Why it is amazing to be a hubber.
Hubbing, fellow hubbers and the hub community.
I haven't been a hubber for long, but in my short lifespan, I have increased my knowledge on things I would never have thought to learn about. I also count myself immensely privileged to be in the midst of such great talent, wit and intelligence.
This hub is mostly about my journey so far on hubpages. Its never too soon or late to share what you have learnt from being a hubber with the rest of the community. With every second spent on hubpages, with every click of your mouse you find that you gain a wealth of experience and knowledge that you probably never thought possible. Above all there is an amazing community spirit that unfolds before your very eyes as you progress in your journey as a hubber.
I actually stumbled upon hubpages by accident, before I decided to join as a budding writer. I have always liked browsing the net to read random topics that come to mind. In my opinion if you don't have a collection of books to read from, hop on line, you will be amazed at what you can drink in with your eyes and soak in with your brains.
Having discovered hubpages, I occasionally visited and stopped to read a feature here and another one there. Then it almost became a habit, more because I was fascinated and awed by how people managed to churn words into such amazing pieces of literary work. From then on, I would make a pit stop on hubpages whenever it tickled my fancy and read whatever my eyes got fixated on. Well the rest, as they say is history...now I am proud to say I am not just a visitor, but a hubber.
When I posted my first hub, I didn't know what to expect. It was more a case of trial and error to see what would happen. I was basically fed up with how quickly my boys's shoes got mashed up that I decided to use my thoughts on that as my first hub "what is it about my boys and their school shoes". When this deed was done, I thought oh dear, what next and how soon can I follow up with another hub.
I was terribly frightened of getting the ever famous "writer's block". What if I could not write anymore? What if this was just a flash in the pan? I kept asking myself.
A few minutes later, I received a comment from a fellow hubber http://hubpages.com/profile/Reynold+Jay. His comments were wonderful, amazing and unbelievable for a new hubber like me. He made me feel proud of myself and my first hub. Having joined on impulse, I didn't know how to react to his comment. I realised next that he was my first follower. I didn't quite fathom what that meant in hub terms, but I quickly figured that out. I was terribly pleased. There was only one flaw though, I didn't thank him and wasn't sure how to go about it. I know it sounds silly but having gone into "hub paging" blind, apart from knowing I wanted to write, I felt like a baby learning how to crawl and didn't want to slip, if you know what I mean. I really didn't know what hubbing and getting to know the hub community was all about. It wasn' t like facebook I told myself. This was on a totally new level.
So why do I think its amazing to be a hubber? In my short time as a hubber, I have learnt some valuable things from my fellow hubbers which may not be much, but I still want to share them with you just to reinforce the amazing world of the hub community.
I decided to follow fellow hubber http://hubpages.com/profile/TheManWithNoPants I found some of the comments he made on a fellow hubber's hubs very interesting and knew I could relate to his way of thinking. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a thank you email from him about my decision to follow him. It also opened my eyes to the realisation that I should do the same. I thought it showed thoughtfulness and appreciation to thank someone for showing interest in you and your work and decide to follow you. After all there is no obligation to do that right? I knew at that point that, that was exactly what I had to do, email Reynold Jay to say thank you for being my very first follower and for believing in and supporting me.
I have also learnt to be inspired. Interestingly enough this hub was inspired by http://hubpages.com/profile/izettl.
I am smiling to myself as I type her name, and if you happen to read this I am sure you will understand that I seem to have connected with you in an unspoken way. Yesterday I read her hub titled "me, you and 1000 fans on hubpages" I was in awe. The idea behind the hub was simple, yet great in that it was thoughtful. It oozed warmth, gratitude, fun and a love for the hubpage community. Izzetl made a point about how other hubbers' hubs can inspire you, and guess what, too right you are, because you inspired me to write and publish this hub.
I have been inspired by http://hubpages.com/profile/gypsumgirl. Her hub on "my thirty hubs in thirty days" is awesome. Its funny, its inspiring, its - amazing. If you want to take that leap of faith to go the long haul, I totally recommend her hub to give you inspiration. You are probably asking why I haven't taken that leap yet. Its all about time, committment, the opportunity and focusing. If you have all four then you have a solid foundation to sit tight and run the race victoriously to the very end. Not to say I am not committed or focused, but if you work full time and have four kids to juggle in addition it can be pretty tough. No I'm not making excuses, just telling it as it is in my world.
