Is HubPages ever going to recover?

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Bard of Elyposted 10 years ago
I never thought I would be asking this and have supported HubPages through thick and thin. I have often said it is the best revenue sharing site for making money at but sadly I cannot say this any more.

The amount of effort now expected here with no guarantee of traffic or earnings is too much I feel. Sadly even if you spend hours putting together a well researched and written hub and includes photos, videos, maps and polls etc, within a short time it can become unfeatured or even unpublished. You can be told there is lack of engagement or it is not up to standard. Hubbers who were once top writers here are being told this too!

This site has been losing many of its once top earners and it is obvious there is something radically wrong.

I admit I have joined the exodus to Bubblews because I find that my efforts there are rewarded financially. On average I make $25 every two days there and I need the money!

Having said all that I really hope HubPages can recover to what it was once like in its Glory Days! Is this possible?
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  Hikapoposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It is possible. It just takes more effort.
  
  Bubblews => 100 words, easy money.
  
  Hubpages => 700 words, less money.
  
  I could see why everyone jumps on to Bubblews, which is cool. I still write on both sites to diversify my income.
  
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I can understand what you say but the earnings are so down here I don't even make payout some months now and I always used to be able to count on that!
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  Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Those of us who were here in the "good times" have different expectations. We probably thought it would keep going up. I started with some previously published (print media) articles, to which I still held rights. So, I thought it might be fun-- and if I earned a few cents, that was fine with me.
  I have learned a lot here and enjoy the feedback. For those who are seriously trying to make a living and pay their expenses from writing on the web-- I'm sure it can be done, but like most freelance jobs, it takes a lot of plain hard work.
  Wishing you well...
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You can't make a living on Bubblews whereas here you can.
  
  That simplifies the issue for me.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, it is a lot of hard work at either site in the way of time spent but the difference is that Bubblews pays and this place doesn't any more. I have seen hubbers saying things like:" I can make more in Bubblews in a week than I made at HubPages in months." I can understand their frustration with HP!
  
  Here we have been told how important quality is but at Bubblews it doesn't seem to matter... there are plenty of poor quality posts there too. Here we are told we need 800 or more words but at Bubblews it is just 400 characters! Here we are told we need "engagement" or it gets unfeatured and at Bubblews it matters not because you still get paid whether there are any comments or views or not! Here personal posts are frowned on but at Bubblews they are encouraged!
  
  So the big question is why is Bubblews keeping Google and advertisers happy with inferior quality stuff there but this site is unable to with much longer and better articles?
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  calculus-geometryposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  "So the big question is why is Bubblews keeping Google and advertisers happy with inferior quality stuff there but this site is unable to with much longer and better articles?"
  
  You can't assume that Bubblews is an advertiser and search engine darling just because it is paying users 1 cent per view while other sites pay only a fraction of that. I think the simplest explanation is that Bubblews is taking a short-term loss or burning through start-up cash (to borrow someone else's words) to generate more buzz and more signups. Once they've reached whatever goal they have, they're not going to be so generous.
  
  But of course, if you like doing stuff on Bubblews, you should rake in the money while they're still giving it away. It doesn't make sense to compare what Bubblews is doing in the short-term to what HubPages has been and is doing long-term. "Bubble" is quite an apt term.
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  Shyron E Shenkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I have not seen a penny on HP almost 2 years.
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  Joseph Renneposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I Just Signed up For Bubblews like 3 hours ago and already made 2 bucks, Thats Way more than I Do On Hubpages, I like the setup here on Hubpages. I am just going to be using Both. Why not be 2 places at one time.
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  Lastheartposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Very interesting from the voice of Froggy213 and now you Bard of Ely that have been hubbers for so long (I just checked your page and you are a great writer). I cannot see the difference, since I am practically new here in HP. From the start I saw this would never, ever, pay my bills. But it does sound attracting the "exodus to Bubblews".
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  Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I believe HubPages will recover if we can just hang in here and keep writing our best. Also, to be on the lookout for scams, report them and do some hub hopping to flag poor quality hubs is helpful for HP. I do not make a lot of money here at HP, and I have gone through some disappointing times to see my views and earnings drop -- yet, I wish to remain at HP and do my best, in hopes they will revive and come out on top.
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  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I haven't done that hub hopping in awhile. Think I'll do a couple.
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  Shinkickerposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I used to do that but now I feel that Hubpages is not helping me so why should I use my valuable time trying to help them. They are quick at flagging up my Hubs for minor things so let them sort out the bad Hubs.
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  WriteAngledposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Exactly!
  
  What is more, I now find my score has been demoted to below 90. A number of my hubs are written on the basis of an education to PhD level and several decades work experience in my field. My score, however, matches those of ESL speakers writing vacuous recipe hubs and similar trash in Engrish.
  
  I know that scores are meaningless in themselves, but I am deeply insulted by being deemed of equivalent "quality" to these people.
  
  I have removed the hubs that were closest to my heart and placed them on my own site. The others can rot and sink with Hubpages. Since Hubpages has treated me with contempt, it should not be surprised that all that I can return is contempt.
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  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I just read an article that Google is counting +1's as an important indicator for rank. Read this article. http://moz.com/blog/google-plus-correlations We need to beg for the +1 button to be put on our hubs again.
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  moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Agree.
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I too agree!
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  ChristinSposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I completely agree
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  hrymelposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  So much agreement here. I was under the impression that hubpages works with Google pretty closely, and it's not difficult programming wise to add. So now that I think about, I'm a little confused as to why it's not incorporated.
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  Joseph Renneposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Agree! All my other writingsites have the G+ button. I have bee posting my Hubs individually on my G+ page. So far I have gotten a few hits here and there. This month is actually my best. I have been working on SEO. Seems to be driving more traffic, Everyone should start Backlinking there Hubs on their G+ accounts, Once Hubpages See's the traffic they will have put G+ on hubs. Lets do it Hubbers! Take The Net Back. Be sure to add your HubPages Referral Tracker!
  
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  Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I've been posting an article from each site I write on Google + for a few months now. But without the +1 button on a hub, or whatever the site calls an article, you can't get many viewers to go there. I would like to see it back. When it first came to be, I thought it was something people would give you if they thought your writing was good. Now people seem annoyed if you put your own written pieces on your Google + account page. But wasn't that the point?
  
  I have boards on Pinterest, and post on there when I'm bored, but it never gave me any traffic, or if it did, it was negligible. I would be interested in having the +1 button back on our profile pages though.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  The question needs to be asked why did HubPages remove the Google+ button?
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  Mavis Hazeltonposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews seems to be the new site to be on
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Nah, MacDonald's, That's the place. Brain killing pap that never fails.
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  The problem is that HP is still probably the best revenue sharing site (except for bubblews) right now. That is not saying that it is good (at least in terms of ROI), just that all the other sites are doing just as badly, if not worse (Squidoo comes to mind).
  
  The online writing game is very different now.
  
  Yes, bubblews is doing really well right now. But HP was doing really well in the past too (sadly before I joined). I am of course writing bubbles to take advantage of this, but I also keep in mind that it might not last.
  
  As to HP idling my hubs for lack of "engagement", I don't really have that kind of emotional attachment to my writing. At least not to the hubs that have been idled so far. Yes it is a pity to think about the time I invested in writing them, but then they were getting very few views anyway, so the time was wasted whether they were idled or not. You can't ever expect all you do to pay off, a lot of effort is wasted whatever you do.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You are right - all ways round - but that unengagement penalty can hurt. I have a few, not many pieces, that I am attached to. It is silly, and yes why don't I put them somewhere else?
  
  I don't know. It's just that they were born here.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  25 dollars every couple of days seems to be the biggie on Bubblews. 25 dollars is what, 15 quid? What can you do with 15 quid in the UK?
  
  I have a nasty feeling that in the whole of Bubblews there is only one person making a living wage. The owner.
  
  His lenders are probably cleaning up, of course.
  
  The triumph of capital. Is there a better example?
  
  Are there any more willing dupes than the dupes of Bubblews?
  
  I reckon I need to learn how to make Molotov cocktails again. No, its okay I have too much self-respect.
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  ComfortBposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  $25 dollars goes a long way for a lot of those who post on Bubblews. Mind you, for a site that promotes itself as a social site, not a writing site, that's giving a lot of people the opportunity to make some money while socializing. This post you made (417 characters) would have made you some quids on bubblews.
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You are right of course, but I doubt anybody spends 8 hours a day on bubblews, and it is hardly like "work". I spend a lot of time on forums, I don't get paid a cent for doing that.
  
  But I agree, the fact that people are so enthusiastic about the money there shows how hard it is to earn money online nowadays for most people. I do earn more on HP than over there (but a lot of this comes from Amazon), and the great advantage is that if I didn't write anything here for a month, I would still be earning.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It is very true that this shows how hard it is to make money online now. For me it always was but I don't have much option so I get on with it as I sure very many others do. I have never made much from Amazon so that doesn't bother me.
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  DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Maybe in the UK no one spends 8 hrs on the site, but I think there are probably thousands of Filipinos that are on there all day. (The $25 is also worth more than a couple of cigarettes.)
  Where I live it takes a lot of time to even look at posts (which is one reason I open so few, like those you write about your geckos) and many days it takes me several hours to post (since when I try it usually goes offline), and a few mintues ago I was trying to connect with someone I know in Massachusetts and kept getting a 502 error code. The site does not work as well as the forums, so in some places it takes up a lot of time.
  The big difference between a writing site, like HP, and a social site, like Bubblews, is passive income. If I do not participate in HP forums or read hubs, the next day I have still earned. (And yes, I also make more here than on Bubblews.) Last night I was busy and when I looked at my Bubblews account this morning I saw that I had earned about .20 cents US.
  So, like Mark Ewbie pointed out, all he has to do over on Bubblews is fart to make a few bucks. That may be true, but just make sure you go online to do so.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I'm earning a little money for writing short posts, not much above a forum or a 'clever' Facebook post. Probably less than a typical blog post.
  
