Merger between HP and Squidoo

1. 66

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   If you read the two FAQs, it makes it much more clear why the accounts are being transferred the way that they are.
   
   The HubPages merger FAQ
   
   http://hubpages.com/squidoo/faq
   
   The Squidoo merger FAQ,
   
   http://hq.squidoo.com/hp-faq/

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      Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks .

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2. 65

   Alex Addamsposted 10 years ago

   Haven't read through the novel, but I am happy by this news. I think if HubPages can apply its content accountability model to Squidoo, then that's a good thing for web content overall (and hopefully Google will appreciate that). In fact, I haven't seen a Squidoo page pop up in search results in ages, so a little clean up might go a long way.

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3. 61

   rlmodranskiposted 10 years ago

   Something that might reassure some of you who are worried about the quality of lenses... a little while ago, Squidoo changed their featured lens number.  In order to be "featured" the lenses have to be in the top 175,000.  That number used to be closer to the top 400,000.  I'm guessing this was done in preparation to come over to HP.  Additionally, Google had started "liking" Squidoo again lately.  My top lenses are finally back to getting the same hits they were about 18 months ago.  So, I think the transition might not be as detrimental as you might fear.

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4. 75

   travel_man1971posted 10 years ago

   The collaboration will be in a positive light. Two heads are better than one, so they say. As for HubPages and Squidoo, I think it will benefit users if we adhere with their policies/rules and regs.

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5. 67

   Arachneaposted 10 years ago

   The welcome here has been very warm. It's much appreciated in this time of flux. Many squids have concerns about the quality of their lenses (hubs) and are already working on adjusting their lenses to meet HP standards. It's been encouraging and most welcome to receive the help and assistance that so many HP'rs have already offered. Getting to know my new neighbors is a welcome pursuit and I and many other squids will be doing so with great enthusiasm.

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6. 68

   SPomposelloposted 10 years ago

   Wow, I've been away from here for so long that I had no idea this was happening.

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7. 75

   toptengamerposted 10 years ago

   I've used HubPages and Squidoo extensively for the last 4 years. Over that time I'd switch back and forth (based on performance).
   
   Something that may be interesting to some. Most recently (within the last month), I had switched back to Squidoo.
   
   About the "penalty" that Squidoo was under.
   
   HubPages released itself of the very same penalty by using subdomains. Similarly, Squidoo had just started to escape the very same penalty by using the "best of" Squidoo subdomains and allowing certain lensmasters to create their own.
   
   The moving of these lenses does not appear to be taken into account on Quantcast; however, you can look up certain individual subdomains to get an idea.
   
   This is why I had moved back to Squidoo. For me, performance was at an all-time high.
   
   These types of websites cannot police the accounts and articles of every single person that participates. It's impossible. Rather, a subdomain is used so that if a particular user is subpar, they and their subdomain get penalized by Google rather than the site as a whole.
   
   Google owns Blogspot. They have to do the exact same thing. 
   
   Don't get me wrong... there's a ton of junk on both sites still. That being said, I don't feel that the quality of writing between Squidoo and HubPages was all that different. It's still user-generated content with all of its genius and flaws.
   
   I don't feel that Google will punish HubPages (at least not right away) for this content because it's using the same tactic that Google is with its very own user-generated web 2.0 content site.
   
   That being said it's important that people realize that Squidoo's 250k + HubPages 750k will most likely not = 1M.
   
   Some articles, with similar content, that were better (in Google's eyes) on HubPages rather than Squidoo (and vice versa) will  overtake their counterparts in the SERPs.
   
   This may upset some; however, it's all part of the very volatile job that we all do.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      toptengamer
      
      Obviously everything you said here is true...except for one thing.
      
      I have heard that the number of lenses that will come here will be 175K, not 250K.
      
      The other thing I want to add is that competition is competition, no matter where it comes from.
      
      If I write better, I will do better.  It's that simple.
      
      So, if someone from Squidoo shows up and knocks me off a perch, I either have to up my game or find a different topic.
      
      This is the story of life, isn't it?

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         toptengamerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         The 250k referred to the traffic number rather than the number of articles . Also, I completely understand what you're saying as that seems to be the story of my life as well.

