Maven, HubPages sign final agreement

1. 96

   Shesabutterflyposted 5 years ago

   Has anyone seen this article yet? https://www.themaven.net/the-maven/pres … xbcE6ysi7g
   
   I know it's only five days old, but I would have expected an e-mail or blog from HP. It sounds to me like HP is not staying HP, but is acquiring the Maven branding and design? Am I reading and understanding this right? They lost me at "and content is expected to launch across combined channels". Can anyone understand what this means?
   
   "Since Maven agreed to acquire HubPages on Jan. 5, combined advertising solutions have been delivered to the market; a single strategy with combined platforms has been designed; and the first phase of technical integration is underway. Additionally, Maven’s branding, navigation and content is expected to launch across combined channels in April, with the acquisition formally scheduled to close June 1."

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      From what has been said early on, HP will continue as is but as a subsidiary of Maven.  Niche sites will remain "as is".  Also, we will use the same payment program as before, at least for the foreseeable future.
      
      Paul needs to stay on there for three years in order to fully collect his stock options, but after that, who knows?  Hopefully, he'll continue because I think without him and his team, things could change significantly.
      
      I personally believe that all of the fancy talk in this article is more for investors and ad partners than for us.  The better they make the company look, the more income they'll get.
      
      Anyhow, that's my take.

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   2. 95

      Christy Kirwanposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Shesabutterfly,
      
      We didn't announce because the deal won't fully close for another couple of months. We only have a few very minor branding changes in the works, currently. Nothing that should affect the way HubPages works.

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      1. 96

         Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         New branding changes are coming in April are they not? Even minor branding changes are important to me. Especially when we were told HP would stay "as is" for the "forseeable future". I didn't believe it, and I'm not surprised HP is getting branded differently.
         
         However, I expected an e-mail and some communication. I do not want to wake up one day with all my work on the new Maven site without being informed about it. I will not consent to the Maven TOS unless some substantial changes are made and I find it odd that branding would not change how HP works. How can HP stay HP if the branding is changing? Even if we keep the HP TOS, having the Maven logo would not really keep HP "as is" in my eyes.
         
         I see you removed (maven key) is that not the branding that is happening to HP, or are you not suppose to share that information with us?

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         1. 95

            Christy Kirwanposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            We are talking about design changes, currently, not changes to our TOS. What design changes we will make is still being decided, but the Maven key on pages will likely one of them (still not set in stone, which is why I removed that comment). Sites will still retain their names/brands (PetHelpful, Delishably, etc) but it will be more clear from the design that network sites are part of the Maven family.

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks Christy.

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      2. 89

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I think the question is whether we will have to agree to Maven's TOS if branding changes are made.  A simple "yes" or "no" would end the worrying.

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      3. 60

         TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         thanks for letting us know.

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      luxury138hebatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Cool

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2. 97

   dougwest1posted 5 years ago

   I read the article and had a hard time cutting through all their marketing gibberish too. All I can say for sure is that my dollars per day is up. Good enough for me!

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3. 91

   Rochelle Frankposted 5 years ago

   I hope we get some clarification from HubPages as to what it really means for the writers. I have always appreciated the personal touch of HubPages staff, and the writing community that has developed. Hope we don't lose that, just at the time when many of us (who have been here for a few years) are starting to earn more.

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4. 94

   HoneyBBposted 5 years ago

   I received an email with the linked article on Tuesday. Check your junk mail or other mail. I think Hubpages will still operate as it has except behind the scenes the ad program has changed bringing us more traffic and higher cpms

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   1. 96

      Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I have nothing from HP. I haven't received any emails from HP staff, blog or weekly newsletter since January. I haven't changed my notifications so I don't know why they have stopped. I don't know how to double check all e-mail notifications, but I am still getting editor e-mails.
      
      Edit: I found the notification section and it shows that I should be receiving all news from HP. Not sure why I didn't get anything.

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      1. 94

         HoneyBBposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         The sender shows up as James Heckman not Hubpages so be sure to watch for that. Mine was in my inbox on Tuesday at 10:10 a.m.

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         1. 96

            Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Weird. Nothing of the sort. HP usually goes to my promotional inbox but there was nothing from them or James anywhere. I'll double check my junk for it, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen that name. I definitely would have opened it if I saw it, as I'm familiar with the name.

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            TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            I have nothing from James Heckman either. Maybe he only sent to the main players on hubpages?

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   2. 60

      TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I have received nothing. I checked my notifications. As far as I can see, I should be receiving something. I always have in the past. Can you give me the email from which it was sent so that I can do another search? Thanks. Also, what was in the subject line?

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5. 95

   Glenn Stokposted 5 years ago

   I’m getting all The Maven news. You need to follow what you want to receive. Create an account and then click “follow” in the top right corner of https://www.themaven.net/the-maven

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   1. 94

      HoneyBBposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I just checked mine and apparently I had already created an account and it already showed me as following...that must be why I've been receiving the emails also... I didn't remember creating it.

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   2. 89

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You lost me.  Create an account where?  I clicked on the link and only saw the Maven front page.  I thought we automatically were (or would be) a part of Maven...so why would we need to create a new account.  Please walk me through this.
      
      Thanks.

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      1. 95

         Glenn Stokposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         TT, you need to create an account on Maven. Then you can follow the channels you want.
         
         That link I gave you is not the front page, it’s the link to top stories, which includes investor news. You can choose yourself what you want to follow. I’ve tried a few channels that I changed my mind about and unfollowed later. You have full control over what you get notified about.
         
         To create an account on Maven, just click the login link and then select “create new account.”