  I'm getting my name and cartoons out there, getting feedback and still learning.
  
  On an average day (roughly two hours effort, or farting around) I earn five times my HP income.
  
  It is not the same as HP, it is more like blogging and I never made anything from blogging.
  
  Is it pointless? Maybe. Is there a chance of a higher income? Maybe that too.
  
  I have made ten dollars in the last day and a half - six posts, some reading and replying to comments. On HP I made a dollar and some cents.
  
  Yes I didn't do anything on HP so that dollar was for 'nothing'. But a dollar is no use to me. What am I going to do - write a 1,000 hubs? I don't think so.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Mark, you know it makes sense - write 1000 hubs! the HP team will love you!
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Lol. 3 years - 100 hubs - 1 dollar a day. Er... 30 years 1,000 hubs - 10 dollars a day!
  
  Wow. Bit depressing.
  
  Of course I could try writing something useful. Might learn in thirty years.
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  No they won't
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  hawaiianodysseusposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I share your frustration. Wonder if that is why Simone jumped ship? If so, good for her!
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I can't resist saying this. I finally was able to log in to bubblews, and .... I'm on the front page. If you really want to know what I think about Bubblews, check it out. I am Norcal on Bubblews. Sorry, but I just can't hold it in here, the name of the article is" Bubblews - Headed for a Trainwreck?"
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  LillyGrillzitposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Steve, this is a good question, and I share your sentiments as well. I remained loyal to HP through some rough seas, watching long time hubbers leave. I have never earned more than a couple of dollars a day at most, because I have to actually live in this world, not just on HP. When all of my best traffic pages were stolen, along with the entire HP site, my earnings plummeted. What is worse...is the pirated pages, including my profile page was making hundreds of dollars per week. HP does not feel any responsibility for making this site a Safe Harbor, and I for one feel violated. I brought advertisers to HP, and I am sure I have reaped them more than the 200.00 i have earned in three years of hard work, and from the over 65 evergreen articles which are doing fabulous on pirated sites. I had over 150 articles in total here. Their reputation is forever damaged in my estimation. I do wish the best for them though, and hope they decide to re-evaluate the value of core quality Hubbers who bring actual unique content, and writing ability to this site.
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  @LillyGrillzit , what do you suggest to make the site a safe harbor? I hope Hubpages returns to its days of glory. I joined hubpages a few days ago, and I used to write at squidoo. Squidoo has become a place no one will really want to be, and after coming to Hubpages, I am happy,atleast for now. But I really hope Hubpages recovers soon.
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  academylightposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Your post is really helpful ...thank you !
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  andromidaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It's very much possible if hubpages takes the initiative to involve all the prominent hubbers to make a action plan.It's up to hubpages how they react to the current situation.
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  Rock_njposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Perhaps HubPages will recover, but it really is hard to work with this site given the constant changes that they never stop implementing. If one has 20 Hubs, it's no big deal. But if one has 100 or 200 or 500+ Hubs, keeping up with all of those changes is very timing consuming, and at some point, just stops being worth the time and effort.
  
  I think Bubblews is great for making fast money, but not a great platform for publishing serious articles or written materials. Perhaps Hubpages will survive as a niche site where writers publish their more serious articles and other writings, but do so without expecting to make a lot of money.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Fast money, but not permenent. Your hubs on Hp will always get traffic for your keyword, but on bubblews you only get views when the post is new, unless you work on SEO.
  I understand it's hard to keep making changes when you have a that many hubs, must be frustrating, but we can't blame them--they are only doing so to improve the site.
  On bubblews even serious articles don't look look serious.
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  Daniel Carterposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I've largely ignored hubpages, and have written much new for a long time. It seems that any Google update is a hubpages slap, and the time involved for recovery seems to just widen the rift between what ever bots and spiders and algorithms do to try to salvage any good content and throw on the pile of the first two pages of results. It's very discouraging indeed to find that one hub that I wrote was getting over 500 hits a day on average, and then suddenly disappeared from the known universe. It makes no sense. How could this hub, which was an award winning article and the basis for an Associated Press article syndicated release, nationwide, be deemed poor content that it should suddenly die the ignominious death of a Panda slap. The bear be damned.
  
  There is something intrinsically wrong with a site that seems to get a death sentence every time the Google gods nod, sneeze, or grimace. The internet should not be controlled by something as weird, sci-fi ridiculous as an immitation from the Matrix movies. And Google, to me, is pretending to be the giant algorithm if our fabricated cyber lives, and I despise the stupid bear and the company.
  
  And that is all.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well said!
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I hate Google and its panda updates with passion!
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I can't say they have done me any good either and the sad thing about it is I have heard that they were designed to help get quality writing on the web. I am a quality writer but I have been badly penalised by the Google updates as far as I can see.
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cfinposted 10 years ago
Bubblews articles last a short amount of time. I have only made $3.00 in a week on there with 5 articles. Its more about socializing, and if you don't have all day to stay and chat, their is no revenue to be made there.
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  Hikapoposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews posts have good SERP rankings. If you do some simple seo, you can get consistent views every day!
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I don't agree! I find if you post 10 articles you make the money whether you spend a lot of time liking or commenting.
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  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Found you on Bubblews; you have been a very busy guy. The place is indeed fun. Hoping to make some much-needed money there, myself.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, I just connected, thanks! I find that the key to making money there is posting Bubbles. You get something within minutes of publishing, unlike here!
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  ComfortBposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It's true you need to socialize. I work outside the home, so I'm on only for a couple of hours a day. But if you have a lot of followers and you like and respond to their comments at the end of the day, You'll be on your second $25 as is my case. And I've only been there a month today.
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  Dale Hydeposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I work full time and also "socialize" on Bubblews, lol, and cash in 25.00 every three days. So I don't spend a whole lot of time there, or all day.
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  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, Dale...but let's be honest. You have made around 1,000 connections there and did so early on, so of course you would not have to spend tons of time there now. Getting 1,000 or so connections is a LOT of work, but it does pay off. I do mine more casually and am not yet at 500, even though I've been there six weeks. To date, I have cashed in $175, which is not bad when you compare it to what we earn here with much more work.
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  Dale Hydeposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well I don't think I was being dishonest, lol. I do have a tad over 1700 connections there. Believe it or not the connections are coming to me here of late. I don't go looking for them. All in all I continue to do well over there.
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cfinposted 10 years ago
I took a few of my articles from hubpages that weren't doing to well (but were still decent). Yesterday I had a little under 100 views when I was socializing. Today I have had zero views. Literally none, because I wanted to leave it as is, and see what happened.
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  Melissa A Smithposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I wonder if the success people are having on Bubblews has something to do with having a lot of followers? I had the same result as you. I don't really understand how it's possible to make much there without publishing a lot daily.
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  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Melissa: You do need followers because when you do, your submissions show up on their feeds. They build up over time and when they do, you earn faster. It took me two weeks to cash in my first $25, but now I can make $5 to $6 per day on just five articles if I care to write that many. I do respond to every comment, connect with every connect and read other people's work and leave comments because writers get paid for every read, like and comment. When you do this for others, they do it for you and everybody wins. If you only just write and do none of the other stuff, you won't have good results.
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  Melissa A Smithposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thanks, I just find the site very hard to navigate. I want to go to topics that interest me, it got very tedious fast to reply to things just to reply to them. I can't even read the titles of the posts properly because of the format. Also, I'm guessing that posts with a little cynicality are out in terms of people 'liking' them.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It's a question of finding a readership. Anything will work if you have people who read it. Plenty of cynics around.
  
  It just takes time to build and effort. It is absolutely NOT passive income. Write and earn. Don't write or join in - don't earn.
  
  Although it seems like you have to connect and like and fake it - that is a short term thing. Gradually you find people that are worth connecting with.
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  Melissa A Smithposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It looks like they've changed the format since I've last been there? I can at least now see the titles. I just wish they had a pets and animal section, or even just animals. Where would I be likely to find that? Should I post pet related material in 'articles'? Thanks
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Post it in articles. Meet people who are interested in pets. Check out the ones that have something interesting to say. Write more, read stuff - enjoy talking about pets.
  
  When you start your first posts fly across the scroll bar and disappear. They are pretty much gone for good (you can learn how to link them later). So keep it 200 words and a picture and post a few a day - spread them out. It helps to be a social person - it is NOT post one article and wait for passive income.
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  Melissa A Smithposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Ok, I'll try again, but with shorter articles.
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  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Read my tutorials over there under sandnsun and you'll quickly learn how to navigate the site. Search my name in the search box. Be sure to read the comments, also. Lots of helpful info there.
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cfinposted 10 years ago
Now I have 3.
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  cfinposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  But now I started socializing by writing on BardofEly's article. My experiment is finished.
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AloBeDaposted 10 years ago
I agree that Bubblews is the rave now. You don't have to churn out !000 words and still hope it gets featured long enough to grow some roots and thrive on the net.