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8. 61

   LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

   I am a Squidoo ship jumper. I only had 2 lenses left when this all happened with the merger.
   
   I cannot believe the negative comments. 
   
   As to the spam pages, sales pages, or whatever you want to call them. I mean those with an opening paragraph and 99 products.
   The at least 50 words per product will deter them right off the bat. Those writers went to Squidoo because they could get away with it, and they knew they couldn't do this on other sites like HP. 
   
   However, I am disappointed at some of the negative comments. In fact I wrote a hub about it.
   
   Those not familiar with Squidoo  have no idea as to what Squids have gone through with them in past year at least, and now essentially having to start all over again and do the same work on a different site this time which actually will involve more work.
   
   Hey, we have hubbers who are Squids. Do those hubbers affect Hub Pages in a negative way because they wrote on Squidoo???

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      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Linda, if you read the thread properly, you'll see there are only twop or three people voicing negative comments and the rest are questioning that negative view point, so why focus on the negative?

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         LindaSmith1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         There are more than one threads.  Regardless of whether it is a few, or a hundred, negative comments are still being made.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Regardless of the number of threads, if you look at the comments within them, the number of people expressing concern is a tiny minority (and yes, I have been following all the Squidoo threads over the last few days).   
            
            Someone coming in late, and reading your post, could get the impression that a large number of Hubbers are anti-Squids - when in fact I can think of only three or four, and at least one of those is happy now they've had things explained properly.   I've seen a couple of posts on Bubblews from Squidoo members who are now feeling unwelcome, which is far from the case.  Stoking the flames by inflating the importance of a few negative comments  just seems a bit irresponsible.

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               Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               It is making writers from Squidoo think there are large numbers complaining and it isn't true at all.

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Barbara Kay:
                  
                  Not only that, but there is a big difference between complaining and voicing justified concerns.

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            Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Linda, be assured that the negative people are few in number. It is not worth your time to be concerned about those few who spout negative comments -- they more than likely do so because they have a lack of faith and confidence in themselves. Please do not take any negative comments personally. We are all involved in this transition and it affects all of us, whether hubbers, lenscrafters, returning hubbers, or whatever -- we are all on the same site now and together we can make HubPages better than ever, for all of us.  Just have faith in yourself and in your writing talents and you will be fine.

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               aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I dislike all this negativity about negativity. Not all negative comments are an indication of a lack of faith and confidence.
               
               I would like to welcome all squids (who aren't already hubbers) to HubPages. However I sincerely hope they leave the happy clappy Pollyanna attitude that was required on Squidoo official forums behind. Lets try to keep this forum real. If people have doubts about an HP policy they should voice it and discuss it. Obviously there are good and bad ways of voicing doubts.
               
               On Squidoo anybody saying anything negative about their various policies got banned from their forums. No matter how calmly they discussed their doubts. I'm sure many of you know Greekgeek, she was banned from the Squidoo forum (for things she wrote on her blog!).
               
               Saying that squids write low quality content is stupid and rude. Saying that Google, at the moment, dislikes the squidoo content is just stating a fact.
               
               Worrying that all the squidoo content brought to HP, and given a several month grace period to bring it within HP rules, could get Google to hate HP seems quite reasonable to me.

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Hear, hear!

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               2. 95

                  Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I did not say ALL, AA -- if I gave you that impression, I apologize. I am not a PollyAnna person, but I am a person who tries to help people have faith in themselves.

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     I don't think AA meant that either you or I were Pollyannas.  It was more the point that Linda seemed to be having a go at some Hubbers for saying negative things, when in fact they had a perfect right to express their concerns, and we'd all hate to see the HP forum become a place where no one felt comfortable saying what they think... Linda included, of course.

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                  2. 84

                     aa liteposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Indeed as Marisa says I didn't mean that you, and certainly not Marisa, were Pollyannas.
                     
                     I haven't read all the threads very carefully, but on the whole, I didn't come across blatant anti-squidoo comments. So comments from people complaining about the anti-Squidoo sentiments seem strange.
                     
                     Of course some people just like to take umbrage at anything. That is not helpful either.
                     
