to Hub, Wordpress or ..? (+Subdomains, formatting, needs my phone#)

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   Bob Green Innesposted 12 years ago

   I ran out of space on my blog when I tried to put up a 15,000 word essay (about 125k).  Sigh.  Thus the topic. 
   
   I'd heard about HP awhile ago, a little tickled at the idea of making a few cents instead of nothing. 
   
   In trying to get up a test hub, I read the stuff on subdomains, set up subdomains under my account/my profile, but the title still results in a http//hubpages.com/.... instead of http//myname/hubpages.com/....   Maybe I'm misunderstanding how the subdomain thing goes?  Maybe the edit page hasn't been updated?  Seems important so I stopped trying to publish an intro page (which it seems wouldn't pass muster anyway). 
   
   Then I noticed somewhere that at some point I will be asked for my phone number!!!.  I've NEVER been asked for this at any site except banks etc.  Nightmares of telemarketers are dancing through my head but thought I'd better ask if anyone has had such problems?  No offense but it is a sort of commercial site after all.
   
   I can't imagine making any serious money at this given what I'm into (politics, issues, green).  Traffic now is only, um, modest, and I can't imagine going through all the backlinking palaver trying to make five bucks instead of three, which makes me wonder if Hubpages is the right way to go for a blogger as opposed to a commercial writer, which is the idea of HP. Ya, it'd be nice to get something but changing focus to money grubbing from my normal contemplations may shortchange what I set out to do???
   
   Especially given the lack of HTML/ limited  formatting,  so should I just sign up at the Wordpress site instead is the question on my mind.  Any thoughts much appreciated.
   
   Thanks
   
   Bob

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   1. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It depends on the subject, of course.  I do no backlinking and still make hundreds of dollars a month on my hubs. But each of us have different experiences here, so there it is. 
      
      Welcome to HubPages, anyway!

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      1. 60

         Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Randy.  I had a look at your profile and WOW, what a lot of interests you write about.  No wonder you're making some bucks!  I'll have to wrap my head around the concept some more.  Anyway, I'll give HP a try to see how it goes.  I have a long essay to post and I think the HP 'group' format will be a perfect way to break the subject up into reasonable sized pieces.  Still confused about the subdomain issue but, having no input, I guess its trial and error time!
         Thanks for your welcome and a look into your approach.  I think the HP 'mentality' will be a good learning experience for me.   
         Bob

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   2. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Bob and welcome to HubPages.  Were you considering posting a 15,000 word essay on HP?  Not sure that's a good idea.  It may be possible to publish the whole thing on one Hub, but I suspect 90% of readers would get tired of scrolling long before the end!   There's no option to split a Hub into pages.
      
      It's not likely to work split across Hubs, either, because the structure of HubPages doesn't really lend itself to readers following something sequentially.
      
      
      
      The easiest thing to do is accept it, start the Hub and see what happens.  You can save the Hub with only a couple of sentences of content, then go back and edit it later once you're sure it's worked.  You will get a "substandard" warning but ignore it, it will go away once you've added some content.
      
      However, as you may have already worked out, an "intro" page isn't appropriate as a Hub.  That's what your profile is for (which I note you haven't filled in yet).
      
      
      
      What platform are you using right now for your blog?  You should be able to monetize your existing blog just as effectively as HubPages - and if your blog already has some age, you should be able to do better with it than starting all over again on HP.
      
      If you tell us what your existing platform is, we might be able to help you work out why you can't post your long essay, too.

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      1. 60

         Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Merisa
         I ran across a hub which suggested breaking up a long essay and creating a 'group' which inserts a next/previous button at the bottom of the page.  I might try an index and  back to index links too. 
         
         Here is the faq i was directed tohttp://hubpages.com/faq/#hubgroups
         
         Basically I concluded that this structure will force me to make the essay more readable and perhaps more findable so in a sense part of the reason to migrate here is to force myself to adopt better writing habits. 
         
         The other reason though is a circular logic.  Since I never started out with the idea of making any money, I wanted a free site, which I had at Netfirms.  I thought I'd never reach my limit but I did!  So I have no clue how to monetize my site and while there are a few hundred hits (in about 9 months) showing on the AddsFreeStats counter I put on it, I doubt it would be worth much effort to learn all that adsense stuff.  The notion of paying for my now-free site then spending hours trying to make five bucks seems less worthwhile than migrating here and becoming better disciplined.  My basic objective is just to plead my case regarding my hometown, my country, and the world and i'm a little reluctant to divert my attention away from vital questions to something so crass as money!!
         
         Not that it wouldn't be welcome though and the notion that the HP perspective has merit has taken hold in my mind.  The only tough part is letting go of the 'look' that I'd developed for my page.  I could have found something similar at Wordpress but appearance can't hold a candle to better writing. 
         
         I'm not sure what you mean by 'platform'.  Instead of using Netfirms online tools,  I was using Wordpad for basic composing, HTML-Kit to put in the HTML links, format, etc.   and an FTP program to upload.  This from a Win-XP machine (or sometimes an old Win95 laptop!).
         
