HubPages Anniversary Notifications: What's Wrong with this Picture?

Hi billybuc,

You have hit a pretty impressive milestone—your 3 Year Anniversary on HubPages!

Fun fact: Leather is a traditional gift given on third year anniversaries. Perhaps today is the day to splurge on a gorgeous purse or briefcase!

Take a look at our Learning Center guides to creating a Stellar Hub with a successful, search-friendly title to make your next Hub a real blockbuster. Already have an idea? Start your next Hub now!

Thanks,
HubPages

In case you haven’t guessed, I just “celebrated” my three year anniversary on the writing site HubPages. During that time I have the following statistics:

• 914 Hubs
• 84,658 Comments
• 590,148 Views
• 2,257 followers

In addition, I have won the following awards:

• 2012 Most Helpful Hubber and Most Beautiful Hub
• 2013 Best All-Around Hubber
• 2014 Best All-Around Hubber and Most Supportive Hubber

Last month I did not earn enough for a payout.

I mention this all for a reason.

I do not mention all this because I am bitter. Far from bitter, as a matter of fact. I have said time and time again that I love this site because of the community of writers. They are why I remain on this site.

I do not mention all this because I am upset over not earning a payout. I only mention the payout aspect for those who wonder about such things. I have never been concerned with payouts or Hub scores. I’m only here to write and interact with other writers. However, the fact that my payouts have diminished over 300% in the past few months, and I no longer qualify for a payout each month after over 900 articles, should give some of you food for thought.

No, I mention all this, and I include the email from the HP staff, to underscore the primary problem with HubPages: they just don’t get it!

A computer-generated message with some silly fact about leather? Really, HubPages? Would it have killed them to send an email from a real human being? Would it have killed them to actually personalize a congratulatory note?

Shame on you, HubPages!

Were you asking that question? If so, here is my answer, so settle in and get comfortable.

It is no secret that HP has problems. Prior to the takeover of Squidoo, writers were deserting HubPages like it was a burning building. They couldn’t get out fast enough in their search for greener pastures….more money….hell, a site that had a management that really gave a damn about the writers.

What the HP staff does not seem to comprehend is that the people making them money are real people. They are flesh and bone and blood, they have feelings, and they can take their words and leave any old time they feel like it if they feel they are not being treated with respect. And at HubPages, they are not being treated with respect.

My anniversary greeting from HP invites me to take a look at the Learning Center to find out how to write a Stellar Hub, and then encourages me to keep writing those Hubs and making them more money. After 914 Hubs, they want me to go read the Learning Center.

I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy!

This is like having a birthday party thrown for me, only to find out I have to pay for the cake, ice cream and gifts.

What the hell is wrong with these people???????

Is anyone out there at HP Headquarters listening??????

And her name is Christy Kirwan. Kudos to Christy for at least taking the time to reach out to writers and interact with them. As for the rest of the staff…..where are you? Hell, who are you? Do you really exist?

There are fifteen people on the HP staff and one….one….of them has made an effort to communicate with more than a form letter to the writers who basically support the site and make money for the site.

One!

Shame on you, HubPages!

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. We were talking about minimum wage laws and something that business owners don’t seem to understand. If you are going to pay employees nine bucks an hour, then you need to, at the very least, make them feel wanted and appreciated. It just makes common sense. Otherwise, the business owner is going to have a revolving door filled with employees coming and going, and that means constant training, and that means increased expenses.

HubPages needs to make the effort to show appreciation to the writers who support their company.

First, HP, don’t bother me with any more of these ridiculous automated messages. They are meaningless and about as warm and fuzzy as a hungry python. I felt more love and support from Sister Mary Elizabeth in 8^th grade, and she hated my guts.

Secondly, take a look at your monthly figures and please take note of the declining numbers. Thousands of writers have left you looking for greener pastures, and thousands more will follow them. I suggest to you that the mass exodus is the fault of management and staff. If you are not going to raise the revenue sharing, and I think it is fairly obvious that you are not, then you really need to work on your people skills.

Repeat after me: writers are human beings and need to be treated with respect. After you have said those words then internalize them until they actually mean something to you.

Thirdly, I want you to have a staff meeting in the near future, and in that staff meeting I want you to tear apart the old business plan and write a new one. The old one is failing miserably. Even you must see that by now. It’s time to do something radical like, oh, I don’t know, treat the writers like they are important?????

I’m tired of seeing my friends leave this site for other opportunities. They are the only reason why I remain here so please, would you make some effort to keep them here. For me….and for yourselves.

Thank you….and hey, thank the computer that sent me my automated anniversary congratulations. It meant the world to me.

2015 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)