What do you think HubPages future?

1. 78

   ktnptlposted 10 years ago

   What do you think HubPages future?  Considering other sites like Squidoo, InfoBarrel and other,how Hubpages compete in future? What is the future after a year or two?

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      Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think, based on the changes concerning quality, that HP will become the number content magazine site on the internet. I also believe that the amount of writers will be greatly reduced as the rules become more stringent. Only writers who are able to work within certain guidelines will stay.
      
      Explanation:
      
      Some people believe that the internet is free for all and when they join a site and publish their work, they believe that there should be total creative freedom. Until people can understand that a site like HP is a business with rules, regulations and guidelines that must be met in order to remain in good standing with its advertisers and other entities, then they will never be able to make it on a site like this.
      
      What they also need to understand is that, even if the should manage their own website they still need to keep within certain guidelines for search engines and their potential advertisers.

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         CWanamakerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Well said!  You would think that this is common sense yet some people still continue to complain.  The rules are here to protect everyone and ensure that we can still make money from our content.

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         1. 88

            Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I think the people with the most problems are the intellectuals who claimed to have been writing for years. They join with a preconceived notion of how things worked for them in the past and how it should remain.
            
            When I was martial arts instructor our Chief always said that he preferred to train people who have never done any form of martial art before. His reason was that people who did other forms always came with the idea that they knew everything and that their art was the best. It always took a while for them to adapt, if not they leave. Newbies came with a blank mind ready to absorb.
            
            It's the same with HP.

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               Richawriterposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Exactly, Cardisa! When you start here, regardless of what has come before, you start on the bottom rung like everyone else. Some people here behave as if the world owes them a favor just because of their history, qualifications or experience.
               
               It's that ole chip on the shoulder syndrome!
               
               If you're not willing to grow and develop to improve yourself enough to succeed here, not only are you doing yourself a disservice, you are proving that you don't have what it takes to make it as a writer here. Simples!
               
               I've watched you grow immensely (Cardisa) - you have what it takes. I've grown immensely and I like to think I too have what it takes. Whenever I've had a problem, like a hub is floundering in the sixties, I don't blame the system here because I know the system is geared to ensuring quality is at the forefront and therefore the suffering hubs are not quality.
               
               This quote from my idol, Einstein springs to mind: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

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               1. 88

                  Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi Richie, thank you and I do believe we both have what it takes. Many people don;t know some of the things I've been through on the site. I have had many of my work unpublished for reasons such as duplicate, violations and so forth. I had to fix everyone of those issues and learn from my mistakes. Those mistakes have afforded me the pleasure of having 100% of my hubs featured and in good standing with the site and the search engines....lol

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      2. 83

         KarenCreftorposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I agree (Hi Cardisa!),
         
         I stopped writing on HP for a few months (soon after completing the apprenticeship I hate to admit), mainly because that's when the whole 'idle' thing started and most of my hubs were made idle for no apparent reason (they were all AP hubs previously approved for quality and they were getting reasonable traffic). I became disheartened and moved many hubs to blogs.
         
         I left a few and over the past month have seen a dramatic change. There's been more traffic and revenue and so I thought I'd give it another try, with very pleasing results! I love writing, but alas I have no choice but to be self-employed, so for me it's more than just a hobby and regular payment is an important aspect for me.
         
         I think HP have been finding their feet on how to keep the content good quality and have possibly found what works now.
         I like Hubpages and do want it to do well, regardless of whether I write here or not, as I do think on the whole it's higher quality than other similar sites.
         I think the recent changes are a fantastic improvement and puts HP in a great place for the future.

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         1. 88

            Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Hey Karen,we were in the same group. Welcome back!
            
            Aren't you glad you came back? The changes are all good and sooner or later all the crappy spammy articles will be gone.
            
            I only have one problem and it's with the trolls and spammers in the forums. They really need to get serious about people who have been banned returning to piss off others...lol

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      3. 35

         Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I think it already is that!

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            Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Did she mean "number *one content...."?
            
            Otherwise Im going to have to chalk that up to one more sentence on HPs that I didn't get.

