Is Bubblews Dead as a writting site?

1. 42

   David Trujilloposted 9 years ago

   I moved back here after 1 year in Bubblews and no articles made here in those 365 days. My income there hasn´t budged from $4 dollars in a week, and the owe me more than $500 dollars. I don´t I can trust that site anymore, specialy when the good-for-nothing team reamin in silence when they promised never again to do so.

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   1. 85

      NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, the site's going downhill. It's not even worth it to write there. Earnings are too slow and they owe me money too. And I know I'm not the only one who's given up on it.
      
      It's really not a reliable source of income and definitely not a good source of passive income; you are forced to continually interact on a site full of drivel and nonsense just to earn a few pennies. Really not worth it. Who would honestly just stay there for the fun of it?

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         David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I hear ya.
         
         I mean, I could accept that they are just learning how the industry works, but their silence and constant lies are just very irresponsible. They want us to write but not get paid.

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            Heer Kaulposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            That is the only thing i dint like about them .. and i totally agree with you ..

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      2. 85

         NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I feel a little bad about bashing them; fact is, they used to pay more than anyone else, though many of us realize that it wasn't viable to do so for long. I did have fun there and we can only speculate why things went the way they have. And I will still probably be able to reach payout every six months without doing anything. not a lot of money but it's okay.

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   2. 52

      growithmeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Oh it's so sad that I joined thereto earn some money, made 30 dollars and now the counter is moving  snail-paced . Losing interest in bubblews

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   3. 83

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, now all those writers with pending payment before nov 11, will not be paid, they write off the debt

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         David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I want to crush them like little ants!

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   4. 86

      cmoneyspinner1tfposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Oh boy!  I signed up in December.  20+ posts already.  You just painted a frightening and awful picture.  Now I need to think what I should do.  The posting process is so easy.  It's tempting when something is easy to use and there's a "promise" of potential income.  Know what I mean?

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2. 73

   LeanManposted 9 years ago

   Many Filipinos and I assume those from other countries have received emails saying that redemptions prior to December will not be paid as there has been too much fraud from their countries and they don't have the time to review every account. So basically they are not paying anyone unless they live in a country in which there is likely to be legal action such as the US..
   
   Their excuses are a smokescreen to get people to carry on using the site even though they will not ever pay. If you do the math you will see that even at the height of their success they could have had a 4 person team spend 15 minutes with every redemption to check it. Now they have loads of time to check every redemption as so few people are now posting and they are paying so little compared to what they originally paid.
   
   There are now only around 1700 posts a day made - that is just over 50k posts a month. If we say that every post will be associated with 20 page views that is 1million page views a month. This is what they were getting at the height of their success in one day!
   So at a very very generous $5 per thousand views that would suggest that Bubblews is now only earning $5k per month to pay their staff, their servers, and of course those people posting on the site.
   How long do you think they will last now?
   
   
   The original over paying in my mind was to rapidly grow the site. They will have known from day 1 what they were earning so their excuses of not knowing etc are all BS. They had a plan!
   I guess that they wanted to have a mega site that they could then sell for a huge amount of money like everyone else does..... However any serious buyer will have seen the faults in their financial model and would have laughed at them......
   
   So now they cannot afford to pay their contributors so they have stopped!
   They have gone from at times 2000 posts an hour to only 60-80 posts an hour! (All posts are sequentially numbered so this is very easy to check for yourself)
   If you look at the home page you will see that almost all of the Asian faces on the profile icons have been replaced by western posters who are still being paid.
   The home page which used to show posts up to maybe 12 minutes old now has posts that are more than 2 hours old (Every post shows how long ago it was published - this page used to turn over quickly with the posts at the bottom being only 12 minutes old - now the posts at the bottom are more than 2 hours old)
   If you read the comments you will see that many people are complaining about being paid a penny for 5 comments etc.
   I could go on...... but you will just get bored....
   
   
   Either this was a complete scam from the start with a plan to sell the site at the height and pass the problem to someone else which they failed to do....
   or
   They are completely and totally incompetent fools who could not see the basic fact that they were paying more than they were earning for the last 2 years..
   
   
   I will leave it to you to decide which of the two above they are - but me I will go with the complete and total scam!!

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   1. 82

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Lean Man - this is very interesting - I wonder if they had funding of some sort and overpaid to try to juice up the site (with healthy salaries) but managed it poorly. Or, as you suggest, hoped to sell it and their plan didn't work.
      
      Question - I have at least one hub copied there & I've reported it to them.  Do you think, in the midst of what must be a crisis, there's any hope they'll respond & delete the copied content?  And, of course, the Bubble person (whatever they call them) wasn't from the USA.

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         Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         No, they just won't pay the thief.  They will, however,  take whatever pageviews they can get for free.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I read that the founders were a couple of rich kids who persuaded their parents to fund the site.  I can't vouch for whether that's true though.

