Hubpages.com: Impressions, Views, Accolades and More.

Before I get started, let me say that I am satisfied with my Hubpages.com experience. I’ve learned a lot from other writers, made some great friends, and been inspired by the articles I’ve read. Friendships aside, the best thing about Hubpages.com is the variety of interests among the writers. Whether you’re interested in politics or knitting, gardening or travel, animal rescue or social change, you can find writers here who are both passionate and knowledgeable on the subject. Joining Hubpages.com is like walking into a coffee shop where the best of the best are gathered to tell stories. There’s warmth here that you won’t find on other writing sites and that’s the only reason I am still here.

You can’t just join Hubpages.com to write. Oh no, you have to love reading too. It helps to be hungry for knowledge and interested in the process of crafting an effective message. Many writers are loners but to really benefit from the Hubpages.com experience, you have to be willing to participate in the social side of things too. If you’re not a social animal, Hubpages.com may test you. But, if you're up for a bit of partying with a great group of writers, click here to join Hubpage.com. In just a few short minutes you will be on your way to hob-knobing with the best of the best.

There have been times when I was moved to tears by my friend Faith Reaper and her big heart and I have laughed until it hurt over the funny limericks of MHatter99. My sidekick bravewarrior shames me with her commitment to going green and John Sarkis teaches me about classical music and finding beauty in the strangest places. MizBejabbers can spin an Arkansas tale like nobody’s business and DrMark961 has helped me through more than one crisis with my dog. Then, there is Daisy Mariposa whose research has takien me around the world and back and ecogranny who beats the drum for conservation and social responsibility and Jill Freeman will reach into her toolbox and help you handle depression, learn about disability, and share a delicious vegan recipe too. I could go on for days about the talent and quality of work from the dedicated writers here on Hubpages.com but I won’t.

What I really wanted to talk about today are the little things about Hubpages.com that most of us don’t really understand. These are the things that happen on the periphery of Hubpages.com so, let’s get started.

No one seems to really understand it. It seems that when I do nothing for a week my score will skyrocket but when I write a hub a day and answer a question or two, my score drops like a thermometer tossed into a freezer. I've given up trying to understand but in case you're interested, here are a couple of great hubs that have been written on the subject. Check them out.

Secrets to a High Hubber Score

Hubber Score: How I Got a Hubber Score of 99 in Two Weeks - Make that 100

Accolades are those cute little buttons you will find on your profile page, They make you look very accomplished once you have acquired a few. I now have thirteen but can’t seem to acquire any new ones. An accolade for Hub of the Day has eluded me as has the Rising Star and Hubbie Award. My self-confidence is shattered as a result and I guess I will just have to find satisfaction in watching my other accolades grow by the numbers. There is a lot to know about those cute little Accolades but since I'm no expert, I'll refer you to the article link on the right.

I love the comments I receive when someone thinks enough of my writing to leave one. I always try to respond quickly and in a way that lets them know how important their opinion is to me. Likewise, when I take the time to read someone else’s work, I leave a comment that I hope demonstrates my appreciation for the research and time they spent on writing about the subject. I also look forward to their response to my comment.

Growing up in the south taught me to be courteous and I think it’s the least I can do when someone shares their talent with me, the reader. It only takes a minute to leave a personal remark that lets them know I read the entire article. Nope, I don't scan their work. I read every word. For some reason that can’t explain, I seem to also be experiencing a comment drought. Even when my page views escalate, I get very few comments. Perhaps I’m not being read by fellow Hubbers. That would explain it, I guess.

Watching my total Page Views grow is the highlight of my day. Well, at least it used to be. I hit a real hot streak about a month ago and saw the number grow by the thousands over the course of a week. Then, it froze.

For several days the number never changed. I headed for the forums where I posted a question about the frozen numbers. I was referred to another forum question of the same nature where I was told by Hubpages.com staff that they “were working on it”. Since then, things did get better but things are far from good. My little thrill each day is not so thrilling. I seem to have dropped off the Google radar and probably Bing too. I’ve been told that something called Panda was at fault but that is way beyond my level of knowledge. Whatever happened, I seem to be in a Page View drought right now.

Impressions are those little things at the bottom of an article that you can click to show how you felt about the Hub. Reading from left to right you can click “thumbs up”, “thumbs down”, “useful”, “funny”, “awesome”, “beautiful”, and “interesting”. It was my impression that “impressions” contribute to your revenue so I never read a hub without leaving an impression. Doing so seems to be a thing of the past for most of my readers. Few people click on the impressions after reading my articles and I guess that’s why I had to buy the economy brand of toilet paper this week. Come on guys, help me out. Is it asking too much for you to click one more time before you leave?

I call them “non-sense” ads because I can’t make heads or tails out of how to earn with them. After two years of writing, I’ve had four Amazon.com products purchased through my hubs and earned a whopping $17.00 as a result. Google Adsense makes no sense to me so if anyone is looking for something to write about, “Adsense for Dummies” would be really helpful.

At the risk of sounding like a wimp, I’m starting to think I should go back to coloring books and leave writing alone. Honestly, I don’t color within the lines so well either. I write from the heart. No one can ever accuse me of being a niche writer. I’m just not. Maybe that’s the problem. Do you really want someone who writes about the same thing all the time? It’s not me.

Maybe my expectations are too high. My friend Bill Holland (aka Bilybuc) told me when I started here on Humpages.com that it takes a while for Google to recognize you. He told me how important it was to support other writers and to become an active member of the community. I’ve tried but, unlike my friend Bill, there are only 24 hours in my day. Clearly he has twice that many hours in his. He writes a hub every day, maintains a blog, reads the work of dozens of writers, and recently wrote a book too. Oh, did I mention he also has his own clients that he writes for every week? Yeah, I’m sure he has at least 48 hours in his day.

Since I only have 24 hours in my day, I need to wrap this up. My Hubpages.com statistics are frozen again and I can't get my thrill watching page views, impressions, and accolades grow in numbe.; So, I'll go read some of the great hubs by my friends. I might even find some new writers who could use a little support. I’ve always heard that the best way to get out of your own misery is to help someone else. So, watch for me on the Hubpages.com highway. I’ll be the one leaving a comment full of passion and checking those impressions before I leave.