I've decided to gradually pull my content off HubPages. With so many posts being no-indexed (by HubPages) it seems I could make more money hosting them myself running Adsense/ Amazon and keeping 100% of the revenue. I already have the blogs up and in need of content. In trying to write for the networks and have some active presence in their communities I have spread myself thin.

You may think there is no point to ever writing for a network. But, I have liked being part of the writing networks for the community, the networking and the sharing of ideas. Also, for the writing discipline of knowing I'm sticking to a schedule and meeting goals not entirely of my own making. Being our own boss is only good when you have a fairly pushy boss.

At HubPages though, the content scraping was pretty much the last straw.  I found two of my posts stolen and even though I sent a DMCA it is just a joke, a waste of time. It's too easy to ignore an email which the writer can't afford to back up with legal fees.

It would be nice if HubPages gave us some support with content scraping/ theft. At the very least, find a way to prevent it. But, they don't seem to be working on anything like that. In the forum they have said it is our content and our problem. However, the way I see it, it is their network and thus they should be offering some support to the writers who write and bring traffic which HubPages profits from.

Anyway, I've been feeling discouraged and decided it was time for a change.

How will writing networks like HubPages, Suite101, About.com and the others fare over the next few years? There have been many changes in the past ten or so years since writing networks began. Some call them content farms.

I've been reading that blogging is dead. Some of these predictions are just for self promotion, trying to write something that will go viral. However, some of them are based on real perception; watching the trends and having an understanding of the way things work.

The individual publishers of blogging are not dead. Social media gurus, content curators and general blog publishers (notice publishers, not writers) are  still linking to content. So content is still out there. It has been getting harder to find quality content versus content which is carelessly written, very repetitive, unoriginal and usually has nothing to say, like a political speech with a lot of words to fill space but actually say nothing.

The web has become commercial versus creative. Less content (which is both unique and freely given) is being created.

Quality of writing has suffered as people really don't care what they publish. It isn't meant to be fit for human consumption and doesn't really need spelling, grammar, punctuation or comprehension in order to be good for SEO (search engine optimization). Quality of the content itself has also suffered, for years. Writing which has a point of view, writing which actually has something to say rather than regurgitating every other article, post and opinion online has been getting harder to find.

As a writer looking at writing jobs being offered I am seeing a big emphasis on social media and keywords. The quality of the content isn't high on the list of importance. So the people writing this stuff, don't need to know how to write -  if they can sell the stuff they write. They sell themselves as content marketers and those are the people who then write for the site.

It isn't the individual blog but the individual writer which makes the content people want to link to.

The bigger/ popular blogs may have hired writers but even the hired writers are writing the content the publishers want to sell. They are often writing for keywords, better SEO practices and Google (even though Google is a bot, not the reading public).

This is pretty much why people have started claiming blogging is dead. Commercial blogging has caused most blog content to be meaningless, just repetitive drool you could find on a lot of other blogs. Very few blogs still post original, valuable content without turning it into an ebook (or some other format) which they sell rather than distribute freely.

Web publishing can not exist in a vacuum where the creative spark is sucked dry.

The people who do still publish original content are having it scraped/ stolen until they become too discouraged to continue publishing. Some quit, some give in and write the stuff that sells and some continue to write but they stop distributing it freely. Making the content for pay then gives them some control over having it stolen.

Not all content you pay for is worth paying for, of course. The commercial publishers think getting paid for an ebook full of nothing useful is a great idea.  Rewrite the same old stuff, hire writers to bang out something with enough words and you can offer up an ebook. Market it the right way and pull in the sales.

Ironic (and sad) how the Internet is eating itself, like an ouroboros (the snake eating it's own tail).

Here's the entire 30 Day Blog Challenge list.

I'm slowly, very slowly, getting through this list (like it's taking me months!).  If you want to join me, let me know and I'll post a link to your blog.

Day 1: List 10 random facts about yourself.

Day 2: Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and describe how they became fears.

Day 3: What is the greatest amount of physical pain you have ever endured?

Day 4: List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self if you could.

Day 5: What are the 5 things that make you happiest right now?

