Graduated Apprentice Program

1. 0

   GoldenThreadPressposted 11 years ago

   I have been reading the latest forum post on the HP Apprenticeship Program. I actually applied within the first month or so of joining HP. I wasn't accepted due to my newness, I was wondering if HP ever thought about a tiered apprenticeship program, one that might have three layers of growth so that writers could participate in to better their online writing skills from the moment they sign up.
   
   Perhaps the first layer would be the Bronze Star Apprentice and this tier would direct each writer through the logistics of HP. Writers would choose topics and then get immediate feedback, so that they can make the necessary changes to their Hubs. SEO and other information can be disseminated so that newbies can begin to develop an audience. And, depending upon the format of the program, writers could move freely from one level to another or be elevated due to accomplishing the rubrics set out by HP. The second tier or Silver Star could work as the intermediate level in which writers would delve into video making and more complex articles. Again, they would have immediate feedback to improve and refine their Hubs. Finally, the third tier or Gold Star Apprentice would be for those writers who have mastered the skills necessary to advance to the highest level of achievement and writing. And, there could even be a mentoring level, elite (which we already have), etc.
   
   HP could offer incentives, for example a certain $ for tier one, $$ for tier two, $$$ tier three. Contests with the same theme could be offered, too, but be judged on the merits of each level.
   
   I am making this suggestion because there is such a need for feedback plus the need to provide the best content for HP and Google. With rubrics and guidance, I believe that a lot of the questions that are being posted might be minimized, although I am a realist and know that not everyone will agree with this. I believe too that this will open the communication between HP staff and HP writers in a way that might eliminate some of the angst and ill will that I see being posted day after day.
   
   So, for those Hubbers who don't want to participate, they can continue to use the excellent Learning Center videos and articles. I know when I first came in, I studied all the best "elite" writers to see what make their Hubs so successful in conjunction with the Learning Center. It took me many hours of scouring and trial and error to get my articles to produce the effect necessary. I understand this is a process and for those who are serious about making it in online writing, this might help quite a lot of us Hubbers.
   
   The upside, too, is that people will look to HubPages for informative articles--bringing in the possibility for greater revenue and making Google happy. I believe that if we pool our skills and resources, we can make this HP community even better!  Just a thought--Deb

   replyreport
   1. 86

      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think that this would be a great idea.   Maybe you should suggest this to the HubPage Team.

      replyreport
      1. 0

         GoldenThreadPressposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Is there some other place to suggest this? I thought this was the correct place to present this idea. --Deb

         replyreport
2. 88

   Simone Smithposted 11 years ago

   GoldenThreadPress, this is a fabulous idea- and something we have been discussing internally for quite some time.
   
   We are in the midst of developing a feature that will provide a rubric and instant feedback to all Hubbers, regardless of their participation in a special program.
   
   We also have plans to scale up the Apprenticeship Program, however our ability to do so is contingent on:
   1. Getting more manpower (we don't have a budget for that at this moment)
   2. Getting tools built that enable Apprenticeship Program Mentors to give feedback more efficiently and therefore take on more Apprenties (we have a bunch of other projects in our backlog, so there's also a wait on this happening)
   
   Rest assured that we DO want to make Apprenticeship Program resources available to more Hubbers, though, and that we are currently working on several initiatives through which Hubbers can get more feedback and guidance on their work.
   
   And thanks for the idea about the tiered program! We hadn't considered taking that approach (though we were considering creating an open equivalent of the now closed program)- now we shall!

   replyreport