93 is the lowest in years

1. 75

   Bard of Elyposted 13 years ago

   My hubscore has dropped to the lowest in over two years! At the same time I have published a new hub and had comments for it!

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   1. 0

      janikonposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I always get a little sad when my hubscore drops and I think I'm doing something wrong, then I remember I shouldn't be so invested in the number and feel good that I've spent the time writing all these articles out.

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   2. 71

      maven101posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I had the same happen to my score...New hub, many comments, and ZOOM, my score dropped to 93...Go figure...

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2. 72

   seanorjohnposted 13 years ago

   Some of the biggest earners on hubpages had scores in the 80's. So you may suddenly start raking it in if it drops again. Seriously, hubbers with a score of 100 often get their content stolen. So , I don't think you have anything to worry about. No one can figure out the author score. It's one of lifes mysteries. Best of luck in these challenging times.

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3. 71

   WriteAngledposted 13 years ago

   Scores for individual hubs and overall scores for hubbers are totally and utterly meaningless.
   
   I have hubs that are increasing in views and doing really well given some of the lowest scores on my list. On the other hand, hubs sitting in the doldrums, with barely any views are up there in the 90s at times.
   
   Likewise, I can spend hours hub hopping or being on the forum and my score drops. At other times, I do nothing and the score rises.
   
   I used to care when I thought it meant something, but now I have a mental filter and no longer let any of these scores register in my brain.

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4. 71

   Hauntyposted 13 years ago

   I am utterly confused as to why people still complain about their hubber score after having been on the site for 3 years?!

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   1. 75

      Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I would have thought it was obvious: people are impressed by seeing a high score! If someone comes to HubPages and sees a high score fro a hubber they are more likely to read their hubs, just like more people buy records that have high chart places or books and other merchandise ranked high on Amazon. People assume that if something is high on a list, chart or score, then it is better than what is lower or not showing! If that wasn't the case why are so many people doing all the can to get high scores and placements on lists and charts?

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Not true.
         
         Most people who visit HubPages don't even notice the number on your photo. If they do, they often misunderstand it - I've had a few people assume it means I'm ranked 98th on the site
         
         The only people who notice Hubber Score are other Hubbers, and they are not your paying audience, so there's no point fretting about it.  People fret about it because people have egos, nothing more.
         
         And bear in mind, your average Hub Score feeds into your Hubber Score. If you publish a new Hub it starts with a low score, which drags your average HubScore down, so your Hubber Score should drop temporarily.

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         1. 73

            David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            LOL rank on the site!!

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5. 75

   Bard of Elyposted 13 years ago

   Marisa, you have surprised me agreeing with Haunty's opinion and it appears that I have been wasting my time trying to get high scores here then! What you are both saying is that this place doesn't work like music charts or rankings on Amazon  etc but if that is the case what is the point in having a hubscore at all? Why are the high-scorers referred to as the "best"? If I click on Hubbers the ones that come up with a score of 100 are listed as Best Hubbers. Surely people tend to think that "best" means best? When I have been amongst them and posted the link on my Facebook wall people there have been impressed and posted complimentary comments such as "Well deserved!"

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   1. 71

      Hauntyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If you rank high on music lists and charts it earns you visibility. More people get to know you. Hubber score, on the other hand, does not do this. Sure you show up in the hubbers list, but who cares about that list? If you look at people with 100 scores, you'll see that plenty of them have traffic under 100k, even if they have been here for ages.
      
      As for being the best. Best in terms of what? Quality? Traffic? Earnings? Talent? Writing Skills? I have been 100, but I don't consider myself to be among the best in any of these categories, or even others.
      
      I have noticed you used to have a higher score. Surely, you used to do things the right way. But not any more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDdqubE7zQ jk

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   2. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Beats me. 
      
      It's true that other Hubbers (especially newbies) will be impressed with the number.  But you know by now, other Hubbers are only a small part of your audience. 
      
