Reciprocation

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   letstalkabouteducposted 9 years ago

   When I first started on Hubpages, there seemed to be more reciprocation. In other words, if I read and commented on someone's hub, they'd do the same on one of mine. But now that doesn't seem to be the case. Has anyone else noticed the same?

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      relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      HubPages user base and site revenue has been in decline for several years.  There are less people creating this site, and way less people using this site than just a few years ago.  That's the number one reason there is less visible activity.

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         letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks!

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   Rochelle Frankposted 9 years ago

   Haven't noticed. I comment when I feel the urge to do so I never seek reciprocation.  It is not expected, not necessary,  not required at all-- it is an unexpected pleasant surprise when it happens.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Good to know!

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   Venkatachari Mposted 9 years ago

   I think expecting someone to visit and comment on your hub because you have done so is not a good practice. This can lead to malpractices.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Okay.

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   Jodahposted 9 years ago

   I always try to reciprocate if possible. I make sure I always reply to every comment left on my hubs and do try to read a hub of the person who commented. The more people you follow and vise versa the more difficult this becomes especially when they are both in the 500s like in my situation. I find that most of the people in my circle do reciprocate when possible. I do know there are some people on HP wh openly state they never comment on other peoples hubs and rarely reply to comments on their own. They are only interested in outside traffic, not interacting.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Jodah. I've been getting way less comments than when I started and was feeling lonely! Maybe people like to comment for newbies.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 9 years ago

   I wrote a Hub on HubPages Etiquette (it's on the slider on my profile), which discusses this exact thing.
   
   From my experience, there are two basic types of Hubbers - those who are here to earn an income from their writing, and those who are here to share their writing with other Hubbers.   Most of us are a bit of a mixture of both, in varying degrees.
   
   The income-focussed Hubbers know that reading and commenting and following will do nothing to help them towards their goal (because internal traffic doesn't count).  To them, reading and commenting is like stopping for a chat at the water cooler at work  - enjoyable, but you can't spend much time there, especially if you're getting paid by the hour!   Obviously, as earning online gets tougher and tougher, those Hubbers have less and less spare time to spend at the water cooler.
   
   Social Hubbers, on the other hand, see socialising as the main reason for HubPages' existence - reading and commenting and following are so important in their world, they'll accuse people of being rude if they don't do it.  That's a distortion of HubPages' business model, but that's OK - unlike a real-world business, if Hubbers prefer to spend all their time at the water cooler instead of at their desk, HubPages doesn't mind.  Unfortunately, because internal traffic doesn't count towards keeping a Hub Featured, and outside traffic is falling, those Hubbers are seeing their Hubs getting unFeatured, becoming discouraged and leaving.
   
   So that's why I think you're seeing less internal activity from both types of Hubber.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Great explanation, Marisa. I didn't want to hang out at the water cooler too long but a little bit seemed enjoyable. But it's no fun there alone!

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      Venkatachari Mposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      But reading and commenting is to be a voluntary act, not binding. I will read and comment but it should not mean that I expect something in return from those people. I am reading because I find it interesting or inspiring. I comment because either I appreciate the work  or I want to encourage people through my comments. But, I do not worry if they are not commenting. Reciprocation is something more than mere socialising.

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   Bronwyn Joy Ellioposted 9 years ago

   When I first wrote here over five years ago, it was the done thing. Then scores started dropping, and people were being told it was due to following and commenting on each other's Hubs.
   I do not care about scores, so that did not bother me.
   I have had people ask me to critique their Hubs in comments on my own Hubs since I have been back. IF it is an area of interest, I am happy to do so, WHEN I have the chance.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting. Many how-to hubs say that commenting is so important but, perhaps, those are older ones.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Not really, they're just written by "social" type Hubbers.
         
         It's good to have comments on Hubs because they can be seen as fresh content, but my point is that you'd rather have comments from outside visitors than internal ones, since their views also count.

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   Barbara Kayposted 9 years ago

   Five years ago I received lots of comments everyday on my hubs. Now there our few if any. I felt commenting on others hubs if they commented on mine was the friendly thing to do and I am here for the money too. Having friends at Hubpages is a good thing. Some that leave comments will also share your hub on Facebook and other places.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I miss the comments. They helped motivate me.

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   Will Apseposted 9 years ago

   You have some interesting pages. I felt moved to comment on one but please do not reciprocate. Unless you really care about the ten best toasters...

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You have some great titles, Will, and some interesting topics. The toaster one didn't grab me, but the one about murder victims did!

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   Chriswillman90posted 9 years ago

   Comments are nice but getting traffic has been the best motivator for me. Whenever there's been a nice increase in traffic, I feel inclined to think of brand new ideas to write about. I have a ton of different topics currently in the planning stages and can't wait to start writing more frequently.

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      letstalkabouteducposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, if and when that ever happens to me, I'm sure I'll feel motivated!

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