                     To me it seems clear that there is a risk of bringing in this much content from Squidoo over here. Of course there could also be an advantage to having so much new content. It is actually fun to speculate and see what will happen.
                     
                     I guess I am surprised about the way this is done. What would have been ideal is for squids to be told about this months in advance, told what the HP rules are, and to bring their lenses to comply with these rules (mostly to do with Amazon links).
                     
                     To me it seems like the decision was very sudden. I don't believe they even have all the mechanisms for 'translating' the modules to HP format in place.

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                        Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        First of all,  thanks so much to all of you hubbers who are trying so hard to make the Squidoo family feel at home!
                        
                        There is only one negative comment that has really bothered me over the last few days.
                        
                        "Google dislikes squidoo. . ."
                        
                        It bothers me because IT IS NOT FACT!
                        
                        I know that Squidoo has had a really bad reputation in the last 18 months; that's why I created a Hubpage account in February (and lost my favorite screenname in the process.)  However, in the last TWO MONTHS, my hits (and the hits of others like me who write quality valuable content) are back up to the level prior to the great Google abandonment.  Google had begun to come back around with the first of the Squidoo changes, but it was slow going.  By mid-June of this year I was starting to see traffic that compared to the year prior, and July and August have just been getting better.  In fact, my Amazon sales (in my ONE Amazon module on my top lens that features my own personal book) are up.    The fact that Squidoo has "trimmed down" the number of featured lenses (which are the only ones guaranteed to transfer) should be another fact that eases Hubbers minds. 
                        
                        Anxiousness can create negativity.  Believe me, I am in a mixed state of ... this is going to be better/I'm not sure I want to fight with the Adsense stuff.. . for days.  And for those of us with a little bit of loyal streak toward Squidoo (because the staff of Squidoo was very present - we felt like we knew them personally within just a few days on the site - not my experience in the last 6 months on HubPages) every negative comment feels like a personal jab.   I have to breathe deep every time I read one.  I just try to keep reading because as Phyliss and Marissa said, when taken as a whole the truly negative are few.  Most of the negativity isn't meant to stab, it's just a statement of truth from someone who is just as anxious as I am.
                        
                        At any rate this whole acquisition is what it is.  I could take my metaphorical ball and go home, but I have enjoyed the income and now I'm sort of addicted to the writing.  Besides that I don't see any other original content site that will bring more traffic to my work than HubPages, including creating my own webpage as someone suggested. 
                        
                        So here I am . . . jumping in with both feet!  Looking forward to getting to know all of my new writing family.  And I guess we're off to a good start in the "getting to know you" arena, because without this anxiety, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been stalking around the forums so much!  So I guess even the anxiety is good!

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  aa lite:
                  
                  I'm glad you wrote this because it is my distinct feeling, especially after reading Linda Smith's hub about all of the "negative comments", that some Squids are misinterpreting justified concern for negativity and are taking that concern as a personal or professional attack rather than concern about the Google connection with Squidoo that could possibly affect HP.
                  
                  In fact, I have read a number of posts by incoming Squids that have supported this exact concern because those people are seeing the situation for what it is and are being honest about it rather than trying to make concerned hubbers out as villains.
                  
                  To be honest, anybody reading these posts knows that there are just as many good writers on Squidoo as there are on HP, and that this merger could either work out to be the best thing that ever happened to everybody on both sides, or the worst.
                  
                  What has happened to the Squidoo writers is a travesty.  Obviously this situation has not been well handled.  However, it is what it is.
                  
                  No writer here caused the problem, and every single person is upset...but let's place our upset where it belongs and not dump it on each other.
                  
                  We are all in the same boat now, so lets put on our big boy pants and start rowing together.

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                     rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     ??
                     From what I have read, this is simply not true.  I have only noticed a few hubbers expressing upset, most are very supportive. "every single person is upset'  ??  Not at all.  I truly don't believe HP would have made the move if they felt it would be a detriment to the site.

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               LindaSmith1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Phyliss: I have gotten a lot of thank-you for writing this.  Others have expressed how they have been made to feel by some of the negative comments.   If anybody paid I attention, I wrote that only a few have made negative comments, but for the most part, Hubbers have been welcoming and helpful to those coming from Squidoo to HP for the first time.

