Why HubPages can't change the way the Internet works

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   makingamarkposted 8 years ago

   I see lots of posts on this forum saying "if only HubPages did this that or the other - I'd get my traffic back".
   
   The fact is that sites have to adjust to the way the Internet keeps changing.
   
   There is no going back to the way things were, there is only moving forward - with new platforms, new technology, new software and new kids on the block.
   
   Very big websites are changing what they do - and HubPages is just one of them. Whether it's changing the right things and heading in the right direction only time will tell.
   
   It is however instructive to look at the context it has to operate in and how it is changing.
   
   Is mobile making media all the same?  is an EXCELLENT article which highlights why something as simple as the advent of the smartphone is such a game changer.
   
   I highly recommend it for the clues it gives to what we all need to do to keep people reading our content - wherever we choose to write it.
   
   Plus we need to remember that HubPages can only respond to changes which technology initiates.
   
   It can't change the Internet - but it can respond to how the Internet changes.

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2. 96

   Sue Adamsposted 8 years ago

   If I understand correctly, the article says that, because of the mobile revolution, current news related content linked to facebook gets the most traffic on the internet. If videos on facebook have replaced surfing for info, where does that leave "green content"? Stick a French flag on each article until the next news breaker comes along and then change one's colors?
   
   As for the direction the forum is heading here on HP, we must stop encouraging and responding to the ignorant and infuriating troll. Be gone, troll. Boycott the troll. Report the troll for trolling.

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      makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well - what I've done is create a blog on each new website - and that means I signal fresh new news about my topic - and then link back to related topic pages.
      
      It helps overall traffic numbers enormously

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      makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      On other matters - you know what they say - never ever respond to trolls.
      
      Just ignore them. Starve them of attention.

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      Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The troll is semi house trained which means the mods are too daft to see what he is about.

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3. 81

   Mark Ewbieposted 8 years ago

   What a crap article.  I could write that in five minutes.  Blah, blah stuff copied from a few thoughts on the media cesspit they call Twitter.
   
   No opinion.  No thoughts on future direction.  No original thought at all.
   
   And amazingly the second rate writer fails to tell the reader why they should read the Guardian.  It is as if they already gave up.
   
   Where's the journalism?

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      makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well if you could write that in five minutes Mark - perhaps you should target your efforts in future to broadsheets?

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         Mark Ewbieposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Lol at broadsheets.  They are a world away from the snack-fest that people apparently want.
         
         What depresses me is that this quality extends throughout our lives.  The short insubstantial argument, the sound bite.
         
         Our politicos are deciding on bombing another country.  They discuss this in Facebook style commentary for people with Facebook sized brains.  And they will shortly be killing women and children who will read about it on Facebook.
         
         The article annoyed me.  I had already heard the same thing, slightly better, on the R4 Media show.  I guess it is all over the self-obsessed up itself media and troll farm Twitter.
         
         The world seems to get worse each day.
         
         As for writing proper articles.  No one would read them.  No one wants them. They want the seven best things you are vaguely interested in - in order to support adverts for stuff we don't need.
         
         This has nothing to do with HubPages.  HP articles can be reasonable length how tos for people who need to do something practical, useful.  There is still a little mileage in that.

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            makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            It has everything to do with HubPages if such articles cannot get traction in search. Especially if the article essentially describes how people now consume information and prevailing trends
            
            I think you're getting annoyed at the substance of the article i.e. what has already happened - rather than the article.
            
            I'm not saying I like it - and I agree with many of your sentiments (as the author probably does too given the way he wrote it) - however I do think (like the autho) that it's a good idea to learn how to live with the prevailing trend and make it work for you.
            
            It turns out that when you start playing that game, certain tactics win. The headline becomes incredibly important, especially the headline that appears on Facebook. Short and fast beats long and detailed. More beats less.
            
            That's why a very short piece (eg on a blog) introducing a longer and more in-depth article works well. Trail the breadcrumbs......

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               Mark Ewbieposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I think the point is that it doesn't work.  All outlets become the same therefore there is no unique offering from them.  They cease to have any importance or relevance.
               
               We have seen the end of print.  Now it looks like we will see the end of individual outlets like the Guardian, Independent and so on.
               
               I don't much care either way.  Mainstream media... rant continues for hours...

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            Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            The answer might be to read (or write) more novels. I could never read for pleasure online. Hate blogs. Hate Sunday magazine articles.
            
            I only use the internet for info (including news).
            
            Is this a good moment to mention my latest 'Ten Best Tea Cosies' hub, by the way?

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               Mark Ewbieposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I do like some journos.  They offer me what seems like facts that are not mentioned elsewhere.  So an occasional article read is still a pleasure.
               
               It is a great time to mention the Tea Cosy Hub.  I can think of no more relevant subject.

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                  Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I knew that you would like tea cosies so I picked this out specially for you:
                  
                  
                  
                  By the way, I am sixty today. So I entirely agree that the world gets worse everyday.

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                     Mark Ewbieposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     Happy Birthday!  Don't eat too much jelly and ice cream.

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                        Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        Thanks.
                        
                        The more I advance to dribbling senility the more attractive jelly an ice cream sounds.

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   LeanManposted 8 years ago

   People that write online need to understand that they get there traffic from two possible main sources;
   
   Social traffic - so sharing that adorable kitten video will work here as well Will Aspes "Ten best tea cossies" hub if shared on the massive tea cossie page on Facebook. However social traffic is often short lived...
   
   Search Traffic - This is when people (around 90% - yes that is a guess someone can beat me up with the real figure later but I really don't care as it is that sort of ball park figure) use Google to find information, products and porn.
   
   This site relies mainly on search traffic - which means it relies mainly on Google... Yes there are many that bring large amounts of traffic through Pinterest and other forms of social media and well done to all of them. But most of us rely on Google...
   
   Whether we hate Google or Love Google their priority for search is to provide the searcher what the searcher is looking for. They don't care about your feelings, they don't care if you have a PhD in English writing or anything else. They just want to provide the best results for the searcher..
   
   Sometimes those results are pages on Amazon, Walmart, or whoever when someone is looking for products - why send them to HP or any other site that then sends the searcher to Amazon etc.. Just send them direct so they don't have to wade through any BS....
   
   If someone is asking for an answer to a medical problem on Google they are not going to bring up a page on HP or any other general site if there are dedicated and established sites that cover that area - why should they? Which site is most likely to answer the question correctly? The same goes for a host of specialist areas; they will always provide the answer through dedicated sites first in the majority of cases - because they want what is most likely going to be best for the searcher..
   
   It costs nothing to use this site, there are large numbers of authors all targeting the same keywords, standards are improving but we still see crap, some people are still using this site to create links, etc. etc... So how much authority does this site really have? Why would Google trust the content on here over a site that has been paid for and written by an expert?
   
   So what can work here on HP? Well the answer is anything that does not have a lot of competition any where else! And with billions of pages out there the competition against HP is getting more and more every day.
   
   If HP wants more traffic and we want more traffic we must get more switched on to exactly what our customers want. We also have to accept that at the moment Google just thinks that we are a content farm trying to harvest searches for every possible keyword imaginable.

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      makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      1+ and the rest - excellent!

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