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         1. 42

            David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            gogling bublews founder or arvind gets a photo of them with a guy that looks like an investor.

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            1. 61

               fpherj48posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Really?  that's so interesting.  Just what does "an investor" look like?  LOL  If I'm not mistaken, there were plenty of red flags with Bubblews.  Just here at HP, numerous individuals wrote, warning Hubbers that they had researched thoroughly and discovered that the way Bubblews was set up, it was doomed for failure in the not so distant future. 
               I tried my hand there for a few months, but very quickly realized that the money earned had absolutely nothing to do with my articles nor my writing talents. 
               The money coming in was based almost entirely on number of fans and becoming one of the ":group".  This meant reading, liking, commenting & writing almost non-stop.  It was a blatant example of you scratch my back...I scratch yours.    This is not why I write.  As soon as I saw the reality, I gracefully left.....and they surely didn't lose any money on me.  My $35 is all theirs, since they only paid out once you reached $50.
               Basically, if Bubblews is truly dying out......seems to me it was a prediction by many just waiting to happen.

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         2. 85

            NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I don't know if that's true, but it seems right to me.

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      Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +100,000,000,000

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   3. 86

      viryaboposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +1
      
      I too still believe they had it all planned out from the beginning. They owe me $115 but I'm not worried about that.
      
      What worries me is that they keep my 500 posts live, probably earn from it, yet i can't post or comment.
      And yes, they told me to reformat my computer, yada! yada! yidi! yidi! . Technical dept. (which I'm sure is non-existent) tried their best
      
      Then, they blank out on me.

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   4. 42

      David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I will go with = They were innocent fools. Although that is harsh, I do believe they tried but were seduced by advertisers who promised them heaven. The scam site you are describing sounds more like CGP Gallery

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   5. 86

      cmoneyspinner1tfposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I was under the OLD Bubblews.  My accounts were deleted.  I signed up again under the NEW Bubblews.  This "fraud allegation" has me baffled.  (???)  What type of fraud could you possibly commit at that site.  Type 400 characters, plus sign some search terms, add an image and click post.  (???)  What kind of genius criminal mind came with something fraudulent to do at that site???

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3. 73

   LeanManposted 9 years ago

   I don't think there are any staff there.... I published a whole load of anti-B bubbles to get my account deleted after I removed my content and it is still there.. Normally you get deleted very quickly but my highly critical bubbles and several others that are doing the same are all still published after a few days despite tagging various members of staff etc..
   
   They don't have a method to close your account so you have to abuse them by telling the truth about their site so that they will delete your account.....

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      Sed-meposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Some men use that same method for breaking up with girls.

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      1. 42

         David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hhaha, so true! guilty. But I was young... my defense

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   2. 82

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Everyone, for replying.  This is discouraging - I have several hubs copied on sites where I likely can't do anything to get them removed.  I guess if Bubblews goes under, the content will go away, but who knows where or when?  (To quote a refrain from a very old torch song.)

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      1. 73

         LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Marcy a copied hub on Bubblews will never compete against the original here on HP. How often do you see a site like B in the search results?
         
         Bubblews will have a very severe Google Panda penalty due to the quality of their content so are going to be very unlikely to ever feature in the search results except for obscure searches that no one ever writes about or would only write about on bubblews.
         
         So while it is annoying that someone has done this it will not affect your traffic here.

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      2. 42

         David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         It has been harder for me to find my old Bubblews content on Google. it does fade away, although I wouldn´t want that, I had good times there.

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   3. 85

      NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I've been doing essentially the same thing, writing the same kind of Bubbles: A bunch of Bubbles about how the site is going downhill and I threw in some Bubbles with profanity and other things annoying yet honest. Wanted to see if I could get in trouble since I don't care and I'm not going to make money there anyway, plus I'm mostly not using the site and will likely stop using it except for the occasional Bubble to try to get in trouble like I'm doing.

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   4. 86

      viryaboposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      They did suggest to me that they can delete my account and try again . . .
      
      In their own words .... "I"m sorry, I wish I could fix this problem for you. The only advice I can offer is for me to delete the account and you can open a new one and see if the problem continues".

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4. 89

   Victoria Lynnposted 9 years ago

   Dang, I haven't written there in a while, but I have $42 sitting there. It's not going up much anymore. Should I post a few things and comment on some posts to get up to $50?

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      LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It might take a lot of posts to gain your $8 the way the site is now and then there is no guarantee that you will get paid..

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         Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Maybe so. We'll see. I just posted something there tonight to see if I can up my total a bit. We'll see. :-)

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            PinoyMomposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            B site is a waste of time. Being unfair to their members.

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   2. 42

      David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have been sitting with $4 dollars for 2 weeks now and I have made like 5 posts

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      1. 89

         Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's a bummer. I wrote 3 posts last night, and my total went up about 20 cents, I think. I'd like to get that payout since I'm so close, but it may not happen.