I'm there of course, and its a breath of fresh air. For now.

I can even earn $1, just for writing this short forum post.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, I agree!
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  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  However, I personally am getting tired of having to post and post and post...I run out of ideas and it eats up a lot of my time. You either post a lot or socialize a lot to make money, but either say, it is very tiresome. I've done well there but have decided to slow it down. I don't have 10 articles a day or even 5 in me these days. Just too much!
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I could do hundreds of those a day and more if people help me. I'm off to join.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Remember you are only allowed to do 10 on any one calendar day or else you would be breaking the rules there. Otherwise it is easy, just make sure you read the short list of rules before posting (they are on the 'The Bank' page which also shows your earnings balance).
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thought there had to be a catch. I was going to get the family in on it but its not worth it. I get alot more doing Avon at the nursing home.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am averaging on $25 every two days there and that is a big help to me I can tell you!
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  If it wasn't for the fact that your a man I'd say try selling Avon. But there are some men selling it round here. Not on my patch mind you, but I have seen them. You could try it. If you get in on a nursing home you can make a bomb. Alot more than £25 a day I'll tell you. The old dears always want to look nice and why not, that's what I always say. You'd be Bard of Avon then, wouldn't you . Sorry just joking.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sadly I am hopeless at sales! Thanks for the idea though!
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Nothing to lose by giving it a try. I can come over and get you all set up if your in the London area.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bardofely (Steve) lives in Tenerife, far nicer than a trip to London if you visit though.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  We normally go away for a few day in october so I'll ask my husband what he thinks about Tenerife, then I can get Steve all sorted out. I'll put him on my list.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am in Tenerife.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  No prob, Steve my love. As I was just saying to Mistyhorizon2003 we normally go away for a few days in october so I'll ask my husband what he thinks about Tenerife, then I can get you all sorted out. I'll put you on my list.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Steve, I just got off the phone to a rep who used to be in Spain. This is where to go in the morning at 10 o'clock to get yourself sorted out. You can also phone and don't forget to tell them my name. They need reps in the north and south she says. Address: San Clemente, 3 Tel: 922 15 Fax: 922 24 72 57 38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am pretty sure Steve will struggle with this. He doesn't speak Spanish fluently, doesn't drive, relies on buses, lives in the 'sticks' down south (Santa Cruz is in the north) etc. I expect he will say the same, but just to let you know in case he doesn't come back here tonight (he used to be my flat mate when I lived in Tenerife).
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  So you know him. Makes everything all the cosier doesn't it. Sue who's the rep I phoned, says they need english speaking reps. And let's face it love, there's always a market for Avon no matter where you are. And I dare say there's alot of over 60's in Tenerife who are willing to pay alot of money to look nice. I understand the motherly protective instinct but Steve looks like a grown man, so let him have a go at it.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Lol, definitely not 'motherly', Steve is much older than I am, I just know his personality extremely well from having him as a lodger in my Tenerife apartment and as a friend ever since, and I will therefore be stunned if he says that he wants to 'have a go at Avon' (even if he had the transport to make it remotely feasible) as it is totally something he would not be comfortable with, but I will let him answer your post himself.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Steve will be a great Avon rep. I told Sue all about Steve. She says she's contacting Avon in Tenerife first thing so Steve can be trained and they'll be going to him so he won't have to travel. He'll love it.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Miriam, thank you for trying to help me but I think Cindy is right. I can't see there is any future in this for me. Santa Cruz is 90 minutes by bus from where I am and I rarely go there because I can no longer afford the bus fare, my Spanish is not good as Cindy pointed out, where I would find enough English speakers where I am would be a problem in itself seeing as I live in a village with only a small ex-pat community, and on top of all that my entire experience of trying to sell anything has mainly been a failure apart from Scientology books in the late 1980s and that was done by getting thousands of flyers out to people not by direct sales pitch. Whatever makes a good sales person is I don't seem to have the knack!
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Hi Steve, thanks for confirming what I did try hard to explain to Miriam. Just be aware she wasn't genuinely trying to help you out. The reason she emphasised to 'mention her name' when you spoke to these people in Tenerife was because she would then have officially 'recruited' you and would therefore earn money every time you sold anything. This was all done for her own selfish ends, hence why she was so very pushy about it.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  No worries Steve, you'll be a great rep and you don't need a car even if Mistyhorizon2003 says you do. Just start off small in your area. When they know your selling Avon they'll be swarming to you like bees to honey in Tenerife Sue says. She says it sells its self.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I disagree, we had the brochures delivered to our door in Costa del Silencio in Tenerife regularly, but the sellers quickly gave up as not enough people have the spare cash to buy Avon products out there. If the system is so very fantastically successful then I am surprised that 'Sue' is saying they need reps both in the North and the South of Tenerife, surely there would be a queue of people waiting to become reps!
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sue has got a good reputation. Steve can find out all about it tomorrow and decide.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  How? He has no way of getting there and probably already has plans for the morning, he can't just drop everything and try to organise transport to Santa Cruz (well over an hour away even by car).
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sue says he can phone and they will come to him.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Give it a try, Bard. You could sell hair color (colour).
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Are you for real???
  
  You have just admitted that you make your money selling Avon products to old ladies in a nursing home.
  
  If they were in their right minds, they wouldn't be in a nursing home, they'd be in their own homes.
  
  I wish I knew the name of the nursing home because I would phone the authorities tomorrow and report you.
  
  You are ripping off the vulnerable in our society, and what is sadder is that you think it is fun.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am beginning to get concerned about this now too Izzy. How would an old lady in a nursing home be able to afford over £600 of Avon products anyway, but the idea that days after their relative died someone could turn up on their doorstep demanding money owed to them by the deceased is a real cause for concern, (and the term " I normally catch the next of kin when they pick up the deceased's belongings but these just sent a taxi." makes it sound like this is a regular occurrence).
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am shaking with anger, at the moment.
  I have watched my own mother, who I love with all my hear,t open her cheque-book for something she has been told is a 'charitable cause'.
  
  I said "Mum, you are not responsible for all these poor people dying in Africa", and I am right. Especially when I read that the charity has a UK address, and I know that both my parents contributed throughout their lifetimes.
  
  I can tell my mother that tomorrow is Christmas Day, and she would believe me.
  
  If I told her that this cream or the other would keep her skin smooth, she would believe that also.
  
  She would be the one buying Avon products because someone told her it looked nice, or smelled nice, and it was only £1000 a throw.
  
  I know that is not the price quoted, but it would be nice to think that those associated with her care, were she ever in a nursing home, would realise that the product was over-priced,
  
  Obviously in the case of the clientèle belonging to Ms Weismann, no-one has been looking after the interests of the elderly involved.
  
  BTW my mother is beautiful, without the need for Avon skincare. I may well complain to Avon.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Check your messages Izzy
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Some people who have loads of connections there are on over $1000 a month based on just doing 10 short posts a day. As each one need only take you ten minutes or so I reckon you could fit them in around work. It really is worth trying out and there is some interesting stuff to read on there too if you follow the right people.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Are they really or are they just saying that I wonder?
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Remember that Bubblews was created at the beginning of 2012. Popular writers who joined up early on could have several thousand connections or more by now, so the potential amount of 'likes' 'views' and 'comments' they can get per post is far higher than ours right now. When I started on HP I was only earning a few cents here and a few cents there. After about 3 years I was earning well into three figures a month. I think it is very realistic that they could be earning that amount of money with the right posts and enough connections.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I wish I had known about it a lot sooner. Maybe I could have been one of them?
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I could give it a go if you look at it like that.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, it works well for me there!
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William F. Torpeyposted 10 years ago
I have posted my work on HubPages because I would like people to read my opinions, to hear some of the great singers and songs of the 20th Century and to enjoy some social aspects of the site. Making a lot of money is not a major concern to me. HubPages has changed significantly since I joined six years ago. I was attracted to the site because it was promoted as a place where you could write whatever interested you. As a computer dummie, I was delighted that it offered easy to use technology. But I was led to believe that my work would reach many on the Internet through this site and by Google. Recent changes in HubPages have significantly altered the promise of this site. What had been welcomed by HubPages is now unwelcome unless significantly edited with additional features. Most of the hubs I've written are complete as written. The do not require additional editing. While I appreciate HubPages' the ability to add polls or maps and other features these features may or may not be something I want to add to my hubs. Nevertheless HubPages has seen fit to rate more than 70 of my hubs as "not featured" (virtually all in one day!) and now has rated one of my hubs as ("not featured - Quality.") I consider that an insult. I understand that the top priority of HubPages is to make money, but that's not the pitch they made to attract me and others to the site. If my hubs are not satisfactory to HubPages I see no reason to write any more. I've been a soldier for HubPages, but as General MacArthur once said, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."
'
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Plenty of my pages do not have polls or quizzes and never will have.
  
  One of my pages was chosen as an EC hub without a picture, let alone a poll. It happens to have two and a half thousand comments so it deserves the promotion on its virtues of engagement and massive read times. Some people read all those comments, lol.
  
  I have also had a page unfeatured for quality reasons. No idea why. It was not an important page so I didn't bother looking.
  
  I generally delete under-performing pages myself rather than leaving it to HP. I must have deleted forty or fifty.
  
  The online world is a tough place. Not everything that you produce will find a place. You need to accept that or give up.
  
