Let us know what you really think!

Honest feedback can help people make better decisions

Will you let us know how we're doing?

It's a classic line: "Do these jeans make my butt look big?"

It's also a really useful question to ask of a trusted friend- someone on whom you can rely to tell you whether you're looking fabulous or making a fashion faux pas. We like to think of you as our own good friend and trust you to tell us whether we're moving in a positive direction. On a quarterly basis, we ask the same question: how likely would you be to recommend us to a friend?

It's that time again.  If you could answer this one question, it would help us a great deal. Here is the URL of our feedback form: http://goo.gl/81Cs4

In other news:

• We have updated Weekly Topic Inspiration to make it more flexible and convenient
• We will be implementing a new policy this week known as Boot Camp whereby one must have first published five Featured Hubs in order for new Hubs that do not pass the QAP to remain published

More on Boot Camp can be found in the Pro Tips below.

Happy Hubbing,

Simone Haruko Smith
Community & Marketing Manager

Hubbers who pass Boot Camp earn the Featured Hub Accolade, which is characterized by a bull horn (signifying the way we amplify Featured Hubs)

The Basics of Boot Camp

Sometimes the best way to help people succeed involves forcing them to confront important challenges early on through a boot camp. Though most frequently associated with the military, many groups, gyms, companies, and clubs utilize boot camps to help new members sharpen their skills, prove their worth, and get up to speed.

The purpose of HubPages' Boot Camp is to encourage Hubbers to publish high-quality content as well as teach them how to improve their work. It also helps to prevent spammers from publishing on the site.

Before Hubbers pass Boot Camp by publishing at least five Featured Hubs, any Hubs they publish that do not pass the Quality Assessment Process will be unpublished. Hubbers will be given tips (via emails as well as notifications on Hubs) on how they can improve their Hubs so that they become Featured.

Hubbers who have published at least five Featured Hubs effectively pass Boot Camp and also earn a new Featured Hub accolade, which commemorates various Featured Hub milestones.

Once you pass Boot Camp, you need not worry about Hubs being unpublished for not passing the QAP in the future, even if your total number of Featured Hubs drops below five. These Hubs will simply not be Featured until they are improved and have sufficiently high-quality ratings.

It is our hope that this update helps Hubbers write high-quality Hubs from the beginning while also reducing the volume of potentially harmful content on our site that could hinder our collective traffic prospects. We hope you are happy with the update. For those of you who already have earned Featured Hub Accolades, congratulations!

To learn more about the policy update, stop by the HubPages Blog
http://blog.hubpages.com/2013/04/five-featured-hub-barrier/

This Week's Rising Stars

This week's Rising Star candidates, natives of the Travel and Places, Home, and Games, Toys, and Hobbies Topics, covered fascinating subjects ranging from the Ohio Renaissance Festival to  quick and dirty guides to gardening and  basic multiplayer tips for Call of Duty Black Ops 2. Though 18 were nominated, only nine could be named winners, presented in the newsletter, and awarded with special Accolades. You can view the few and the proud below.

Also keep in mind that every Friday we will post a link to the Topic Pages in which you can vote for the latest candidates (along with some promising newly-created leaf-level Topic pages to consider for future Hubbing ventures). Be sure to swing by so you may conveniently cast your votes for Hubs by some of our most promising new Hubbers!

Simone

Visiting Nantucket, Massachusetts: The Hot Spots

Nantucket is an island destination that is a New England fantasy come true. I hope this article gives you a glimpse into this amazing vacation location. It is not to be missed!

Making a Wish at the Stunning Zhulin Shan Guanyin Temple

Even if your wishes don’t come true, visiting the Zhulin Shan Guanyin Temple (??????) in New Taipei City, Taiwan is still an inexpensive day trip that you will remember forever.

What to do in the Australian Outback

This article includes all of the activities available in the Australian Outback including: shopping, fine dining, hiking, and cultural experiences.

Create a beautiful garden in a small space

Guidelines on how to design and create a lovely garden sanctuary in a small urban space.

White Paint: A Budget Friendly Resource for Home Improvement

In this article I’ve included some examples of how we’ve used white paint to transform a few rooms in our home from dark and dated to light and modern.

Easy Ways to Personalize Pillows

Accessorize accessories? Why not?! Adding a few personal touches to throw pillows is a fun way to use some of your most beloved stuff—and make your home uniquely you.

How to Make a Tangram Square: the Chinese Puzzle Game

The Chinese Tangram Game is a cool activity to do with kids that gives great educational value and is loads of fun to play. Find out its history, how to make your own and the fun you can have with it!

Top 5 Scariest Video Games

My own list on the top 5 scariest video games to date.

Top 7 Free Zombie Games For iPhone and iPod Touch

Searching the iOS app store is becoming very time consuming especially when looking for a specific game type or genre so I took the hard part out for you readers and found 7 great zombie games!

Janine Huldie, From Seaford, New York, 308 Fans, 87 Hubs, Joined 10 months ago

CarlySullens Interviews Janine Huldie

The motivations and background behind a stay-at-home mother with expertise in math education

Being a stay-at-home mom can be very isolating. I see that you invest your time in HubPages and other social networks. How do you feel this keeps you connected in what might be a very solitary day?

Honestly, I never stayed at home before this and have always been someone who is on the go. So, when I was first home, yes, I was a mother and had certain responsibilities, but I had nothing really to call my own as far as work. My online activities gave me a sense of self worth and something that is truly all my own.

What advice do you have for new mother writers?

I would say to take it one small step at a time and just try to enjoy your new-found voice.

I notice you write about your personal experiences. In fact, Match.com--A Success Story was a Rising Star winner. Why do you feel it is important for to document your journey as you live it?

Honestly, I want my family, especially my girls, to be able to look back at this time and not forget anything if possible. At their present age, they are not likely to remember much. This way they can read about this time of their little lives.

You have a master's degree in math education. Do you feel that writing Hubs on educating students about math is a way for you to teach when you are not in the classroom?

I totally do. Right now, the educational realm is in a bit of upheaval and many who have children are struggling as a result. My hope was to publish math articles on some basic topics kids struggle with and utilize real life examples to help out in this area.

If a parent has a child struggling with hath what Hub(s) of yours would you recommend and why?

I would definitely recommend my Hub with Harry Potter and Budgeting, because this one covers the much-needed concept of budgeting one's money and brings into play the wonderful world of Harry Potter, which is a book many young adults have read and loved.

You seem to have a strong network of Hubbers. I see you comment on many Hubs. Why do you feel it is important for Hubpage writers to be supportive of each other?

Honestly, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without the support of other Hubbers and the HubPages community. I have never been one to isolate myself and this experience has been completely in line with who I am in general. So, it has been a win-win for me!

What might we expect to see you publishing in the near future?

Definitely more for moms dealing with small children, possibly more math articles, and even more from my personal pregnancy journal.

How did you discover HubPages?

Around one year ago I was getting job search e-mails and I kept seeing the name HubPages come up. I decided to click on it one day, and signed up. The rest is history.

Are there any Hubbers out there you would like to give a shout out to?

I would love to give a shout out definitely back to you, Julie DeNeen, Linda, BiyLeau, Billy Buc, Mary615, and Midget13.