It's Official - No More New Sites!

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   Marisa Wrightposted 13 months ago

   I just saw an announcement from Christy Kirwan to say they're not going to be launching any more new sites. 
   
   http://hubpages.com/community/forum/137 … ost2832990
   
   So that means if you've got Hubs that don't fit in one of the existing niche sites, they're not going anywhere.
   
   Sad for me as there's still no niche site where Dance fits comfortably.  A few of mine have been moved to HobbyLark but it's SUCH an inappropriate place for dance articles (most of the site is about games), I'm not disappointed that they haven't picked any of the rest.     But it does mean I'm stumped as to what to do with them!   
   
   Anyone else have a lot of Hubs that wouldn't fit on any of the niche sites?
   
   It would help, actually, if we had a list of the names of the niche sites with a short description of what each one is for.  I'v been able to find a list of names and a list of topics separately, but not together!

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      kenneth averyposted 13 months ago in reply to this

      Hello, Marisa,
      Glad to read the great news that you shared.
      Now would you like for me to share a site-related ditty with you?
      Two days ago I submitted a hub to one of the hub sites after they informed me of the hub being a good idea for that site.
      Today I got a rejection from the HP-owned site. And said in so many words that there was no use in me making changes in the hub for the decision was already made.
      Boo, hoo! LOL
      And still I exist.

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         suziecat7posted 13 months ago in reply to this

         I submitted one and got the same reply

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      Glenn Stokposted 13 months ago in reply to this

      I don't read it that way at all. Christy clearly says that  "it's possible that we may create new sites in the future." 
      
      As I see it, they just need to concentrate on the massive work ahead of them with the present niche sites. Once they have moved all eligible hubs and they examine what's left, they may decide to add network sites for other niche topics.
      
      Unfortunately that means that some of us with hubs in other categories need to wait longer. The other day I spent some time making a list of all my remaining hubs and listed them under the proper niche site. I made that list so I can have something to go by as I select which one I wanted to submit every 60 days going forward (I'm too patient for my own good, LOL).
      
      Anyway, after I completed making that list I still had a good number of hubs that I discovered didn't fit in any presently existing niche site. I'm sure a lot of us are in that boat.

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   lobobrandonposted 13 months ago

   Hey Marisa, they did announce this a long time ago though. The day the last site was launched it was mentioned that it was the last site for now. Even the reply you're referring to, it's said it is possible in the future. That's sad about dance not having a site of its own. What do you plan on doing?

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 months ago in reply to this

      I missed that other announcement.  I assume it was just a post on the thread about that last site, not an official announcement?
      
      I know they say they "may" launch new sites in the future.  I don't read it the way you or Glenn read it though - if they were just delaying more sites until they've got the existing ones sorted out, they would've said so.  They could easily have said "we WILL be launching more sites next year once the existing sites have bedded down". 
      
      The use of "may" says to me that it's a long time in the future if at all.

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         lobobrandonposted 13 months ago in reply to this

         We're on the same page there. HP may never add any new niche sites since they already got a bunch. There's no point waiting for any to show up as it may take years, at least 1 year IMO since they are busy moving existing hubs first. Since the niches are successful, that may just motivate them to create new ones in the "future".

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            Marisa Wrightposted 13 months ago in reply to this

            True, but you might remember they admitted a small percentage of Hubs earned most of the income.  I'd say they have now moved all of those Hubs to the niche sites. So there are diminishing returns from moving any more.  It certainly wouldn't be worth creating whole new niche sites for the low earning leftovers.

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               lobobrandonposted 13 months ago in reply to this

               Good point. But dance hubs for instance are on Hobbylark if I'm not mistaken. And they were taken over as a part of the initial niche site bandwagon. So they are definitely among the articles that are getting them some returns if not the best - I'm saying this as Hobbylark wasn't one of the first niches to go live.
               
               Anyway, if they notice Pethelpful, Dengarden and Caloriebee doing extremely well compared to mixed niche sites such as HobbyLark, it could spark up conversations for a break up among the mini niches that make up these broad niche "niche sites". There are quite a few such niches hiding in mixed niche sites from the complains I've seen on the forums. We can do nothing right now but hope this happens one day, but there's definitely no point waiting for this to happen as it could possibly never materialize.

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               earnerposted 13 months ago in reply to this

               "low earning leftovers" !!
               
               That's no way to speak of my writing

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 13 months ago in reply to this

                  Remember I'm referring to my writing too!
                  
                  It's not a reflection on the quality of the writing, there's still lots of well-written articles still on the home site. It's just that they're not profitable for various reasons.

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                     Jean Bakulaposted 13 months ago in reply to this

                     Hi Marisa,
                     I was angry about a niche one of my hubs went in, and used your dance hubs as an example that the type of dancing you do, and the types of hobbies in Hobbylark have nothing to do with each other.
                     
                     The years of expertise you put into your dancing does not compare to someone who likes to work with felt or do cross stitch. I've been so dismayed about where some of my hubs have landed. And as you know I write a lot of series pieces, now they are all split up, so people can't find like hubs.
                     
                     Maybe we can all get together and make a list of niche sites we believe are still necessary. The money is a little better, but it's hard to find or understand why some of our hubs are where they are. I realized some of the niches have sub-niches, so I guess they stick the hubs there when they have no other place.
                     
                     My series things are all written at the same time period, in the same style, and I believe in the same quality. So it upsets me when I find one series spread across three niches. It is confusing for readers, and I've found some of the team more receptive than others.
                     
                     I have a whole series on Greek Myth, and they have many views. God knows what they will do with them!

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   WiccanSageposted 13 months ago

   Thanks for the info everyone; is there any reason why we can't just keep our hubs on good ol' generic HP? Thx

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 months ago in reply to this

      No, of course you can leave them here - for now.
      
      The question we're all wondering about is, what is the future of the "home site"?
      
      After all, the whole reason that HubPages started making niche sites is because the home site wasn't profitable.  The niche sites are an attempt to save the business, by moving all the best material to sites that Google will (hopefully) love.
      
      If the niche sites work - which they seem to be doing so far - then they are the future of HubPages.   HP will need to keep the "back office" part of the home site as a way for us all to submit articles and manage our accounts, but if the home site isn't making money for the company, why on earth would they go on supporting it as a place to post articles?

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         WiccanSageposted 13 months ago in reply to this

         Thank you. I know the niche were doing better/hoping to do batter I just wasn't sure if any plans had been announced to close down.

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   Will Apseposted 13 months ago

   They obviously do not have enough quality pages for many of the possible niche sites.
   
   Personally, I think they need to start attracting more professional writers. This 'everyday expert' thing was a good compromise for Hubpages as a crowd sourced website but niche sites are a different thing altogether.

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      lobobrandonposted 13 months ago in reply to this

      How do you suggest they do that? Most of the professionals in a field who also take up writing are usually into freelance work and would only write when they have an upfront payment.

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         Will Apseposted 13 months ago in reply to this

         I'll give it some thought and maybe start another thread. I don't think staff read this stuff voluntarily, lol.
         
         A good starting point would be to find out what kind of people are contributing to the niche sites and look for more of them.
         
         Owners have a thing about not wanting to attract people interested in writing for money at present, which would probably need amending.

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            lobobrandonposted 13 months ago in reply to this

            Yup

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