  Personally, if I was you, I would hang on and give the site a chance to recover.
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You seem to be the exception Will Apse, if you are that successful here I can see why you don't want to go elsewhere. For most of us HP is not buying the shoes or paying the bills. I have no plans to leave HP, but when I think of writing something new, it's not the first platform that comes to mind.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  William, I feel much like you do about this!
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  William, I understand. One of my favorite Hubs that I really thought sang just the way I wrote it was idled as low quality. I understand why, I had used some unorthodox language and spelling in it. I thought is was obvious that this was a literary technique, not a mistake.
  
  But by the rules the quality raters were following, they had to mark down for that. It was also short, another mark against it. A few pictures, but no polls or videos, another downgrade.
  
  So, I went back and edited it. I made my grammar to standard, added a video and some text. It's still featured again months later, but I feel like I ruined it.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Gosh, how sad! What about a map?
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thanks for the sympathy Bard of Ely. BTW I'm Norcal at Bubblews, one of your fans.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Hello, Norcal! Thanks for telling me who you are and being a fan!
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wabondposted 10 years ago
The big problem is that we make money through advertising and like they say, "he who pays the piper calls the tune". Advertisers have no interest in quality writing, all they want is articles that attract attention and promote their products. The fact is that Bubblews is a better platform for most advertisers than Hubpages.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I can't respond to this because it will make me feel unwell, lol.
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IzzyMposted 10 years ago
I'm also making money on Bubblews. Even if it doesn't last, it's nice right now and it pays way better than Hubpages.
£15 will buy me two packets of cigarettes plus change, or 2 big bags of layers mash for the hens. I could instead buy enough groceries for several meals.
It's not nothing!
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Doodleheadposted 10 years ago
Gang---you/we/I have to "own the platform" in any business. That way you know what is going on. Otherwise....phew! In my "real business" I own the platform. I could work for someone else and make way more...but here today gone tomorrow with them.....this way only I can fire myself.
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Will Apseposted 10 years ago
Well if you are determined to cooperate in the degradation of what could, after all, be a profession, there is not much I can do about it. Except wheel out the pity.

Pity on the scale that you deserve will need some wheels.
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Will Apseposted 10 years ago
Is there anything on Bubblews that a moderately intelligent person would read if they were not paid to?

Just curious. A link would be appreciated.
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  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  My armadillo former hub. Sorry, can't provide the link; HP might become perturbed with me.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  So you are saying that the only thing on Bubblews that you would read, without payment, is a failed hub about an armadillo that you wrote yourself?
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  wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Couldn't find it. Google doesn't show it and searching bubblews didn't come up with anything I could determine was yours.
  
  Can't find it, can't read it. Or maybe I'm just not "moderately intelligent".
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  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  The internet is indeed a tough town. I guess you will just have to remain deprived.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Here's a Bubble...
  
  http://www.bubblews.com/news/1015243-wi … -bubbleman
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Tried that link several times.
  
  Database_Exception [ 0 ]: [2003] Can't connect to MySQL server on '152.160.35.115' (111) ~ MODPATH/database/classes/kohana/database/mysql.php [ 67 ]
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Don't go near it Will. I can't bear criticism.
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews is down for maintenance right now
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yep, just my luck. The mods are away, my big chance to go vinyl, and ... nothing.
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yeah, I had one that was shooting up like a rocket, it will probably be old news by the time the site is back up.
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  DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  No links here.
  Go through insanemundanes articles. Izzy has some good posts about her chickens, aalite some good posts about her geckos, and I have some good posts about the environment.
  If you are really interested in reading, however, I saw a stunning post called "I got a tan walking to the mail box", probably the best thing I have read since "I get bored standing in line at Costco"
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Most of mine tare usually very informative articles!
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  DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I agree with you. I have read several good posts from you about plants. You are one of the good writers that I always try to take the time to read.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thank you! I like to try and uphold my standards!
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  Peggy Wposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I also try and write decent articles on Bubblews. In the past I would have posted new ones here, but for now, it just doesn't make sense financially to do that. I hope that changes because HubPages was my very first online home.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  +1, your articles are the exact example of informative articles any intelligent person would enjoy reading on Bubblews (loved the Tenerife Dragon Tree one yesterday by the way).
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thanks, Cindy! I am doing short but informative articles over there!
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  Reality Bytesposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Are there moderately intelligent people browsing the HP forums?
  
  Bubbles has more active and intelligent discussions than are occurring here!
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  Doodleheadposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yeah....a lot of good "discussers" have left. Not that people here aren't capable of it...just that there is one topic on everyone's minds and HP is in a rut.
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  Reality Bytesposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubbles is loaded with active and intelligent debates. I enjoy the site for the interactions alone, income is secondary. It is like getting paid to participate in forums. Each bubble is like a stand alone thread, IMO.
  
  Although when I first found HP, the forums drew me in, it was how I found the site. Lately though, not much activity. There are still some great people here, but not as active as it once was. From what I see, the sense of community diminishes as time progresses.
  
  To be honest, a writer that specializes in selling doohickeys will not have much success at Bubbles, I don't think. Those that dedicate themselves to creating nothing but "sales" content will just stay here and criticize others for participating in a different site.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Google won't rank an article unless it's at least 500 WORDS long. Bubblews minimum is 500 letters--that's too short. Those articles on Bubblews are no fun to read. Sometimes people post stuff from newspapers and books. That stuff will never get published on HP.
  I don't write there anymore. It sucks!
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  DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Did you just make up this number or are you really a Google employee that knows something?
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I didn't make it up. Many experienced bloggers will tell you the same thing. All Google wants is quality contents to rank on their results, and that's why they keep updating their algorithms. There is lots of content to be covered by them, so they narrow it down to articles with more then 500 words. Less than that they don't bother to look.
  Google is pretty smart, and it's getting smarter. This damage by panda is temporary--they are cleaning up the low quality sites. In their next update, Hubpages will get its traffic back and sites like Bubblews is going down.
  
  Someone said that ads on bubblews are less spammy. Are you kidding me? They have pop up ads! How spammy can it get?
  Bubblews is going down. I suggest you stick to HP--it's getting a lot better.
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  @Super Ninja , I agree with every word of you! Soon, HP will be back to glory!
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Exactly. I still write on my other HP accounts, and will keep writing.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  This simply isn't true. Yahoo Answers pages can rank very highly on Google search results with word counts of 100 or 200.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That's because of the domain rank.
  Besides, they have different rules for forums and Q&A, it's not just yahoo.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It is also the extremely long tail nature of the keyword phrases.
  
  You will not rank with two hundred words on 'Quantum Mechanics' at Yahoo. You might rank for something idiotic like 'who invented quantums?'
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You're right!
  Yahoo answers show up in the results whenever I type questions instead of keywords.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  WikiAnswers and ask.com/question, too.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Oh yeah, you won't believe how many times ask.com and WikiAnswers show up on the top of results when I search for long tail keywords.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Hey, will, don't you think the links on hubs (including ads) are too light?
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  400 characters (letters) actually, but in many cases people write far more than that.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  400 characters = apprx 100 words--5 times less then what HP and Google recommend.
  There is no QAP there, writers can get away writing almost anything.
  I have read many articles from bubblews, and 90% of them won't pass the QAP here.
  Only few of the writers, like yourself, write some quality articles.
  I don't think google is that stupid to ignore that.
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paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago
I am really getting tired of that site (B) being down all the time. I was going to make some more posts over there today, but forget it.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I too find this frustrating, but equally I do understand they are a comparatively new site (2012), therefore there will be loads of updating and tweaking that needs doing as they evolve. Right now I am cool with that if it means the layout of the site, the features etc are improved, and other improvements suggested by users get implemented during these maintenance updates. Eventually (if they are still around) these periods of 'maintenance' should reduce considerably.
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  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  As long as they pay me, I'll be understanding as hell.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Lol, me too
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  Winterfateposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Me three.
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  ComfortBposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Me four
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PhlebotomyAdviserposted 10 years ago
For some reason Hubpages does not rank in google like it used to. You used to count on a post showing up instantly on the first page of google. Not anymore
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helpavisitorposted 10 years ago
Hi folks, the well praised Bubblews is down right now. May be i check at the wrong time. cheers
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  hrymelposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It does that a lot. You simply wait a few seconds and refresh, or try a different link to get to the same page. It's annoying, but I guess everything has quirks.
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Writer Foxposted 10 years ago
In the past seven days, I have had more than 18,500 views to my 31 Hubs, mostly sent from Google. I reached the minimum payout in five days, starting from zero on Sept. 1st.

HubPages gives you a platform, but each Hub has to address the Google search engine individually.

HubPages doesn't do everything as well as it could, but you can succeed here if you do the right things to be found on Google for highly-trafficked and profitable keyword phrases.
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  ologsinquitoposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Writer Fox, thanks for the encouragement. I still believe this is a very viable platform.
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  Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It seems there are basically 2 groups of people on HP:
  The ones who were here in the gravy days and can't make as much money, so either left or keep trying, and are fed up.
  
  Or the ones who just wrote about 50 hubs right around the time Panda hit, and never got a payout until they were here for about a year. I am one of the latter. I did get paid every month for a year, so at least I got something out of my work, but I didn't make the payout in August. I noticed traffic always picked up in September though, and hoped that would be the case, since I kept writing. But so far September hasn't lived up to it's former promise, I'm making about a dime a day more, but it has to be a lot more than that for me to write anymore. So for those of us that came at the wrong time, we worked so hard for so little.
  
