How has Hubpages changed in the last 10 years?

1. 89

   paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

   Hi,
   
   I have been on Hubpages for ten years now and I thought I'd like to write about my experience, like I did five years ago (https://toughnickel.com/self-employment … ifferently).
   
   So much has changed in the past few years and I'd like to hear your thoughts about how this platform has evolved over time, I will give you full credits in my hub, don't worry!
   
   Please reply to this thread, I am very interested in hearing about your experience! Thanks!

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   1. 85

      Iwriter1posted 16 months agoin reply to this

      A lot of things have changed since the inauguration of HP. The website put in a lot of effort to keep it a good place for searching information on Google. They succeeded in keeping up with the changing SEO algorithms. The introduction of network websites such as Owlcation, Delishably, Axleaddict, and Toughnickel was a significant step forward. These websites have been very useful for separating high-quality content from regular articles.

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      1. 87

         theraggededgeposted 16 months agoin reply to this

         Good grief, you've published 76 articles since you joined 4 months ago.
         
         What's your secret to such amazing output?

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   2. 96

      ravirajan01posted 16 months agoin reply to this

      Hi Paola, I think we still have many things that have remained positive for Hubpages despite the changes over the years.
      
      The good things are,
      
      1. The structured modules help any writer to write well-defined articles, something which one can hardly find on other platforms.
      2. The niche sites with their defined topics. Getting into a niche is still considered an achievement due to the quality of the articles residing there.
      3. Some of the editors are good and give fantastic constructive feedback and personalized notes that helped me to evolve as a writer
      
      The things to be improved can be,
      
      1. The sense of community is missing, almost non-existent as of now.
      2. The comment system can be made much more simplified
      3. The last point is, of course, the decrease in earning potential over the years.

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2. 86

   WryLiltposted 16 months ago

   I joined Hubpages in early 2010, and it's certainly changed a lot since then. I was quite successful in the early days, in part because I did several 30 hubs in 30 days challenges.
   
   Hubpages helped me learn the basics of SEO without having to pay costly setup fees, and it's the reason I now have a Marketing degree and career.
   
   However, Hubpages has had to go through many iterations and changes, mostly due to the big algorithm changes rolled out by Google in the last ten years. This has made life a lot harder for writers, and decreased income opportunities. Hubpages is one of the few quality third party writing sites left, and I do miss the days when it was so easy to write and earn here.

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3. 95

   jansharesposted 16 months ago

   There are so many changes of note. The most impactful for me is the decrease in connection and community. There is a small community that still exists in poetry, but community used to be promoted by HP on a much larger scale. I'm sure you remember how active the forums and Q&A used to be, not to mention the sense of community through commenting on each other's articles. I miss the excitement we used to have. I've been here for 11 years and have survived the technical changes, but the decrease in community connection has really taken away the main thing, IMO, that made HP a vibrant writing community where we supported and learned from each other while honing our craft.

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4. 87

   theraggededgeposted 16 months ago

   One of the best things HP ever did was the Apprentice program. It took a bunch of inexperienced hubbers and taught them loads about writing, titles, research, etc. I'm not sure how many times they ran it, maybe four? It was so helpful. And they paid us for each hub we wrote. On my course it was $6.08 per article. I think it was higher for the first intake.
   
   Trying to remember what year it was... just checked one of those hubs, it was 2012.

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5. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 16 months ago

   Certainly, the downgrade of sense of community is a major issue, and the way in which this forum is now polluted by spam.
   
   Every morning when I log on I see huge numbers of people trying to sell the best digital marketing courses somewhere in the Indian sub-continent. I used to report them, but it's become so overwhelming I can't be bothered anymore.
   
   Even though I've been earning my crust through writing for more than 50 years I still learned a lot from this forum. Now sadly, most postings focus on what's wrong with HubPages, because there are problems - placement of ads, death of comments, erratic editing - that seem intractable.
   
   And, don't get me started on Google messing with the lives of writers. Harumph.

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6. 93

   Kenna McHughposted 16 months ago

   I have 16+ years with HP, and it is no longer a community of writers engaging and supporting each other.
   
   I am sticking my neck out when I say the forum posts are more political and sometimes combative.
   
   Spam occurs more, but it's died down of late.
   
   HP used to be transparent, where Paul would inform situations HP was experiencing and how it would affect us. It seemed more personal, like we were a team, helping each other.
   
   I remember when Paul posted about HP's first monthly payout of 10K to a writer and how pleased he was to adjust the company's PayPal account to accommodate the payment.
   
   I used to do quotes on the forum, and some writers complained. Other writers supported me. But Paul posted that he liked my quotes and didn't see any harm in them—I thought that was nice of him.
   
   Only a few writers voice their complaints about low rankings, views and CPMs, and HP staff have tuned them out. I wish other writers would post and tell us how they are doing. Is it really that bad?
   
   Perhaps, today, our complaints and hardships on forums and in emails to HP are futile. We should concentrate on writing and producing high-quality articles instead.
   
   It appears editors no longer work hard. With that, where do we go when an editor hacks a high-ranking article, and the HP form letter is glib, stagnant, unrelated and unresolved?
   
   Has the Internet or TAG evolved into impersonal support?

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7. 89

   paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

   @wrylilt Thank you for sharing about your experience and well done for persevering for 13 years! Yes, it seems that now it's so much harder to earn money here (and elsewhere too of course) but as you said it's good to have a platform where you can self-publish while also finessing your writing and marketing.

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8. 89

   paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

   @janshares So true! The comments section seems to have vanished from most hubs, especially the new ones as they seem to be completely devoid of any comments and even the ability to comment. I guess the acquisition by Maven also shifted Hubpages in a different direction, plus all the SEO stuff that we literally have to re-learn on a weekly basis! In the past few days I wanted to engage more in the forums as I haven't done it in a long time and I am happy to see some good interactions. Thank you for  your input!

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9. 89

   paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

   @theraggededge That's so interesting! I joined after the apprentice scheme, such a shame, it sounds like a fantastic opportunity for writers! Glad you managed to take advantage of it while it was available.

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10. 89

    paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

    @ruperttaylor Yes, it's such a shame when forums become so "dry" and overwhelmed by spam... I wonder if there should be a slight verification process before joining the platform, nothing too strict but at least offer some protection against spambots...

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11. 89

    paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

    @kenna-mchugh 16 years, wow, congratulations! I don't have a solution to the problems you have highlighted, but my guess is that as a community we can still try and support each other -  if the forums are not the right place, we can always use the messaging function. For example, as I can't find a way to comment on new hubs or featured hubs because there is no comments section, I now leave fan mail on the author's profile. It's not as user-friendly as it was before, but I strongly believe that good writing needs celebrating and acknowledging. Thank you for sharing about your experience on the platform.

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12. 85

    Iwriter1posted 16 months ago

    I am grateful for the compliment. The only thing that keeps me going is my constant dedication and willingness.

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13. 89

    paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

    @Iwriter1 Yes, that's true that these changes have boosted some articles. I just wish us writers could earn just a teeny tiny bit more!

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14. 89

    paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

    @Iwriter1 Ps I am a native Italian speaker, your hub about translating fruit names into Italian caught my eye but unfortunately it contains several errors I'm afraid

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    1. 85

       Iwriter1posted 16 months agoin reply to this

       @paolaenergya please let me know the errors. I will mend the issues.

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15. 89

    paolaenergyaposted 16 months ago

    @ravirajan01 Hi Ravi, great points there - currently I can't even find the comments in some hubs anymore or add a comment.
    About the structured modules, WordPress have something similar but I get your point about structuring each hub. Thank you for your input.

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