Day 6: What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

Day 7: What is your dream job, and why?

Day 8: What are 3 passions you have?

Day 9: What defines you?

Day 10: Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Day 11: Describe a few of your pet peeves.

Day 12: Describe a typical day in your life.

Day 13: Describe 5 weaknesses you have.

Day 14: Describe 5 strengths you have.

Day 15: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Day 16: What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

Day 17: What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

Day 18: What is the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?

Day 19: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Day 20: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

Day 21: If you could have 1 superpower, what would it be and what would be the first thing you did with it?

Day 22: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

Day 23: List your top 3 hobbies and why you love them.

Day 24: Describe your first job.

Day 25: If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

Day 26: What popular notion do you think the world has wrong?

Day 27: What is your favorite part of your body and why?

Day 28: What is your love language?

Day 29: What were your three favorite toys/games as a child?

Day 30: List 5 things you would hope to be remembered for.

via Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine with my morning quiet time?: 30 Day Blog Challenge.

These are ideas you can use to make your site an asset to yourself, as a writer, and a resource to bring others to your site.

Set up a blog on Blogger/ BlogSpot or WordPress. Pick a theme you can add a background and/ or header graphic to. Your blog should look like something you have done, not a clone from another site. Getting your own domain is a huge asset, if you can afford the cost. This will also give you an email address which will use your domain name.

The best thing about a blog on your website is keeping your site freshly updated and making it interactive without too much fuss on your part. You can update daily, or once a week. Quickly add an inspirational quote, a writing tip, jot down a new publisher/ market, load an image you found or scanned or photographed yourself.

However, a blog doesn't have to be the focus of your site. If you already have a main HTML based web site, make it sidebar blog, a secondary page or a secondary site. Turn a subdomain into the blog if you like. It really does help to keep traffic to your site if they can expect to have something to read when they get there. Avoid link rot, stagnating pages and a bland site in general by adding a blog. Be creative, that's what we do!

If you are not a great graphic artist a few simple text graphics are really all you need. Look for a font you like and make a banner to head your blog. Add some smaller text graphics as navigation links. You don't have to be a great artist to add a little colour and graphics to your blog.

Monitor your traffic, read and respond to comments, keep a guest book, a contact form or some form of message boards available. People are more likely to leave a quick note than send an email. Comments are preferred because they are quick (if you don't go overboard on CAPTCHA and word verification) and people can leave you their links and contact information too.

If you go with the blog plan and turn your site into a resource of some kind (for writers, hobbyists, or a niche topic) you will find it easier to get linkbacks if you are offering original content. If you have a voice of your own and something to say, they will come.

Consider ways of going out to your readers. Post your RSS feed link where it can be easily found. Add your URL to your email signature and your signature links on any forums you join too. Leave comments on other blogs too. Start a newsletter with your best content of the month/ week, depending on how much work you can put into it.

Set yourself up as an expert on your topic/ genre by reaching out to network sites like HubPages, Squidoo, About.com, Suite101 and EzineArticles. Don't copy and paste content right from your blog to the networks. Make some edits, add some new or different information and try a different slant on the topic. Shift things around.

Add surveys, quizzes and personality test type things to your blog now and then. It doesn't have to be rocket science. Keep them fun. Give freebies of some sort. Site awards were popular once. You can update that idea by offering gamification awards for people who visit your site and comment regularly. If you write books offer desktop wallpaper of the cover art from your latest book. Offer a free eBook with tips you've posted in the past.

If you make appearances or attend events keep a schedule available on your site. Of course, keep it updated. You can also keep readers up to date with what you are working on. Let them know you are writing a fresh chapter, proofreading copy, mailing out an article, hearing back from that promising editor, etc. Also, write about professional organizations you are a part of, as they relate to your work. Turn your blog into an information hub for your niche topic or yourself as a writer.

Make sure you also include all your essentials for any freelance business that comes your way: contact information, clips, your writing experience, the services you offer, and so on. Writing is a business, not just an art.

