Tier chasing or lensrank chasing is a bit like a dog chasing cars — there are better moving targets to focus one’s energies on, and why does it matter?! But that car bumper is very shiny.”
—Greekgeek, in SimeyC’s SquidU thread “Lensrank Buzz”
Lensrank has been a frequent topic of discussion in SquidU lately — more than usual, I mean.
I feel ambivalent about lensrank. I’ve seen a lot of internet communities in which post count, forum ranks, join date or some other arbitrary system gets used to gauge a member’s worth.
Except that lensrank measures something more meaningful than mere post count. It’s an attempt to gauge lens worth, so that low-content lenses get pushed to the back row and exceptional lenses get to shine. That’s a necessary quality control loop on a site where anyone is allowed to submit content. Lensrank also yields benefits worth chasing. The highest-ranked lenses get extra search engine and visitor exposure on Squidoo’s multiple “Top 100” lists. Squidoo’s search box, almost the only way to navigate the site, returns results by lensrank.
Finally, of course, lensrank determines payout. Even though I want to keep Squidoo as a fun hobby, I can’t help fiddling with my lenses just below a payout tier cutoff! I track my Squidoo lensrank and payout stats each month. Yes, the bumper is shiny.
So let us examine this shiny bumper. Just what is lensrank based on, and… more importantly for you folks, I’m sure… how do I keep 10-20 of my lenses in the Top 2000?
