Hubbook?

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   Natalie Frankposted 6 years ago

   I ran into something I've never seen on HP before when hopping hubs.  The "article" consisted of a one sentence intro and two sentence summary with a table of contents in the middle.  The table of contents consisted of five links to five other articles.  Is this something that others are aware of as an option on HP?  Does anyone have any idea how well such a collection of articles would do in the ratings?  Thanks!

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      Venkatachari Mposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I don't have any idea of it. But, I would like to view that article and see how that may work. Let me know the title of the hub and author.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      The word Hubbook is the invention of one Hubber. It's not endorsed or approved by HubPages. 
      
      There used to be a type of Hub called a Capstone Hub - they were officially approved and indeed, encouraged by HubPages.   They consisted of a long introduction to a subject, followed by links to other Hubs on the subject (either by yourself or by others), each with several lines explaining what they are about.  In fact HP liked them so much, you used to get an upfront payment if you wrote a series of Hubs that included a Capstone Hub.
      
      However, note that each link had several lines of explanation, not just one or two - and the introduction was maybe 400 words long.

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         Ilonagardenposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Being more recent to Hubpages (transferred from Squidoo) I was totally unaware of this type of hub! I had made some similar type lenses, but didn't think they worked on the "new" Hubpages.
         
         Interesting from a historical view. Are they still considered useful? Is it worthwhile effort to  turn some of the old content I have into this sort of hub?

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            Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            HubPages doesn't like Hubs that are just a list of links, so you do have to approach a Capstone Hub carefully.  It needs to have a long introduction which is almost a Hub in its own right, then each link needs an explanation as well. 
            
            Google likes this kind of web page, where someone has collected really useful links around a single subject.  MakingaMark specialises in creating whole websites like that and it's very successful.

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               Ilonagardenposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Thank you for the info. I looked up some of the links here at Hubpages on these types of pages and I am going to give it a try. I wouldn't even consider just throwing some links together! The one thing I wasn't sure of was how to incorporate the links I use... the original directions seem to advise a mix of types, contextual, from authority sites and using the link capsule.
               
               Not sure how that looks in today's Hubpage niche sites or even as simply featured on the main site. I did feel it was worth a try in reworking some of my older work and unpublished some things to combine them and then create a new "hub-like"  Capstone.
               
               It is the first time I've felt hopeful about something working out in my writing here in awhile. I really felt in rut- so again,thank you to the commenters, here.

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               makingamarkposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Well I do write quite a bit too!
               
               The point is given the amount of information out there, people do appreciate a well-curated set of links on a topic. Basically, I get rid of all the dross and only list those links which have something to offer - within the context of a website / page which explains the topic more fully
               
               I've never been quite sure why HubPages missed out on the Curated Content Revolution. It happened a bit back when Google realised there was so much content out there that people needed help sorting through it.  They LOVE my Compendium Pages as does my traffic.
               
               HubPages on the other hand "hates" them!  For some reason, it doesn't recognise curation as an essential task in sifting and sorting information - and sharing links (as original sources) as a useful thing to do.

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                  Ilonagardenposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  It is good to hear that side of the viewpoint on curation. I know I personally appreciate pages set up that way. It sounds as though all the difference is within how carefully it's done.

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   WryLiltposted 6 years ago

   Here's a guide on doing a table of contents with clickable links on Hubpages: http://hubpages.com/community/TOC

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3. 92

   Natalie Frankposted 6 years ago

   Thanks all for the replies.  Venkatachari M - It was a hub still being reviewed so didn't have a link I could give you.  Wrylit- thanks for the link showing how it might be done.  Marissa - thanks for clarifying.  Are Capstone hubs still used or did they fall out of favor?

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      HubPages stopped paying upfront for them, so Hubbers weren't willing to put the work in after that. However, there are several Capstone series still published on HubPages.
      
      I found it a good way to motivate myself, a bit like the 30 Hubs in 30 Days challenge but smaller and with less pressure.  I would pick a subject and write a cluster of Hubs around it then finish off with a Capstone, which often included Hubs by others that rounded out the topic.  So, I might write only eight Hubs and then find another ten or so to make the Capstone.

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      1. 92

         Natalie Frankposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Marissa,
         
         Do people ever still collaborate on series of Hubs?  What you described seemed almost like the idea for Flipboard.  Did capstone series get more traffic that they would have if published separately?  It seems as if they would which would make them desirable albeit a ton of work.  Any idea how the Google algorithm would view that type of series instead of individual articles.  Ciao

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            Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry if I explained it badly.  People never collaborated on Capstone Hubs.  What you would do is write a series of Hubs on one topic.  If you could write, say, 20 Hubs of your own, then you might create a Capstone Hub with just your own Hubs.  However, if you couldn't do that many but knew other Hubbers had written good Hubs on the same topic, you'd be generous and include links to those Hubs on your Capstone, to create a rounded overview of your subject.

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               Natalie Frankposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Is that still done?  And would it be possible to collaborate before hand to end up with a similar result but less work, say 4 authors write 5 articles each?  Also curious about how Google responds to those sorts of collections.

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            DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I had four capstone hubs but the traffic was so bad and they were so much work (when I or someone else deleted a hub that was on the caspstone I would get a broken link) that I ended up deleting them. It is not something I would want to try to revive.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               I'm guessing, but I suspect if someone linked to Hubs on the niche sites only, they would be more stable.  It was more of a problem on the main site because Hubbers were coming and going so much. 
               
               I agree, though, it's a lot of work.  I used them as more of a motivational exercise, like the 30 Hubs n 30 Days Challenge - it gave me a good feeling to add more of my own Hubs to a Capstone and I could also use it as a Table of Contents in other Hubs ("for more information on.....).

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                  DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  I think you are right, but I did it many years ago, long before the niche sites. I had a lot of my own hub links on there but also links to many of the good hubs by others that wrote about dogs. Many of them quit the site and I kept getting the broken links, so I just gave up.
                  Not sure how much I was helping, but I do think I had many useful hubs on there.

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                     Solarasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     Maybe we could do something together on dog names.  I don't plan on moving any of my published content.

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      Venkatachari Mposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I viewed the hub mentioned above by Wry Lilt and found it to be very wonderful and much useful. The author has provided beautiful and very clear-cut guidelines on constructing a TOC hub. I appreciate the author very much.
      And, thank you all, Natalie, Wry Lilt, and Marisa for the nice information provided.

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         Solarasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I would just like to say that you are very gracious in all of your interactions in the forums on HP.  That is very much appreciated by me.  Thank you!

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            Natalie Frankposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            That's why I love these forums.  In other places I have experienced less than polite responses when people were asking genuine questions to learn how to better use and benefit from the site.  Here I have never had anyone make me feel as if I shouldn't be asking questions and someone (often Marissa - thanks again!) usually gets back to me very quickly, generally in a few hours if not sooner.  There are so many hubbers who are willing to share what they know that it makes this site a joy to write for.

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4. 92

   Natalie Frankposted 6 years ago

   I haven't had the chance to look at it yet but will do so as soon as I have the time.  Thanks for looking it over.  I'll have to get over to it soon.

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