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         1. 60

            Mark Ewbieposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            It looks over to me Vicky.  I loved Bubblews, fun short posts, always got paid - so no complaints.  But since they got rid of the spam likers and made the payment more realistic - it is not worth the effort.  For me anyway.  For those who enjoy social maybe it can still work.

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            1. 89

               Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               That's too bad, Mark. Since they changed the site format, I have a hard time even finding people. I feel isolated on there. Yeah, I thought it was fun for a while, but now it really doesn't seem worth the time.

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   3. 61

      ArtFagposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      They might not pay out. I left because they didn't pay me and ignored all of my messages.
      
      Better to save yourself a headache!

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      1. 89

         Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah, It may not be worth the trouble. I've tried posting a few, commenting some, and the bank goes up only a few cents.

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   4. 86

      cmoneyspinner1tfposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sure!  Why not?  400 characters is only about 3 Tweets or a Facebook status update.  How much effort does that take?  You're so close!  Try it!  $50 is $50!

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         Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah, but it only goes up a few cents per post. There's not a lot of action, not a lot of views. I don't know. I should check back. See if it went up any.

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5. 29

   sachin001posted 9 years ago

   I also owe more than $250 and not getting any answers from past few months. Dont know really whether i can be paid or not, however i dropped the hope for so.

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      David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      They owe more than $500 dollars

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      1. 73

         csmiravite-blogsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         They owe me $200 and my daughter $50. I think that's down the drain. We just have to delete our posts so they don't earn from them anymore.

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6. 83

   Good Guyposted 9 years ago

   No point wasting time with them.  They owe me three redemptions which I don't expect them to pay.  It is good bye, good riddance Bubblews.  It has burst.  I no longer even look at the site anymore.

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      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Did you remove yr post there?

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         Good Guyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Don't bother to remove as I only wrote trivials which will not be featured in HP anyway.

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7. 94

   Thelma Albertsposted 9 years ago

   I am still waiting for my 3 redemptions and I am still hoping to get paid although I am no longer writing since a few days. I´ll just wait and see what will happen.

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      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi thelme,
      I didn't write five days, i inly write five days once, just hope to get paid, if really all my payment goes down hill, i remove all my six hundred post and put them at hp

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8. 0

   subeesh4nposted 9 years ago

   My story was really terrible there. I got my payment till September first week, when the total amount I received was 550$. Further 3 months, I continued writing articles there daily - which made me to payout nearly 1500$ (which accounts from earnings before September month).
   Before a week, when the CEO made a post, I commented about my delayed and missing payments, I was thrown out the very moment! They deleted all my posts (more than 1300) and my account too!
   Really scam and horrible website!

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      sachin001posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You were subeesh that they deleted your articles. Atleast you can still use them elsewhere if you got them in your backups.
      There are stories where people have been cheated and their accounts got deleted without deleting their articles.

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         subeesh4nposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I never thought that my account would get deleted. It was just after 2 minute of commenting on CEO's post.

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            Old King Schultzposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Wow, what a horrible and immature action on their part. I wasn't aware they engage in censorship among the writers who are raising the success of their site/company.

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9. 85

   sparksterposted 9 years ago

   Yes, Bubblews is absolutely dead and has become pointless thanks to the untrustworthy and useless management of the site. I have no faith left in Bubblews and expect it to completely disappear in the near future.  If they stole my content like that I would submit a DMCA complaint.

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10. 60

    Heer Kaulposted 9 years ago

    Well .. there is a new site that allows you to publish your article on your behalf and let people know you and your work .If you want the link , You can contact me .

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    1. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       at least say the name. There have been numerous sites that have spun the bubblews model, these will smell rotten to me.

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11. 61

    paradigmsearchposted 9 years ago

    I got away with only losing $84. What with the other posts I've seen, I'm actually thankful.

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    1. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I am still crossing my fingers until January 10 when my 90 days are completed.

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       colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       It looks like I'll only be out one payment of $50+
       Slowly deleting and moving content elsewhere.

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12. 86

    Cari Kay 11posted 9 years ago

    I'm thankful.  So far I've received my payments and they've been on time too.  We just have been so busy the last month with company almost all month, my son's Eagle Scout ceremony and then Christmas that it has been awhile since I have been able to write there.  Have there been any new changes since just before Thanksgiving?

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    1. 73

       LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Cari, from talking to people on the site and looking at many comments it looks like the only people that have been paid in the last few months are from the US. While those in places like Asia have been told point blank that they will never get their money - many have $hundreds outstanding like some of the previous commenters on here.

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          csmiravite-blogsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Yep, I heard that from some Filipino writers that the group will no longer be paid. Only those from the west will get their payments. Horrible!