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               Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Ooops, I missed the "one"...lol. Is HP already the #1 content site on the internet? Well, I haven't been checking out any other sites so I don't know. When I joined there were rumors that Wizzley, Squidoo and a few more were above HP so I had no idea that 'we'd' jumped to first place..ll

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         starme77posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Very Well Said

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   2. 93

      davidlivermoreposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am sure the same questions are asked on other sites.
      
      Sites will come and go.  It's up to the users to build the content, and the owners of those websites to pay authors fairly.
      
      Considering the amount of money I'll make per month not doing anything at this point, I'm happy.  And as long as other authors keep up on their content, HP will stick around.

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   3. 59

      C.V.Rajanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      In Internet, it is extremely difficult to predict the future. But earning something reasonable from web content writing is no longer possible -- that's what I gather. We may get a few crumbs, that's all. Then it is up to us to write or not depending on the extent of our writer's itch!  I was a member of a few sites that were considered very strong in web content, but they have collapsed. There are some sites still alive and limping.
      
      HP in my assessment, seems to be made of a sterner stuff. They seem to be fighting well against all odds. Out of the various sites that came, thrived, gone or limping, I consider HP's layout is the best. They were well ahead of others when they started. They continue to be constantly striving to keep it good and keep going.
      
      May be, earnings for authors may continue to be bleak. But the site may thrive for longer time. That's my guess.

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      1. 87

         rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I think as long as the passion and vision of the original three co-founders continues, the site will continue to evolve and change as necessary. They are smart, educated, business-minded professionals who obviously want their business model to be the best.  People will come and go when things don't go as they think it should. Mistakes will be made. This happens in any business.  HP has a strong foundation.
         I think it's exciting to see the site develop into a more polished online destination.  Unlike some of the sites that pop up that are run by amateurs looking to make easy money, HP is in this for the long haul, willing to take risks and ride the sometimes bumpy road that comes along with the dynamics of technology and how society gets information.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I believe the team has done everything possible to reinvent this site to make it better.  However, due to having to dance with Google, these efforts have not increased views or income for the vast majority of writers here.  However, Google cannot stay on the top of the mountain forever, and when they start to slide, HP will be ready to return to its former glory.  It is a good site with good writers and good values.  This combination cannot help but succeed.

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   5. 70

      Dawn Denmar1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I've just started posting articles on HP because I want to start trying to build residual income again. It's a risky business for freelancers. I began writing online in the heyday of the content farms 2008/9 and it all seemed like it would guarantee me income for ever that would grow over time. Panda knocked it on the head. Like many writers I'm dubious about putting all my eggs in one basket again!
      
      With just six hubs published I'm no expert here but am finding the community is great and forums interesting. I'd like to see more search traffic arriving on my posts. In the past articles were indexed immediately to the front page of Google search but that just does not seem to happen now. It's great to get so many views from other hubbers but it seems difficult to generate great external views from the start now.
      
      A comment on SEO that I've just picked up on - sorry if it's slightly off topic. Apparently Google are encrypting search terms now so writers will be unable to search the adwords system for moneyspinning keywords. I guess this is another encouragement to write naturally on topics we know about or are enthusiastic about but keyword search used to be an important factor in the success of professional content writers.
      
      I suppose like many others I'm sitting on the fence and hoping ..........

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         NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Strangely, that's what I'd hoped writing on the Internet was about when I started; write about what you know and love and leave it at that. It would be strange if I came on the scene just as Google made a home for someone who isn't trying to use SEO and manipulate keywords, and just wants to share some knowledge and explore topics to inspire insight. I don't know if their algorithms can even seek out such material, but I'd be fine with it if they could. I've dabbled in SEO but really honestly can't stand it.

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            Dawn Denmar1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I think that's what all aspiring writers hope it's all about at the start..... I used to be a history feature writer but there were no earnings to be made at it when sites relied on adclick income alone. I love history but I would also like to earn money at what I'm doing. I found I would write on topics I wanted but check out the adwords site to see what the paying adwords or phrases were. Example if Christmas earns 1cent and Xmas earns a dollar you'd probably be advised to use Xmas..... from one point of view anyway.

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         Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I've been finding that if you write what you want, focusing on being over 1000 words and making sure readers enjoy reading it regarding formatting and style.....you'll have traffic regardless.

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            Dawn Denmar1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I'm trying to write what I want and hope the traffic does pick up. It seems though that seeing an immediate spike from Google listings when published is a thing of the past?

