HubPages update

1. STAFF

   pauldeedsposted 14 years ago

   We just deployed a few changes to HubPages.  The biggest changes are:
   
   1. Q&A short answers - You can now answer questions with either a short answer or a hub, and answers can be voted up or down by the community.  Some of the restrictions on what can be asked in a question have been lifted.
   
   2. Create a hub page - You can now choose from 3 different starting layouts, or you can clone the layout of any of your existing hubs.
   
   3. Home page / Categories - You can now personalize the topics that appear on the home page by joining the fan club of categories that you are interested in.
   
   4. Safari, Chrome, and Opera Support - We've improved the compatibility of HubPages with these browsers.  Support is still at the beta level, but we think most tools on the site including the Hub Editor should work.  If you notice any problems, please let us know.
   
   5. Facebook / Twitter - When you publish a new hub, you can now easily add it to your facebook feed or tweet about it.
   
   Quite a few things have changed, and as always there may be new bugs.  If you notice anything unusual please let us know.
   
   Thanks!

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      GeneriqueMediaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      ALL great changes!
      
      And Opera has always been the best browser to use on HP, to be honest. It's the only browser I've used between all three major OSes that correctly displays my pages.
      
      But then again, it is the most standards compatible as it is.
      
      The Q and A thing rawks sawks, thanks for that too. And the layout/clone thing...PERFECT!
      
      Sincerely,
      G|M

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      MissJamieDposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I love being able to personalize everything, cool! It would be fun if we could "pretty up" our profile pages too, with backgrounds, quotes, etc. Not like MySpace in general, but the artistic part of it is fun:)

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      Julie-Ann Amosposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Great news thanks!  I've been asking for the ability to "clone" a hub since I joined, so this is fab thanks!

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      girly_girl09posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I definitely appreciate the compatibility with Chrome, it is by far, my favorite browser. The only thing that I've noticed (and it doesn't happen all the time) is that when I'm trying to format text in bold, it doesn't always work.
      
      For example, the other day I made a bullet list of system specs on my new laptop. I made all the specs in bold and then wrote a line next to the bold text with normal text. When I went to publish the hub, the bold formatting was gone and now that part of the hub looks sort of jumbled. I've made similar lists before in IE and have never had a problem with text not appearing bold after publishing.

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         larryfreemanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hi girly_girl09,
         
         Thanks for reporting this issue.  I'll take a look to see what's up.
         
         -Larry

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   gamergirlposted 14 years ago

   Hooray!!! I was just noticing a few of these changes.

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   Mishaposted 14 years ago

   I especially appreciate numbers 2 and 5! You rock guys!

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   Lgaliposted 14 years ago

   thanks for this all new features

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   cindyvineposted 14 years ago

   Hey cool, shoulda looking here before publishing my two hubs today, but cool new features!

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   Whitney05posted 14 years ago

   I like how when creating a hub, you no longer have to scroll to the top in order to add capsules. There is now a bar that appears. Problem that I see is that it doesn't offer ebay capsule, only amazon.
   
   I can't wait to check out the layout options.
   
   For the short answer, does that mean if there's a request that we already have a hub about, we can post the link to the hub?
   
   Edit: Just checked out the layout options... Is there an easier way to search through existing hubs in order to copy a layout?
   
   Edit: I now see both amazon and ebay capsules on the bar, but the names and logos are switched. IE it says ebay but has the amazon logo.

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   Janettaposted 14 years ago

   Awesome these changes look great!! The short answer thing looks pretty neat and def liking the FB deal

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   weblogposted 14 years ago

   Thanks a lot Hub Team

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   WeddingConsultantposted 14 years ago

   Fantastic! I really like #1, 2 and 5.
   
   Sweet new changes...hubpages is always getting better

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    Everyday Miraclesposted 14 years ago

    Oooh! Cool! Thanks Paul!

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    Ryan Hupferposted 14 years ago

    I'm LOVING these new changes...keep the comments and feedback coming!
    
    
    
    Also, Fawntia wrote a great blog on the new changes to the Q&A section over here: http://blog.hubpages.com/2009/05/new-fe … s-answers/

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    Whitney05posted 14 years ago

    Ryan, can we put links on the short answer for hubs that we have that are already written and pertain to the hub request?

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       WeddingConsultantposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Ohhh, now I really like that option. That's something we've been talking about doing for a long time- answer a request with an already published hub!

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    2. STAFF

       Fawntiaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not Ryan (obviously), but I think it's fine if you do that.

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    Shirley Andersonposted 14 years ago

    LOVE these changes!  Thanks, HubPages!

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    Whitney05posted 14 years ago

    Change my mind... The toolbar in the edit mode is irritating. I'd like to have the option to close it.

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       Ryan Hupferposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       haha...that didn't take long.

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          Whitney05posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          hahaha yea I know.. It was kind of neat when I noticed it before I saw this thread... Then when I continued to finish the hub I was working on and then start on another, it started to get in the way. I kept trying to close it, but there's no 'X' to close. I guess it's just reaction and whatnot to close boxes.
          
          Oh and with the Tweet the new hub thing... By setting up the Twitterfeed, it automatically updates when you post new hubs, when you set up your hubber RSS feed that is, so I'm not sure how necessary that feature is. I think it'd be better to have it on the share it option though so that other people can tweet the hub, and it's already there.

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    Patty Inglish, MSposted 14 years ago

    HubPages has just given me a boost of energy to write more with these fantastic changes. Thank you a million times! I love the constant development toward good things.

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       Ryan Hupferposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Wooo Whooo!! Get to writing, Patty!
       
       

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    Ryan Hupferposted 14 years ago

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    aniketgoreposted 14 years ago

    Lovely changes.

