So no more than one Amazon product per hub?

1. 69

   makingamarkposted 8 years ago

   HubPages is primarily informational. Users need to be educated, informed or guided in so after they have spent significant time consuming the information, they may click through to purchase a single well chosen product because the guidance is so high quality. That would be a good use of placing an Amazon product guided by today's standards. Paul Edmondson
   
   This quote comes from Paul Edmondson's new hub "Challenges With Products in Hubs" http://hubpages.com/community/Challenge … oduct-Hubs
   
   That in effect means that anybody - such as me - who has developed compendium hubs over the years (ie lots of information on a niche topic which is difficult to find in one place online) + links to more information + links to very relevant Amazon products on this precise niche topic = c.10,000 words per hub) is no longer seen as relevant to HubPages.
   
   That might be so - but I suggest that's more of an issue to do with HubPages than it is to do with  this particular model for sharing information.
   
   That's because compendiums - which compile and curate information from all over the internet - have been recognised for a while as something that is a valuable exercise.  It's why I always got the bulk of my traffic via Google and it's why the limited amount of content which has moved is now getting 3-4 times the traffic it had while on HubPages.
   
   My model of information sharing is what I started doing with my now very popular art blog nearly 10 years ago and it's how I developed lenses while with Squidoo. It was very pleasing sometime after I started doing this to find that a number of leading commentators were suggesting that CURATION is the new important skill for writing on the web.
   
   However I've never been persuaded that HubPages "get" curation and/or compendiums. This is reinforced by the quotation above which seems to suggest that the single product review seems to be the model being promoted by HubPages.  It's reinforced even more by the number of unfeatured hubs I've had in the last few days.
   
   Those of us who got here via Squidoo will recall a similar initiative about single product reviews on that site........
   
   Curators and compendiums would appear to of zero appeal to HubPages. The writing is on the wall....... exit stage left!
   
   (PS When am i going to be able to see quotations while using the Chrome browser on an Apple iMac?)

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      Sherry Hewinsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well, thanks for sharing the link. After reading that hub, I am inclined to delete almost all of my few Amazon capsules. I've only made sales on a few of them, so unlike you, it won't make much difference to me. I've always made a lot more from the HP Adprogram than from Amazon.
      
      If this is a non-starter for you, good luck in your other endeavors.

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   calculus-geometryposted 8 years ago

   Suppose someone emails you offering to write content for your site.  His specialty is celebrity plastic surgery disasters.
   
   You would probably tell him no because your site is about painting and drawing.
   
   Suppose he insists that "number of leading commentators are suggesting that celebrity plastic surgery disasters is the new important skill for writing on the web."
   
   You would probably say you don't care because your site is about art. 
   
   Now suppose he writes long missives about how unfair it is that you won't let you write about the latest lop-sided boob job disaster.
   
   You would probably tell him it's your site and you make the rules, and that if he wants to write about the worst nose jobs in Hollywood etc he should make his own blog.
   
   Suppose he says that he does have is own site and it is super duper successful, thank you very much.  But he wants to write on your site too.
   
   You would probably think this guy is a little bonkers, no?

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      makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I think you've gone off on a tangent. To avoid any confusion let me make it clear I've absolutely no complaint whatsoever at all about:
      * people/sites who invite contributions and are very transparent and consistent about the rules
      * plus communicate clearly the ways in which a hub does not measure up - if this happens.
      
      To clarify - for those who are confused - I'm commenting on what appears to be a CHANGE in approach.
      
      That change means that my hubs are not going to work well on HubPages in future - despite the fact I make payment every month and then some.
      
      My view is that there are a number of ways you can be successful on the internet.
      
      HubPages have their view about what's best for HubPages - and good luck to them.  Others have alternative views - but then they highlight these experiences in relation to to different sites which are not very large content farms. What applies to a large site like HubPages and what works for much smaller sites can be very different.
      
      So I'm puzzled about your comment. It seems to me you're missed the point. Maybe you're suggesting people shouldn't comment on any change of approach by HubPages and/or how it impacts on them and/or experience from elsewhere?

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         calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I'm sure you understand perfectly well what I am saying. There are much better uses of your energy than to beat the same dead horse every day.  Since you  have other marketable skills, is it really worth it to complain that HP is no longer as accepting of curated list-style Amazon-heavy hubs as it was in the past?

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         1. 69

            makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I think 'free speech' is alive and well last time I looked.
            
            To characterise something as "the same dead horse" is to suggest that the content of what I am saying is meaningless and has no value.
            
            Could that be interpreted as a personal attack?
            
            If you're so bored of reading what I have to say can I suggest you just skip my posts in future?
            
            How I spend my time is up to me. You have no need to worry about me using my skills elsewhere - I'm doing just that. 

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               calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I can read and comment on whatever I like, including you highness's posts.
               
               Feel free to flag my posts as you see fit, I am happy to let the moderators judge.

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                  makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Mountains and molehills spring to mind.

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         TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Surely you realize that HP is undergoing massive changes of all kinds in an attempt to stay afloat.  When companies do this, somebody always gets hurt for one reason or another.  It may not seem right or fair, but it is how things are in the world.
         
         This reminds me of something that happened recently.  A friend came to me for advice about a friend of his who was being harassed by his neighbors in his condominium.  The reason?  He is disabled and was told that he could have a service animal.  A dog was suggested, but instead, he chose a pig.  Not one of those cute little ones, but the type that will grow to be 400 pounds!  He feels harassed, but his neighbors feel that his pig is a bad choice given the living circumstances.
         
         So, they are at a stalemate.  He refuses to get rid of the pig.  He refuses to move.  He is upset, the neighbors are upset, lawsuits will probably ensue, it will cost everybody a good deal of money, etc.
         
         All because one person does not want to (or cannot) understand that there are other people his actions are affecting.
         
         The question is, is it worth it?
         
         In my mind, the guy either needs to get rid of the pig or move to a place where pigs are acceptable neighbors.  Complaining consistently or asking for advice are not going to resolve this issue.
         
         You have to make that same decision.

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   Will Apseposted 8 years ago

   I have a feeling that you want to be helpful and make useful points, Makingamark but your style is guaranteed to drive a lot of people crazy.
   
   I can drive people crazy too, of course, but it is usually through choice (good to have options in life).
   
   I think less formatting might help.
   
   Bold tends to come across as SHOUTING. Italics always makes me think of cats hissing. Apostrophes make me think someone has blown a fuse. I can't get through that stuff to what the person is trying to say.

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