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         3. 77

            CuAllaidhposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Negative comments are always going to be made by some ppl. I am also a squid who is being kicked over here. I've read a number of the threads, and while yes there is a loud group of ppl who don't like the idea most are actually supportive. Don't worry about the detractors, just produce good articles and the detractors will have to eat their words.

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               firstdayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               CuAllaidh
               Here is my two cents and humble opinion.  Ha Ha!!
               I like what you wrote.  It is wild I joined Hub Pages right before the transition.
               Some of you guys kind of see what it is like being the new kid on the block. 
               I did notice there are some folks in the forum with a lot of fear and that is due to change.  So maybe just maybe they will relax soon.  Other new hubbers like me aren't worried you guys are going to crash this.

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9. 68

   Elsie Hagleyposted 10 years ago

   There has been a lot of angry and sad people at Squidoo it hasn't been easy for us, as writers going through all the changes over the last year.
   
   Many members had moved on before the announcement of the merge between Squidoo and Hubpages last friday because they had had enough.
   
   Now I have opened an account here at Hubpages I feel much better and enjoy the ease of making hubs, (only done one yet) but it will be nice for my 200 odd lens to be move over here and sort them out then I know where Iam.
   
   Thanks all Hub members I'm loving it here and looking forward to happy days writing, viewing and commenting on others members hubs.

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      Alex Addamsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Elsie, welcome! We're glad to have you!

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         Elsie Hagleyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Jacob for your nice welcome. I appreciate it.

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Welcome, Elsie. I love your positive attitude and enthusiasm. Best wishes to you.

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10. 68

    Elsie Hagleyposted 10 years ago

    Thanks Phyllis, I'm looking forward to writing here and making new friends as the months go-by. Have a great day.

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11. 64

    kislanykposted 10 years ago

    Actually I agree with what Lynne-Modranski is saying. Just today I've noticed in my Squidoo dashboard (while saving the traffic stats to my pc for the future) that the last 2 months my traffic on many lenses went up - not quite, but pretty close to what it was before the big hit last year. I even showed a few screenshots about it in another forum. And then Squidoo is selling...*sigh*, but that's another story for another day.
    
    So yes, Google traffic has been returning to many of my lenses the last 2 month, and that could not have happened if indeed Google hates Squidoo that much.

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       And how were people who do not write for Squidoo or pay attention to this information supposed to know this?
       
       All we see is the reputation Squidoo has had in the past and that it is no longer going to exist!

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          Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Nobody really likes change, no matter how much they say they do. Or at least change we don't choose for ourselves can be distressing. HP has been through so many changes in the 3, almost 4, years I've been here, I go away for a week or two, come back here, and there's more changes. You just have to keep up.
          
          There are statements written that give all the details from the Squidoo side and the HP side, if you go back to the recent posts in the TOS, where all the rules and good stuff are. That will help you understand what's happening, instead of reading things that may not be true on one of many forum threads going on about this. I have been to Squidoo as I never wrote there, and they also have posted detailed info about this change.

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12. 59

    Mark Ewbieposted 10 years ago

    Agree with aalite of course. 
    
    But I'll post the rest of my comment on Bubblews - it was a bit long and ranty.

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       firstdayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Mark Ewbie
       In response to what you just wrote.
       The posts I have read written by you have never been ranty.  I find you humorous at most.  Although often times you are witty, entertaining and filled with rhetorical remarks.  By the way these often amuse me.  This is my way of saying write it here if you like I am going to get some coffee.

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       firstdayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Mark Ewbie making sure you know my post was meant as a compliment.  I cannot read what you write at Bubblews.

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          Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Oh hey - sure firstday - I appreciated it.  Just didn't know what to say.  I'll find a happy pic.. hang on.
          
          
          

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             Health Reportsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I think you should write some reviews, in stick figure style, that express your wit and cynicism regarding products you have experience with. You could sell some products and make people laugh.  Just a thought.

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                Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Or sell mugs and tshirts?

