Years With Hubpages, What I've learned, and What You Need to Know Essay

I recently received my 4 (update I’ve been here 7 years now and my advice is the same) year accolade and was caught by surprise. FOUR YEARS!?!? Where did time go? When I started here I was a work from home mom who’s two children had both started school. I was bored in between chores and work. So I sought out something to do with my time. I never would have guessed that I would build friendships and end up loving time spent on a website so much!

Time has passed, I now have another child, who is often on my lap as I type away. Her beautiful blonde hair falling over MY eyes usually blocks half the computer screen. At the age of 3 she doesn’t grasp the concept of her head not being see through, but that’s okay because HubPages wouldn’t be the same if I actually saw both sides of it at one time.

When I started here I would have never considered myself a writer. I’m not sure if even now I really qualify for the title. The most I had done when starting here were some poems back as a teen. I’m pretty sure my constant obsession with making lists really didn’t qualify me as a writer either. With time though I have at least caught on to the general concept. Put relevant words together, try not to misspell anything, and hope the random thoughts in my head made sense after being compiled together for my readers.

When it comes to HubPages, I’m not sure the learning ever ends. So here are my recommendations for everyone:

• Read the Learning Center when in doubt. Let me say this one again, READ THE LEARNING CENTER. Everything you need to know about HP is there!!!
• Ignore the number on your profile picture. This is even more important with the recent changes to the hubber score. Try somehow to get it to 85 (but that may be harder than ever with their crazy ways that make no sense in calculating it) so that your links are follow. I want to give this one a little more attention. There are many here who feel they are too good to get a score so low. They feel their years in writing entitles them to be disgruntled at the low score they receive here. If you happen to be one of those people let me give you some words of advice. If you are so good that you can’t take the crap that comes with writing here, just move on instead of complaining about it all the time. If you are that great I’m sure finding a different basket to place your eggs in won’t be so hard. Not being rude, just realistic!
• Learn all you can about keywords.
• Don’t feel obligated to follow everyone. This is not twitter people! If you don’t have time to read their stuff then following them is kind of a moot point. And don’t get your feelings hurt if someone doesn’t follow you back, maybe you just write about topics they know they won’t read. Not a bad thing and it doesn’t imply anything personal.
• Do NOT write about anything involving child abuse awareness and expect to keep your ads!
• Serial Killers are also a No-No if you like providing detailed information for your reader AND having ads. Also pretty much anything else that may require you to use words that google and HP don’t want associated with their ads.
• Be prepared to get caught in some sort of Google update.
• Don’t freak out when statistics aren’t updated for hours. Maybe days!
• Likewise don’t panic when one day you end up with statistics that are going backwards instead of forward. I promise it is just a glitch and HubPages staff will fix it!
• Don’t expect to get Google Adsense approved in the first couple of weeks. Give it time, write quality articles that are Google friendly, and be patient!!
• Love it or leave it! If this place becomes more stress than fun, then maybe you should reconsider your platform. With everything we love, comes some stress, but it should never be more of an annoyance than it is enjoyable.
• Remember you can make money with a less than perfect hubber score. Mine has dropped into the low 80’s and I still make more money here than the majority of hubbers. (not bragging because I promise it still isn’t much)

One thing is for sure, every web site has that person that is annoying. I know 100% that I am that person for a few people. When it comes down to it though, this site is full of heartwarming, kind, generous people. I hate to sound so cold, but I really am not a people person. In fact I typically dislike all people. Well at least until they give me a reason not to dislike them. Many here at Hubpages have hit that soft spot in my heart. Here are just a few.

• Billybuc– This is the only person on all of Hubpages that I have on my personal facebook page. I’m usually very protective of my identity, but there is just something about Bill that I think many of his 1800 and something followers find comforting. He’s kind, smart, a wonderful writer, and the man has been through a lot of crap in his life and turned out pretty damn awesome! So that makes me respect him, and I consider him a friend. You will find his articles on his city farm and adoption an enjoyable read.
• LongTimeMother– Those of you who follow me know that my family hit some really rough times. When that time happened this wonderful stranger went out on the line and made a forum thread for me. She rallied around me while my family got back on their feet. She is a beautiful person who I will likely remember for the rest of my life. I had never had a stranger show that amount of kindness to me. It will not be forgotten. On top of that she writes about all sorts of great topics, including my favorite, off grid living!
• fpherj48 – She’s a wonderful writer, levelheaded, and something about her screams wisdom. She is a very common sense no nonsense type replier.
• ChristinS – I’m not exactly sure what it is about her, but I like her. She writes about wonderful topics, and she’s the one female writer here that I almost always agree with. She’s just got a lot of common sense to her!
• dashingscorpio- Based on the hubs and opinions of Dashing, I have always assumed that dashing is a male. Though I can’t say 100% that is true. He/She writes no non sense hubs about mostly love and relationships. He/She always writes questions that inspire me to use my brain. I enjoy any writer who can do that.
• jonnycomelately – This is a man of wisdom. Though his hubs are few, his comments are meaningful, intelligent, and well thought out. I enjoy reading anything he writes, even if it is simply a forum reply.

The list is short. I am sure I left someone out and will later regret it. The writers here are often what keeps the balance between stress and enjoyable for me. I don’t follow many, but those that I do I really enjoy.

The biggest thing I have learned in my 4 years here has nothing to do with writing. I learned to just be me. I’m opinionated, confused religiously, and some times a loudmouth. There are plenty of reasons for many of you not to like what you see. Sometime between the second and third year here I figured out I don’t really care. I stand for what I believe in. I express my thoughts. I do my best to be respectful. When it comes down to it, this is the internet. I can’t expect to like or be liked by everyone. I’m just going to be me and if along the way I meet like minded people, then I welcome the opportunity to enjoy my time here on HP with them.

I hope that all of you are enjoying the benefits of the Hubpages community as much as I have.