Let's Get Social, Shall We?

Most of us are naturally curious (it's only human) and would like to know a little bit about the other people who are hanging around our community. Your profile page on HubPages gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself and let others know a little bit about you, which is not only important to fellow Hubbers, but also to anyone who finds your Hub via search engines or other websites. This is why you should take some time to fill out your profile, as it is a very important part of your overall presence on HubPages.

Figure 4.1: Personal Profile Page with Edit Options

When you first sign in to HubPages you will find a My Profile link at the top of the page, click on it and it will take you to your personal HubPages profile screen as shown in Figure 4.1. On your profile screen you will find a Edit Profile link which, when you click on it, will take you to the Your Profile screen, which is shown below in Figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2: Your Profile Screen

1. Photo

   Adding a picture to your profile is, thanks to HubPages, a piece of cake. All that you have to do to add your beautiful looking picture is click the change your photo link, which will take you to an image upload page. Next click the Browse button and select the picture that you would like to use from the files that are saved on your computer. Once your picture is uploaded you will find a yellow square over the top of your picture. This is a cropping tool which makes your picture the correct size for your profile page. Just move the yellow box around the picture until you are happy with the way it looks and then click on the box which says crop the image to make your selection final. When the page refreshes your profile will now include picture of you for all the world (or at least HubPages) to see. You can change your profile picture at any time by using this same, exact method. To be sure that it saves, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page at this point and click the Save Changes button.

2. Username

   Below your profile picture on the Your Profile screen you will find the change your password link which allows you to change your HubPages password. To change your password click this link and type in your current password, then your new password that you'd like to change it to in the next two sections for confirmation. Then click the Save Changes button on the password screen to make the password change official. After your new password is saved, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the Your Profile screen and click the Save Changes button, too so all of your new changes are saved. Wow -- that sounds like a lot of saving, doesn't it? Don't worry, it's really not that complicated.

3. Email

   Just below the change password link on the Your Profile screen you will find your Email preferences, where you can change the preferred email address that you would like HubPages to use when contacting you. If you ever need to change this email address for any reason, all you need to do is enter a new the new email address and click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the Your Profile page. Just under the email address field there are 3 contact options that you can check depending on how what emails you would liek to receive from HubPages. These 3 options options are:

   • Allow HubPages to contact you?
     By checking this box you give permission to receive emails directly from HubPages, which could include company news, site updates and the weekly HubPages newletter (which is covered below). Oh, and don't worry, we'll never share any of your info with bad people (spammers, lawyers, your in-laws, etc.).
   • Allow other users to contact you?
     By checking this box a Contact link will be added to your public profile, which will anyone who visits to send you a contact email via your contact page. Your email address will not be publicly available to the sender, but they will be able to email you directly through HubPages.
   • Receive email from your favorite authors?
     By checking this box you will be sent an email every time that any Hubber that you're a fan of publishes a new Hub.

   To make your changes official, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button.

4. Text Editor

   When you're writing in the Text Capsule there is an editor that allows you to quickly and easily format your text. Currently there are 2 different Text Editors to choose from, a version 2, which is old and a version 3, which is new. We suggest that you use version 3, but depending on the web browser that you're using you may need to use version 2. If you have any issues with either of these versions, please let us know over in the Report a Probem Forum. To make your changes official, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button. To make your changes official, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button.

5. Location

   There are Hubbers who are from literally every corner of the planet. Let everyone know what corner you're from by filling in this location field.

6. Bio

   Your Bio or biography, is where you can tell people about yourself. If you're unsure about what to say about yourself, simply look at other Hubbers profiles where you will find some ideas. The text editor allows you to add links and text formatting, so feel free to add anything that you feel the rest of the Internet should know. To make your changes official, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button.
   

7. Optional Settings

   Below your Bio text box you will find some optional settings. In these fields it is up to you whether you wish to fill them in or leave them blank.
   In these boxes you can add your name, your home address and your telephone number. To make your changes official, you should now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button.