HubPages Warning For New Writers

Is there a support group for us Hubpages junkies? There should be. When you create an account, the website should carry a warning notice that Hubpages will consume your life. This is a warning for new writers. Now you can't say we didn't tell you.

In previous articles here on HubPages I've explained that I am a wanna-be writer, an amateur at best. I stumbled across Hubpages.com by accident and couldn't resist giving it a try. It didn't cost anything to join and I thought it would be a good place to express myself and get some feedback on my writing skills. So far it's been a great experience but my fascination with the whole HubPages concept is growing by leaps and bounds. Although I enjoy writing immensely, I have little confidence in my skill. Hub Pages provides me with an audience that I have come to trust. I have received some great critiques and am grateful for each and every one.

Now, here is the funny thing about HubPages. The service that HubPages provides is awesome; so awesome that the website is becoming a secondary obsession for me. And I am starting to wonder if it is just me and my ego or do others experience the same? Today many of us are addicted to social media. We are a generation of people who now walk around with our faces to the ground because we are text messaging or googling or playing games on our phone apps. Eye contact rarely happens anymore where once it was a tool for measuring the confidence or integrity of an encounter. So, back to the ego thing.

More and more often I catch myself closing face book and twitter and leaving HubPages open in my browser so that I can check my statistics. It's a bit strange that I don't really care about the earnings table but I can't wait to see how many readers have visited my Hub or what comments they may have left. Now this could be because I've earned less than $5.00 after writing about 25 hubs. No, I haven't learned the secret for making money on HubPages but that's okay, it isn't why I joined in the first place. I joined for the experience, not the money. I've certainly gotten my money's worth of excitement from seeing my visitor statistics climbing.

Thank you for creating an ego-maniac. Thank you for giving me a place to share my thoughts and amateur writing skills for free. Thank you for providing me with such great statistics that I can't get anything else done because I want to know how many people have read my hubs today and whether or not they left me any constructive criticism. Thank you for taking over my life. Because you have made it so easy for people like me to write, you have most likely created job security for the next generation of psychologists who will be analyzing us wanna-be writers and helping us regain some normalcy in our lives. Some pharmaceutical company will create a new drug to help curb this addiction and the marketers will advertise it on "Seen on TV" ads across the world on late night TV.

So there, I've said it. And now, I'm going to look for a real job.

• Hubpages Statistics: There is no doubt now. I am totally addicted to Hubpage statistics. My heart skips a beat when the number of views climbs by more than five. If my Hubber score drops below 90 I panic, and I don't even really understand the Hubber score.
• Hubpages People: I am addicted to the people here on Hubpages. They are the best of the best; always willing to encourage or help. The writers and staff of Hubpages are the secret to the success of this site. I've done a bit of research and I could make more money on other sites but no where will you find more support for writers than here on Hubpages. I'm here to stay!
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  Hubpages Versatility: I love the versatility of this site. I can read poetry, find a recipe, engage in a political argument, or chat about music. I can cry over a sad hub, laugh at a funny one, or learn about another part of the world I've never heard of. Where else can you find that in one place?

Yes, it's safe to say I'm addicted but I wouldn't change a thing. My world is richer and more intense just for logging on each day.

© 2012 Linda Crist, All rights reserved.