Laura Brown (AKA ThatGrrl) has been a web writer since 1998. She keeps the Word Grrls blog and writes for the HubPages network. In her own time she creates ASCII art and photographs old buildings.

This was originally published (by me) to EzineArticles.

What's keeping you from using Twitter?

Twitter is easy to use. Basically you type in text and hit send. You can do more, but you can get started with the basics and even skip a lot of the extras and not miss them.

I've been using Twitter from the beginning. I like to try new things like Twitter and see how they work. I'm an explorer at heart.

I'm assuming you have already joined and created an account at Twitter. If not, go ahead and do so. You can sign up for an account, free, with your email address and have it link to your Facebook login as a back up login.

You're going to need a user name on Twitter. Pick something you already use on social media accounts like Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Pick a descriptive user name but don't let it get long winded. Keep it all one word, this just makes it easier for you to type. Once you get started with social media you will be typing your user name pretty often in order to pass it around and let people know who you are.

Go Ahead - Start Using your Twitter Account

Login to the Twitter site. Click in the box and type something. You don't need to add anything fancy. You don't need to add your user name (Twitter adds it automatically once you send the post). Stick to 140 characters, this includes spaces and punctuation as well as each letter or number you type. Twitter lets you know how close you are getting to the 140 limit.

Don't worry about the limited characters. Type in one sentence, Most sentences will fit into the 140 character limit easily. Twitter is meant to be quick, lively posts so one sentence is all you usually need. If you do need more to make your point clear think of words you can take out, words you can shorten with characters like &, for instance. Pretty simple so far, right?

Now that you have typed in your sentence, send it out there. All you need to do is click "Tweet". Your post will be sent out to everyone on your Twitter list.

Click Expand to Retweet, Delete, Reply or Favourite a Tweet

So Now You've Posted But....

So you posted but noticed a typo/ typing error or spelling mistake. Just go to your tweet, click on "expand" and click on "delete" from the list of options. You just need to confirm that you want to delete that post and then it will be gone.

You can also retweet the post from someone else this way. Or reply to anyone who has sent you a tweet.

If you want to save or savour the tweet from a friend you can mark it as a favourite here. This will save the post on your Twitter account. The tweet is saved in a file on your Twitter account.

I have an extra option on my Twitter account. It shows up in the image I cut and pasted above. It's called ClassicRT (Classic ReTweet). You can add this option to your web browser if you like. It's an extra - but not essential.

ClassicRT for Google Chrome

ClassicRT Addon for Firefox

Venture Out a Bit...

Wander off the Home section. Click 'Connect' at the top left. Now you can see who has mentioned you. Who has retweeted your posts.

I like to use this side of Twitter to reply to anyone who sent me a note. It is much easier to find replies here. (Especially once your Twitter account gets busy).

How to Report Spam Accounts on Twitter

On the Connect section you will eventually get Twitter spam. This is much like comment spam in a blog or on your posts on HubPages. You can (and should) block or report Twitter spam. Blocking the spamming accounts will keep them from posting to you again. So this is enough if you aren't sure they are spamming. Otherwise, report the account to Twitter staff. Let them deal with it.

Click on the name/ user name on the spam account. This brings up a second window which lets you choose the options to block or report the account. Just click and be done with it.

If this were a friend you could send them a tweet this way as well or go to their Twitter profile. You can also choose to follow or unfollow the user account.

Never send a spam Twitter account a message. NEVER. You may think you are teaching them a lesson, giving them a piece of your mind, or giving them a chance to change their ways. But, all you are actually doing is confirming that you are an active Twitter user. They will put your account on a list which they sell to people looking for active Twitter accounts to send spam to. They will also dig for more information from your Twitter account, like your web address, blog or email address. So, NEVER reply to a spam account on email, your blog, Twitter or anywhere else online. Don't do them any favours.

How to Change your Settings and your Profile on Twitter

Click the icon/ image of the person on the top right of the screen. This gives you options which can lead you to Twitter settings and let you edit your Twitter profile.

You can leave the settings as they are until you have an idea of how and why you want to change any of them. The basic settings will be fine for almost every beginner on Twitter. I've left mine pretty untouched.