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             Old King Schultzposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             That is just awful. From reading through this thread, I've seen others expressing the same kind of thing, writers from the U.S. being paid but not those in other countries. To be honest, I don't know much about the site in question, but I've been curious about it since I've seen the name now and again and never really knew what it was, or how it was different (if at all) from HubPages, Squidoo, Turfmurf, et cetera. Glad I never signed up there, but feel terrible for the people who have spent so many hours of their lives writing for payment they most likely won't receive. Awful.

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                Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                This

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13. 61

    hag44095posted 9 years ago

    They are imposing discriminating rules about the pay rate , that is the users will get money through likes but it might take 4 likes for someone in asia to gain a single cent while a single like will make a cent in other country.

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    1. 73

       LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Some of those in the US have been saying that it takes 5 comments now before their account moves 1c. As to Asia I have made 8 posts each with multiple comments and likes and my bank has still to move!!!!
       Admittedly those posts are just to attack B and get my account deleted but the system that adds up your bank will not know that!

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14. 61

    AntjuanDavisposted 9 years ago

    It seems like that site has many problems with their model.

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15. 90

    Cardisaposted 9 years ago

    I hate to sat "I told ya'll so!" But I predicted that would happen. I was shocked that many very good writers joined that site. I only joined because I wanted to experience first-hand what the hype was about.
    
    BTW, Bubblews was never a writing site. It was a social network and should have remained that. There is no such thing as a social network writing site. It doesn't work that way.

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    1. 73

       csmiravite-blogsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       It can never be a writing site---what with bad writing all over the place! But there are some good creative writers that I miss:  darian9991, candlelight, andyman, playdude, lobo --- oh, many of them!  What a waste!

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          Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I just couldn't settle there, so I never made more than a couple of dollars.

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    2. 61

       fpherj48posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Cardisa......great comment.  My opinion was fairly close to yours (from the start)..especially after reading some common sense warnings with statistics and Math to back it up.  Like you, I checked it out for myself.  It took less than 3 or 4 months to clearly see the issues as well as the forthcoming demise of the site.   
       In cruising around there a bit.....the Red Flags were apparent.  When I repeatedly saw  a bubble with 200 "likes" and one comment......Hello?  "Yeah, these 'writers (?)' are actually reading these bubbles....OK, whatever you say."  They all saw the quick $$ opportunity and ran feverishly everyday, clicking their butts off.  Nothing wrong with taking advantage of an opportunity of course, and good for those who raked in a bundle in a short period of time. 
       Looks like all there is to say now is "R.I.P Bubblews,"   and "Good Bye" to the few dollars made~ left hanging in Limbo.   "Happy New Year," Cardissa.

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          Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Happy New Year to you Paula. I never stuck around and only joined because great writers from HP were recommending the site. I was baffled as to why. Many people were putting much more into Bubblews than they were into HP.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             I recommended a few people to join Bubblews for precisely the reason that they're failing now!  That meant I knew Hubbers like MsLizzy, who can write well but struggles with SEO, could earn much better than at HubPages - because it wasn't necessary to get search engine traffic to make money.   Like you, I could see that it wouldn't last, but it had good earnings potential in the short term.

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                Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                At the time I joined I wanted a smart phone but got bored really fast. I think I posted four articles and couldn't be bothered with liking stuff I had no interest in. So I stayed for about a week and just gave up...lol. I never made the money to buy the smart phone

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16. 69

    sockiiposted 9 years ago

    I stopped writing there a few months ago after they deleted, without any warning or notice, one of my most popular posts of all time. It had gone viral on Facebook at one point, actually, and I had been due over $400 from sudden traffic to that Bubble alone, which they only ever paid me $100 for (and I have an email from Arvind that confirmed I was due the money; they were going to send it in installments and then, guess what? Any time I tried to follow up about it I heard silence.) So I wasn't surprised to eventually just see the article vanish. That was really the last straw for me.

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17. 64

    cfinposted 9 years ago

    Bubblews was a writing site?

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       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       hehe, what was it for you then?

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18. 76

    Valeantposted 9 years ago

    I'm still owed over $300, but those payments are still upcoming.  They did miss one of my payments for $58 and I filed a claim but it's been three months now and I doubt that they will ever pay it.
    
    The traffic for me is still there.  I'll make a quarter a post or so, so I keep throwing the occasional post on the site and will see how much it will earn when I get a brilliant thought.

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       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       do you still hold that same thought?? they erased everything they owed

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19. 99

    RonElFranposted 9 years ago

    If you haven't seen it, here's the latest from &BubblewsMemberSupport, posting dated 12/31/14:
    
    "Bubblews recently changed its compensation policy to a flexible model to match our advertising revenue. Instead of the previous fixed rate, Bubblews now pays a variable amount, depending on local advertising rates in your country. This ensures that the site remains sustainable, and may allow us to process redemptions more quickly.
    
