lensmaster with some Christmas Lenses then do feel free to add them to the appropriate plexo.
Don't forget to vote for the other Lensmasters or Christmas Stall Holders! Whilst you are here why not visit some of the other stalls and see if there are things that you need for this Christmas!
So be sure to add your lenses!Thanks Paul!
A Tale of Two Dragons
I love Teresa's Pizza AND Pizza Hut Pizza. Teresa's puts the toppings under the cheese and makes a killer anti-pasto salad. Pizza Hut makes the best crust ever. They both rock! I love variety, choice and people to challenge my tastes.
So what happens when 2 lensmasters create a lens on the same topic? Something magical if it's done right. Giant Squid, 100 Clubber and Squid Angel Drifter0658 created a supremely kick butt lens with Riding The Tail Of The Dragon, then just recently newbie lensmaster Rob_W created this equally awesome lens: Tail of the Dragon at Deal's Gap, NC. Same place, same ride, completely different stories. Though each lens focuses on the same destination, they both had different journeys. Each unique in its own right, completely original and totally amazing. Magic!
The reason I am bringing this up is that I get asked this question all the time: "What happens if someone already created a lens on my idea?" Here are 4 simple tips:
1) Niche, Niche, Niche. If you do a search and find 47 lenses on Mac & Cheese you've got your work cut out for you. Another Mac & Cheese lens will get lost in the crowd. Be original, try getting "Super Niche" with "Mac & "Blue" Cheese" or "5 Mac & Cheese recipes that don't use Cheese". Not only do you have to think outside the box, but sometimes you need to have a bonfire with it to spark a new idea.
2) Don't copy. Steal. Or otherwise be a meanie. I know good art when I see it. I also know when someone copies an idea. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see when someone takes a good lens and just duplicates it for profit. It's not nice, it's not fair and it's not smart.
3) Write what you know. This eliminates #2 as it's really hard to write a poor lens on something you love. Alex & Rob both rode the Dragon and they lived to tell about it. This alone makes them BOTH experts. Have you climbed Mt. Hood? Make a lens. Even if 17 other people have lenses on their climb. Experience and knowledge of your topic go a long way.
4) Lensroll. If you see a great lens on the same topic as yours lensroll it. Chances are your readers will thank you for giving them more to read on the subject.
So the moral of the story is trust your gut, be original and if you ever get the chance to ride the Tail of the Dragon take lots of pictures for your lens.
Disclaimer - For those of you who don't know, Rob_W happens to be a good friend of mine and he did ask me what I thought about his lens idea for the Tail of the Dragon being that there was another lens on that subject. My advice...see #3.
I'll leave the stunt riding to Alex and Rob. Thanks guys for helping me explain why the more great lenses we have on Squidoo the better.
-Bonnie
Posted at 05:47 PM in Commentary | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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