HubPages Newsletter 17

What is the Link Capsule, and how is it different from inserting links in a Text Capsule? Here's a short primer.

You can include links directly into a Text Capsule, by highlighting the text you want to link, clicking on the Hyperlink button (looks like two chain links), and entering the URL. And providing "contextual links" is still the way to go when you want to provide a helpful link in the middle of a block of text.

However, the Link Capsule has two advantages that make it better for putting together a list of links:

1. Automatic title and description. When you enter a link into the Link Capsules and test it, it will usually be able to import the title and description of the link, saving you a bit of work. You'll often want to edit the default text to put it in your own words, but the automatically-imported text is a good starting point.

2. Automatic trackback/pingback support. If the site you're linking to supports trackbacks and pingbacks, then the Link Capsule will automatically send information on your Hub to that site. Many of those sites will post a link back to your Hub. See this Hub to learn more about how this works.

So, for putting links into your Hubs:

• use the linking button in the Text Capsule if you want to provide a link in the middle of your text without distracting readers who want to continue reading.
• use the Link Capsule if you want to provide a list of helpful, related links, and you want to get some links back from those sources to your Hubs.

Dig into these excerpts of great Hubs you might have missed this past week:

HubNugget 1: Understanding digital cameras

"A few years ago when we were still using film cameras, the quality of a photo was based on several factors. The speed and size of the film, camera lens quality, type or grade of photo-paper, the chemical processing of both the film and paper, not to mention the aperture setting and the shutter speed. Throughout this article I will be making the comparison between film photography and digital. Most of us were raised with film, so the comparison perhaps gives us a better understanding and frame of reference..." Read more »

HubNugget 2: Living on a budget

"The first thing I did was write down all the fixed expenses. You know the ones, electric bill, water bill, rent, phone, gas to go back and forth to work, insurance, etc. Annual, semiannual and quarterly expenses were prorated on a monthly basis. For example, say our $600 auto insurance bill came due every six months. That means, I needed to set aside $100 a month to pay it unless, of course I wanted the stress of being slapped across the face with the big 600 all at once..." Read more »

HubNugget 3: Internet money laundering scams

"The extent of this scam was brought to my attention a couple of weeks ago when one of my teenage sons told me about the wonderful job opportunity that he had received from CareerBuilder.com. As soon as he started to describe the job, I instantly knew what it was. I told him to delete the email and not to respond to any job offers from the Internet without showing me first. Not having looked at the email I don't know if the phishers duped Career Builder (a legitimate site) into forwarding the email or if they just made it look like it came from Career Builder. Since then I have been looking more closely at what my Spam filters at home and work catch and have noticed a large number of such offers addressed to me. ..." Read more »

HubNugget 4: Choosing a laptop bag

"A laptop or notebook computer can be one of the most useful, multi-purpose tools of the modern day. No longer just for producing a text document on the fly, it's more like a portable communications and business center for one, which then doubles as an entertainment center once business is done. That's why it's totally worth it to get a good case or bag for your laptop computer. You're going to find yourself taking it everywhere with you. If I'm going to carry something with me constantly, I want it to carry hands-free easily, offer good protection from bumps and weather, and look interesting. As I'm the person who's going to stare at it the most, that last factor winds up being pretty important..." Read more »

HubNugget 5: "Unpoetry": An empty dream

the three seconds I looked at your face

identified you and remembered you

became three eternities in that windswept barren

unrecognizeable place that used to be my heart

the place where I kept every good thing about you... Read more »

Have an idea for a HubNugget-worthy Hub? Show us what you got:

Did you know?

1. What does vodka mean in Russian?

a) sweet milk

b) little water

c) liquid fire

d) clear danger

2. Where does the unit of gem weight, the carat, come from?

a) the carob bean

b) the karat, an Indian spice pod

c) the weight of 1 trillion carbon atoms

d) the caraat, or microsopic geode

3. How many pecks can a woodpecker deliver per second?

a) 5

b) 25

c) 50

d) 220

4. What is considered a polite and respectful gesture in Tibet?

a) giving the middle finger

b) thumbing your nose

c) saluting

d) sticking your tongue out

5. What did director Francis Ford Coppola do during the filming of Apocalypse Now?

a) he joined the US Army and served for 3 months

b) he opened up a McDonald's franchise

c) he married and divorced twice

d) he threatened suicide several times and lost a hundred lbs.

Answers: 1 b, 2 a, 3 b, 4 d, 5 d