    "Unfortunately, due to extremely high levels of manipulation and fraudulent activity, Bubblews will not honor redemptions made before November 11, 2014.
    
    "Furthermore, all redemption requests submitted after November 11, 2014 will be processed according to the new compensation model.
    
    "We apologize to the Bubblews community for any inconvenience these changes may cause."
    
    Actually, I had a redemption dated November 10, 2014 that they did honor. But there's at least one earlier one that I guess will now never be paid.

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       mary615posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for that info, Ron.  Guess I can just forget the 68.00 redemption I put in before November.  I'll just let them keep my money!  I deleted all my posts there except for 50 or so.  I no longer want to be associated with B.

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       colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks, Ron.  Now I know why my Oct. redemption was late, its been erased now. My redemption made in Dec. looks untouched and is still pending.

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       Cari Kay 11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Wow, that is horrible!  Just checked.  Haven't really written there since November so only have one outstanding payment.  Fortunately, I hit redeem after that cutoff date and it looks like the amount is still the same.

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    4. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That is $300 lost... I want to punch that Arvindt on the face.

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          Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          That really sucks; I am sorry - that site takes a lot of work to get to those funds that are due to you.
          
          It would please me to see Arvind enjoying some time in the slammer, a class action lawsuit and to face some of his users in person on his way to having "more experiences than any other business leader in the history of the world."
          
          Maybe he should be sent to one of those countries where they really jerked people around on their payments. Caning on the soles of his feet might be a broadening experience in one of the Pacific rim countries.

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             David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             what a nice imagination you got
             
             I guess if there really is a way to suit these people for their lies.

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20. 73

    LeanManposted 9 years ago

    They have finally admitted that they will not be paying redemptions made from before the middle of November and that all redemptions after that will be at the reduced rate..
    
    So what happened to all of the earnings from Sept / Oct when B was still at it's height and gaining around a million visitors a day according to Arvind?
    
    With a million visitors a day at a guestimate of $3 per thousand views that is $3k a day or $90k a month - so they will be keeping $180k earned by the users and will not be paying it out. Probably quite a bit from the months before that they were late to pay also at the time. I would guess that Arvind must have a cool quarter of a million bucks that he will be keeping to one side for his own personal use.
    
    Smells like a fraud to me, looks like fraud to me, sounds like fraud to me, even tastes like a fraud - hell I guess it must be a fraud!!

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21. 73

    LeanManposted 9 years ago

    There is a discussion going on in a group that I am in on FB where some people have been receiving echecks from B. It seems there redemptions for $50 - have been paid at $5, $150 at just $15 and so on - the new rates are being implemented on the claims already made..... 1/10 of what people were expecting when they made their claims..

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       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       So far I got a pending redemption of $7 dollars when it used to be above $700 dollars.
       
       What a joke these people are

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    2. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       So far I got a pending redemption of $7 dollars when it used to be above $700 dollars.
       
       What a joke these people are

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22. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

    Leanman: Did you see new announcement! Redemption requests after Nov 11, won't be paid out at all.

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       SmartAndFunposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       If I read the announcement correctly, it is redemptions requested before November 11 that will not be paid at all. Redemptions on or after November 11 will be paid at the new reduced pay scale (if you're lucky).

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23. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

    I wonder if he will wait to see how many don't get it and keep on posting?  Maybe he will stop people from deleting their posts, continue to collect the ad money, not pay anybody anymore, and sit back while the dreamers who don't get it yet, continue posting on there, or if everybody stops posting, just keep what posts are there, and continue to pocket the ad money.  I can see him drain the site for as long as he can, then shut it down and move on to a new scam.

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       wildbluefrontierposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Well after yesterday's announcement (along with another cut in what you can earn with likes and comments), I would imagine another large movement of posters away from the site. It's pretty slow there now. I can only imagine what one more large decamping from bubblews will do to those that remain.

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          David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          That site deserves to die and Arvind is banned from passing nearby the Philippines, India and some other third world countries.... for life

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24. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

    I just took a peek at the site.  They don't have a clue.  One of the newest posts was Give Bubblews A Chance, and that ends with a I'll never leave.   I did see one post about the new announcement, but who knows how many will see it.

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25. 76

    Valeantposted 9 years ago

    I Just checked my bank and a redemption I had for just over $100 got reduced to $63 and is pending.  So they just cut my earnings by 37% with this change in policy.

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    1. 83

       Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       These percentages of redemption discounts are random. 
       
       Someone else has posted losing 68% of their last redemption.  It is the same MO they have used since their inception, that of randomly paying or ignoring redemptions.  I would imagine that it would preclude people from being able to complain about the policy with any concrete numbers or facts. It just makes the complaints appear frivolous and confused, the same manipulation they have employed in the past.
       