  I hope the site improves at least for a while. I feel like I never got my investment of time back. I have moved hubs to other places, but each site has people interested in different things.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Then you should be on Team HubPages I would say because you clearly know what most of us are missing out on!
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It's just simple SEO and keyword research. Keyword research needs to be updated every few months because the Web is more competitive than ever.
  
  Bubblews is a social networking site and its page views come from members of the community, not from Google, so it's a completely different opportunity. I am not on it because I couldn't possibly give it the time it requires.
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  "Simple SEO and keyword research". Really?
  You got lucky, that's all.
  A lot of us know about SEO, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, keyword research and their usage etc, and still we are getting demoted in the SERPS by inferior articles that re-worded our content.
  There is an element of luck involved in writing here, but it seems that if Google loves one of your articles, they will love all of them (or most).
  If it hates something you wrote, it hates all your work.
  I've given up on this account, but I have others that see traffic rise or fall depending on Google's latest whims.
  I see no rhyme nor reason.
  The problem obviously lies with the platform.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  If you allow your content to be stolen and/or spun, yes, it can affect your search rankings. I just filed six DMCA requests for my Hubs and it's something I have to do every week.
  
  I posted a long list of stolen Hubs on a blog, and I'm the only one who filed a DMCA and got my content removed and got his advertising account closed. But the other plagiarized Hubs are still there:
  http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115339
  
  It can harm the entire HubPages site when this is allowed to happen and the staff should really file a complaint to have everything removed.
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Just six a week would be nice!
  
  I had over 500 hubs. The last hub I posted before September 2011 when I lost all my traffic turned out to have been stolen by chinadaily which I am told is the biggest website on the web.
  My hub was then replicated in literally thousands of sites.
  
  I sat and filed DMCAs against the first 10 pages in Google.
  
  The insult to end all insults came when Google replied to tell me I had to take private action against these sites because they had refuted my claim.
  They hadn't really.
  Because I was sent copies of what they did write, Google Translate told me they wrote words to the effect of, "We are very sorry, we will take plagiarised content down and not do it again".
  
  But they put these words in the counter-claim format.
  
  Obviously whichever Google employee was working at the time, did not bother to translate it from Chinese to English.
  
  Google washed their hands.
  
  I had to change my content, but the damage was done.
  
  500 hubs on the scrapheap, none of which I can reproduce elsewhere because they have all been copied by thieves.
  
  I have spent literally hundreds of hours tracking down thieves and reporting them, but hey...if they don't speak English all that work is for nothing.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It's a plague and it's all over the Internet. But it does explain what has happened to your traffic.
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  So, how many other hubbers has this happened to?
  
  Without knowing, I would say quite a lot, because I am seeing very few of the names that were here when I first joined.
  
  But the problem lies with Google.
  
  They are the ones who promised they knew original content from stolen content. Even though there was only one or two days between my posting a hub and it being copied all over, why couldn't they tell the original?
  
  Why does all my work have to suffer?
  
  In terms of potential popularity, it was probably my best hub.
  
  I've re-written it, it is now exclusive again, exclusive being the correct terminology.
  
  Google has excluded it, and everything else I write.
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  Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I'm sorry that this happened to you, Izzy. Every Hub I have has been stolen at least once. (One of my Hubs was stolen by a Hubber and HubPages still allows him to be one of my followers against my objection!) HubPages is a venue where tons of content can be found on any topic. But my content is also plagiarized from my own websites and my clients have their website content plagiarized, too. So, it doesn't just happen to you.
  
  Last month, Google received 18,869,797 DMCA removal requests.
  
  And Google can't always tell which webpage is the original. One thing that can help is to post a new Hub on Google+ as soon as it is featured. This gives a time/date stamp that Google can verify.
  
  From your post, I can't tell if one of your Hubs was published on ChinaDaily or if they all were. Were you contacting the individual websites and their hosts to have content removed or were you just contacting Google? China is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and there are agencies in China which will act on copyright violations. (Mainland China has over 10,000,000 English language speakers.)
  
  If you "rewrote" your Hub, you probably kept the same ideas and that can look like spun content. I don't know of any way to rewrite a webpage without running into duplicate content or low-quality (compared to the published original) issues.
  
  You can't go back and rectify what happened so long ago, but in the future, don't give up the fight. You will absolutely lose ownership of your content if you allow it to be duplicated. The plagiarized content must be removed from the Web; it's not enough just to get it de-indexed.
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  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I"m having a problem with stolen hubs too. Hubpages needs a way to stop this. It seems there must be some way to avoid copying.
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  donotfearposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  How in the world do you know if the hub has been stolen?
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  Joseph Renneposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Find it. Thats the only way I know of.
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  Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Barbara,
  If your hubs are stolen, HP will highlight which are on your accounts page. I had only 3 stolen, and it's not hard to find them. Just type a phrase you used in your writing that is "uniquely you" and you will find either your whole piece that was ripped off, or maybe the thief just "borrowed" a few interesting paragraphs, too lazy to take the whole piece.
  
  I was lucky that I emailed all three, told them they stole my work, which was dated, and asked them to take it down. HP will give you the URL or site sometimes, they did for me. I was surprised that although all 3 websites took the stuff down, the followers got mean and started dissing my writing, where they had praised it before. But I guess they were friends of the thief. Filing all that paperwork is so time consuming, along with the constant changes that take place here.
  
  All three pieces were from my best hubs too. Another shock was that one of them was copied about 2 years ago, only days after I posted it here, my most viewed hub. Wilderness has a hub which explains all the steps you need to take to file a complaint against the plagiarist, but I would try to ask them to take it down before I filed all that.
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  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Jean, You can't always rely on Hubpages catching all of them. I've found several by just copying and pasting part of my hub into Google search. This is getting so tiresome.
  I am staying here because I just have too much time invested, but between this problem and all the rules I am not going to be adding content until things change if they ever do.
  Thanks for trying to help.
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  Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Hi Barbara,
  I wasn't relying on HP to find them, I did, by typing a few descriptive words of a few hubs into the search bar. I am actually annoyed that HP still has them flagged on my Accounts page, because I resolved the matters all myself and had the content taken down without filing all the paperwork.
  
  I understand about the time and work invested, and feel the same. I have one more piece I began that I have to finish, and then I'm not adding anything else unless I see some traffic. Right now I only have UP arrows on about 5 hubs out of 138, 12 of which are from over the summer. I like Infobarrel, but they seem to have problems with the site all the time, and it gets annoying. One night I posted a very long piece, around 8 pages (they seem to like in depth things there) and it looked fine. It was a lot of work and many pictures. The next day when I checked on it, because they hold them at first, only one page of my work was displayed, which didn't even read like a whole anything. There was no way to delete it from my side, and I wrote to them for around 3 weeks before they finally did it. They are a nice crowd, I just don't know why they have such problems. I went there because the payout system was more like HP, not as dependent on clicks. Every site has it's good and bad points, and I used to always come back here, but I can't anymore if I'm making less than $1.00 a day!
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  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Jean, I like Infobarrel for the forum. Writers there are so happy to share good advice about what topics are good etc. I've only written 2 articles there, but neither of them ever got good traffic. With just 2 articles, I never learned to use there writing tools properly and just stayed here. Now I need to expand. If you find another good place to write, let me know. I have a few post at Bubblews and should work on that a bit more.
  
  Wow! I'm impressed - 8 pages. Maybe you should use them to start a website. That's a good start.
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  LillyGrillzitposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  just Google your user name, and then Hubpages...It is enough to send a writer into the drink.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Now we are getting somewhere and I am glad this has emerged in this thread! I have had problems with stolen hubs too and maybe that is why I don't do well here any more. I discovered one the other day about a Tenerife plant had been posted in an old Tenerife forum with no credit to me at all.
  
  http://old.tenerifeforum.com/showthread … amp;page=1
  
  This has stolen my work and traffic but as I subsequently find out I can't do much because zarion who is the thief who stole my work has left the island and the forum has closed. This is what people from Tenerife told me. So now what? That is just one problem with my work that has been stolen!
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  LillyGrillzitposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I filed 15 DMCA's within a week. By the time Google got around to checking the site, they had changed their url, or ??, because Google said they could not find them. They are still out there. It may have something to do with comments from or to other Hubbers who have not filed, because it killed me. The pirated sites are making a heck of a lot more per day than I was on HP. I am moving out to a site that offers Safe Harbor, and help, policy and guns if our items are stolen, hacked or pirated. Breaking up is such sweet sorrow, but so is getting violated everyday at your host's place of business, and he turns the other way...
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FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago
I've been here for two and a half years and I still ain't been paid sh*t. Obviously I'm not in this for the money. I enjoy this site, I enjoy writing and the HP platform is user friendly, but I am quickly losing patience with all the constant, stupid rule changes that get sprung on us at a moment's notice.
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Wesman Todd Shawposted 10 years ago
Me, I stopped caring about Hubpages the day they stopped caring about me. Thing is, they NEVER cared about me at all.

I don't like the ethos running this website, but I do like the bit of pay I get every month. If I write anything here ever again it will be purely for money, not for any sort of admiration or loyalty to this website.

I LIKE the people at InfoBarrel, I LIKE that website...but somehow or another their advertising accounts have been sabotaged. I'm not going to write there until they get it fixed. I refuse to join this buble thingo everyone seems to love because ...heck, I'm not a trend chaser.

My Hubpages traffic is back up to a decent level, but yesterday these retarded people "idled" two of my hubs, so I simply copy/pasted them to Blogger.

