In Anticipation of Panda 5 and What Happens to HubPages

Satirical cartoon of Paul Edmondson explaining how Panda 5 will affect Hubpages. Created June 18th, 2015 by RoseWrites / All rights reserved (Click to enlarge)

Today, I was checking out the HubPages forum and found out that Paul Edmondson wrote a Hub (not a post) about the pending Panda update.

After a promotional sentence or two, there is an impressive looking line graph.

Impressive – until you find out how the Net Promoter Score works. It only measures respondents to a survey. It doesn't take into account bad word-of-mouth (such as complaints to Consumer Affairs and the FTC) and those not recommending the company it measures.

Furthermore, the y-axis scale on his upward line graph only ranges from 24 to 28.5. As stated in Gert Van Dessel's article Net Promoter Score (NPS®) – Best practice: "..no distinction is made between a 0 and a 6 score..."

A study by Kai Christensen and Jacob Eskildsen in the TQM Journal concluded:

"The NPS® is a very poor predictor of both customer loyalty and customer satisfaction."

So what's a good NPS® score anyways? 

According to Erica Douglass's December 2014 article What Is a Net Promoter Score, and Should You Implement It in Your Business, typically, a score between 50 and 80 is considered "good."

Okay, Paul tries to show some type of upward trend, what's next?

After reminding us that Squidoo content may have contributed to HubPages "getting whacked hard" during the September 23rd, 2014 Panda update, he tells us that out of 310,000 indexed Hubs, 45,000 are from Squidoo. 

That means only 14.5% of the indexed content on HubPages are former Squidoo pages.

I will add that my profile, identity and 277 of my Squidoo articles and those of (at least) four other authors were imported without authors' consent and/or knowledge. And, HubPages is currently collecting any and all of the ad share, Amazon, and eBay royalties on these. 

Unconscionable isn't it?

Then Paul Edmondson states in his Hub: "...we have been following Google's advice to either fix up or remove pages (avoiding merging because of HP's structure)."

Avoiding merging? Why is that? 

Because credible authors who are in good standing with Google are the only hope for the damaged HubPages domain. Paul Edmondson desperately needs to keep these subdomains on the site (even if he broke federal and state laws by importing, posting, and profiting from content he clearly does not own).

Next, he mentions layout changes but avoids the possibly fatal decision to hide the share buttons. Yes, it's assumed that readers know they need to zoom out to find them. And according to Marina Lazarevic, "...approximately 10% of all desktop visitors (5% of all visitors) will not see the new buttons."

Yeah, even if 5% was accurate (and I highly doubt it), you'd think a sinking ship like HubPages would want to keep those visitors sharing. Unless, of course, HubPages is trying to make life easier for scrapers.

Then, Paul Edmondson glosses over the "few partial manual site penalties." 

What? 

I never heard of a partial manual site penalty, I'm guessing it's like being "a little bit pregnant."

Oh but here's where things start to become clearer

If HubPages "goes under" then you've been forewarned that it will have nothing to do with the HubPages business model.

In fact, Paul Edmondson states that Google doesn't provide any specifics. Hmm, I would think a manual penalty (even a "partial" one) would be clearly written by Google's team.

The best Paul can do is guess at whatever issue Google has with HubPages. Oh and cross his fingers.

Don't forget, HubPages can only survive (according to Paul):

"As Long as Google Doesn't Kill Us." 

Poor Paul!

Satirical cartoon of Paul Edmondson blaming Google for HubPages demise and what Google probably thinks. Created June 19th, 2015 by RoseWrites / All rights reserved (Click to enlarge)

Why HubPages Will Not Fix Stats

I've been reading the HubPages forum lately and there are currently six threads about their stats being inaccurate.

A plausible reason could be glitches, of course.

But the absence of HubPages staff chiming in tells me there is something more dire going on.

It could be part of an exit strategy and sudden closure.

Why?

Because in the HubPages Terms of Use it states:

"In the event that the Agreement is terminated by You (pursuant to HubPages' receipt of Your written termination notice) the entire amount of an Earned Balance in Your account will be permanently forteited by You (and You hereby waive any claim relating to the dispute of such payment and disclaim any and all such interest in such funds)."

In layman's terms:

If you get frustrated with HubPages and quit, they keep all of your earnings and you can never collect on it – ever.

What better way than to frustrate users (if you were to close down a site) than to provide inaccurate statistics?

Lose the trust and people leave. Get them angry enough and they don't care about their deserved earnings, they just go.

I'd be prepared for a sudden closure of HubPages (if I had joined the site).

June 15, 2015 My former Squidoo profile and 277 articles are STILL on HubPages. 

Oh sure, my former Squidoo profile and 277 of my articles are still on the site making money for HubPages (not me). But you see, I never posted my author content or my Squidoo lenses [articles] on HubPages.

