An article/poem titled "Is Hubpages Dead"

1. 86

   Venkatachari Mposted 13 months ago

   This is an apt post from our fellow writer, lovetherain, lamenting the withering stages of our platform.
   Here is the link to the post https://hubpages.com/community/is-hubpages-dead
   
   It is true that we are not enjoying anymore, like we used to be some years ago, due to the drastic changes taking place and the indifference of our management.

   replyreport
   1. 95

      fcmosherposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      So sorry you feel this way! My own experience is not nearly this negative. I am still making money and getting plenty of views (in season!).

      replyreport
      1. 94

         jansharesposted 13 months agoin reply to this

         You have a great niche with authority, Fred. Good for you. Bravo!

         replyreport
         1. 95

            fcmosherposted 13 months agoin reply to this

            Thank you for the positivity! It has taken many years to find and establish my niche. I pursued it because of the strong suggestions from HP that this was the way to be successful over time. Have a great day!

            replyreport
            1. 94

               jansharesposted 13 months agoin reply to this

               

               replyreport
      2. 86

         Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

         Getting money does not indicate that it is going good. There is no more such joy and intimacy that we previously enjoyed here.

         replyreport
         1. 95

            fcmosherposted 13 months agoin reply to this

            I understand! But since HP is a writing/publishing platform, one important measure of success is having a lot of people read what you write. Thank you!

            replyreport
   2. 77

      lovetherainposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      It has changed a lot in my 13 years here

      replyreport
   3. 73

      Miebakagh57posted 13 months agoin reply to this

      Venchtac, this poem by lovetherain says much about the status of hubpages at the present. Thanks.

      replyreport
2. 94

   jansharesposted 13 months ago

   Thanks for sharing this, Venkatachari. CC, this poem speaks to what a lot of us old heads have been feeling lately about our beloved HubPages. Your poem is sadly accurate. My favorite line, "it refuses to pass inspection at the border." This speaks to all of the rule changes over time that have blocked our successful entry into the safe zone (niche sites). And the last 2 lines, I relate to so well, because I, too, stay to write poetry. Thank you, CC, for this validation. Brilliant! But let's pray that there is still a pulse!

   replyreport
3. 89

   Jodahposted 13 months ago

   I read the article/poem, and I have to echo some of the feelings. I have so much work here that I never intend to leave, and am always hoping that changes are made and one day HubPages reverts back to the way it once was. I am still writing here from time to time but much less frequently.
   Thank you for sharing, Venkat.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      Yes, John. Eventhough we are discouraged we don't like leaving this platform due to the affection of our fellow writers who are so friendly and nice in all respects. We can't find such pleasant bondage on other platforms.

      replyreport
4. 84

   Jan Stepanposted 13 months ago

   I still believe in this platform. It won't make me stop complaining, but the commitment from my side will be HERE and not on other platforms.
   
   Maybe I am making a mistake, but I genuinely believe that HubPages will bounce back and be a successful platform in the future.
   
   As I stated in the forums before – maybe I am wrong, but I am willing to take that risk.
   
   Who's with me?

   replyreport
   1. 94

      jansharesposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      I'm with you, Jan.

      replyreport
   2. 97

      greenmindposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      +1

      replyreport
   3. 88

      Amara Hassanposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      Lets hope so. I really want it to bounce back.

      replyreport
5. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 13 months ago

   Count me in Jan, with the caveat that I'm known to be somewhat naïve.

   replyreport
6. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 13 months ago

   I am here! Not leaving.

   replyreport
   1. 88

      Amara Hassanposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      I am also not leaving. I love HP actually.

      replyreport
7. 97

   PaulGoodman67posted 13 months ago

   Who's to say whether the platform will bounce back? I hope so!
   
   Sadly, I don't think that some aspects of HP will be returning. There was a buzz and it felt more personal when it was an independent company.
   
   However, just getting some of the views and earnings back would be something. Much of the discontent, I feel, is due to the two years plus of declining fortunes.
   
   In the longer term, though, my feeling is that the "how to" and fact-based article websites will be hit hard by AI.

   replyreport
   1. 97

      greenmindposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      It seems that many of the factors hurting traffic, CPM, and earnings overall are, at least to some degree, beyond HP's control – including threats like AI, as you mentioned.

      replyreport
      1. 97

         PaulGoodman67posted 13 months agoin reply to this

         It's unclear who controls what. When HP was an independent company, it was very clear who was in charge of the various elements and what their responsibilities were and we had the ear of the CEO.
         
         Nowadays, there's no indication of the responsibilities or power structure. It's all hidden from us. There's a degree of unease and distrust. The situation feels almost Kafka-esque!
         
         To be clear about AI, I don't see it as the cause of the current problems but I do think it will become more problematic at some point in the near future.
         
         That said, self-driving vehicles haven't taken off like it was predicted because it's emerged that driving on public roads is far more difficult than initially thought. There are all sorts of real-life hazards and situations that humans can deal with fairly easily but are a tremendous challenge for a computer.
         
         The problem for AI as a fount of knowledge is that it (currently) has no way of fact-checking, so it can easily spout stuff that is false, misleading or just sheer nonsense. If you can't trust what it says, then it's essentially useless as a source of information even if it can dispense info in an (apparently) convincing fashion.

         replyreport
8. 81

   Brenda Arledgeposted 13 months ago

   I think it's slowly withering away.
   I wasn't on here much for quite awhile after my late boyfriend passed away in Feb 2022, but when I returned...nothing was the same.
   People had vanished.  Articles don't get the same numbers as they used too...and I really don't think they care about us as individuals...but hey, that's life.
   Every one who has a full time job experiences this fact...you are only a number.
   
