HP Platform Changes and Demise

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   Kenna McHughposted 9 months ago

   I find it hard to write on HP nowadays. HP's demise represents losing a community, a marketplace for ideas and a genuine writer's support system.
   We relied on HP to share our work and to build relationships. Today, it feels like a door is closing on these opportunities, making it hard to edit old articles and write new ones.
   Keeping a positive perspective, HP's demise catalyzed a change in my writing creativity. Lately, I have been focusing more on my YT channel, playwrighting, while helping those needing to change themselves.
   My process has been fruitful in many ways, both in monetization and in helping those in need.
   My post sounds like a swan song, but it's a message that I have come to terms with HP's changes and demise while continuing to navigate this transition as best I can.

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      bravewarriorposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      One closed door (or one in dire need of repair), leads to an open window somewhere. You just have to find it and climb through it. That's exactly what you're doing, Kenna! Kudos to you!

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         Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Shauna. We all try hard and write as best we can, windows of opportunity or digging through cracks.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      Same thoughts Kenna.
      With the drastic decline in views/ earnings, the loss of a healthy interactive writers community, it’s so difficult to feel motivated to write something new.
      Another annoying thing is strange followers every day. They are perhaps here only for the purpose of spamming with their own links.

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   MariaMontgomeryposted 9 months ago

   Thank you for sharing this, Shauna. I, too, am finding my enthusiasm for writing articles gradually slipping away. I'm still writing, but I don't know for how much longer. On the other hand, if we all stop writing, will that hasten the demise of HP? Who knows? My earnings were down to pennies a day, and that is very disheartening. Doing the research for my garden articles and editing the photos is time-consuming and a lot of work. I'm not sure it's worth it.

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      bravewarriorposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      Maria, DenGarden will no longer exist after October 31st. Please email Lisa Winter at lwinter@thearenagroup.net to request all your DenGarden articles be moved to Discover. Otherwise, you'll no longer earn the meager pittance we earn from them.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 9 months ago

   My sense is that the site isn't being closed down but much of it, certainly the Discover part, won't be developed in any way.
   
   In the ever-changing tech world, that means a slow death.
   
   I'm reminded of an old mare being put out to pasture. While it's better than the glue factory, it's still an endgame nonetheless.
   
   From a practical point of view, a significant chunk of my income used to come from Amazon sales. That's pretty much gone and I don't see it ever coming back.
   
   I still earn from the ads, however, even if it's much reduced, and as Sue Adams says in another thread, the HP adventure still feels worth it overall when I consider the 14 years as a totality.
   
   It's just a pity that things had to go this way. There was so much enthusiasm and energy in the early years.

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      bravewarriorposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      I agree, Paul. I just recently received my congratulatory email from HP for reaching my 13 year anniversary. That's pretty counter-intuitive considering HP has filed divorce from all of us.

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      Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      Good points, Paul. If HP wasn't so capricious but accountable, I'd have more interest.

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   Ken Burgessposted 9 months ago

   Well said, similarly felt.

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      Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      I hear you, Ken.

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   WriterJanisposted 9 months ago

   I'm still trying to write, but the motivation hasn't been there. Maybe this is the time that your YT channel is about to thrive. Fingers crossed!

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      Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      Yes. It is hard to get motivated. Thank you, Janis, my counting on my YT channel!

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   Genna Eastposted 9 months ago

   I’m afraid this is a swan song we all share, Kenna, as we look for greener pastures given what appears to be a slow demise for HP.  Good luck with your YT Channel.

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      Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Genna. Good luck to you, too.

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   Jodahposted 9 months ago

   It is kind of sad reading all these comments, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. Maybe, just maybe, some saviour will come along and buy HubPages and resurrect it back the way it once was. Well, maybe not, but we can all dream.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 9 months agoin reply to this

      One of the disappointments was that I was expecting TAG to invest in a major way. I thought that was the point of Maven/TAG. Instead, a lot of money was squandered on the Sports Illustrated debacle and HP increasingly felt neglected.
      
      There was a joy and enthusiasm with the new internet companies fifteen or twenty years ago which I don’t see coming back, unfortunately.

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         theraggededgeposted 9 months agoin reply to this

         The opposite happened/is happening. They are sucking the life out of HP.
         
         It would be better if they gave it away.

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   Miebakagh57posted 9 months ago

   To whom should they gave hubpages away? To us writers?

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