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   3. 60

      TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      It doesn't give you an option to only follow hubpages releases and I generally hate spam. And I've just tried to unfollow and it doesn't give you that option. So now I'm screwed.

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6. 96

   theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

   Looks like 'combined' is the latest buzzword from Maven. They ought to think about writing their material in plain English. If that article were a hub it would be rejected by QAP
   
   "Due to the successful merger of Maven and HubPages, we can now offer a fully functional platform to our advertising partners."
   
   There.

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7. 88

   lobobrandonposted 5 years ago

   "Additionally, Maven’s branding, navigation and content is expected to launch across combined channels in April, with the acquisition formally scheduled to close June 1."
   
   I hope the above refers to Ad channels I think it does, as the team made it clear that the niche sites would remain the way they are. But, the fact that they say navigation and content, confuses me.

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      TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I'm a bit confused here. Wasn't the agreement only to be finalized in three years after hp had proved itself? This sounds like a done deal.

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   2. 96

      Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      That's what was confusing me as well. I was initially thinking ad networking and behind the scene stuff, but the further into the article I read the more it did not make sense that it was just ad networking. I know I'm considered "just a writer", but I like to keep up with what is and will be happening here at HP.
      
      I'm hoping the branding, navigation, & content is for the coming soon section on Maven and that the word "combined" is truly a buzzword like theraggededge suggests. Although, I find combined to be the wrong term, "buzzword" or not in this sentence "Additionally, Maven’s branding, navigation and content is expected to launch across combined channels in April, with the acquisition formally scheduled to close June 1." because if it just meant the coming soon content on Maven, "combined" and "acquisition" can be misleading. However, I suppose Maven technically acquired all the other sites too and will be combining them onto their platform, but if this is an article about HP and Maven like the title suggests, I shouldn't be reading about coming soon content if it's not directly related to HP content specifically.
      
      It doesn't help that the first paragraph states "...have executed the final, definitive agreement for Maven’s acquisition of HubPages and have completed the initial phase of integration..." which is then followed by "...combined advertising solutions have been delivered to the market; a single strategy with combined platforms has been designed; and the first phase of technical integration is underway." This truly makes me believe they are talking solely about technology and ad's. It's the following sentence about additionally, that makes it seem like the branding and navigation are the next step in the acquisition process for HP, rather than more ad and technology acquisitions. Or simpy Maven's coming soon section.

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      1. 94

         Solarasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         If they have hired a PR firm, don't read too much into the articles and press releases. PR folks just make sh!t up that they think sounds good.
         
         Back in the day, I was appalled at some of the claims they made about our company. It would have been embarrassing for people in the industry to read it. They just shrugged and asked for the real figures.  Keeping them in the realm of reality became a part time job.

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8. 91

   Cre8torposted 5 years ago

   Yes. It's an investor PR not really geared to inform us writers. Investors and writers have very different interests yet the same in regards to both wanting to make money. Investors don't care about how us writers routine is affected nor we about their charts and daily gains. Granted Maven/HP needs to make both happy but this release in particular was directed towards investors. I think much will be revealed in regards to the impact of all this on writers within the next month or so. Meanwhile, enjoy earnings being up! :-)

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9. 83

   Chris Tylerposted 5 years ago

   From reading the article, and without getting too technical, this looks like they bought HubPages for access to the ad networks, and not the content specifically. This isn't going to be a HubPages/Squidoo type situation, it seems like they're just interested in the back-end stuff. It should result in a boost for both sites as far as traffic and earnings go, which means there should be a boost for us as well, although I don't know near enough about the current numbers to even make a guess as to how much.

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      TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think so. They bought it for the increased number of readers, followers, hits, viewership, etc. They don't need HP ad platform. They already have a better one than than HP had.

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10. 91

    Cre8torposted 5 years ago

    See I thought Maven bought HP for the instant, huge gain of viewership but that Maven had a better marketing platform. ?

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11. 95

    FatFreddysCatposted 5 years ago

    (checks mail box and Spam folder)
    
    ....I got nothin'. (shrugs)

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12. 91

    Cre8torposted 5 years ago

    I recommend following HP and Maven on Twitter and FB. You'll see everything then. Sign up to receive emails from Maven on their site. Right now I think there are still a lot of moving parts and if a PR doesn't directly impact writers or how they write I don't think HP will notify of every little step like Maven because Maven has shareholders who want/need to know all details from a business perspective, not writers. And I get it, they're both the same...but not really, not yet anyway. I believe it's still a work in progress.

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13. 96

    theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

    The fact that we, as reasonably literate folk, can't understand what a press release is saying, means that probably no-one else can either. I mentioned it before in connection with Maven, but I hate obfuscation and ad-jargon. Why can't they speak English?
    
    More clarity, please, Paul.
    
    http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/about-us.html

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

       obfuscation????  Really?

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       1. 96

          theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, really.
          
          "Obfuscation is the obscuring of the intended meaning of communication by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obfuscation
          
          And that's what they are doing. Maybe it's more common in British English. Have you got a better word?

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             TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

             Hell no!  I love that word!  Never heard it before...sounds like the perfect definition of our President's behavior!

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                HoneyBBposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                Haha TT2, Perfect example!

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                theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                

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       TessSchlesingerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       Jamie Whyte spoke about this in his book 'Crimes against logic." One of the better books I read on business academic, and marketing/pr language...

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14. 96

    Gregory DeVictorposted 5 years ago

    I think that "obfuscation" is a very accurate word choice. The word "circumlocution" has also popped into my mind as well.

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15. 95

    Kierstin Gunsbergposted 5 years ago

    Putting some extra thought/changes into the visual and navigation designs on the niche sites would get a big ol' thumbs up from me!

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