HubPages imported them – illegally. And pretty soon, I predict this house of cards will come tumbling down.

My advice: get your content off of HubPages and collect your earnings asap.

InfoBarrel Author of the Week: TanoCalvenoa

If there was anyone I'd consider my best friend online, it would have to be TanoCalvenoa. When we were both writers on Squidoo, I remember him commenting on a piece I did that made me laugh so hard that I cried.

Image of TanoCalvenoa and photo provided by Jonathan Nielsen (June 9th, 2015)

Later, I found out he's a big Calvin and Hobbes fan. (I am too). His sense of humour captured my attention first and then I discovered his incredible articles.

Every time I read his work, I am thoroughly impressed by his research, attention to detail, and the way he explains things in layman's terms.

The moment I realized that TanoCalvenoa (aka Jonathan Nielsen) was a true friend happened when Squidoo sold out to HubPages. Jonathan had only known me for about a year, yet he went out of his way to make sure my voice was heard.

I felt enormously let down (and betrayed) by former Squidoo people (and staff) that had followed my work for years. They remained silent or worse, they impeded my efforts to have Squidoo come clean with the details of this "business deal."

One of the most disgusting examples was the exchange I had with Susan Deppner (former Squidoo staff) in her Google post on August 22nd, 2014 titled: UPDATE (Friday): Critical information and dates for the Squidoo/HubPages transition.

Hundreds of writers saw this exchange, but only TanoCalvenoa acted on it. (Click to enlarge).

Above is a snippet of the exchange that probably hundreds of other Squidoo writers saw (including Robin Svedi who I used to have the utmost respect for). Others who knew me for years on Squidoo were silent. No one helped me but TanoCalveno. He ensured my intentions were known on Corey Brown's post:

Wonder how many former Squidoo authors and staff also saw this? (Click to enlarge).

Since this time, Jonathan (TanoCalvenoa) and I are both enjoying writing for InfoBarrel. I am always thrilled to see him win accolades like the homepage or the extra $100 monthly cash bonus. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.

Without Further Ado

I present to you my interview with TanoCalvenoa. (And he also answered the inappropriate/personal questions).

Writing-related questions:

Q: What platforms have you written for? And why do you like InfoBarrel?

A: The first that I ever wrote an article in my life was the last weekend of November 2012 on Squidoo. My aunt was a Squidoo writer and had urged me to write on the site for a few years. Finally I decided to try it, although it was right when the platform was heading off a cliff. Prior to the final end of that site in August 2014, I'd written over 100 articles, and was the Science Rocks contributor.

I had joined InfoBarrel in March 2014 after having searched for another platform to write for, and being persuaded by you to try it (thanks!) – and the first thing I really liked about it was how much more professional it was compared with Squidoo. You had to actually know how to write, and there were real human editors to approve your articles (until I learned to do them well enough that I got pre-approved status). When Squidoo announced their demise, I immediately saw that as the perfect excuse to get out, and I deleted all my articles. I have put the majority of them up on InfoBarrel.

InfoBarrel has been very kind with giving quite a few of my articles homepage features. This started soon after I began writing for the site. On Squidoo, it seemed to take far longer to get recognized or receive any awards. So that's another reason I really enjoy using InfoBarrel.

Q: Can you explain your avatar and name? What does TanoCalvenoa mean or where did it come from?

A: I get asked that occasionally. Tano Calvenoa is the arctic hare with a blue cape that I use for my avatar on InfoBarrel and the social media pages that I have on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest that are connected with my InfoBarrel work. He is the main character in a book that I've partially written and hope to eventually finish.

The story is very wild and creative, and to sum up the plot super concisely, it's about animals from Earth that are taken by an alien race to another planet – and Tano Calvenoa becomes the leader of a war against them by another alien race that lives on that planet.

[Sounds like something the kids would love. What age group will this book appeal to? And do you think it could be made into a movie, TV series or cartoon?]

Q: Is there any topic you'd like to write about but haven't (and why)?

A: One topic very important to me that I haven't written much about is health and how it is that I was able to overcome some very serious health problems – including ones that the medical industry describes as incurable and having no known cause. I've thought about whether I'd like to write a series of articles or possibly a book.

A couple of reasons why this is difficult for me to write about are that first, people tend to get upset when they hear health information that varies from what the mainstream organizations and authorities tell them. I'm very much on the side of alternative health and integrative medicine, because that's what cured me. I've had people get very hostile, sarcastic, and just plain disbelieve me or accuse me of lying when I've said anything about it. And second, it involves more than just science and health information – it also involves spirituality and my religion, which are always sensitive topics that have the potential to offend people.