They just aren't seeming very wise to me, these Hubstaff. Now Simone is gone, I can't think of any reason to pretend to actually like any of them, they don't talk to me, so why would I talk to them?

Anyway, I hope the site improves for the simplistic reason I like the tiny bit of monthly pay; but I'd prefer to get that pay from people I liked more.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I understand what you are saying there even if I am one of the Happy Bubblers now!
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  Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Don't knock it 'till you've tried it Wesman Todd Shaw. Don't miss out just because you don't want to be like everybody else. A lot of us felt the same way too. You would do great there.
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  IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I know the feeling, Wesman.
  I like this website, but for longest time, it felt like they didn't like me.
  Even though my earnings and traffic are vastly reduced, I still had a couple of Amazon hubs that received a 50% plus conversion rate. This resulted in some fantastic sales, as it sent people through to Amazon and ensured they had my cookie on when they not only ordered something I had promoted, but other things too. Obviously, it would have been good for the site too, as during their 40% they would have got the sales.
  Just recently, HP have idled nearly all of my sales hubs.
  My Amazon clicks have dropped off a cliff, my earnings alongside it.
  WTG Hubpages!
  These hubs were still getting read! Not a lot, but their conversion sales made up for the lack of viewers.
  Polls, maps and other vacuous interactive stuff would not keep people there longer, nor improve sales.
  They were designed to send people through to Amazon, and it worked!
  
  Oh and I, too, resisted Bubblews, but gave in and am earning again
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WriteAngledposted 10 years ago
When Hubpages introduced its offensive censoring of hubs, just because they get few views, I deleted six hubs I cared about the most and used them to start a web site. They were all on one broad topic. That site is now building up views, Adsense earnings and Amazon sales, which bring me far more than my remaining hubs.

I now concentrate most of my efforts on that web site. When I feel I have something brief to say about whatever I want, I post it on Bubblews. I don't post a lot, maybe three or four times a week maximum. However, in about a month, I have made over $20. That is equivalent to 10 months of current HP earnings for my 22 remaining hubs. I have no motivation to write further on HP at all, given the lack of earnings and the lack of respect shown by HP to its authors.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am genuine shocked how little money people are making here. HP needs to get itself together fast.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I guess you make some real money Will. But as you are seeing the majority of people, some of who are pretty good article writers, do not. That may be why they are less tolerant about QAP rules and so on, and are pleased about earning a few easy dollars on Bubblews.
  
  Now sure - we should all learn how to monetise properly but frankly - most people offering advice - especially SEO - are full of crap. They are covering their own failure and dressing it up as success. It gets a few more visits for them.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  To be honest, if you want to be any kind of writer, Bubblews seems a wrong turn to me.
  
  As far as I can see, the site is just designed to get a huge crowd of people together so that ads can be fired at them.
  
  The 'writing' thing is incidental. No one need read the articles, no one need care what is written, no one need care who anyone else is. Of course, there will always be a few people who do care -- that is the way that people are.
  
  Mostly though, users just do the rounds, 'comment', dash off a few words, earn a few cents here and there, without any real involvement.
  
  It is a clever site, in the sense that it is crowd sourcing that Google cannot take a loathing to and crush. The few people arriving from search engines are irrelevant.
  
  The problems will come if advertisers fail to see a return on their investment. I happen to think that is inevitable. The site visitors are nothing like a targeted audience.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That's an opinion based on not being there Will? I want to be a writer who people read not for advertising or information but because it will be a fun experience, something different. I believe that Bubblews offers me that opportunity.
  
  The readers and writers are the audience. They are engaged with the site, and the advertisers like that engagement.
  
  First impressions of Bubblews for writers coming from sites like HP are that it is awful. The fans are not all fans because of the dollars Will. Although they help...
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well, enjoy your time over there.
  
  The important thing, as far as I am concerned, is for HP to get back on its feet. There are hundreds of thousands of genuinely worthwhile pages here that deserve traffic.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I agree. If search settles down, and if I get some traffic then I still like the ability to craft something more... er... large and crafted. HP still offers me that. This is not some dramatic flounce.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, I am well aware of all that is said here. A lot of Bubblers write stuff that would be condemned here as low quality and these same people post stupid comments like "nice work" or "Connected." There is no writing skill needed to do this, and then there are the serious writers like myself who post decent articles there and proper comments.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I am sure that you are one of the people who care, Bard.
  
  Keep bubbling!
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thanks, Will! I am but it doesn't pay well!
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donotfearposted 10 years ago
I must agree that it has gotten very strict with the new guidelines. It was like every other day I was getting hit with something. They're just trying to raise their standards, I understand that. But the $$ is going down as well as the traffic I used to get.

Granted, I've been lax the last year and haven't engaged new hubs frequently. But the drop has been drastic the last year. Very much so.

If I were making a huge effort right now, going in and editing, changing, rearranging words, titles, etc. and still not going up, I'd be freaking out. I'm just lax....too many personal things going on interfering with my motivation and creativity.

I want to stay here. I write for the release and expression; but the gas money I earn helps! Who can say they aren't proud when their score reaches 100? I know it gave me a charge to have a 95-100 hub score for soooooo long. Now it's stuck.

Oh well. I try.
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  LillyGrillzitposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  The way they are raising standards, is by accepting work that is pirated, or straight stolen from the www. WP and more. One new Hubber that I tracked from the 'stolen HP' forums, had been posting photos of WP articles and items without any credits. Just saying "internet", I checked a few of his "Featured Hubs" they were all hacked from WP engineers. I notified HP, they said I was wrong. I contacted the hacked engineers; they sent me a very nice response letter thanking me for making an effort to help them recover their stolen property...the new Quality Hubber...still at it, and scoring in the high 90's. Whatever.
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Froggy213posted 10 years ago
I have defended Hubpages up and down and I still love this place, but facts are facts: Bubblews is where the money is right now and i just wrote my first Bubble. Within ten minutes of writing it I have made almost $2. It took me two months when i started at hubpages to make $2.

I am not going to debate with people like writer fox who is the king of SEO supposedly. I will say that I did do much better here when I could name what the keywords were instead of just leaving it to the chance of what hubpages or their software picks for my keywords.

Just like the article I wrote on Bubblews--I am not going to put all my eggs in one basket. I am Froggy there if searching.

I hope and pray that Hubpages comes out of this, but if they don't I am, as my Boy Scout leader pounded in me, prepared.
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wabondposted 10 years ago
I don't think the problem is Hubpages, the problem is Google. If Google has a strong bias against web-sites like Hubpages or Squidoo, then there is not a lot they can do about it. Bubblews being a Eastern website may not be so reliant on Google and this is why they can thrive, in spite of what Google is doing. We have to forget about Google and try and bypass it.
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I agree with what wabond has said, word by word, sentence by sentence. The problem is with Google really. Why can't it just give authoritative sites, more of an "authority"!
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  When you say 'Bubblews being an Eastern site' are you thinking it is an Indian site or something? (someone else seemed to be under this assumption the other day). It isn't, it is a site run by three American young men.
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  LillyGrillzitposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Google is not the one who hosts a site, allowing thieves and pirates to have their way with the property of the "guests" they are hosting. Google has always been up front about their changes and policies. They have open forums where you can talk to actual Google staff, and have changes made. They to listen, and give feedback. They will make an effort if your stuff is stolen and pirated, and offer you a platform for grievance. I have not found this to be true in the 3+ years on HP...well, let me take that back, in the first year (2010), there was feedback, and what resembled a concern from HP staff, that has not been the case in a long time. I do hope they recoup their goodness.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Pcunix who has left here explains what he thinks went wrong here: http://www.bubblews.com/news/1056626-my … t-hubpages
  
  I have had my stuff stolen and then seen the sites where it is posted have stolen my traffic too! Seems the Internet is full of thieves and they do better financially than the honest and creative writers! Very sad!
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2uesdayposted 10 years ago
HubPages and Bubblews seem to be constantly compared to one another. Apart from both being online sites with 'writers' and 'readers' and adverts I cannot think why I would compare them.

HubPages seems vulnerable to being affected by Google and the team here often seem to have to modify things to put right the changes affecting the site. Maybe Google is one of those things that evolves so rapidly that it is like a forest fire and no one can out run it, but the team here are putting a lot of effort in trying. The hubs I have lost ( removed by me because of changes and lack of traffic at times of year) are like the trees felled to make a fire stop break, but maybe sometimes the strong ones are taken out and the weak tinder left.

I hope HubPages succeeds in the future. As a lot of time and effort has been invested here by the team and lets not forget the people who write here and stay despite the changes.

How many characters is that ?
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You could have got a peanut for writing that over at Bubblews, lol,
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Will you don't get it. I'm earning peanuts at HP. I'm earning packets of peanuts at Bubblews.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I decided to have a good dig through the site. This is a useful little script:
  
  site:bubblews.com "Views 10000...9999999"
  
  (Change the numbers to suit. There are not many profiles or pages with more than a 100,000 views)
  
  Drop the string into a search engine and you can see the high traffic writers and pages. Most of the big traffic goes to people boasting that they get a lot of traffic, lol. Mostly, they are people from India and the Philippines.
  
  There are a small number of people who get decent traffic from search for pretty much the same kind page you would expect to do well here.
  
  This woman had some serious traffic but was not paid apparently: http://www.bubblews.com/account/31442-missfortune
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That high traffic game is on all sites Will. Even within these hallowed forums there are posters playing it. How to make money is an ongoing earner.
  