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             firstdayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Mark Ewbie
             I concur with Suzanne Day and Health Reports.  The things you do are ready for the next step. 
             And the story you wrote I told to my husband in my own words at dinner and to my surprise I began to tear up.  After all I love Pooh Bear.  So the story got inside of me and moved me.  That is what it is all about.  Young man you have a bright future.

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    firstdayposted 10 years ago

    Excellent!  Thanks for responding because I like your sense of humor.  Nice to see someone that knows how to have fun.  The rules are always around to be happy well that is another story.  I saw your remark on making the 3 figures which I might add had me beat by almost a quarter.  Thanks again!

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    GiftsByDianaposted 10 years ago

    I know that some of the writers at Squidoo (and at most places) were only writing ad-filled/key-word-filled... pages to make money - and indeed it showed, but there are also many of us who tried hard to write informative; helpful; or local interest... pages and only made a few dollars every few months at most because the writing and the helping were the main reason to be there.
    I appreciate your concerns and in some cases, they will be justified I know, but there are also many of us who just might be a pleasant surprise 
    Thank you for the welcome and I look forward to getting to know you folks here !

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       GiftsBy Diana:
       
       Certainly every hubber with any intelligence at all will be more than happy to have top notch writers here because we have had our own problems in the past and have lost a lot of writers in the past year or so.
       
       We all know that, as with our own site here, there are both good and bad...it's just how things are.
       
       I am sure any person willing to work hard will do well here, but be aware that it does take time to learn the ropes. 
       
       This is why I and a few others have posted helpful hints on the forums.  We want you to succeed, and we want you to do well.
       
       When I came here, I knew practically nothing about online writing, but with the help I received I learned and grew.
       
       People like you are coming here with greater knowledge than I ever had, so it will be easier than you think.
       
       Welcome and good luck.

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          GiftsByDianaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you !

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    Greekgeekposted 10 years ago

    It occurs to me that this cartoon should have one last airing before I retire it.
    
    
    
    Although generally I'm trying to focus on positives rather than frustrations.
    
    Allow me to offer great sympathies to  Squids who were more engaged in the site than I have been lately. I was burned a year or two ago and have been going through the mourning process for a long time (Squidoo was my home, dangit; I spent years of my life and efforts there). Maybe I can help in a small way by reassuring you that some things may work better for you here, depending on which kinds of content you tend to write.
    
    In my own experience, informational articles and those with a modest but steady trickle of traffic seem to do better on HP (Lookin' at you, Susanna). You're no longer fighting an algorithm than treats clickouts, site participation, and competition with other people's articles as a factor in getting paid. Instead, your content simply has to pass the quality filters keeping Hubpages in Google's good graces, and then earn visitors (or at least ad impressions) on its own merits. To put it differently, you're paid what each article individually earns, instead of having advertising revenue subject to a drastic bell curve.
    
    I will leave affiliate sales advice to those who are better at it than I, although lately -- woot -- Amazon has been good to me.
    
    Oh -- remember my old rants about ignoring points, ranks, and awards because they have nothing to do with earnings or external visitors to your lenses? Ignore Hubscores. Jane Q. Public won't even notice that your Pesky Patio Pests article has a Hubscore of 72. She just wants to know how to keep raccoons out of the birdfeeder.

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       Elsie Hagleyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks Greekgeek, all you said is very true. You have been a great help to me when I first started  at squidoo. I followed your lens, read and reread them. I most likely wouldn't be were I am now if it wasn't for your knowledge about everything.
       
       Love that cartoon, thanks for airing it one more time, I think us squids did look like that last friday evening when we read or heard the news, such a shock it was.
       
       Happy Days Writing Everyone and enjoy our new home.

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    SusannaDuffyposted 10 years ago

    Hearty hello to you, dear E. What you have to say about informational articles gives me hopeful feelings, and anything associated with hope was, until very recently, in short supply down my end of town

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    amkateeposted 10 years ago

    Hi!  I made the transition over to hubpages.  I have to admit I lurked on Squidoo for quite a while. I laid low until everything happening over there finished. I knew the ship was going down when my most popular page had dismal hits last Christmas.  I'm excited to make the change and will be working on adjusting my hubs accordingly.  Most of all, I love seeing familiar faces and hope to meet new writers here since really we are all in this boat together!

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