   I keep hoping it will get better.
   I really love it here and the community is terrific.   I've made friends here that I wish to keep for life.
   
   Poetry is my passion abd like you...i think this site needs it

   replyreport
9. 90

   Genna Eastposted 13 months ago

   I must agree with John, (Jodah), Venkatachari, Jan and others.  I have tried to become active again on HP, but work demands keep interfering in ways that have been trying.  That being said, the changes I have observed at HP are significant.  I won’t go into details…the reasons are as obvious as they are disconcerting.  I will say the community of very talented and supportive creative writers can no longer “be” because of HP’s change of guard, so to speak, and the commercial advertising that seems to have taken precedent – even to the point of adding and receiving comments/notifications.   It was both an honor and a privilege to be a member of that creative writing community.  I hope to return to HP when I retire in a few months.  I only hope the powers that be at HP see the light, and refrain from certain antics, such as slicing up the lines of a poem like a word salad with ad placements that hit one the face.  Take care all.

   replyreport
   1. 97

      greenmindposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      Is it possible that people who produce poetry and other creative writing here are feeling a sense of loss more than people who write information-based articles?

      replyreport
   2. 89

      Jodahposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      I agree with all you say, Genna. The insertion of advertisements that slices up the stanza of a poem is especially a travesty as poetry relies on flow etc. it totally spoils the reading experience.
      The changes have affected everyone, but probably creative writers the most.

      replyreport
      1. 86

         Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

         It is true and very much annoying. I am reading poetry with great enthusiasm and suddenly I find that a poem has only one line and thereafter an advertisement pops up in front of your eyes. But I can't imagine there could be a one-liner verse. So, I scroll down to explore what happened to the other part of it and there I find the other lines submissively bearing the brutal attack on their head.

         replyreport
   3. 81

      Brenda Arledgeposted 13 months agoin reply to this

      Absolutely....slicing up the words of a poem is so disheartening.

      replyreport
10. 90

    Genna Eastposted 13 months ago

    Thank you, John and everyone.  And I couldn’t agree more. 
    
    Can you imagine if Shakespeare were alive today?
    
    Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
    Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
    
    SPECTURM TV CUSTOMERS –
    DON’T LOSE FX
    
    Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
    And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
    
    SCROLL TO CONTINUE
    
    Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
    And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
    And every fair from fair sometime declines,
    By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
    But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
    
    TOP RATED MEDICARE ADVANTAGE HMO PLAN
    
    (I think this is where Mercutio's, "A plague on both your houses!" from R&J might possibly come to mind.  Lol.)

    replyreport
    1. 89

       Jodahposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       Well said. I love you using Shakespeare (fractured by ads) as an example.

       replyreport
    2. 86

       Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       That's a great example of how Hubpages attacks you. I am glad, Genna, for sharing that example.

       replyreport
    3. 81

       Brenda Arledgeposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       Excellent!!!
       
       Why can't the hands to be see this??
       
       Definitely distracting.

       replyreport
11. 90

    Genna Eastposted 13 months ago

    Hi ....
    
    To be fair, HP did tidy up some of my poems, but only after I sent them emails about the slice-N-dice they did to lines in my poetry.  ('The Homing' was the worst.  It was dissected throughout and the last line practically disappeared because it was separated from the rest of the poem by two ads, which made it impossible to read.)
    
    Take care, everyone... :-)

    replyreport
    1. 97

       PaulGoodman67posted 13 months agoin reply to this

       You can always just turn off the ads.

       replyreport
       1. 97

          greenmindposted 13 months agoin reply to this

          Mic drop! Sounds like a solid solution.

          replyreport
       2. 86

          Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

          But, why should we turn off the ads? Can't you make them more acceptable to all of us by not tampering our text into dice and pieces?

          replyreport
    2. 89

       Jodahposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       That is good to hear, Genna.

       replyreport
    3. 81

       Brenda Arledgeposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       I've mentioned it to them...but i still get diced up now and then

       replyreport
    4. 86

       Venkatachari Mposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       Too much humilitaion by our Gods here.

       replyreport
       1. 97

          greenmindposted 13 months agoin reply to this

          Okay, so maybe HP isn't the best place for you to meet your goals as a writer. People have posted in the Forum about publishing their poetry in online magazines. Maybe that would be a better fit?

          replyreport
          1. 73

             Miebakagh57posted 13 months agoin reply to this

             It's just an alternative and a choice. Someone can even set up a website. Go blogging. The possibilities are endless.

             replyreport
       2. 73

          Miebakagh57posted 13 months agoin reply to this

          They seems to be angry? Why?

          replyreport
12. 73

    Miebakagh57posted 13 months ago

    These days hubpages seems to be off tanget.

    replyreport
13. 90

    Genna Eastposted 13 months ago

    Hi again...
    
    Can I ask a naive question...
    
    Is there any way we can prevent HP from throwing one of our creative pieces into the LetterPile pile, where their slice n' dice with ads takes precedent?

    replyreport
    1. 89

       Jodahposted 13 months agoin reply to this

       Unfortunately, I think all you can do is disable ads.

       replyreport
14. 81

    Brenda Arledgeposted 13 months ago

    Poem is good...though we might wanna check on them.

    replyreport
15. 88

    Nell Roseposted 13 months ago

    I have been here since 2009 and I agree. Love the poem, and it's sad how it is these days. I used to love reading and commenting, but since that has gone, it has definitely lost its sparkle.

    replyreport