What do you think about having an about the author section in your articles?

1. 76

   Brittanie2216posted 11 years ago

   What do you think about having an about the author section in your articles?
   
   What do you think about adding an about the author section to your articles.  Is this a good idea or bad idea?  I have seen these popping up here are there lately and was wondering how they have been working for others.

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2. 76

   Cantuhearmescreamposted 11 years ago

   I love the concept but I think that it would have bittersweet results. I would imagine it could be quite useful for traffic that comes in from outside of HubPages but how many times are our followers going to want to read the same thing about us? Unless it became relatively standard and once you've read about an author once, you can just zoom over that section in the future. Great question, I'm curious to see what others will think.

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3. 0

   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   I think the first assessment offered by Cantuhearmescream was the best. The only thing I would suggest that the "about the author" be place on the first 10 hubs someone writes, when they are trying to attract followers. It may also be something we would want to do maybe once or twice a year on a new hub, again for the purpose of attracting new followers. The content should be different than the profile on the profile page.

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   1. 76

      Cantuhearmescreamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's a good point; it doesn't make sense to repeat who we are in an "about the author" spot and have it listed in our profiles either. Honestly, it seems that most people want to get to the point and are turned off from "extra" reading.

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4. 94

   ThelmaCposted 11 years ago

   I think it could be very useful to readers coming outside HubPages.  It would lend credibility to your hub if your background indicates experience and expertise in the subject matter of the hub.  There are many people reading our hubs that aren't familiar with the HubPages concept or how to access profile information.

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5. 87

   ComfortBposted 11 years ago

   I believe, since every writer has a profile page, that page should be utilized and linked to from everyone of your hub. I do that.
   
   I do not see the need to have an 'about me' section on everyone of my hub. But, and if a reader is interested enough in knowing the person behind the face or hub/article, then there'll be the link to my profile page at the end of each hub.

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6. 38

   wqaindiaposted 11 years ago

   The reader of visitor has not enough time to visit your profile or your Google+ social profile connected to your profile at Hub Page. It would be better to display a brief "about me" along with articles withe link "View My complete Profile" (at HP) with in build link to Google+ profile if connected by the member. The readers and visitors have every right to know detailed information about their author.

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7. 96

   Glimmer Twin Fanposted 11 years ago

   If done well, I think they add something to a hub.  Since our goal is to get outside traffic I think that, depending on type of hub, they add some extra validity.  For example, if I am reading a hub about fixing a plumbing problem, I am more likely to follow the advice if I see a brief author description saying something like "the author has been a plumber for over 15 years...." or something to that effect. 
   
   To me, the most effective ones are very brief and then have a link to the author's profile page for more information if the reader wants it.
   
   When I first started here I saw one like this and was intrigued enough to go to their profile page and found amazing hubs that I may never have found.
   
   That being said, I don't have one in my hubs, but I have often thought about adding them, especially to my quilt/craft hubs.

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8. 62

   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   I've often thought about this, because I write quite a bit from assimilated knowledge and I know people are often thinking that if there's no specific reference to research the author must have "just pulled the material out of the clear blue sky".  If the material came from a single thing, like x number of personal experiences, adding that into the Hub body would be easy.  If it came from, say, research done in a previous job that was related to the subject - same thing.  If it comes from, say, a few decades of living as an adult, maybe doing research for other writing in the past, maybe x number of personal experiences, maybe extensive personal reading on subjects not related to one's job (or previous jobs), things one has learned from "going through things second hand" with, say, close relatives/friends; individual courses taken, etc. etc., adding all that kind of mix of stuff will turn into a Hub about the author, himself.  And, it's not easy to get it all into a nutshell.
   
   So, i think having an "about section" is a good idea (at least for some people and some Hubs), but I don't think it needs to be either a short version of the profile or a copy of the profile.  I think where it could be a good thing might be when the Hub isn't, say, a Hub about beading and written about someone who has that hobby; or a Hub about plumbing and written by a plumber.  OR, when it's a Hub written from research, with the writer being "only" the writer - not being the one with the information to offer himself and from his own experience/assimilated knowledge.
   
   I think what could be useful would be more an "about me as it applies to this particular piece of writing".  I don't know about anyone else, but I have only a few subjects/categories that I wrote about and that come from "living" rather than research, but I write often in those categories.  I've recently been considering about doing five or six pre-written "about type of things" and adding the appropriate ones to Hubs that could use it.
   
   It isn't even just whether people question where the info/insight comes from.  I've had people "commend" a Hub and say "good research"; and I'm thinking, "Hey*  That's not research!  That's three or four decades of blood, sweat and tears!!  I don't need/want credit or "a medal".  I do want people to know, though, that it comes from more than just looking up a few things online, or even adding corroborating URLS I didn't use in order to "look more professional".

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9. 73

   Abby Campbellposted 11 years ago

   I've been in the Apprenticeship program for HP for four months now. Because of my education and expertise in the field I write for, my HP mentor asked me to place a short author section in my hubs. My topics revolve around nutrition and fitness, and I am also a published author. I felt funny about doing this at first, but she said that people who write on my topic are a dime a dozen and many of them don't have any expertise in the field. She felt that by adding the author section would lend credibility to my hubs.
   
   Being apart from what my HP mentor suggested for me personally, my opinion is that the author should add a short bio to his/her hub if he/she is an expert in the field. It definitely shows credibility. In addition, I don't believe anyone should be writing on topics that are not in their field. I wouldn't want to read about surgery from someone that has never performed operations. Nor would I trust an non-expertised author in the fields of medicine, electrical engineering, plumbing, nutrition, or fitness. Those topics, and others, should be left to the experts.
   
   In my field alone, I find so many who write about nutrition and exercise, and it makes me so angry because they are passing out such awful information that will only do harm to the reader. It's one thing to share experience in these fields, but it is selfish to try to make money on topics one really knows nothing about.

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