Meet lensmaster Hurlserv, whose real-life name is Elmer. He’s been on Squidoo for a few weeks now, so you might have already made his acquaintance. If you haven’t checked out his lenses yet, make sure you do. But first, read our recent interview to get to know more about the fellow in the hat.
Okay if I call you Elmer? Certainly, almost everyone does. Quite a few think it’s a pseudonym; it’s not. My full name is Elmer Edward William Hurlstone. I’ve always gone by “Elmer” although I, obviously, had more common and user friendly alternatives. After lugging it around for 66 years I’ve become rather fond of and used to my name.
What brought you to Squidoo? In the 1990′s I began selling on eBay and later branched out into other areas of online marketing. A few years ago I discovered Squidoo, signed up, and then proceeded to ignore it except for research purposes. A few months ago I was asked to moderate an online marketing membership site and met Erica Stone, our resident Squidoo expert and several other productive lensmasters. Nice people all. Erica’s a great encourager. Not being able to locate my original Squidoo login info I started a new membership and began building lenses.
You obviously love books and reading in general, and I suspect we can expect more book review lenses. Am I right? What other topics do you plan to write about? Yep, Susan, you’re right. For me, a guy who in school hated to write book reports, book reviews are fun. First I have a valid excuse to read. “Sorry, honey, I can’t mow the lawn / take out the garbage / feed the cat right now. I have to finish this book so I can write a review and build the lens.” As to non-book related topics the sky is the limit. I have varied interests ranging from a 40 plus year photography hobby/addiction to a love of tools, gadgets and certain software. Almost anything is lens-subject eligible.
If you could travel to one place you’ve never been, where would it be? The U.K., specifically England. My parents were British subjects, born and raised in the Cayman Islands, and all my ancestry on both sides goes back to merry old England. As a kid I read and re-read all the Enid Blyton novels my local library stocked. I’ve also read a lot of Jack Higgins and all the Dick Francis novels. I have several online English friends.
What can Squidoo do for you? Squidoo is doing it. It provides me, and a whole bunch of others, a venue to write without the constraints of a single-subject blog. One thought: It would be nice to get a few days advance warning when major changes to the platform are going to be made.
Fiction or non-fiction? Yes. Hard question. For purposes of this interview I’ll go with fiction. Well written fiction not only entertains, it informs.