       For those who believed that only violators of Bs TOS were denied payment; this should be your proof of an ongoing scheme to cheat users in a seemingly arbitrary strategy.  It is the same business model, with an ever widening net. Some users were selected for full payment all of the time, others for random payment misses and others suddenly found themselves to have become Bubblews' stooges.
       
       To suddenly negate the earnings of all members prior to a arbitrarily chosen date speaks volumes about the site's owners' integrity, intent and business model. This is just more of the same; the owners have been emboldened by their past successes in defrauding users while still maintaining a loyal user base.
       
       As far as I can tell, no one even knows what they are supposed to be paid for - likes, comments, views or what the rate would be based on.

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26. 60

    Mark Ewbieposted 9 years ago

    I won't offer advice - each to their own - but this is what I have done.
    
    Deleted all except a handful of recent posts.  It took a long time but there was NO passive income at all and I see no reason to leave any of me on there.
    
    Removed my email and web link from my profile.  I don't want follow up from them or plagiarists.
    
    My 'bank' is only ten dollars or so.  It is of no consequence.  I had already started winding down a few months ago.
    
    I have come to the conclusion it was a fun period which I do not regret.  I enjoyed it a lot - met some real people and learned some things.  With hindsight it is obvious that a site cannot pay more than a blogger can earn on Adsense which for most people is not very much.
    
    I am also firmly of the conclusion that TSU is founded entirely on smoke and mirrors.
    
    There seems to be one honest writing site and that is the one we are on. Fingers crossed for 2015.

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27. 0

    subeesh4nposted 9 years ago

    My one friend got paid today - Instead of 350$ (from 4 redemption) = just 6$
    Another friend - Instead of 280$ = just 13$
    
    Calculation is not there - Randomly selecting users - randomly cutting leading zeros and diving the values by evens and odds!

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       Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Sick

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       colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That is sad.

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28. 83

    Solarasposted 9 years ago

    Is he delusional?
    
    Let's take a look see inside the mind of Arvind Dixit via this post of his from 14 days ago.
    
    "One of my selfish personal goals is to write more content, read more literature, express more feelings, and have more experiences than any other business leader in the history of the world.
    
    Written words can stand the test of time and live forever. This has always fascinated me, and for this reason it has become a really big goal for me to document and cement my thoughts into written words.
    
    Traditionally, business leaders report on fiscal objectives and direction. I do understand the importance of these practices; however I also think it is equally important for everyone to understand and experience the purpose and ideology behind the company. Understand that we are building new features and products not as a company with dollar signs in our eyes, but as a team that is aiming to enhance our members’ lifestyles.
    
    Our brand, company, lifestyle is a different experience than you will receive from a majority of companies out there. This is because we care about what we do and we are all super excited to deliver you some phenomenal surprises throughout January and February of 2015. We will continue to show why we are the best and why we will continue to lead this new social trend that we started back in 2012.
    
    It’s important for each of us to have our own selfish goal, something that we want to accomplish that is only for our own purpose and self-recognition. Life is all about balance. It you are strong it is important to help those who may need it, but at the same time it is equally important and imperative that you put an equal amount of thought into your own development.
    
    We think outside the box, always
    We see things differently, always
    We want things differently, always
    We push ourselves as a team, always
    We will win, always
    
    Thanks for enjoying your experience here, take these words with you and pursue YOU. Be selfish sometimes, help others at the right time, and be happy all the time
    
    Peace,"
    
    Yes, phenomenal surprises and different to say the least.

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       SmartAndFunposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Arvind calls himself a "business leader." Business? Leader? Yes, he is delusional.

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    2. 78

       colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Winning!

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          Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, Arvind and his henchmen will always win, but against whom? His user base I presume. The whole thing is so bizarre.

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          1. 99

             DrMark1961posted 9 years agoin reply to this

             You were one of the few people that realized that he was delusional one year ago when I mentioned that I did not get paid and so many people on HP said "you must have violated their TOS".
             I just looked over this thread and was amazed at how many of those hubbers finally realized what you figured out a year ago.
             Yes, he is delusional. The site is a scam.

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             1. 83

                Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                Your case in particular convinced me of the scam.  I had followed your posts, many of them very artistic and too good for that site by a long shot.  I knew you had never violated any TOS.  I did very little on that site after you were denied 3 payments.  All previous fears and concerns had been confirmed.

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                1. 85

                   sparksterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   "take these words with you and pursue YOU. Be selfish sometimes, help others at the right time, and be happy all the time" - HUGE red flag right there!  Shame I didn't see that post when he made it.

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                      Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      He puts it all out there for everyone to see.  And many say, "Thank you sir, may I have another." lol

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    3. 61

       fpherj48posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Hmmmm.. One "True & Accurate" statement in the entire post......about the "phenomenal surprises in January & February of 2015..."
       LMAO.........SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!

