The Importance of Following Hubbers...For the Newbies
Late to the Party...
Damn. I was already arriving late to the (maybe) biggest party of my life but that wasn’t my primary worry. My biggest concern was that I didn’t have an invitation to the event or any idea about what the dress code might entail. After driving for, what seemed years, I succeeded in finding the address. The driveway was filled to capacity with the street clogged by every form of conveyance imaginable. I puttered my red, washed-out, beat-up, 1968 MGB roadster down the street looking in vain for a likely parking spot.
More time lost. Thinking that it was perhaps a sign, I resolved to follow my one working headlight out of the neighborhood and go home. Due to tire issues (four left turns were often necessary over…say…one right turn), I made the first left I could find which turned out to be an alley.
To the right side, about 30 feet up, was the perfect parking spot for my vintage British automobile, which, along with an old PC represented the bulk of my estate. Noting my hesitation, resolve began looking about in panic for an escape route (preferably towards the left) as my car began coughing in contempt at my cowardice. My car always coughs in contempt at my cowardice when that one exhaust hose comes loose. Damn. Cranking the steering wheel to the right, the left front tire shrieking in agony, I pulled alongside a dumpster as the hose finished popping and the engine cut out. I briefly worried about the car’s safety in the alley before noticing how much nicer the paint on the dumpster was than my car.
“Well, I’m here and I found a parking spot so I might as well check out the party.” I bravely announced to the dumpster. The plan was to kind of hang back…see what’s up…scope out the scene...
Walking up to the house, I rechecked the address in my hand…Hubpages.com.
Enormous Party...
Once through the door, my shoulders relaxed as my credentials went unchallenged and the expected cover charge failed to materialize. I wandered about the rooms: poked my head into enchanting stories, peered at perfect prose, marveled at the people’s consistent use of ALL the comma rules…EVERY time! Fancy, that?.
Occasionally, hubs bearing such imposing titles as SEO, SERPS, Links, Hyperlinks, and other technical monikers would lumber, importantly, out of rooms towards me and I would quickly beat a hasty retreat into the nearest bathroom. In my mind’s ear I could hear my car mocking me.
No! If I want to do this right…if I want to make an impact, well...being a wall flower (crouched in a metaphoric bathroom stall, no less), is probably not the best way to do it. I flushed, washed my hands, and proudly walked out of the bathroom, trailing, unbeknownst to me, thirteen-inches of damp toilet paper from my shoe. Would this prove to be the extent of MY following?
The Advantages of Following...
After 12-days of haunting the halls of Hub-Ville, I feel a burning desire to return something back to the community. Therefore; here are some, hopefully, helpful thoughts for the newbies---those who have just found their own parking spaces.
The four advantages of following other Hubbers, according to ThoughtSandwiches...in no particular order except (perhaps) numerical:
1) People who follow...typically don't get lost... Unless they are following me...
2) Pressing the “Follow Button” is the equivalent of making eye contact across a crowded room. A smile is shared, the distance is closed and soon you are having a conversation with a new friend who wants the same things as you…success on Hub pages.
3) Hubbers who interest you are, invariably, following others and serve as an introduction to talent and resources you might otherwise miss in your meanderings about this incredibly diverse site;
4) After following some, and being followed by others, after commenting to your new friends, and having your queries addressed, you will notice that you are not only a part of the party but, also, a contributing member to it!
Final Questions...
So I have two questions for those new Hubbers who have yet to follow the concept of following:
1) What are you waiting for?
And...
2) You didn’t block in a red MGB when you parked did you?