Support from the hub community is a stronghold and can spur you on if you allow yourself to bask in your love for writing. Just by stopping by to read hubs, leaving inspiring and supporting comments, reinforces my thinking that hubpages is definitely the place to be. http://hubpages.com/profile/Hyphenbird has always been there since my debut on hubpages, supporting my hubs with great comments and sharing thoughts on what I have produced so far.
http://hubpages.com/profile/Tweetmom, instilled pride in me for achieving the milestone of ten hubs so far. Her words gave me strength, determination and the motivation to look around for inspiration to spin my thinking thoughts into words.
http://hubpages.com/profile/LagunaAlkaline posted my first fanmail. I thought, wow, someone actually believes in me that much. http://hubpages.com/profile/trimar7 did exactly what a good teacher does, she offered me support using words of encouragement when I felt writing about my "10 hubs and counting..." so far was pitiful.
http://hubpages.com/profile/Dee+aka+Nonna touched my heart when she commented on how much she liked my hub on "Life is a cocktail".
http://hubpages.com/profile/Victoria+Trix posted my second fanmail and http://hubpages.com/profile/Jangaplanet my third. Amazing.
http://hubpages.com/profile/AnnCee shared some wonderful tips on how to dry your lettuce when she commented on my hub "my spring salad with 3 ingredients in less than 3 minutes", and so did http://hubpages.com/profile/PegCole17 when she commented about the fact that she liked to add garbanzo beans or chopped beets to her salads. I had never heard about garbanzo beans, but believe me on hubpages, you learn something new and worthwhile everyday.
http://hubpages.com/profile/revmjm posted an awesome comment when I wrote about my family's love for ketchup. She made me feel good about my hub even though at the time I thought it was a matter of "just go ahead and publish no matter the outcome."
http://hubpages.com/profile/kallini2010, http://hubpages.com/profile/Ruzica, http://hubpages.com/profile/Jerilee+Wei, http://hubpages.com/profile/daffodil2010, http://hubpages.com/profile/TCM+Specialist, http://hubpages.com/profile/lilian1, http://hubpages.com/profile/bellawritter23, http://hubpages.com/profile/d.william, http://hubpages.com/profile/Brinafr3sh who have offered to me support by following me, thanks and I hope as I always say " I give you reason to stay".
Its however not just about my fellow hubbers who have jumped on my boat. It's also about those who have contributed by answering questions I have posted. Since I started actively asking random questions that come to mind, there has been an appreciative response from the hub community. I have found this platform very interesting because it goes to show that we are not just a community of writers, but a community of a broad spectrum of very engaging thinkers. Its a great way to fish out who is there and find fellow hubbers whose interest you share or would like to learn from to follow. It's great fun. I call it the community spirit.
Hubpages for me has become a whole new world and is slowly becoming addictive. I used to come home from work and scramble to log onto my computer just to sign into facebook and see what my fellow facebookers have been up to. Now its rushing home from work and logging onto hubpages to read, share thoughts and hopefully inspire. My conclusion? What can I say, but simply Hubpages is definitely a great world to be part of.
If you enjoyed this hub, you will also enjoy the following from myself, gypsumgirl and izzetl
- 10 hubs and counting...
So I have published 10 hubs so far. I'm guessing " So I think I can write". 10 hubs in four weeks. Someone reading this is probably bending over backwards laughing and thinking, "She has only written 10 hubs... - My Thirty Hubs In Thirty Days
When I first learned about the Hub Challenge of publishing thirty hubs in thirty days, I took quite a bit of time to read the main forum thread. I was amazed at what some Hubbers had successfully done,... - Me, You, and 1,000 Fans on Hubpages
Writing about some deeply personal topics, I've really had the chance to get to know several of my followers here. I love the diversity, the passion, the heart, the support, and the intelligence they all...