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    4. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       What a looser he is. Rich kid indeed that had no idea what he was doing or a pro scammer team that even managed to appear on Bloomberg

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29. 61

    Cynthianneposted 9 years ago

    I have been waiting on my last payment after deciding I was no longer going to write there. I checked on the status yesterday and my expected amount had dropped by $22.00!! I guess people left since I was not getting much spam, but after that drop in dollar amount, I assumed they would not pay me. The drop had left me below the $50.00 amount. But to my surprise, I got paid last night! Now I am going to delete my stuff there and walk away. Wow, if it had worked like they promised, it would have been fun. This feels more like a scam than a site to work for. Has anyone turned them into the BBB for non-payment? I would but I have gotten all of mine.

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    1. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       What is BBB??

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          FatFreddysCatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          The Better Business Bureau... an organization that keeps track of whether or not companies/businesses are staying on the straight and narrow.

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          Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          The Better Business Bureau has no legal authority, however some use them to gauge the honesty of a business. They just receive complaints, and allow companies to respond and resolve them.. They are of minor interest here because in July, after the server upgrade and failure of many payments, Bubblews became active in courting the higher angels of the San Francisco BBB. 
          
          It seemed to some that they were trying to clean their reputation for a sale, which never materialized.
          
          They currently maintain an A- rating as a business of this size with only 18 complaints against them. Anyone care to up the ante?

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30. 86

    Cari Kay 11posted 9 years ago

    Well, haven't had time for that site so moving my 'favorite' posts over to a new blog.  I used that site more to 'remember' events that have happened and shared lots of wonderful memories.  I did make money off Bubblews.   Knew the business model was in no way sustainable.  I'm thankful for what I did make just by sharing memories.  Also thankful that it prompted me to write them down.  May not be a well-read blog but hoping it means something to my kiddos one day

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31. 78

    colorfuloneposted 9 years ago

    I removed about 150 bubbles today, and the way I am doing it is taking me 6 to 8 clicks per.
    
    Out of curiosity, I published a new bubble about an hour ago.
    My Bank has been stuck at $3.38 all day.
    One hour later it is at $3.44.
    The new bubble has:
    Likes: 19
    Comments: 6
    But, I earned .06.
    Just saying.

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    1. 83

       Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I was over there today to remove a few posts myself.  Just some kernels of ideas for future posts or tombs. 
       
       It is time consuming to get them off, and the title remains on Bubblews with a message on the link that states that your article was removed for violations of terms of service. Or the Author may have chosen to remove it.  I did not care for "violations" being the primary reason for my articles removal.

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          colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I did not know that.
          That is not cool beans. 
          After all, site owners are people.
          But, that message seems a bite harsh.

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32. 73

    LeanManposted 9 years ago

    Finally they have deleted my account...
    
    They are a scam - simple as that..
    
    They have just kept 3 months of advertising at the height of the site and are now paying people out a fraction of what they earned after the cut off point as if they are doing people a favor. More like trying to keep the court cases away......

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33. 86

    Cari Kay 11posted 9 years ago

    I haven't gotten overly worked up one way or another about the site.  Had fun.  Met some people that I now consider friends.  However, that heartfelt message from Arvind yesterday was a bit much.  After much soul searching (or something of that nature), they've made the difficult decision not to pay people what they owe them. 
    
    Yeah, that doesn't sit well.  No doubt, the business model was not sustainable but, if they plan on moving forward, they should really pay what they owe and, then, move forward with their new pay scale.  Many of the people I followed are not being paid and they were in no way scamming or spamming the site.

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    1. 42

       David Trujilloposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I do not even want to go and read that. What an irresponsible bunch, I will stick here from now on, how to trust them further on???

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34. 88

    alikhan3posted 9 years ago

    Yeah ... Good easy money dreams ......shattered....

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35. 86

    Cari Kay 11posted 9 years ago

    I think there are people there who genuinely need any extra bit of money they can get and there are always a certain class of people who are willing to exploit that need.

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36. 58

    liamhubpagesposted 9 years ago

    I've been on Bubblews as &liamleather for almost 5 months, in that time I got paid only 290 dollars, while the site still owes me 1,800 dollars, which I will never see.

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       Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That's terrible - I am sorry to hear that.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I think the fact that anyone can spend only 5 months on a site and "earn" over $2,000 demonstrates how incredibly unrealistic their payment levels were.

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          Valeantposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I was actually paid $500 since July, with another $200 owed.

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          1. 86

             Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             That's what I mean.  What other writing site would pay out anything close to those amounts of money for the amount of articles you've got, in that amount of time?   There was no way in the world the site was actually earning that much in advertising revenue - if they were, other sites would be doing it too.

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             1. 91

                DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                I've only been there since 9-2-14, and reached my first payout threshold as of 11-16-14.  I waited until it was $5. above that amount, as suggested, submitting for redemption on 11-24-14, so I was well past the "no payment will be honored" deadline.
                
