New Hub design live on Technology Hubs

1. 93

   viking305posted 12 years ago

   Will you PLEASE bring back the SHARE buttons on these Tech hubs!
   
   I hate the overall look of the new design anyway but it is a total disaster for me as a writer that you have excluded these share buttons. 
   
   We are all losing so many new readers because people who come across our hubs can not share with their own followers here and on Twitter, Google+ etc.
   
   I do not see the reasoning behind this move. When is this going to be changed back?  Can a member of staff give me some idea how long it will go on for?

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   1. 88

      WannaB Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      I find this hard to  believe. All a person needs to do to share on any of these venues is to copy the URL from the address bar or, better yet, from the bottom of the page so your referral code is included, and you can share the hub anywhere you want to, including on your own blog or web site. It's only fairly recently that sites have been putting these share buttons on anyway, and now it seems we are so spoiled we can't share without them. I hardly ever use them because I prefer to write my own messages to go with what I post. I know I can usually change the message that clicking a button automatically produces, but it's just as easy to go to the social networks with the URL myself. I have a Pinterest button on my browser that gives me even more choice as to what to pin than the buttons on any site's page. So I rarely miss these sharing buttons.
      
      Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think our readers are totally dumb about how to do this themselves. They often share more than we want them to. I heard someone  on a FB page yesterday recommending everyone go to Tumblr to get great graphics to use everywhere, seemingly unaware that the graphics on Tumblr aren't necessarily there to be used in FB, blog and other posts, or even in articles. I think if someone really wants to share, they will. I agree they might share more if the buttons are there, but the lack of buttons doesn't have to prevent sharing.

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      1. 68

         ChristyWritesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with Viking305. Readers online read info so quickly that honestly if the share buttons are not there for easy access they are not likely to share the info!

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         1. 74

            MickiSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Our data seems to suggest otherwise. There does not seem to be a decline in shares or traffic coming from social sites.
            
            There are two reasons why we are testing the design without the share buttons:
            
            1) they are SLOW to load and really drag down the page load time. They are the slowest things to load on the page (~3 seconds) while almost everything else on the page is measured in microseconds. A primary objective of this new design in Technology is speed, speed, speed. If the page loads fast, readers are more likely to read, engage, read more...and share.
            
            2) If users do not have a button to click share, will they share anyway? We needed to put this question to the test. Looks like WannaBWriter is correct....they share anyway.
            
            Now...the question is...can we find a way to put them back into the page without slowing down the page speed since we know that fast pages are better?
            
            Answer: yes. And we are working on it this week. So...later this week, the share buttons will return. And while we're at it, the Hub Feedback (Useful, Beautiful, etc.) will return for Signed In users.

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            1. 68

               ChristyWritesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               That's great, thanks MickiS for your fast response and the useful information! How great that HubPages takes our feedback, listens, and tries to make our experience here better in the process! I really appreciate it. Thank-you Micki.
               
               Christy

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            2. 93

               viking305posted 12 years agoin reply to this

               That is great news!  Thanks for explaining the reasoning behind the removal of the share buttons.  But so glad to hear they will be back soon

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2. 81

   Michael Tooleposted 12 years ago

   I believe anything and everything to do with the customization of our dearly loved Hub, would be a sure fire win on bringing in more Ad's, more traffic, more attention and recognition, with having said that, more Capsules advertising in one Hub would be a great addition, I love writing articles on Hub, the advanced Technology Hub has gained only makes it that much better, having more traffic than ever. This is truely a break through and will be greatly appreciate by all Hubber's!
   
   Have a Hub-Bub Day everyone and Thank's!

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3. 64

   dumindu89posted 12 years ago

   Ad units are reduced.
   Will it impact on our revenue?
   Specially for the Hubpages ad program users?

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   1. 74

      MickiSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, reduced ads can mean more revenue. When there are too many ads on the page, users click on the page less.
      
      What we are testing is whether or not fewer ads will do this. So, far, we seem to be making a little more money with fewer ads. Here's why:
      
      1. More users will engage and read the page. With too many ads on first impression, they click the back button to search and select another site.
      
      2. With more users engaged on the page, it means more clicks to other ad units that are worth more per click--for example, the leader board at the top or the ads that are inline in your hub.

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      1. 90

         Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I hope you are looking further than HP ads or adsense. Amazon is the thing that matters to me. Ebay is probably important to others.

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      2. 0

         klanguedocposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Since HP started their little experiment, I have 300-500 less users per day and a 60% reduction in ad revenue.