         As an example, the subject I'm now working on is Central Banking which had I not come here would have ended up something like this long winded effort on fluoridation.  I was also undecided on that before I started investigating.  The writing for me is the process of sorting out my thoughts. 
         http://www.robertinnes.ca/blgPrsHealth.php
         
         For better or worse, I want to look at all sides of an issue, just for my own edification.  I can write short articles at other sites such as our hometown blogs, letters to the editor, etc. to promote the idea.  I can appreciate that only a diehard would ever plow through such a long essay, but even diehards are important since it is they who will truly promote a worthy idea, or kill a bad one.  They need something that covers everything to chew on. 
         
         Thanks for challenging my logic for migrating here - I'll be interested in any thoughts out there.  And if I can ask a favour, could someone please open their create-hub page, type in a gibberish title and let me know if the url you see is the proper subdomain format.  So far it seems only noenhulk and I are having this problem. 
         Bob

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, you can do that. However because "related Hubs" by other people are advertised more prominently than your "Group" link or index, people are more likely to be distracted than they would be on your own blog.  Just a thought.
            
            
            
            I can see why you hit a limit on Netfirms:  they're in the business of selling web hosting, and their free sites are just a carrot to lure you in. They're banking on you being so committed to your site by the time you hit your limit, that you'll have no choice but to sign up for their paid program.
            
            Most people who want a free platform use Blogger or Wordpress.com,and I've never heard of anyone hitting a limit on either of them. Blogger can be monetized easily.  It's not allowed on Wordpress.com.
            
            
            
            If that's the case, then HubPages could be great for you, or it could be very annoying.
            
            When you write a Hub, you must split your text into several text capsules (when you start a new Hub, only one text capsule is in place, but you need to add more). This may help with your desire to improve readability, because using multiple capsules encourages you to use sub-headings.  They're also handy if you're "sorting out your thoughts" while writing, because you can easily re-order the capsules.
            
            However, if you're writing a series and decide you want to re-order some of the information across Hubs, it becomes annoying. It's much easier to switch between blog posts on your own blogs than move between your Hubs.

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            1. 60

               Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Merisa  - much to mull over, you definitely have enough for a hub on the subject.  The whole monetizing thing is a mystery to me.  As I understand your first paragraph, you are referring to HP 'advertizing' ie listing of related hubs?  I'm assuming most folks who find my page would get there via Google, maybe a few tough hubbers willing to dive into a new entry on an arcane subject! 
               
               Hopefully, HP will allow navigation links without considering them overly promotional.  I can see what you mean about shifting major parts around to different hubs as things progress.  Not a problem this time but good to know for future reference.  Nothing is perfect but it seems that HP is one of the better sites.  One thing I appreciate is the number of hubbers that seem to be ok using their real name.   I've wavered on this a few times but ended up concluding that using a pseudonym isn't the best way to make the world a better place. 
               Thanks again
               Bob

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            2. 60

               Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I was looking at this page when I replied, then I checked out your composting page and saw what you were referring to.  I wonder how bgamall got all the related hubs to be his own stuff?
               
               http://bgamall.hubpages.com/hub/Investi … Depression

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               1. 87

                  Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Take a look at some of my belly dance Hubs, and you'll see most of the "related" ones are mine.  The answer is simple - pick a subject few other Hubbers are writing about!

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2. 68

   Michael Willisposted 12 years ago

   Welcome to Hubpages!!! The sub-domain is still new to all of us here.
   The phone number just came about after the Panda hit. The site has had so much spamming that the phone number for verification hopefully will help to cut down on spammers. I don't believe we will have an issue with the phone numbers from HP.
   
   Money making varies from hubber to hubber here. Give it a shot and good luck!

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   1. 60

      Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Michael.  I'm going to go with your hunch.  I can't see how it's really different than a good anti spam method but HP would be crazy to sell their lists so we all got telemarketed to death.  They have a lot to lose.  Anyway, once I realized that HP is a commercial site, well, asking for a phone number isn't out of line. 
      
      I was wondering if you see the same url format as I do on your 'Create Hub' page?  My guess is it's just a holdover from the old days and when the article is posted, the url comes out properly despite what it says on the 'Create..' page.  Probably old timer hubbers don't even notice the old style is still there?? 
      
      Interesting hub you had on the Panda thing.  It's all new to me but going by some comments, Google may have shot themselves in the foot, no? 
      Bob

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      1. 68

         Michael Willisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         My url creates correctly when I go to the "create a hub" page. I have heard some say they had problems. May just be a glitch.
         Thanks for the comment on the Panda hub. I was having some fun with the issue as well as stating an "opinion" on the subject. lol
         I think Google is just setting their search engine to make "them" the most profit and to he*% with the rest of us outside their world.

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3. 59

   basaltbezelposted 12 years ago

   Why don't you publish the essay as a Kindle book?

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   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That's not a bad idea.  From what I've heard, a Kindle book should be about 20,000 words so you're not far short.
      
      Then you could write articles on HubPages and other sites to promote the book.

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      1. 60

         Bob Green Innesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Book? Me?? What a thought!!  Maybe someday, there's too long a list of other topics that need attending to.  Thanks
         Bob

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            basaltbezelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            A kindle book isn't like a normal book - it's completely online, if you wish.
            
            You simply upload a word document with the content to Amazon, add in a few details, price, etc and put up some nice cover art and you're set.

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