                I actually earned that amount many times faster than I ever reach the threshold amount here on HP, so I was pleasantly surprised by that.
                
                However, I see in my bank on the 'pending' payment that the amount I am to be paid is but 36% of what I had supposedly actually earned.
                
                Also, comments are WAY down, which affects earnings, and that was before I took a hiatus over the holidays.  It's as bad or worse now. 
                
                I still get a ton of new "followers" daily, but I don't bother to even look at their profiles anymore, as when I was doing that, they seemed to be nothing but "junk" followers with no bio, tons of articles and followers, and obviously just "reciprocal like farmers."
                
                I'd previously read the original thread on here claiming the site was a scam; at this point, I think I am arriving at the conclusion that that is so.
                
                I've never been a terribly patient person, and at this point, it may be smarter to cut my losses and not bother with it any more.  It was interesting for a while, and I met some fun people, but....
                
                I have a fair amount of time invested with over 100 'bubbles' posted.  At this point, I'm less than halfway to the amount needed for another redemption claim, and it's moving slower than ever. 
                I may just stop.

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                1. 86

                   Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   This is the point I'm making, MsLizzy.  You say that comments are down and that affects earnings.   That's true, and it's a good example of how crazy Bubblews' payment method was.   
                   
                   Bubblews made its money from advertisers, exactly like HubPages.   There is no advertiser in the world who pays for comments!   Advertisers pay for views, but on Bubblews you were getting paid three times when someone commented on your post - once for the view, once for the "like" and once for the comment.  What's more, you were getting paid one cent for each of those, whereas it's likely Bubblews was getting paid around half a cent for the view. 
                   
                   What has happened is that Bubblews has finally realised that, and cut back your pending amount to reflect what the advertisers were actually paying. 
                   
                   I can understand people are upset about that, but it's wrong to think that Bubblews is hanging on to a great stash of cash which is owed to Bubblers - the point is that while your posts may have earned that amount on paper, in reality your articles have never earned anything close to what they paid you.

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                      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      Agreed, and I don't dispute that.  However, from what I've read both here and over there, I was under the impression that I had joined after that whole snafu was discovered and adjusted. 
                      Apparently not.

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37. 67

    Team Wisemanposted 9 years ago

    Thank You Hubpages, for being great to your members! We are very grateful!!

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38. 42

    David Trujilloposted 9 years ago

    Those thief. They turned $500 dollars that they owed into $7. I will dedicate the entire 2015 to spread the word on the internet of their scam.

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    1. 60

       Old King Schultzposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Right on! Speading the word will help a lot of people steer clear of these scams, of which there are plenty out there. Focusing on individual cases where entities engage in these deceptive practices might be the best way to harm the perpetrators and make sure as few people are scammed by them as possible.
       
       P.S. Not that I need to tell anyone, but just be careful of all the things you write about these sites/companies and put out there in the public eye -- I don't want anyone here to fall into some kind of loophole (or whatever you'd call it) where the pond scum scammers can sue you for some type of defamation (or whatever you'd call it). You'd think telling the truth about these scammers would be enough, but with the way the legal system operates, best to be extra cautious even when you're 100% in the right.

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39. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

    This is his profile on Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/pub/arvind-dixit/87/b25/613          Grew up in Philadelphia.  That is funny.  People thrive on scamming others there.  His parents raised him to help others.  I wonder what they think of him now.   Hey, he is under 30 years old, learned how to make a fast buck, maybe live beyond his means, taking every penny he could from Bubblews to keep up a facade, and now the bubbles, like all bubbles do, are bursting.

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40. 90

    Carola Finchposted 9 years ago

    I believe they are not paying for views anymore, just for likes and comments.  There is a big star in the right corner of the page for likes, but most people would have no idea what it is for because it is not labeled.  Not much point in sharing on social media if we don't get paid for views.  Every other site I know of does pay for views.  I like writing short news blurbs for them, but now, it does not seem worth it.

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    1. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Really, only paying for likes and comments?   That's absolute madness.  Their advertisers are paying for views not comments - that's why every other writing site pays for views.

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41. 0

    johnmariowposted 9 years ago

    There are other sites that pay a penny per view. However,, when Yahoo shut down it's contrbutor network including Yahoo Voices, that was a real eye opener.

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    1. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Which sites?   There's no rule preventing you naming them here.   
       
       If they are new, then it's quite likely they are paying extra (like Bubblews did) to build traffic in the early days.   It's not an unusual tactic, though most sites that try it regret it eventually.

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42. 60

    ThisisMissyMissposted 9 years ago

    Bubblews is such a joke that I don't even know where to begin.  I finally got my payments -- after months of ignored emails -- by contacting the BBB and Attorney General for the state they operate in.

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       Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Excellent!

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