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    evemurphyposted 14 years ago

    I'm looking forward to trying out all the new features! Thanks! 

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    ngurecoposted 14 years ago

    Q&A short answers: why don't you display adsense ads on those short answers?

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       Ryan Hupferposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Good question.
       
       The truth is that we haven't decided on how the new short Q&A answers are going to play into the overall earnings plan just yet and since it's our first go at it we want to make sure that we get all of the bugs out before any of us (Hubbers or HubPages) attempts to earn ad revenue from it.
       
       Make sense?

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    hassamposted 14 years ago

    Man the changes are awesome!!

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    I'm loving the changes. Love the reminder to tweet about my new hub.
    
    This makes me feel like we are a real team effort here! Glad to see that the Hubpages command central really is into this.
    
    It gives me the confidence to make Hubpages a high priority in my business plan.
    
    Thanks so much.

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    carpesomediemposted 14 years ago

    I am so, so excited about being able to clone other hub layouts!  This makes things so much easier for me when I use a standard hub layout for my hubs.  Thanks, everyone!

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    Reg Brittainposted 14 years ago

    Much appreciated!
    
    I am excited about the FaceBook and Twitter integration.
    
    Thank you!

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    shinujohn2008posted 14 years ago

    Thanks for the nice updates.
    
    Hubpages is getting more professional day by day.

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    oxymoronposted 14 years ago

    Pretty cool

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    Isabella Snowposted 14 years ago

    Yay! 2, 3 and 5 are much, much appreciated!!!!!!

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    sunforgedposted 14 years ago

    awesome clone hub! I totally asked for that months ago!

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    WeddingConsultantposted 14 years ago

    Not that I'm trying to agree with everything Whitney keeps saying, but she just keeps reading my mind and typing it faster than I can.
    
    I agree with the idea of having a option for readers to tweet the hub. It's 100x better if others talk about our hubs rather than us self-promoting.
    
    So although the current (new) option to tweet our own hubs is good, it would be better if there was an option to encourage others to tweet our hubs.

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    1. STAFF

       pauldeedsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       That option is available under share this.

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          Ryan Hupferposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          

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             Debby Bruckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Perfect. I see this option elsewhere on blogs, so having it on Hubs is familiar to visitors. Great integration. Thanks Ryan.

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       Whitney05posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Like Paul and Ryan has already said, the option is there already... Which is why I said  "it's already there" ;-)

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    AEvansposted 14 years ago

    How wonderful as always great job and thank you!!!

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    RGrafposted 14 years ago

    These are great!  thanks.

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    Dame Scribeposted 14 years ago

    Jus love how we are so cared for I feel like a flower basking under tender sunlight. Thank you Paul and HP team!

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    Teresa McGurkposted 14 years ago

    Love all the new features.  Most excellent, thanks!

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    waynetposted 14 years ago

    Excellent...now how about a free beer after every hubpage published!!!

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       Ryan Hupferposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Believe me, if Paul Deeds could somehow make that happen he would have built it in a LONG time ago, my friend.

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    WeddingConsultantposted 14 years ago

    This is me reading posts:
    
    
    As you can tell, I am sometimes blinded by my ugly glasses.

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    Profmaggyposted 14 years ago

    The changes are great and make hubbing an even better experience.

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    Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

    Just published a new hub, I love the twitter and facebook integration and the toolbar is great, no more moving up and down the page all the time.
    
    Thanks guys...and girls.

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       Isabella Snowposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I am really loving that new toolbar, so much better than having to scroll up.

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    glassvisageposted 14 years ago

    Woo! Thanks so much for the short-answer feature! There were so many times where I just wanted to write one line or add a link Hopefully this can mean more traffic for existing Hubs!

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    dwilliamsonposted 14 years ago

    Hi, this might be a stupid question but can we post a question in the Q&A and then answer it ourselves?

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       ladyvenusposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I love the new updates on hubpages perhaps they realized the need to update it. Wink*

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    packerpackposted 14 years ago

    Amazing changes. Not writing any Hub now but I am sure it will be a new and good experience. Thanks Hubpages.

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    DarleneMarieposted 14 years ago

    Love the improvements to HubPages!  Great work Paul & HubTeam for making HubPages a great looking place!

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    Research Analystposted 14 years ago

    Progress is always a good thing. Love the new features. Thanks!

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    Rudraposted 14 years ago

    Thank you, Hubpages is getting better and better.

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    DarleneMarieposted 14 years ago

    <--- Trying to contain herself.  I am so THRILLED with not having to go to the very top to add a capsule while working on a Hub I could EXPLODE!
    
    Thanks so much HubTeam!!!!

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    ripplemakerposted 14 years ago

    I noticed the changes and am glad am able to say thank you for making HubPages better and better all the time.  Thank you!

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    rethansmithposted 14 years ago

    Is there a way for me to grab an rss feed for topics/categories, and subtopics?

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    premsinghposted 14 years ago

    'Short answers to the questions asked' is really a change needed for a long. It will be very useful as some requests require only short answers and not a complete hub. I did not use this feature till now but I am sure that there is a provision to link your hubs as answer to these requests. This will help avoid duplication of information. Second change is related to compatibility to few browsers. I love to use opera but latest versions of opera have conflicts with edit (text, comments)mode of hubpages.Now these browsers are compatible with HP so these browsers can be used. Thanks HP for the changes (much needed).

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    viryaboposted 14 years ago

    Great new features hubpages, but when can we fix banners into our capsules?
    Irritating that i cant promote some banners and active product pictures.
    can we look forward to that feature soon?
    Asides that, you guys are great

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    Dorsiposted 14 years ago

    Thanks - you all continue to make this such a great site. I love the facebook and tweet button.
    Cool!!

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