Happyboomernurse Interviews BobbiRant
An active writer and HubPages citizen shares more about her passions and writing
1. How did you learn about Hub Pages and why did you decide to join?
I was browsing, on the Internet, for a nice place to write because I wasn’t happy with a site I was a member of at the time. HubPages seemed nice because I could see it was a place for serious writers. It’s a nice place to write my own stuff and a good place to read some very good material written by others.
2. I love your Hubber name because the word “rant” matches your HubPages personality. Although you write well on a broad range of topics, your political/social rants generate the most comments and sometimes spark intense debate. Do you enjoy moderating those discussions? Do you filter comments? Why or why not?
I really do enjoy moderating the political and social discussions. Some people may get upset when others disagree but I enjoy a good discussion and I never filter comments. I might filter a comment if a person is very nasty to another Hubber, but that has not happened in the year I’ve been here, because those who comment on my Hubs hold up their own end of the discussions quite well.
3. You’re a champion of nursing home residents’ rights and wrote an expose style Hub titled, “How Abusive Incidents in Nursing Homes Can Get Covered Up.” That Hub contains a video trailer for your book, “The Reason Why Traditional Nursing Homes in America Suck: How Anyone Can Help Bring About the Changes for Every Single Nursing Home in America Today.” What personal experiences led to your writing on this topic?
I think many incidents led me to this topic, over the years, being a nursing assistant during my time in college, I saw too many incidents going on in nursing homes and I questioned them. Unfortunately, many nursing assistants are ignored and held in low regard. I vowed to listen if I ever got a job in a position of authority. I listened and observed when I became a Social Services Director in nursing homes. I was in a position where I could be more of an agent for change. Most of us think of abuse in nursing homes as physical abuse, or some very obvious verbal types of abuse. I realized that much of it can, and is, very subtle, but it exists just the same.
In institutions, many people in positions of authority are resistant to change, so an Ombudsman told me I should write a book, helping the paying customers become more aware of what they were paying for, helping to create changes from outside the institutions.
4. Steve Weathers, aka Vietnamvet68, is your husband and he is also very passionate about his beliefs, which sometimes differ from yours, yet you both seem to follow each other’s Hubs. Does that enhance your Hubtivity; make it more challenging, or both?
I think it does enhance our Hubtivity because we may not always agree on everything but we both support the ideas that everyone is entitled to their opinions. I think this makes us both more open minded when other Hubbers disagree with us too. Some topics can make for lively discussions at home too.
5. Do you have a favorite Hub that you’ve written, and if so, which Hub is it and why is it so special to you?
My favorite one is: Do I own it or does it own me? I like this one because sometimes people, myself included, sometimes get caught up in materialism and owning status symbols and forgetting how to know if what we buy is a status symbol or something we truly need. Our entire society has gotten skewed by the media and we tend to lose touch with what really matters in our lives.
6. You’ve published 3 books and were the ghost writer for your husband’s memoirs. Has HubPages been a good place to showcase your books? If so, how? If not, why not, and what advice would you give other Hubbers who’ve written books?
That’s a great question. HubPages has been a wonderful place to showcase my books. Many sites don’t allow that, but HubPages is open minded enough to allow it. If a writer on HubPages writes good Hubs and does not simply hawk their books, it is nice to see clips from other books, by other authors here. I like that HubPages owners are cool with that.
My advice to other Hubbers who have written books is to keep writing good Hubs, perfect your writing skills here and believe in yourself as a writer but be open minded to change when it is necessary. If a person is hurt by criticism then writing is not a good idea. Not everyone will like what you write, but if you believe in yourself and have a thick skin, keep writing and keep the constructive criticism in mind.
7. Do you have an author’s website, and if so, where can readers view it and what information will they find there?
Yes there is a web site for our books. What people information people will find there are references to all of our books, links to all of them, our book trailers and information about how to purchase them all and I post a blog almost daily about updates and I encourage comments. The site is: http://steveweathers.blogspot.com/ 8.
8. Have you participated in any HubPages contests or Hub challenges? Why or why not?
I have never participated in any of the contests or challenges but that is because I am not sure I could find a topic to post every day for along time. I am challenged, myself, when it comes to always understanding rules, to the letter so I really haven’t participated. I admire those who are good at challenges though.
9. The Accolades section of your profile shows you are a level VIII commenter. Do you make a point of leaving comments and if so, why?
I try very hard to comment to those who have recently commented to my Hubs. I look to see if the Hubbers who commented on any of Hubs have written anything new, if so, I try to comment on their Hubs as soon as possible. I make it a point to check the feed and Hubbers I follow at least once a week to see if there is something interesting I might have missed. I think it encourages Hubbers when people comment and so I try to be diligent about commenting.
10. Do you have any final comments or advice for other Hubbers?
Yes, there has been much talk about Google’s algorithm and losing viewers on HubPages. I write to have fun and interact with other writers, so I think Hubbers should continue to write and let HP staff continue to bring the site up to where Google will recognize it again. I understand many have written Hubs for a long time, making money at it and I guess doing something else on the side to bring in money is a good idea for them. But I wouldn’t give up on HP totally. It’s still a fun place to be.
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