I do like to play with the profile settings. I add my own image as face to the Twitter account. I created a background which has my links and whatever else I care to add. (You do need software for this, some kind of image software like Gimp). You can also write a blurb for your profile and add links.

Fun with #Hashtags

The last thing you need to know are hashtags. You may have heard about them already.

Hashtags are just a quick referral tag. Anything at all can be typed as a hashtag. You just add the # in front of it and keep it all one word.

Add a fun hashtag to your Twitter post to illustrate your point, catch someone's attention or see if you can turn a clever phrase viral. (Viral being something that catches on in social media and spreads around in a huge way). Seldom will anything grow to viral proportions but it's kind of fun to try now and then.

Don't go crazy with a lot of hashtags. Consider how much you would want sent to your account before you go on a hashtag binge.

#ThisisaHashtagExample

A few last things to keep in mind...

This really is enough to get you started on Twitter. There's a bit more about Twitter etiquette and just being a smart Twitter user (tweeter) in general.

Don't follow a lot of people you don't know or care to know. Having a lot of followers does not make you rich and famous. It does make you look like a possible Twitter spammer. Real Twitter users will have a balance of people they follow themselves and those who follow them back. You don't want to have people following you from some Twitter follower service either. Those are all spammers who want to bloat their numbers so they can spam and look important. They may have you on account but they won't be reading your posts, following your links or really care about anything you have to say.

Don't post a lot of links or stale quotations. People want to know they are following a real person. They want to follow people who are using their Twitter account as READERS and WRITERS. They want people who will read their post, follow their links and give them feedback now and then. Isn't that what you want from people on Twitter too? So make personal posts which don't include links to be followed and do include some personal chatter. Nothing too dull. Come up with something interesting, something surprising that happened to you, something funny you noticed today... and so on.

Ask questions, send a note to someone using their Twitter name (@thatgrrl is my Twitter user name for instance) try to get a two-way flow of conversation. Don't be afraid to jump into a conversation if you have something useful to add. Watch Twitter hashtags to find Twitter groups who have scheduled online meetings to talk on Twitter.

If you would like someone to follow you back let them know. Busy Twitter accounts have a hard time keeping up with new followers. Many of them are not sincerely following them but just want to get followed back and will likely remove them from their own list once they get followed back. Lost you there? Don't worry about it. Just know that people you would like to notice and follow you back on Twitter will respond if you send them a post on Twitter. Let them know you followed them and tell them WHY you chose to follow them. Do they share your interests, do they write on the same site you do, etc.?

Don't ignore posts on Twitter from other people. Follow an interesting link, leave comments when the links go to blog posts and let people know you followed a link posted to Twitter. Give people feedback on Twitter when they make a witty comment, shared an interesting link, or have a typo in their post. People almost always like a chance to fix a mistake if someone notices and lets them know about it. Not so different from the spinach in your teeth thing. (A friend will always let you know about the spinach stuck in your teeth).

Use your Twitter profile - write something about yourself. Tell people who you are, what you are interested in and what you are doing. Include at least one link they can click on to find you outside of Twitter. If someone thinks about following you, that profile will be a big deciding factor.

Other Places to Find Twitter Help

• The Twitter Guide - A Guide to Using Twitter
• Twitter Help Center | Twitter basics
• Newbie's guide to Twitter | Webware - CNET
• Guide to Twitter - The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter | Webdesigner Depot
• Writer's Guide To Twitter - Inkygirl.com
• A newbies guide to Twitter | Liz Hover's Diary of a Web Gal
• Twitter Guide Book -- How To, Tips and Instructions by Mashable
• Twitter Chats and Hashtags for Writers | Suite101.com
• Twitter: 30 Simple Ways To Supercharge Your Effectiveness On Twitter!
• Twitter For Business: 5 Common Twitter Mistakes
• 9 Twitter Analytics & Statistics Tools
• The Best Way To Get Followers On Twitter
• How to Use The List Function in Twitter
• Stand Out With A Custom Twitter Background - How To Create The Perfect Twitter Background

Originally published on HubPages, July 2012.