Tag Archives: HubMob

Weekly Topic Inspiration: The Next Generation HubMob

For a couple of years, HubPages has offered a special program called HubMob, which offers a new search-friendly topic each week that Hubbers can write on as a group.  HubMob has been an excellent help to those looking for an extra challenge, a cure for writer’s block, or simply the opportunity to write in a more social setting.

Last Monday, Princessa announced that she and the HubMob team will be retiring.  On behalf of HubPages staff and the entire community, I want to thank team HubMob for everything they have done!

If you enjoyed participting in the weekly HubMob, don’t worry- we’re rolling out its next generation this coming Monday: Weekly Topic Inspiration.

Weekly Topic Inspiration will be very similar to HubMob.  Each week, we’ll post a sticky thread in the forums sharing a new topic and pointing to a question.  All you have to do to participate is write a Hub on the week’s topic by answering that question.

In addition to forum posts, we shall also be sharing the new topics each week as events on our Facebook page to make them more convenient.  We encourage you to recommend new topics for future weeks by leaving suggestions in the forum thread or as comments on a Weekly Topic Inspiration Facebook event.  If we choose your topic, you’ll be the Hubber to ask the question for the week!

We will also occasionally offer additional guides and tips on how to cover a particular subject successfully in the online world, since we have found (and you may well have discovered) that some approaches work better than others.

For more information on the Weekly Topic Inspiration, visit our Learning Center guide.  Thanks again to the HubMob team, we’ll miss you, but look forward to seeing you around the site 😉

5 Ways to Fight Writer’s Block

There comes a time in every writer’s life where ideas don’t flow quite as easily as they once did.  Being faced with writer’s block can put a huge damper on life, but luckily, there are ways to fight back!

Here are some great ways to fight writer’s block on HubPages:

  1. Participate in the weekly HubMob: Every week, the HubMob team shares a new topic and challenges Hubbers to write Hubs on it!  These topics are search-friendly and perfect for getting your writing back on track when you are running out of inspiration.  To see each week’s new HubMob theme, simply go to the Forums section of the site – the weekly topic will be stickied.
  2. Participate in HubPages contests: HubPages periodically hosts contests related to a particular category.  Participating gives you something to write about, plus you’ll have the chance to win prizes! Our current upcoming contest, Money Grows on Hubs, is related to the Personal Finance category.
  3. Try your hand at keyword research: By doing a bit of keyword research, you can discover absolute treasure troves of great subjects to write on.  Check out our Learning Center to learn how to get started.
  4. Get academic: We recently launched a page for Students on HubPages and are showcasing new academic Hubs every week.  Why not research something interesting to you and publish your findings on HubPages, or edit and publish some of your old school papers on the site?
  5. Read the work of other Hubbers for inspiration and ask for ideas in the Forums: The HubPages community is wonderfully supportive and always willing to give helpful advice, plus reading other Hubbers’ Hubs may give you some ideas for your own!

Other simple actions such as working on something else for a while, going for a walk, talking with friends, and simply taking some time to relax can make a big difference, too.

The best thing about writer’s block is that it is temporary – and it might be just what you need to refresh your style or start exploring a new subject!

HubPages’ Special Programs

As I am settling into the HubPages community, I find myself floored by its amazing special programs!

First I became acquainted with HubNuggets, which not only involves insanely hilarious weekly hubs but also fun voting and a chance for new Hubbers to step up and strut their stuff.  Then I discovered HubMob, helping Hubbers bust through writer’s block with new and exciting themes every week.  Next I came to meet the site’s wonderful HubGreeters, who make HubPages feel like a real, neighborly community, doing the online equivalent of bringing warm apple pie to new families on the block.

HubTrails blew my mind with the extent to which it has already mapped the world, and the HubChallengers out there inspire me in my own efforts to write and publish regularly. Continue reading →

Some Interesting HubMob Stats, Facts and Figures

For a little over 2 months now I’ve been running an idea that I came up with called the Weekly HubMob. Basically what the HubMob consists of is one single topic area that I choose each week that every Hubber can answer by publishing a Hub based upon their own take on the topic area. Wow, that sounded way more confusing than it really is…maybe a step-by-step list will help?

A HubMob works something like this:

  1. I come up with a ‘traffic-friendly’ topic that is posted each week as a Request. For example, this week I posted this Request about ways to save money and find deals on stuff.
  2. After I create the Request, I then post links to the Request and some other instructions on what the HubMob is, how to join it and why you should even care about it inside of the Hubber’s Hangout Forum. It’s always listed at the top of the Forum so that everyone can hopefully notice it. Here is what this week’s HubMob Forum post looks like.
  3. Once a Hubber gets a chance to take a look at the weekly topic and decides what they’d like to write about, then they click on the Request, write their Hub and publish it once it’s ready for the world to see. The Hubber is also asked to include a HubMob image and an RSS Capsule for the rest of the HubMob Hubs inside of their Hub. This provides some great cross-promotion and reading among the group of HubMob Hubs.
  4. After the Hub is published, the Hubber that wrote it is asked to post a link to their HubMob Hub in the Forums along with a brief description of what they wrote about and why. This helps the rest of the HubMobsters understand exactly why each HubMob Hub was written and how it applies to the overall HubMob Topic.

This week marks the 9th official HubMob and for a few weeks I’ve been meaning to put together some statistics, facts and figures from these first couple months of HubMobbing and today I officially got around to it. Here are some of the crunched numbers that I came up with after taking a look at the Hubs, HubMobsters and Topics that have been part of these first 9 HubMobs:

  • There have been 9 official weekly HubMobs, with the first one, ‘Hairstyles, their history and how to create them‘, being created a little over 2 months ago
  • 129 different Hubbers have become HubMobsters by contributing a Hub to a HubMob. That’s means that on average, 38 HubMobsters join in on the fun of the HubMob each week.
  • 480 Hubs have been written specifically for the first 9 HubMobs, meaning that on average there are 53 HubMob Hubs written each week.
  • The 480 HubMob Hubs have been viewed a combined 103,939 times over the past 9 weeks. This means that each HubMob on average has received a little over 11,500 views and that each HubMob Hub has received right around 215 views.
  • The HubMobster with the most published HubMob Hubs is Julie-Ann Amos with 24 total.
  • The HubMobster with the most HubMob Hub views is Anna Marie Bowman with 10,315 views total on 7 HubMob Hubs. Her single most popular HubMob Hub is Halloween Hairstyles.

As you can see, in just 9 short weeks the HubMobs are already showing some amazing stats, not to mention that we’re all having a ton of fun joining in on each one. If you ever want to join in on a HubMob you can always go to www.HubPages.com/info/hubmob and you’ll be directed to the most recently created HubMob so that you can jump right on in and become a HubMobster with no problems. If you have any questions, comment or ideas about the Weekly HubMob, please let me know.