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4. 73

   Max Daltonposted 12 years ago

   Sorry for repeating the concerns of others, but I've read the last three pages of comments and I noticed other people have been experiencing lower earnings since the new template was put into place. Almost all of my hubs are technology hubs, and ever since this template was introduced, I've experienced a similar flow of traffic to what I got before, but on comparable days my earnings are significantly lower. The load speed and readability is nice, and I think it looks good, but there's no doubt my earnings are dropping, and I can only assume it's as a result of this.
   
   Best,
   
   Max.

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   1. 90

      Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't assume anything too quickly but my Amazon earnings have been sub par over the last few days. Like you, my pages are tech heavy.

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   2. 61

      Jason Menayanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Is that on a total earnings basis, or on an RPM/CPM basis? Lots of users are reporting lower traffic after a Google algorithm update, and traffic drops usually mean revenue drops.

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   3. 83

      molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have noticed a 50% drop in page views on one specific hub.
      
      The hub is titled 'This Site Has Insecure Content.'
      
      It is a step by step guide on how to fix Google chromes SSL certification issues.
      As the fix does not entail turning off SSL certification and so leaving our computers vulnerable.
      
      It has been a very popular hub and has been regularly shared by Google Groups and Forums.
      
      Since the share buttons have been removed I can only assume that people have stopped sharing it?
      
      These are tech savvy users and could easily share the URL, but as we know when people have become used to the ease of using a share button, they can become lazy.
      
      I think it is a mistake not to have the share buttons on the tech hubs.The sooner they are restored the better.
      
      Assume nothing about user behavior without solid evidence.
      
      The above hub is such evidence. It's views were consistent from the date it was published.
      It has dropped 50% since the new tech format was introduced. 
      
      I like the new format but 'looks' are not everything.
      
      Some of the ugliest websites in the world are still successful.

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5. 73

   Max Daltonposted 12 years ago

   Hi Jason,
   
   You're right. My traffic did take a hit for a few days as a result of the Google algorithm change, but it's been trending back upward over the last couple of days. I guess I just panicked because I've seen two of the worst CPM days I've had in months over the last week; the other days were fairly average, but those two days really struck a bit of fear in me. I'll wait and see how thing fare over the next couple of weeks before I press the panic button again.
   
   Thanks for making me revisit this issue and check myself.
   
   Best,
   
   Max.

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   1. 61

      Jason Menayanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for checking. Google traffic swings are, sad to say, rather normal (I've been here for over 5 years and have seen them plenty of times even in the pre-Panda era). However, Micki's team is very much looking at click-through rate as part of the Hub redesign testing, so ad performance is very much part of the evaluation.

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      1. 53

         janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Just a thought
         Testing page design optimization and click though rates needs to consider the audience attracted to the site. Getting more 'buyers' will help CTR. But there is a time delay on how the page design change will affect traffic and who will be attracted and opens the page. The ranking and hit-rates changes for a new design will take time to take effect (weeks?).
         Isn't there are danger that the experiment is evaluating CTR based on the rank and audience for the OLD design?

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6. 87

   andyozposted 12 years ago

   Only just noticed the changes, first impressions, hate them!  After taking a little more time to view and check everything out..... HATE THEM!!!
   
   I'm usually all for change and improvements, but to me the new Hubs look awful.  Far to narrow and don't like that I have lost an add on the right.  The Hubs I have in this section get a lot of views and I've just checked on Adsense and the clicks are down slightly since the changes.  Admittedly it's early doors but anything that could potentially cost me money is not good.  Really not happy about the changes and seriously hope these are not going to be rolled out anywhere else.

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7. 81

   Bill Yovinoposted 12 years ago

   Add me to the list of disgruntled technology Hubbers.  My hubs have very low traffic compared to most, but even my tiny traffic has decreased by more than 50% over the last week. The new layout is horrible. Not a fan.

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   1. 53

      janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      

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8. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Ya really need to at least put that tweet button back... I am known to tweet other hubber's hubs a lot, and I'm feeling deprived.

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   1. 53

      janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      They're tweaking the tweet - In FASHION the tweet is in a little box ('cage') that goes up and down as you scroll!

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      1. 75

         lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That's been there for a long time already.

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         1. 53

            janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry, I did not notice it as its 'home' is below the last ads/related in the right column - you have to scroll down a couple of pages to see it - I guess the load time issues remain. I Live in Hope of a good outcome.