  Those not paid seem mostly to have broken a rule - photograph plagiarism is a particularly strong issue for Bubblews it seems. That's kind of refreshing in a way.
  
  Maybe if I get to 100,000 views they will delete my account or not pay me. What will I have lost? These are not articles, they are posts - short, sweet, hopefully conversation starters. Bubblews want interaction - more ads, more income.
  
  I really must stop. That's the trouble with forums - they hook you in, and give you no reward.
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  viryaboposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You could have earned some money for this long post Mark.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, that is what I am saying too!
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  2uesdayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You should give it a try Will you get paid for a variety of things including dislikes.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Nah, I dislikes the things I dislikes for free.
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PaulGoodman67posted 10 years ago
Nobody knows for sure if HP will recover - it depends what one means by "recovery", of course, but I tend to suspect that traffic levels overall will rise over the coming months. Why do I think that? Because HP will react to the latest Google algo and make the site more Google-friendly.

I might give Bubbling a try though. I suspect that it will be a flash in the pan, however, as I fail to see how it is a sustainable business model at present. I did take a look at the site a few weeks back and found it unappealing.

People say that HP is in terminal decline etc. I have to say that the period from November last year through to early Summer this year was very good for me. Things are bad now, but even that seems relative for me. I've lost most of my income but what is left is still enough to make a difference in my life.

There might never be a repeat of the pre-Panda HP "Golden Age", but that doesn't mean that the site is finished as an income source for writers. I think it has medium to long term potential still, unlike Bubbling.
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews in my opinion has a huge future. It is never going to struggle to find contributors - people are flocking to that site from all the old writing sites. Experienced, quality writers are going there, and staying there.
  
  So that is the input side sorted.
  
  The other side is the advertisers. Take a look again at the site. Are the ads better or worse than HP? I'll answer it. They are better. Less spammy, more targeted.
  
  The game is the advertisers are targeting the contributors - same as Facebook. The twist is that Bubblews gives some of that money, and it is a LOT of money, back to the contributors - rather than creaming the whole lot off for their shareholders.
  
  The only future Bubblews need worry about is whether Arvind, head guy, continues that model. It does not need Google, it does not need to post "writers wanted" adverts with misleading claims.
  
  Gradually, even the naysayers are waking up.
  
  I don't give a crap about the usual pretend its great so everyone will follow me there. The old-style forum Kings and Queens, the major contributors pretending they have the answer.
  
  Real people at Bubblews are having the most fun in years. That's probably enough from me for now.
  
  I did one post there this morning. A pic, bit funny, the stuff I used to do on Facebook for free, to see if people liked it. It will probably earn me a dollar.
  
  Status update on FB - revenue zero.
  Bubblews post - revenue a dollar and up.
  
  It has a future, a big one. In my opinion.
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I don't know Mark, it seems to me that you are confusing something being good for you, with something being good at surviving.
  
  But we would be rehashing old arguments so I will stop here.
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  PaulGoodman67posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews is following a similar model to the old MyLot one, as far as I can see. However, Bubblews are paying out dollars rather than cents. It all comes down to whether you believe that the money being paid out by Bubblews comes from advertising earnings, or from loaned finances to set up the business and build a contributor/user base. I believe it is the latter and at some point they will have to make the business into a profitable outfit. What they do at that point will be crucial to their prospects of survival, as well as a big challenge.
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  helpavisitorposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  This i guess is the POINT.
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wabondposted 10 years ago
I think we need both hubpages and bubblews. If bubblews sees off the competition and becomes a monopoly like Google, they it can squeeze the contributors out of their money, and we cannot do anything about it. Google is behaving like a jerk, only because it has no competition. We must ensure that any of these article sites, do not go the same way.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Good points, William!
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  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bubblews and Google are two entirely different things. Google is a search engine, Bubblews is a social networking/writing site that does not use search engines to get traffic. It is self sustaining and gets the great majority of its traffic from the people who post and communicate there. Eventually it will have to run out of steam, but comparing it to Google in any way is a nonsensical comparison.
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Will Apseposted 10 years ago
Mark has changed, as this recent photograph shows.

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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I like that Will.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You can have it if you want. It was pushed under my door, earlier, by persons unknown. They must have papped you at a Bubble Blowout.
  
  So jealous... sigh.
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William F. Torpeyposted 10 years ago
This may or may not be relevant, but dozens of my 158 hubs have been unfeatured because of "engagement" and one has been unfeatured because of "quality." The one unfeatured because of quality has 50 "Likes." That's a lot, for my hubs. I have the distinct feeling that all the hubs listed as unfeatured for "engagement" will soon be switched over to unfeatured for "quality." None of these hubs will be searchable in Google. The reason I joined HubPages was it offered a site in which my hubs would have an opportunity to be read. That reason no longer applies. Why doesn't HubPages just send me an email saying they no longer want me on this site? I'm watching my email closely now.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  On one of my other accounts here most of my Tenerife herbs articles are unfeatured due to lack of engagement. They are good articles that botanists would have no problem with or people interested in herbs. But I suppose the majority are more interested in the rubbish they already know about as pushed by the media and travel agents for a place like this. Who wants to read about wild Canary Island herbs when there are beaches and holiday resorts? I have thought this before - that people mostly search for things they already know something about. They don't really want new info about new subjects!
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That is very true, and very frustrating. There are several topics I would love to write about, that I think people would like reading, but I don't, because nobody knows about it, so nobody is searching for it.
  
  On the other hand, if people know nothing about something, how are they going to search for it? When was the last time you searched for something like that using google? I bet you you use the internet to find out about things, you know a little bit about, and you want to find out more.
  
  I have a hub about fruit flies and science. You might enjoy it if you read it. Have you ever searched for this topic? Have you read my hub?
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Did you do the keyword research? It'll definitely help to increase your traffic.
  Even if 2000 people are looking for your keyword, you should try to rank at the top. Lesser the competition the better. 1000 views a month is not bad for a single hub. That's 100k visits for 100 hubs in a month. It's not that bad.
  Keywords with higher competition and you'll only get a small amount of the traffic or no traffic at all.
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wabondposted 10 years ago
I suppose if Google is not going to support Hubpages, then why should Hubpages support Google? I think we have to give up on Google and look for traffic from other sources.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  75% of the traffic comes from Google.
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LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago
We have waited for over a year for things to get better at HP, and it has only gotten worse. We have waited for months to see a sign of something good for Squidoo, only to watch things get worse. When I search for a product these days, Google fills its pages with Amazon itself, Walmart, and other big advertisers who pay for those spots and spend big bucks with Adsense.
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  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  That's because Google "trusts" those sites. They provide the most relevant and accurate contents. NO??
  Google is getting smarter!
  Wait a few more months. I think HP is already showing improvements.
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  59
  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I really hope it get better here at HP.
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  Nitin Pillaiposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Traffic at squidoo has reached an all time low for me. Have bid goodbye forever to Squidoo. And do you have any idea how they are deleting quality lenses with their stupid "nofollow" criteria! I myself have lost 38 lenses of mine,all high quality original lenses,
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yes, I have been seeing messages here over the past year or more saying the improvements need a while to kick in but we will soon see the site getting better but as far as I can see each time another change is brought in HP gets worse! It almost looks as if it is being destroyed from within!
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  72
  relacheposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You might want to see the HubPages site stats that I put into a graph and posted over in another thread...
  
  http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/116693? … ost2467207
  
  Or you might not.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Thanks for this! I have had a look and responded!
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  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Bard of Ely, As soon as they started hub idling I was worried it might kick them in the butt in the end. I agree, some of the ideas haven't worked and they should stop them asap.
  
  Squidoo's new ideas are just plain crazy and much worse than the ideas here.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Squidoo lost me long ago but HubPages I have always liked and supported! I simply don't understand why it is in such a terrible mess now that many former top writers have left or stopped posting. Personally I find the amount of effort that has to be put in here now isn't worth it for the results I get. I don't think it comes down to me as a failure though because there are Hubbers who used to do much better than I and they cannot now! There is something very wrong here! I would love to see HP recover though, don't get me wrong!
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  74
  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I agree with everything you've said.
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61
imgreencatposted 10 years ago
That's almost funny, if it wasn't so sad.
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William F. Torpeyposted 10 years ago
I find it strange that the one hub (so far) that has been "not featured -- quality" has the following statement by HubPages on the edit version:

Great job! A beautiful Hub that includes well-written text with engaging and interactive capsules establishes a great foundation for success.
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1. 0
  Super Ninjaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I know, something is wrong. Some hubs get featured which I never thought would pass QAP, and some experienced hubbers complain about hubs not getting featured. I was hopping hubs yesterday, and some of them are terrible. I think you should ask the staff for specific reason though--there could be some minor issue.
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  William F. Torpeyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I wouldn't bother, Super Ninja. Half my hubs were rated "not featured engagement." If HubPages doesn't want my work that's their option. I'm not going to jump through hoops to please them.
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  Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  These automated messages do more harm than good.
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  William F. Torpeyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Quality writing and the drive for higher and higher profits are fundamentally incompatible. Google can';t -- and doesn't -- evaluate quality writing. It only wants to sell ads.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I think you are right, William! It doesn't matter how good the quality of your writing is it can still get unfeatured due to lack of engagement. I think some of the top authors and journalists in the world could join HubPages and post some of their work only to find they are not featured for the same reason!
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  55
  andromidaposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  An algorithm has no way to verify the quality of an writing. A lengthy article does not mean that it is better than a short article.
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87
AdeleCosgroveBrayposted 10 years ago
I've read through this entire forum thread with interest. Like many other writers here, my income from Hubpages has dropped way down. I was reaching above the payment threshold on a regular monthly basis, but not any more.

