CNN Article about Helium and Sites like HubPages (HP not mentioned)

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   stephhicks68posted 14 years ago

   FYI, in case you're interested....
   
   http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife … index.html

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      pgrundyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the link! Interesting article! I write for Helium--it's not nearly as much fun as writing for Hubpages. I started at Helium in November of last year and have earned a little over $100 there so far. You can't post comments to articles, and the peer rating system can be discouraging and unfathomable. The contests can be frustrating since you can be in first place and then the next day be in, I don't know, 40th place, then up to 3rd--you can't get a grip on it at all. Marketplace at Helium is good sometimes though for quick pocket money.
      
      I have the best luck at Elance as far as getting paid. But Hubpages is my favorite site to visit for fun and fellowship.

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         Uninvited Writerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I find HubPages so much more fun also

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   amy janeposted 14 years ago

   That's an interesting article. Too bad they didn't mention HP!

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      stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I know!!  That's what I thought...

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   Stacie Naczelnikposted 14 years ago

   Steph, thanks for the link.  It is an interesting article...bummed here too about HP not being mentioned.

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   Shirley Andersonposted 14 years ago

   Can't say that the article was very complimentary to sites like Helium.  It also does not bode well for those of us making our living with words.  I'm referring to the part of the article that said Bell would rather have awful content than polished professional articles.  How sad.
   
   I liked writing on Helium, but I like it much better here.
   
   Susan, I agree about the peer rating - sometimes it defies reason.  If the names were shown, I'd suspect that it was friends voting for friends.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm starting to suspect something like that. Especially when they now tell you that if you take part of the article you are rating and google it you will find out who wrote it. That was brought up by someone who wanted to contact the writer personally.

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         Shirley Andersonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Oh, wonderful.  I guess it must just be human nature to take something good and abuse it.  Seems to always be the case for some reason or other.

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      pgrundyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I've suspected that too--friends voting for friends. The net result is that Helium feels much more unfriendly, whether it actually is or not.
      
      The mildly snotty tone of the article brings up something I've thought of before though--I wonder if the reason I am getting so much writing work online is because I'm underpricing my work. I am happy with what I make and the buyers are happy with what I write, but I have wondered if that is part of why self-proclaimed 'professional' writers kind of resent us?
      
      I consider myself professional, but I am out of the loop as to what the going rate is for this sort of thing because I work remotely from the northern hinterlands.

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         stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I found it a bit sad, too.  But I also thought that the author was being a bit superior, as if.... "I am a "real" writer and all these other people that publish on internet sites like Helium (and HubPages) are not."

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      Dorsiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I found myself discouraged at Helium- I like it much much better at the Hub too.
      It's a much friendlier atmosphere, and I like the format much better.

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   honeyposted 14 years ago

   thanx for providing the article link but it would have been better if they mentioned HP too ..

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   Bike Web Guyposted 14 years ago

   Are any of you using Hubpages to boost traffic to your affiliate websites?  Do any of you have your own websites with adsense and affiliate programs?
   
   Maybe off topic, but that is what sent me here was one of my mentors recommending Hubpages article writing as a part of my website promotion.
   
   Are you online to make money?
   
   I do like the forums too.
   
   Rick

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      darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Rick, HubPages is the wrong place to sign up to if your intentions are to boost traffic to your affiliate websites.

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   Shirley Andersonposted 14 years ago

   Hmmm, maybe you're right Steph.  That would explain the slant of the piece.
   
   I know I'm no Stephen King (yet), but I'm somewhat offended that it is assumed that most of us cannot write or we wouldn't be here.

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   BeatsMeposted 14 years ago

   I have also read an article review that rated Helium and Associated Content 5 stars.  Hubpages wasn't mentioned.

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      Shirley Andersonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      They're just jealous 

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   stevemark122000posted 14 years ago

   Interesting article.
   
   Thanks

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    Stacie Naczelnikposted 14 years ago

    Half of the people who know I write online think it is neat (especially when they hear that I earn money from it), but the other half think it is silly.
    
    I'm also a creative writer (mostly fiction, but some memoir and poetry), and that crowd does not get the online self-publishing thing at all.  Yet, participating in something like the HubLove contest provided me with more divers and challenging writing exercises than I've gotten from my creative writing community in quite some time.  Since the contest, I've actually been able to work more on my creative stuff.
    
    Anyway, I think sites that allow writers who aren't "professional" to write are still rising - and people just don't get what it means yet.

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       stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I completely agree with Stacie's comments about the contest, first of all.  Wow, did it help improve creative juices to flow and definitely the feeling of publishing under a deadline.  I really get the shrugs from some family and friends about HubPages (never heard of it, sounds fake). But when I email them a page, they are usually impressed.  Still dubious about why I do it though.

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       pgrundyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I appreciated your comments here on the creative writing crowd not getting the online publishing thing. I also write creatively, but I don't ever feel like I fit into that crowd. Lots of dysfunction there. From time to time I get invited to an in-home writers group and I've found that these groups general degenerate into personal theater in anywhere from two to six weeks, then fall apart shortly afterward.
       
       In a lot of ways, writing really is a solitary craft. It's nice to find someplace where community survives ego, and mostly it does here at HubPages.

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          stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          This is so well said!  I guess that's why I only write at HubPages and not Helium or elsewhere...  (sorry for crazy formatting...)

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    amy janeposted 14 years ago

    Steph and Stacie, I completely agree! The contest really showed me that I can write fast, and I don't have to labor so hard over every single word I write
    I found myself missing the contest just yesterday. I think I need that little push to turn all of my ideas into hubs.
    
    People may not think much of writing online in some circles, but all of us here know that there are oodles of talented writers floating around, inspiring each other.  Perhaps we are artists more that the CNN Reporter. We do it for love more than money.   Yes, writing for bundles of cash would be great, but we are all here writing anyway. And being a reporter is a drag for an artist that doesn't want to conform...

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       stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I could have written this post myself! 

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    darksideposted 14 years ago

    I checked out one of those sites mentioned in the article, and oh my goodness, talk about drama and infighting!
    
    It makes a blow-up at HP look like a friendly chat with scones and tea by comparison.

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       stephhicks68posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       REALLY?  I am intrigued... time to stop editing a hub and go check out what's happening....

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