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            1. 75

               lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Its way better than having it on the top. This way people will actually share if they like the hub. No one ever shares before reading - at least I don't

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               1. 53

                  janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  I share after reading the first few paragraphs - If it sounds good I share. Check this out!

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                  1. 75

                     lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Ya but that's when you reach the share options right?

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                     1. 53

                        janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        Its 40 lines and 370 words roughly before you see the cage - if you are reading you don't notice it until is starts to descend - another 100 words roughly. May as well leave it off. Its hidden away anyway.

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                        1. 83

                           molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           I did see the floating buttons before but haven;t seen them for days now. Am I missing something?

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                           1. 83

                              molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              There are no share buttons on the tech hub still? But I guess you are referring to the fashion hubs?

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                           2. 53

                              janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              Sing along
                              Where have all the buttons gone?
                              Long time passing
                              Where have all the buttons gone?
                              Long time ago
                              Where have all the buttons gone?
                              Simone has picked them every one
                              When will they ever learn?
                              When will they ever learn?

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9. 81

   Bill Yovinoposted 12 years ago

   I'm really surprised at some of the changes being made on Hubpages. Taking the new video hubs as an example, it's been well established in the industry that auto-play videos are NOT best practice. I applaud the efforts to speed up the loading of pages, but you need to be clever about it so that you don't eliminate elements that users rely upon. Trial and error with production pages is not an appropriate way forward. Hubpages really needs to bring in some UX experts.

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   1. 87

      Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I wonder if autoplay is a requirement for Google for it to count as a video hub. 
      
      I don't like the autoplay feature either, especially for HubPages, because I am expecting something quiet to read from this site.  I know if something says "YouTube" that I should save it for when I am not at work, but I wouldn't get any way of knowing that it is a video if it is a link from someone's hub.

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10. 91

    Cardisaposted 12 years ago

    Dear Staff, the section below the hub/above the comments "Others are also reading" have five unrelated hubs there. I don't have the option of removing these links and Google just rolled out another update which included penalty for unrelated links. Is it possible to remove this section until it's all figured out?

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    1. 75

       lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I Think there shouldn't be any form of linking to others hubs. We know the good ones so if at all we want to link we could do it ourselves right?

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       1. 91

          Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, I would rather do that myself. Those links are unrelated in my hub and I am sure it's affecting my organic traffic.

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          1. 75

             lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Add hubs to groups that would help if possible.

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             1. 91

                Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                I do that but remember the group thing doesn't show with the new design.

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                1. 75

                   lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   It does, The related hubs at the bottom (Others are reading) are hubs from your groups. I don't know how many of yours show. But, I have 4 hubs in the tech section and all of them are related so I get 3 spots in the others are reading. I don't know if you can get all for yourself; but, 3 are for sure.

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                   1. 91

                      Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      The links in my article only show two of my hubs and they are not in the same group.

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                      1. 75

                         lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         hmm

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    2. 92

       ktrappposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I noticed this too. On a Hub I have about conserving energy at home, the first linked Hub in the list of "what others are reading" is to a Hub I wrote about joining restaurant birthday clubs to get free food. The only thing I could come up with that the two Hubs have in common are the idea of saving. The algorithm that determines what links to include in this spot needs some definite improvement.

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       1. 75

          lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          If it's your hub I guess the two are in the same group. Btw is mine showing up ? I got one on saving energy

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          1. 92

             ktrappposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             You are right Brandon. I actually have the two Hubs I mentioned in the same group. I labeled the group "Tips to Save Money." The way our groups typically show up is with our group name followed by a colon and then the name of the Hub in the group. By showing the group label it helps clarify why there are links to the Hubs.
             
             The way they are presented now in the technology Hub test version under the heading, "What Others are Reading" is awful. I didn't even realize why my own Hubs were listed there. It looks like the list will include 5 links to other Hubs. Since I only had 3 others in my self-made group, those 3 are listed followed by 2 others selected by an algorithm, I suppose. The last 2 are related to the Hub content quite well (sorry - your Hub wasn't there) - so I guess the algorithm isn't at fault.
             
             Anyway - I hate this list of "What Others are Reading" compiled with our groups and then more to round the list out to five. At the very least, the heading should be our group name ("Tips to Save Money" in my example) followed only by links to the Hubs in our group. Other Hubs should have the heading, "Related Hubs" or whatever. Better yet, go back to the old layout.

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             1. 75

                lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                The links should also be no-follow if google is penalizing unrelated links.