I am also thoroughly fed up with constant 'hoops' being held up, which we're all seemingly obliged to jump through each time yet another batch of changes is inflicted upon us. Consequently, unless an idea of mine readily fits another Hub, I won't be writing any more. If revenue improves I may reconsider, but until then it's a waste of valuable time.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  My feelings are very similar, Adele!
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  sabrebIadeposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yeah...not being able to change the picture size then getting a warning when THEY blow it up outta proportion was pretty much my last straw.
  "You're making less money, getting less traffic...here...let's change something to make it even harder to update an old Hub! Brilliant!"
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I found this in one of my unpublished hubs today. Every time I look there is something new that needs to be done and none of it seems to make any actual betterment in traffic or earnings so what is going on here?
  reply report
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Steve Lensmanposted 10 years ago
Greetings Hubbers. For 2 years I was happy with Hubpages until they started to unfeature my hubs and than they started unfeaturing my newly published hubs and I had to modify them again and again until they were accepted. Things were changing rapidly around here and fed up I decided to step back and see how things develop. Browsing the forums I see a lot of unhappy Hubbers. I really hope things improve, My idled hubs have had more than 11,000 views a shame they've been put out to pasture.

On the plus side my views are up from last week and earnings are still trickling in.
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WriteAngledposted 10 years ago
If you mouse over any link to a post or a comment, you will see the URL for that post, which includes the full title. Since I realised that, I have stopped having to click blindly on every notification I receive.
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LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago
WriteAngled: Thanks for that tip. I have been there since Jan and did not know that. But, on Chrome, I have to look at the bottom of screen to see title, which is okay with me. Definite time saver. I often go to home page for new posts to save some time,
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0
Crystal Tatumposted 10 years ago
I recently joined Bubblews but don't care for it much. At least I feel like on Hubpages folks actually read my work. I'm going to try it for a bit longer but not sure I'll be hanging around. I've heard it's easier to make money, but I've only hit $3 after nearly two weeks. Any tips on how to be more successful there, Bard?
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  First of all don't worry about whether you are being read or not. Don't think about creating great works of writing because it isn't for that. Spend minutes on a Bubble!
  Knock out 10 a day and your money will go up quickly. You get paid each time you post one.
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  iman86posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Deleted
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  You need to stay within the rules, post up to 10 articles a day (and I recommend doing all 10), respond to comments (socialise), like other Bubblers' pòsts and add connections. Do all that and you should see money coming in.
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Crystal Tatumposted 10 years ago
Thanks. I guess I've learned something about myself. It really does matter to me that I am read, and it matters that I produce quality work. I may not make much money that way, but I can't seem to shake those desires. I found that out when I joined Textbroker and now with Bubblews.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I can understand that because I am a serious writer and it is very frustrating. I have had that problem here with my well written hubs that I was proud of unfeatured for lack of engagement. However, I realise that these sites are not about giving us somewhere to put what we consider quality articles but what they consider are the ones that bring traffic and money to the site.
  It is a sad reflection on how things have gone!
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Healthyannieposted 10 years ago
Hubpages will recover. We had the same issue last year with low numbers but so does many other sites. I think Bubblews will run out of cash, and the reason why people are not being paid is quite simply because of cash flow. I cannot see how Bubblews can attract enough views per article to fill their bank, and keep on paying out. Perhaps it is a matter of if there is not many at the time of the redemption, it will not be paid.
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Barbara Kayposted 10 years ago
My Hubpage traffic has been slowly returning. I wonder about Bubblews too. How can they keep paying so much out for so little. I think we just need to be patient here. The traffic we once got may not fully return, but at least we know we'll get paid.

I've been doing a little writing at Bubblews myself. I'm just a little half way to payout. I need to socialize there more, but just don't have the time. After reading about so many that didn't get paid, I worry about wasting my time. I know most people are being paid, but still.
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Dawn Denmar1posted 10 years ago
I got my first payout on Bubblews a week or so ago. I sent an email to support a day after claiming my redemption just saying that although I had not credited my photos they were all from Wikimedia Commons. Got the payment within the 72 working hours they operate to and the echeque cleared a few days later. Shame about it being an epayment and I did have to pay a few cents for the payment to come to me as they don't pay charges forward. But I can confirm it does pay.
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Uninvited Writerposted 10 years ago
Avon is a waste of time and money, especially if you don't drive. All of your profits will be eaten up in shipping costs. I know this from personal experience.
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1. 74
  Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I sold it at one time too and I agree.
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2. 0
  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well I'm not doing badly on it.
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  Uninvited Writerposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I found that to make any profit I would have to pass on the costs to customers and I wasn't willing to do that.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Your location and situation is very different. At least you have contact with people of a 'certain age' who 'want to look nice'. You may be comfortable with this kind of face to face dealing with people, you may be able to get around easier than other people can. I am sure it works for you, but I have to say you are the first person who I have known that has made it work. Even a former step daughter of mine quickly gave up Avon when we lived in a place with three nearby blocks of flats (in the UK) because she still didn't find it worthwhile.
  reply report
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I only do the nursing home now but alot of people from the flats come to me. Well we live in the flats so they all know me. Anyway Sue says Tenerife is a goldmine.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Well this sure wasn't the case when I was there, but if 'Sue says Tenerife is a goldmine' it must be true and no wonder she is willing to drive for over an hour to recruit another rep! As I said before, this is really not Steve's type of thing, but I will leave it to him to respond now (really). I expect he is busy on Bubblews now (or asleep). No doubt he will post back here some time tomorrow when he gets a free moment. Oh, by the way, he isn't big on phones either, and only really has a phone line for Internet access.
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  Miriam Weissmannposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sue is in Scotland but she used to be in Spain and got in touch with Tenerife tonight. She knows people in the area I suppose.
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Am I the only person who is a bit freaked out by the fact that Miriam's avatar disappeared? When I checked out her profile it said "this user no longer exists". I don't know her, but I got the impression that she was a long time hubber whom people knew, rather than a newbie or a sock puppet.
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  She didn't have any hubs last time I looked though she did have a few followers. Anyway she has gone and I hope I don't ever have the misfortune of meeting Sue on this island.
  
  I find it funny that this thread has transformed into one about Avon sales persons though! The question now is will this thread ever recover? lol
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Probably not. Such is the way of threads, after a few hours/days they mutate.
  
  Miriam was so "helpful" to you that I thought she must be a long term online friend.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Sue apparently lives in Scotland now, so I doubt you will meet her. It is the ones who live in Santa Cruz you need to watch out for lol
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  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  It is not that I am antisocial or anything but I don't think much of a lot of people I meet or who contact me and I am constantly putting the phone down on people who phone trying to sell me stuff. As for the woman here her boyfriend has been helping with the monarchs and taken plants to her place. He is also very knowledgeable about edible fungi and I get on with him.
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I noticed that today too, reckon she is running scared because right here in these forums she has pretty much admitted exploiting the elderly. Izzy has reported her to Avon now too, and linked to these forum threads, so hopefully Avon will strike her off, call the Police or whatever else they wish to do.
  
  She has been here a long while, but had no hubs showing on her account. Either she never wrote any, had them unfeatured or moved them. Really don't know which.
  reply report
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starstreamposted 10 years ago
I haven't checked my stats in a long time due to all the ridiculous changes. It takes the joy out of creative writing for sure!
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Mark Ewbieposted 10 years ago
This is how it works Steve. You are a target for a con-merchant.

What they do is this.

Find vulnerable, stupid, gullible people and hook them into MLM style marketing. Then find even more vulnerable, etc. people and sell them overpriced products. Lose all your friends by trying to meet your targets or attempting to hook them in the same way.

Who in their right mind would be interested in an offer from someone on the internet?

Izzy is right to pick up on the old people angle. That's where vulnerable comes in. Lot of retired and vulnerable peopel in Tenerife? I bet its a goldmine. These people are the lowest of the low.
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1. 80
  Bard of Elyposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Mark, Tenerife has lots of con-merchants here already and I have no intention of becoming another!
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  Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I know Steve, just had to say something!
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  aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  I have to say, I can't really see you selling cosmetics! It is really difficult to get something to work, when it goes against our personality.
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IzzyMposted 10 years ago
Avon reps could do well in Tenerife selling Skin-So-Soft as a mosquito repellent.
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1. 88
  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Lol, if the reps are as pushy as Miriam apparently is I would want to buy an Avon repellent, or more to the point, an 'Avon Rep' repellent.
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  Muttfaceposted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Strangely it works rather well, don't know what's in it that they don't like.
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Bard of Elyposted 10 years ago
Cindy, there is a woman here who is going to try getting me to sell some expensive health drink she deals in. I know her partner and get on well enough with him. I was talking to them both some time back and she said I must come up and visit. I bumped into her the other day and she was on about this again and told me she wants to show me her "project." I already know what this is. I have been told she sells a health drink. The woman here said she would phone and arrange when she can collect me cos I have no transport. I really don't care if she doesn't!
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  mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this
  Yikes, run for the hills Steve. You don't want yet another pushy person trying to sign you up so they can make money off anything you sell too. All these MLM type schemes end up being a waste of time unless you get in at the very beginning and the product is a high demand product. Even then few work these days because people are so wary of them.
  reply report

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