Comments on: A Tale of Two Opportunities: One Missed, One with Amazing Potential

By: Tania Mara

Tania Mara — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:18:48 +0000

Wow, the rep and his company are getting it totally wrong. With such a mentality, I don’t foresee a bright future for that company. It’ll have to learn it the tough way.

On the other hand, I’m glad that the guys at HubPages are willing to listen to feedback. It’s a good sign for sure. I truly hope this initial conversation will lead to great things in the future.

By: Ryan Hupfer

Ryan Hupfer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:38:36 +0000

Hey Deb! Thanks for mentioning our chat in this post and I’m so glad that you decided to schedule a stop at the HubPages booth at BWE for some chit-chat. Like you said, I totally understand why you’re not letting us post ads up on FWJ and I can definitely respect why. We’re not your ‘normal’ way of generating earnings on the web and we don’t pretend to be a place where everyone can be successful. But, for most freelancers and self-publishers who are willing to learn and be educated on the search-based online ecosystem that is out there, waiting to be capitalized on, I think that HubPages is a fantastic opportunity.

I won’t bore you with all of the details here, as it’s not the place or the time, but I’d be more than happy to share some of our story with the FWJ community if you’d like. It’s been great to chat the past few days and I can’t wait to continue the conversation.

Oh, and Angie — you’re definitely one of my favs, too — especially when we’re on the dance floor in Vegas (http://is.gd/4y8yB)

By: Cheril Vernon

Cheril Vernon — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:47:47 +0000

Pretty cool stories. Wow, still can’t believe the CNN remark.

By: Mary K. Williams

Mary K. Williams — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:59:26 +0000

Ha, I’m so dense!

“just a blogger” first read as a condescending type answer, but now I actually caught the crazy irony – to say it AT Blogworld?? Thanks John, for pointing that out. Amazing.

By: Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:11:33 +0000

“Just a blogger”?

Wow. Just….wow.

By: Alex Lim

Alex Lim — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:36:29 +0000

I very much agree with you Deb, feedbacks really matter. In fact, I appreciate constructive feedbacks more rather than praises. It gives me an idea about the gray area of my work. Perhaps, when people provide you with such feedbacks, they express concern over a weak spot that you should work on. It is rewarding that people compliment you for a job well done, yet, it should definitely not make you lenient in seeking for ideas towards improvement.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:29:48 +0000

Hey friend, you have a great one too – and everyone, buy Sandy’s book!

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:29:25 +0000

Absolutely, Kathryn. Without feedback, businesses won’t grow.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:28:05 +0000

Angie, it was so great meeting you – one of the highlights. I’d love to talk with you about successful freelancing. Let’s make a plan to talk soon!

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:27:09 +0000

I think it’s no secret I have lots of ads here. I need them to pay my bills and my bloggers, but the revenue didn’t start flowing until the traffic began coming in. My recommendation is to build the traffic and then the revenue.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:25:33 +0000

Thanks, Leslie. I honestly believe if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. I can sit up her and pontificate, but if I have the opportunity to make a difference, that’s even better. I’m not saying everyone will change things simply because I spoke with them, but at least I can give this community a voice.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:12:28 +0000

I think he was hoping to land more CNNs. It was clear he wasn’t there for bloggers. Or else he was there for bloggers who wanted to use his big, orange widget?

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:30:25 +0000

Good post, Deb. Thanks for all your efforts for all of us (diverse and largely dysfunctional) writers. Have a good one!

By: Kathryn Lang

Kathryn Lang — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:04:54 +0000

Thanks for the post and for speaking up for us bloggers. It is when we work together as a community that we get the most done. Communication is the first step to that community and feedback must be a part of the communication!

By: Angie A. Swartz

Angie A. Swartz — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:27:39 +0000

I like everything about this post and love that I met you at the conference and the freaky Ohio coincidences we shared. We really can never underestimate the power of the face-to-face, human interaction and what that brings us can we? As you point out, you see both positive and negative when you meet someone IRL. @Hup is one of my favorite guys to run into at #BWE and you can’t help but feel he’s got a good heart in there somewhere. I look forward to following your story with him.

Regarding, you not being CNN, I always feel that if there’s a slight negative comment like that one scratching the surface, you never know what you’d find if you dug a little deeper…good riddance.

Looking forward to getting to know you better and learning more about Flex Work opportunities for my Six Figure Moms Club participants from you. I know you could teach us a bunch!

By: SimpleObserver

SimpleObserver — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:43:16 +0000

Timely post. I was just thinking today whether I should put ads on since I’m finally getting a decent stream of visitors. Then I wondered just how obnoxious the ads might be on my (currently) clean and easy to read site. I’m at too pivotal a point in gaining readers to muck around with the balance right now.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:29:42 +0000

“Just a blogger, huh?” Color me unimpressed.

@ Leslie: Amen to that! It’s not always about making money right now.

By: Leslie Garrett

Leslie Garrett — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:28:54 +0000

Deb,

I, for one, really appreciate how you go to bat for all of us freelancers. You’re our goodwill ambassador and I think you’re doing us proud. I agree with your points re. working to create a better environment for freelancers, which, of course, includes better pay. But some of the work I’ve taken over the years that hasn’t paid well in dollars and cents has paid off in spades in terms of contacts and tangential projects. We all need to chart our own course.

By: John Hewitt

John Hewitt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:23:54 +0000

Their rep told someone at BlogWorld that they are “just a blogger?” Wow. That borders on obnoxious. If that’s their attitude, why the hell do they have an exhibit?