Being acknowledged for something obviously isn’t the be-all and end-all of things, because if there were no joy in the activity why would you do it? – but that is not to say that telling someone that you enjoy something they do or something that they did is without merit, in fact it is very meritorious.
Why? It lets the person who originated the communication – whether that be a piece of art, writing, music, or something they just said – know that you received what they were trying to say, and that you understood it.
I have sometimes wondered for ages whether a person who seemed to be following around my work was actually digging it or just sitting there in silent judgment, and when they finally told me that they loved my stuff it was such a relief, and I felt like it validated something that I had been thinking for a while.
As a creative you shouldn’t hinge your work or your thinking on what someone else thinks about what you are doing, but you should be proud when you have an effect. And here’s the thing – feel free to quitely acknowledge your greatness to yourself, because that counts too.
Anyhoo.