      The audience you want to reach is the much larger one, out there in search engine land, and the vast majority of them have no idea what a Hubber Score means, if they even notice it.  You've seen it - new members asking 'what's that number on my photo'? 
      
      There's even less benefit in having a high score now, because there's no longer a section on the front page for high scoring Hubbers.  The featured Hubbers on the front page are now chosen by Jason and haven't changed in a long time.
      
      So yes, if you are spending effort on achieving high scores on HubPages, you are misdirecting your efforts.

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      1. 75

         Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I know I can trust your opinion on this, Marisa, so I will look at this as a lesson learned and won't worry about whether my score is high or not!

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         1. 85

            Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            It's funny because when I made my first post on this thread, my score was 98.  I've done nothing except make a few forum posts, and when I made my second post, my score had dropped to 93 too. It's now 95.  I stopped looking at the number long ago so I'd forgotten how much it fluctuates!

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6. 71

   WriteAngledposted 13 years ago

   Without knowing what criteria are used to define "best", the term has almost no meaning.
   
   Best = most views? One only has to look at what comes to the top of a Google search in many cases to know that this is often not the case, with more valuable content appearing several pages of results further down.
   
   Best = most income? Yes, certainly successful if money is the criterion. However, even if only taking sales-focused material, articles featuring lower priced, less sought-after products may provide much better content but will probably still earn less than articles about in-demand, high-priced products.
   
   Best = high literary merit/writing standard? Given the range of material on this site, it is not possible to score this. How can you compare and rank a short story versus a product review versus a scientific article versus a poem versus a problem-solving article versus...
   
   I wish this obsession with scores and ranks would be put to rest. I don't know if it is a particularly deep-seated issue in the psychology of people in the USA. Certainly, US web communities seem to be far more obsessed than others with wanting people to compete against each other all the time.

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   1. 75

      Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I am surprised at your response too, WriteAngled, because as far as I can see "this obsession with scores and ranks" is a worldwide method used for judging people and products. As a singer-songwriter I am very well aware that chart positions, sales figures, number of fans etc are all used to judge the success or failure of an act and their recordings and performances. Nothing new about that! People do whatever they can to get top scores and positions. If they don't they know they won't get the breaks and opportunities they need. I have recently been a contestant in the YouBloom Music Awards and got through to the semi finals. That was judged by number of votes you got and in a heat only the top 3 qualify, so it is a chart with those on top rewarded and those who don't make it are out.

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      1. 71

         WriteAngledposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Bard,
         
         I have never, ever looked at a chart or sales figures or numbers of fans when deciding what music to listen to. For classical music, I've discovered composers, conductors, soloists and orchestras I like by listening to UK Radio 3 more or less since when it started, when I was 10 years old, and by going to concerts. For world, folk, early and truly weird music, which are a later development in my life, I've listened to World Routes and Late Junction on Radio 3. I've also got to know performers by attending workshops, concerts, and, very recently, Small Nations Festival.
         
         I don't think charts come into it really for the sort of music I like. Actually, many people have not heard of some of my favourite performers in world/folk music, such as Savina Yannatou, Ruth Yaakov, Mordekkers, Little Rumba, Goran Premberg,so I reckon they do not feature on charts and stuff.

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         1. 75

            Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I was invited to play at this in 2006 but couldn't because I didn't have anyone here to look after my cats so couldn't travel.
            
            Haunty said: "If you rank high on music lists and charts it earns you visibility. More people get to know you." That is what I am focused on with my music and my writing and it is much needed. I have two books out and the greater visibility they have the better chance of selling, and so with my albums and EP. I need to make money from my writing and music and have a much greater need to do so now I have taken a big drop in earnings here. I found out long ago that quality of any form of art does not make a financial success of it but the amount of publicity it gets. In many ways the publicity is as important as the music, writing, painting or whatever the product is.

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            1. 71

               WriteAngledposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Awwwww!!!  I left my cats with lots of dried food and water while I attended. Because they have a cat flap and don't use litter trays, I have left them for up to a week without worrying, as when I attended the whole week of the Welsh National Eisteddfod at the start of this month.
               