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               Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               It appears so. The pattern now seems to be: publish, get some hubpages love, wait 2 weeks and get a small spike, wait 6 weeks and get another small spike from Google, then after that, sometime, you get the main Google indexing (it has been said by others that 6 months down the track, you'll see some results). But I have noticed if you publish somewhat regularly, then you seem to get more attention from hubbers and Google on your pages.

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      3. 91

         Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Just to clarify. Google no longer shows us in analytics which keywords were used to find our pages. This change doesn't affect our ability to search for potential keywords using the keyword planner (formerly known as the adwords keyword tool). 
         
         http://searchenginewatch.com/article/22 … ure-Search

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            Hamshiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Yeah but there is a way to check it for those interested. You can use Google webmasters tool to find out the search terms people used to find your hubs.
            Please look at NO-3 on this article for more info on this.
            http://searchenginewatch.com/article/22 … earch-Data

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               Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               You are absolutely right and thank you for pointing this out to people who don't have a clue where to find the keywords searchers are using to find their Hubs.

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            Dawn Denmar1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            thank you susana and others..... I read about this change the other day and assumed we could not access adwords any longer. I now see I was wrong..

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2. 95

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   Based on my experience after one year, I am hopeful about the future of HubPages. I even wrote a hub about how hopeful I am. I'm an optimistic positive thinker anyway, so whatever I'm involved in, I believe it will turn out good.
   I have had my share of ups and downs at HP and there are still things that bother me or that I obsess about. But for the most part, I've seen a lot of progress for myself and for the site. I'm a relatively new online writer, I don't write anywhere else, so I can't make any comparisons. I  can only compare my stats this time last year to now and I am doing way better. I use that progress to predict how well I can do in the future.

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      Earl Noah Bernsbyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think JFK said it best with: "Ask not what your country can do for you ..."
      
      Having only recently "gotten serious" about my writing, I have placed a lot of effort into producing the best content I can muster, in order to make the HP staff's job easier.  It is my hope that if enough folks approach the situation with a "We're all in this together!" mentality, then HP will be just fine. (Lord willing, and the creek don't rise!)

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3. 94

   Suzanne Dayposted 10 years ago

   Well Hubpages is still here several years in, while other writing platforms are dying. I think it says it all really - the staff are doing their best to make the business model work and make it a fun place to be.

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4. 61

   fpherj48posted 10 years ago

   ktnptl.....I have no idea how you know about my history as a Gypsy.....but since you caught me, crystal ball in hand......I'll  fess up.  It's just that I can't look into it at the moment, because my cousin, Madame Seer-of-the-future, borrowed my crystal ball to predict something hugely vital for a guy named Barack.  She tells me he was extremely desperate and in a hurry.
   Anyway.....if I don't get back to you before next week, I know by then, you'll have more predictions for the future of HP, than you'll know what to do with.  Just close your eyes, scroll and point.......whatever you land on, there's your best prediction.

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5. 91

   srsddnposted 10 years ago

   I have used HP for less than a year. I find it going quite strong. There have been ups and downs, which I feel are there with other sites as well. There is a lot of persistence required on the part of Hubbers and by and large HP has been delivering for that persistence. I believe it will continue to be a reliable site.

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6. 61

   JakeFrostposted 10 years ago

   I have been offline for about a year now and am just starting back. HubPages is a great site and offers lots of opportunities so I am very hopeful for it's future. It is however, a LOT quieter than it was a year ago

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      Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It's just the time of night. They close the doors and no one comes in, but there's always a few mice on the premises.

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         JakeFrostposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Actually can't tell if that's a metaphor or not, it is 4:30am here right now but it's been quiet all day, I'll see again how it is tomorrow (y)

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            Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            We'll try to pick it up a bit tomorrow.

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               JakeFrostposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Let's all try together to get these forums as good as they can be!
               
               But, 5am = bedtime for now

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                  Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Think of us as your own, personal, play-doh.

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7. 80

   LeanManposted 10 years ago

   Well that is a good question, the answers really will lie with Google as it still is the main search engine of choice for the masses..
   
