New on HP: Mini Social Sharing Posts-Tips, News, Facts ++

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   janderson99posted 10 years ago

   'SHORT-CUTS'  - An idea!
   
   The success of Bubblews, despite the payments issues etc. has showcased the opportunity for short articles shared internally within a community. HP has Q&A and the Forums but community involvement has declined IMO, I think for various reasons, as well, Q&A has faded.
   
   The large HP community, could become very involved with Short-Cuts (100-300 length posts) - there is probably a better name, but this captures the idea.
   
   These short posts would fill the gap between Q&A/Forums and the standard stellar hubs (700+ words). There is no avenue for short post and social exchange of ideas and stuff on HP now.
   
   Features of 'Short-Cuts'
   
   ► New setup tied to HP domain (not subs)
   ► Short articles min 100 words, max around 300. The emphasis is not on gossip and personal reminiscences, but on opinions, short takes from the news, tips, innovations, guides and fact summaries. These are short pieces that would never qualify for a standard hub or be large enough. Perhaps they could be the seeds for developing larger hubs in the future.
   ► It would have fully functional comments
   ► Only hubbers who has a minimum of 5 featured hubs could contribute.
   ► A minimum of one relevant link would be required to get the post published (max2). This is to discourage posts about 'what I had for lunch'. Links to external sources and references would be encouraged as well as to hubs. This gives the post authority.
   ► Revenue would be shared with the author via the ad program (60:40). HP is well set up for this expansion.
   ► A simply category system would be used, but there would be a Google type search box to other short-cuts and hubs.
   ► Images would be encouraged, but limited to one (high quality and Pinterest ready in terms of size).
   ► There would be one simple layout (no video, tables - just text).
   ► Quality and appropriateness would be vetted via the community using a 'Report & Flag' type button, with banning applied to offenders (>2 strikes and you're out)
   ► The Short-Cut would not undercut the hub which are much larger and more comprehensive and should not affect the authority and reputation of HP, as it already has Q&A and the forums, which are all indexed. It is unlikely that the short posts would get high ranking, especially in the longer term. If HP was worried about this, the posts could only remain indexed for 6 months.
   ► Most of the traffic would be internal and advertisers already support the Q&A and Forums
   ► It would encourage more social interaction on HP because authors could contribute short posts, which they cannot do so now. It would provide a more 'adult' avenue for discussion than the forums, which have a poor reputation.
   ► Think of it as a forum of steroids - with an image, moderate length succinct summaries of facts, and opinions and comments - social sharing
   ► It could be promoted on the home and category pages etc. with 'Latest Short-Cuts'
   ► It would be designed as mobile-ready and mobile optimized - it would look the same on mobiles and PC's. Short-cuts would be ideal for mobile users on-the-go.
   ► It would re-engage the HP community.
   
   What Do You Think?

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      jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Fabulous idea, janderson99. You have really thought this through, very thorough presentation, a WIN-WIN-WIN for all. It could certainly take the place of all those 3-year old  "Hot Questions" which are currently taking up space.

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      Tolovajposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like a good idea. Internal 'buzz in the community' can only have positive effect of HubPages as a site. I like the idea and rules sound reasonable to me. Of course being a new member my support is probably not very important, but in any case you have it:)

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      LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Love it......I hope someone is listening or rather paying attention!!!

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      JayeWisdomposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think yours is a very credible idea, and I do hope HP admin. gives it consideration. I think we all have ideas at time that could be expressed well enough in a short version, but we let them slip away if we don't have time and energy to research at length and write/format a lengthy hub.

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years ago

   I think it is a good idea, as well.  Sometimes, I start to write a hub that sounds like an interesting topic, but just cannot find enough research material, so it ends up languishing unpublished as too short to meet QAP.
   
   Also, you could probably use these to provide short synopses/snapshots of your own much longer hubs, (there's your link requirement), to spark interest, instead of relying on a blog which may have insufficient traffic, or Face Book shares  which seem to have trouble gaining attention; it may be a "time of day" issue.

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      janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thinks social sharing - i.e. cooking tips, writing tips - short stuff to share => followers

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   JRScarbroughposted 10 years ago

   I like the idea. I think HP could actually pull in a lot of traffic with that feature.

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      janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No response whatsoever from HP team!

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   stricktlydatingposted 10 years ago

   I like this idea too. So many of my online friends share little stories on their FB timeline and tweets, Pins etc, and these short pieces would be perfect for sharing that way. You don't always want to sit down and read a long detailed article online; as you browse through your friends updates sometimes something short and sweet, interesting or funny will catch your eye, you'll take a moment to read it and share it yourself if you like it. That's why I think mini Hubs would be a success!

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   summerberrieposted 10 years ago

   I like the idea, too.

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   C.V.Rajanposted 10 years ago

   If I were the HP owner, I would say, "You are appointed"!

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   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   I also think this is a great idea and worthy of serious consideration. Instead of hubs they could be called blubs and if interaction were to be actively encouraged, the site really would be buzzing.

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   Paul Maplesdenposted 10 years ago

   Just to add my support, I think this is a superb idea; the only concern would be maintaining quality, but I think that you covered those bases pretty well in your original post.

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   aa liteposted 10 years ago

   Great idea!  Mind you Bubblews is rumoured to make most of its money from the captchas we have to fill in every time we post, rather than advertising.  I see no reason why HP couldn't monetize in the same way.
   
   I would still have worries about quality (as Google sees it) and the possibility of it pulling the whole site down.  One way out of it could be to just decide from the start that all the bulbs wouldn't be indexed?  Would not reach its full earning potential, but less risk that way.
   
   One huge advantage over bubbles would be that HP loads much faster, and is much better designed.  I mostly connect with HP friends on bubbles, so would be nice to bring it all in here.  Also, much less possibility of non-payment with HP.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      An interesting idea!  I would hate it to have the opposite effect though - that of turning HubPages into another Bubblews.
      
      I  love the possibility that it might result in much better earning potential.

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      janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      "One way out of it could be to just decide from the start that all the bulbs wouldn't be indexed?  Would not reach its full earning potential, but less risk that way."
      ► HP already has selective indexing for forum posts (+ Google probably does not index some). If indexing the forum and Q&A(?) has not undermined HP, then Short-Cuts should not have an impact. The Q&A are indexed to subs, which has always been a worry to me, and perhaps this is why many people don't get involved. There may be advertising issues as to why the forum is indexed. But I agree this is an option if the focus is internal.

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    Jayne Lancerposted 10 years ago

    Wonderful idea. I'd much rather write short pieces here than on Bubblews.
    
    I'm often allowed to do 300 or 400 word pieces on another site, but some of my ideas need much fewer.

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