               If you get an invite again, do try to make it. It's a fabulous event.

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               1. 75

                  Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I have to use a litter tray only having this apartment and balcony.
                  Yes, it was disappointing I couldn't go to the Small Nations festival and was also invited to be on the line-up for the Green Man again but couldn't do that either. The cat-sitter problem was enough to stop me and then there was the economics of it all which worked out I would be having to pay a lot more than I was going to get to play either of these events. For Small Nations I had the problem of getting there from Cardiff too on top of paying for the flight. I have had to accept that my festival days are over...or at least it looks that way.

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                  1. 71

                     WriteAngledposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     If ever you think you can do it in future, contact me. I'm in Treorci, but will happily drive over to pick you up in Cardiff and continue on to Cilycwm, despite sat-nav issues.

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                     1. 75

                        Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Will do! There's a possibility I will move back to the UK next year if I can find the money!

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   2. 0

      EmpressFelicityposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This! With lashings of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on the top!
      
      Besides, I agree with Seanorjohn - you're far more at risk of having your work stolen if you have a 100 score and thus end up on the front page of the site.

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7. 64

   Mutiny92posted 13 years ago

   It might be worthwhile to make the hubber score a little less overt on individual hubs.  I like what they did with the number for your followers. 
   
   It may help focus the interest on the quality of the writing and less on the score.

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8. 61

   Mark Ewbieposted 13 years ago

   I have been 100 a number of times.  Let me tell you the judgement is not based on traffic or income - that's for sure.  It may be partly because I write across a variety of subjects.
   
   Since being copied I have lost interest in the score. It flags up to utter morons and thieves that my content which they can't even read might be worth nicking.  Not that it is of course.
   
   It does generate a little more traffic and followers but that traffic is HP traffic - not worth anything - and the followers are generally newbies on a following spree - who don't actually read anything.
   
   I don't believe anyone from outside who lands on one of my pages looks at the score on the profile.
   
   Despite all that, I still quite like being 100 occasionally.

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   1. 100

      Peggy Wposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      My thoughts exactly Mark!  Well stated.

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9. 68

   Ladybird33posted 13 years ago

   Bard, my hubscore has been the lowest in the last 6 months then ever.  I feel your pain and frustration!!

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   1. 75

      Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you! I used to be able to count on monthly money here being enough to pay my phone bill and with some over but not any more. This year has been the hardest struggle for me due to lack of money ever!

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10. 88

    Will Apseposted 13 years ago

    Whoever designed hubpages drew on a little behavioural psychology. There are lots of little reinforcers here. For some people, the scores are very important. For others, followers. For yet others, the accolades.
    
    I want the money. You can reinforce my behaviour with that any day.

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    1. 75

       Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Me too, Will! That's what I want!

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11. 79

    KCC Big Countryposted 13 years ago

    Bard, I took your score.     I have seen more 99s and 100s here lately than I have in the last year.  So, I'll give it back shortly.

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    1. 75

       Bard of Elyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you!

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12. 67

    Tenerife Islanderposted 13 years ago

    My Hubscore for this my other account here has also taken a big drop from the 95 it was last week.

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    1. 72

       seanorjohnposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Bard, to lose one top score is unfortunate but to lose two looks like downright carelessness.

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       1. 67

          Tenerife Islanderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, it does, doesn't it? Oh, well, not a lot I can do about it!

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       2. 0

          Multimanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Bard,
          
          My hope score has been consistently between 85 and 95, but two days ago it suddenly dropped down to 78 and 76, and I am doing nothing different and my traffic remains the same as does my over all hub averages.  I am concerned though since at below 75 I undeerstadn the links on my hubs become no follow.  I have removed two poetry hubs that were 60 or below, maybe that will help.  What I also do not understand at this point if these are truly subdomains in our name now why any would become no follow without our permission.

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