   At the moment we need organic traffic from Google for HP to survive and for us to earn our cut.. If google keeps heading down the road of giving the best places in the serps to dedicated websites related to the search query and established brands then we will see less and less traffic heading towards this site; but then that defeats the object of the internet being able to provide you with the best and most relevant answer no matter where it is.
   
   If google decides tomorrow not to send traffic to "free" to use websites like HP then the site is dead in the water! Even if you personally have managed to build a following from pinterest or facebook the site has not! We NEED Google, when they abandon us the site dies!
   
   This is basically what happened with Panda - or the "farmer update" to kick all of the content farms, and HP suffered greatly as did most of us here.. If Google decides to take another step and make the criteria for being included in the serps even tighter to squeeze out sites like HP then what can we do?
   
   We have to hope that Google search really does want to return the best answer to a query and that HP can manage to persuade them that we are capable of doing so. This site has to have the very best quality standards or it will be sunk.. This will mean more and more people being disappointed and getting angry...... I am sure that we will see more and more shakeups, more and more people leaving, and things getting tougher to publish..
   
   While this site is free to use and open to anyone it will always have problems in the eyes of Google..

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      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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8. 83

   Richawriterposted 10 years ago

   I've been here over two years and I'm extremely happy with how things have turned out. By and large, Hubpages has advanced greatly since my early days here and I'm happy to say my earnings are increasing and might I add, are in direct proportion to the effort I put in which is satisfying. The forums have gone to pot recently but then again that might have something to do with the decreased numbers and Hubpages crackdown on troublemakers and wind up artists. A good thing overall.
   
   Yes, the standards have increased but that's a wonderful thing and will not only improve Hubpages on the whole but also the writers who wish to remain here. Bottom line is you improve your writing ability, communication skills, hub building skills and provide quality as well as quantity, meaning pictures, videos etc, and you will be rewarded with more views, features, social network love etc and make money here.
   
   I'm with Cardisa. I was a person who wasn't willing to change to go with hubpage's standards and my hubs suffered because of it. I have since gone back, updated those same hubs that were floundering in the 60s and 70s and they have been pumped up to 80s and 90s, my views have gone up, facebook likes pouring in and more money being made. You get back what you put in and who knows - I can very well see a time when hubpages steps back, looks at the situation and says "Enough's enough," before requiring all who wish to write here to submit samples and pass tests. Those of us already here and doing well will be rewarded by keeping our places here. I'm alright with that.
   
   They've given us this chance so it's only right we give something back.
   
   Up Hubpages!!!!!

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9. 64

   Jamesm1968posted 10 years ago

   The original question mentioned Squidoo. I have had an account on Squidoo for longer than I have had an account here at HP. I recently revisited Squidoo and,  having not posted any new lenses for over a year, found they had deleted all my posts.
   This just does not happen on HP. I have posts on here that are over 2 years old & still active. In fact, one of my highest earning hubs is one regarding private parking companies. I only started it as a rant.
   
   Through HP I have discovered that you can make cider from apple juice and use sachets of coffee to reduce your energy bill along with loads of other stuff.
   
   So long as people continue to post quality hubs then people will continue to visit (and hopefully sign-up and contribute).

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      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well put and you're right.

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10. 54

    janderson99posted 10 years ago

    The future looks brighter now than previously
    => cpm is up
    => the rise in traffic for the site as a whole appears to be sustained
    => the mobile design is fab and gives hp the edge over other sites. Also this design puts emphasis back onto authors, and this could bring good writers back. The attention to the mobile ads offers the chance to sustain revenue. The talk of a simplified design for the main site following the mobile layout change may make hp more attractive to users. The rise of mobile traffic is fostering a change in what users are looking for - simplified smart delivery of information.
    => the changes will hopefully encourage good writers who have slowed down to resume again, established authors to return and new quality writers to join
    => the apparent easing of the dreaded 'Not featured for low traffic' scourge is a relief for established writers allowing them to focus on new stuff.
    => the apparent change of respect for established writers is perhaps the best thing heralding a bright future, lifting clouds on the horizon.

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11. 84

    tillsontitanposted 10 years ago

    I totally agree with janderson!  There's always ups and downs in a relationship and HP is no different.  I tend to believe its on the upswing!