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    3. 53

       janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       The huge irony is that Hubbers are being contacted to remove unrelated links from their hubs including from their own subs - yet HP inserts unrelated hubs that the hubber can't control and many ask to be removed. It has been stated that HP is working on three algo's but its never going to be perfect and we will all cop the penalty for the 'unrelated' errors because in Google's eyes we put them there to game the system. There are some links benefits back the other way so its a trade off. In Fashion the top two 'related' are from the authors 'groups'. In the non-experimental topics the 'related' seems to have improved so that it includes 1-2 links to the author's sub - but most of the others are 'clangers'. I suggest - Improve the algo, test it - if it don't work 90% of the time - drop it. Give the author  2 of the 5 if related.

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11. 81

    Bill Yovinoposted 12 years ago

    I hope Hubpages doesn't follow the lead of Cafepress. In an effort to squeeze out a few more dollars, they changed their relationship with their content providers (users) and caused them to leave in droves. Cafepress is now hanging on by a thread.

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12. 73

    Robert Erichposted 12 years ago

    I think it looks great!
    
    My one suggestion is to have the share buttons involved somewhere on the page. It is a pain to have to copy the url code ever time I want to share an article.
    
    I really do like the simple, clean look! Great work.

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    1. 83

       molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I am totally with you Robert. We want the share buttons back on the tech hubs. Everyone uses them.
       
       No-one can be bothered these days in sharing URL's. that is a backwards move.
       Trust me on this one. I deal with users everyday. remember KISS.

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13. 85

    Marisa Wrightposted 12 years ago

    I just wanted to flag a Technology Hub and it took me ages to find the "flag" button.

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    1. 91

       Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I hope it wasn't mine for those unrelated links! lol
       
       I can't seem to find the vote buttons. I always vote up a hub I read and leave feedback, I wonder if I am going blind. I can't seem to find them anywhere.

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       1. 75

          lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          They aren't there at all so no need to worry, your eyes are fine

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    2. 83

       molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Take out the flag button and replace it with a tweet button. Simple and doable in 2 minutes.

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       1. 82

          SimeyCposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Did anyone see the new 'share' button on the Technology hubs - it stays visible even when scrolling down the hub - looks pretty good to me - may need a little tweaking!

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          1. 75

             lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Yes but that's the share with followers. Not yet a share on social networks.

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             1. 82

                SimeyCposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                If you wait a second or so - Facebook Share and Twitter appears....

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                1. 75

                   lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   On tech hubs? That's nice. I guess FB and Twitter should appear before the sharing on HP. But, its a good improvement

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          2. 53

             janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I personally find the share slider button very annoying and it distracts my attention when reading. Left side is the wrong place.
             Why not put the share buttons, inside the share button if it's needed to reduce loading times, back on the top of the page - which is common practice and where users expect them to be. Satisfy the user -they're the customers- Put it back on top please (the cream floats to the top).

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             1. 81

                Bill Yovinoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                I agree. Floating buttons are VERY annoying. It seems that Hubpages is deviating from best practices more and more.  Stop the insanity!

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             2. 75

                lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Back on the top as I said that's the worst spot. The left side is the best. All popular sites have it there as well.

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14. 70

    equineposted 12 years ago

    Please don't do anything that will limit Revenue or reduce the exposure or professionalism of the pages.

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15. 81

    Bill Yovinoposted 12 years ago

    I see that the format hasn't been reverted yet and that the traffic for my technology hubs is on life-support. Dumb.

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    1. 53

       janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Its a costly experiment with no opt-out and no end in sight.
       Lost earnings, lost reputation - such a shame!
       Pity Fashion & Beauty - 4 weeks of - try this, try that. Authors moaned - to no avail.
       Reminds me of an abba song - on and on and on
       cheers,

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       1. 81

          Bill Yovinoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          And now the Cooking hubs. Arggggh! My daily views are down around 50% since these changes were implemented. Cooking and technology hubs account for most of my output, and now they look terrible. I can't believe that anyone, regardless of experience, thinks that these changes are improvements over the old formats.  They look half-baked.

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16. 92

    Sue Adamsposted 12 years ago

    There is a new (the third) thread on the New Hub Design saga:
    
    http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/97175

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17. 66

    LoneWolfMuskokaposted 12 years ago

    I don't like the empty sidebar area.
    
    I would like to see the author's avatar displayed. Hub score, etc. isn't really necessary.
    
    Next and Previous hub links for groups don't seem to be there anymore. They were hard to find in the old layout, but I don't see them at all in this one.
    
    It seems cold and sterile.

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