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12. 73

    diogenesposted 10 years ago

    I think they will get serious about people who leave prepositions out of their forum questions.  Sorry...bad day and felt like being a supercilious ass  Bob

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13. 63

    thumbi7posted 10 years ago

    I have been here for more than two years. I like Hubpages and hope it will continue to exist.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       ktnptl I see a very bright future for HubPages.  I love writing here.  Where else would you find a more helpful and friendly community of Writers?  I am definitely here for the duration.

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14. 73

    healthyfitnessposted 10 years ago

    I think they'll do just fine if they focus a bit more on spammers and what not. I love reading and writing on hubpages.

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    lovebuglenaposted 10 years ago

    I joined Squidoo a few years back. Couldn't for the life of me get any of my lenses out of WIP. Finally, a few weeks ago I figured it out. But even though my lenses are now featured and I've written a few new ones I've not made a penny and getting hardly any views or likes for the lenses. Even showcasing links to lenses in the forums of Squidoo doesn't help. Wonder if I should even both with Squidoo anymore? I prefer HubPages where I know I will earn something every day even if it is a few cents. Plus, the earnings don't expire as they do on Squidoo after a year I believe. I think HubPages is by far the best site for making money online. It's user friendly, professional, and has high quality, informative and engaging content. It also gets lots of Google traffic, which sites like Squidoo or Bubblews don't seem to get, at least in my case.

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       Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       According to Quantcast measured traffic, HubPages has twice the traffic as Squidoo.  Bubblews isn't measured by Quantcast so I don't know what its figures are.

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    Marisa Wrightposted 10 years ago

    I think HubPages is still doing better than other revenue-sharing sites in terms of traffic and income (with the exception of Bubblews).   What always worries me is that HubPages was only just breaking even when Panda hit in 2011.   Therefore it's been making a loss ever since.  While it might be making less of a loss than other rev-sharing sites, how long can it go on doing so?

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    Marcy Goodfleischposted 10 years ago

    This site is making all the right changes to stay in the game and rise to the top. User-generated content sites are not going away. But they're also not going to compete if the free-for-all policies continue. The good news is that HP has a wealth of good content in the overall inventory. The 'other' news is that long with the outstanding content, there were a ton of really awful 'hubs' created  during the early years.  And, for whatever reason, those hubs got traffic & generated money.
    
    We all know those days are over, but why should HP have shut down due to the changes in Google's search criteria? That would have meant abandoning a gold mine of good, searchable content.  So, HP wisely decided to implement a filtering system for new hubs (yes, it's had growing pains, but it was needed & they're continually improving the process).  They also created good 'best-practices' criteria for writers, so people have targeted standards when they write.
    
    And they've started implementing changes to make HP a more uniformly reliable source of good content, whether it's new content, or writing that's been on the site for a long while.
    
    So, while the cash cow has left the pasture (I wasn't here during those days, but I've heard of them), there's still some green grazing. Personally, I don't want my work on a site that lacks standards. And if I publish something substandard, I want to known so I can either improve it, or unpublish it. 
    
    If any site can make it as a venue for user-generated content, HP can do it.  We have smart and caring staff members. And we have many (many) great writers.

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       Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Great post, Marcy!

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          Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          +1

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18. 66

    Cheeky Girlposted 10 years ago

    HubPages is a publisher and has relative independence in many things. Search engines can destabilise parts of this business idea but overall, having a writing community and content creation platform like this is a great idea! I am in favor of this.
    
    I wonder would HubPages become more focused on being more of a "publisher" and of nurturing some of the writing talents here on HubPages. Some writers are really excellent!
    
    Also - I have wondered if HubPages might in the future, create some kind of Hub Pages affiliate system for members of HubPages. If, for example - there were 3 things that Hub Pages were interested in marketing or selling to people - what would they be, and would having an affiliate system contribute to that end, if it were compatible with needs of writers...and if it did not upset search engines or other existing advertisers.
    
    I would love to see a full blown App on the iPad that allows hubs to be created. I would love it to be found on Android / Google Play.
    
    As Twitter is following in the footsteps of Facebook - and is approaching major companies to do deals on product marketing, should HubPages not try the same approach to potential business. It could gain new revenues in new areas. Writers inhabit these pages. Surely putting all these elements together can result in something good and wonderful. Unlock the potential in this business that is Hubpages.
    
    Just my Cheeky thoughts this Thursday!

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