I suppose what I'm waiting for is to feel more certain about how to go about this. I believe I have an important story that I'd like to share with others, but so far it's only been shared on a small level with close friends and family, and I've made a few social media posts that relate to it. I've done just a few articles on health topics. And that's it.

For anyone reading this and wondering, I completely 100% overcame the following: rapid cycling bipolar disorder type I, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, restless legs syndrome, chronic allergies, a weak immune system, and a chronic low back injury. Each of these was severe and doctors failed to help me over many years. It's a miracle I survived the bipolar problems. At one point I was nearly approved for federal disability, but then I overcame everything on my own. I was determined and found the answers – and I very much believe I had help from God to do it. As part of it, I also lost over 50 lbs.

[Nods. Incredible Jonathan, I know you are sincere in trying to help others too.]

Q: What are your niches or what do you enjoy writing about the most?

A: I mostly write about science topics. My #1 favorite thing to study since childhood has always been geography. I've always studied and drawn maps, and drew my city and labeled all the streets at age eight. Not long after that I was drawing the USA and the world and labeling all the states and countries. I got to where I could do it from memory.

Geography can serve as a gateway to science as a whole, since it overlaps with many other sciences. So I've also always been interested in all the natural sciences, and this is the main thing I write articles about.

Q: If there was one thing you could change about the online world (Internet), what would it be?

A: I would want it to remain completely free and open without governments and corporations spying and trolling. I'm a huge advocate of freedom and freedom of speech, and I think it's critical that this be preserved online. There is a huge effort underway to censor and silence voices that certain authorities don't want heard. One example that is very important to me is the effort to silence and slander alternative health information. It's relentless, and many people unfortunately think that things which are false are true, and things which are true are false. This is why I get so much hostility when I share what I've learned, and what helped me with my health problems.

It would be nice if dishonesty and fraud were disallowed. That's one government function I support, although currently I'd say that governments are complicit in the widespread dishonestly and fraud – in relation to health information and quite a few other matters as well.

So what really needs to be changed isn't necessarily the Internet itself, but those who would seek to harm or control its use, and take advantage of it for nefarious purposes.

Personal and/or highly inappropriate questions (entirely voluntary):

Q. If we were to play "spot the Canadian" in your hometown, what clues scream "Canadian" to you?

A: One good clue (and I've seen this before) is someone wearing shorts and a t-shirt on a winter day that Californians would consider "freezing" – which would be a day when it stays cooler than 60 degrees (16 C). That's unusually cold where I live in Southern California. That makes it immediately obvious that they're either from a northern state such as Michigan or New York, or from Canada.

Probably the next best indicator is the use of "eh" on the end of sentences.

[Hmm, not too shabby. At 17 C, I wear shorts; sometimes say "eh"; but the "aboot" instead of "about" pronunciation never applied to me or my Canadian friends.]

Q: What childhood book character do you relate to the most?

A: I was a weird kid. I didn't like books written for kids. I found them highly predictable and boring. The same was true of TV shows. I never liked the ones made for kids.

So I tended to read books often meant for teens or adults. In junior high I read all of Michael Crichton's books, and Jurassic Park became my favorite, and still is my favorite work of fiction.

My pick for a character I relate to is the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. The reason is because they were smart to the point of constantly surprising the humans. There were consistently underestimated and misunderstood. I'm not trying to brag, although I've had this same sort of effect on people many times.

Q: If you had to pick one of my cartoons about HubPages to be printed in the LA Times, which one would it be?

A:  There are so many that are so funny. One that definitely made me laugh out loud is on your InfoBarrel article titled Dear Federal Trade Commission. It has Paul Edmondson saying, "Seth, I told you we should've gone to sousababy's house and FORCED her to click that green button!" – and then has a hilarious picture with stick figures of you being forced to press the button on your computer.

Here it is, for anyone who hasn't seen it:

Satirical cartoon of Seth Godin and Paul Edmondson forcing me to agree to transfer my content to HubPages. Created by RoseWrites / All rights reserved

Q: As the father of four girls, are there any women's rights issues that you feel strongly about? And BTW, Happy Father's Day.

A: Probably the one issue I feel the most strongly about (not that others aren't also important) is the issue of rape, and how lightly it is treated by so many. In some countries, girls who are raped are punished, as though they caused it by supposedly being too irresistible or something. It's difficult to fathom such illogic. I'm also appalled at how there have been muliple cases recently of men victimizing teenage girls, and the punishments have amounted to pathetic slaps on the wrists.

What I would like to see is much more severe punishments and condemnation for anyone who forces anything sexual on any woman or who takes advantage of any young girl. I mean way, way more severe punishments. In fact, I'd like to see rapists and child molesters banned to an island way out in the ocean where they only have one another to victimize.

[Hmm, there could be some practical use for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch after all].

Q: What rock star do you most relate to (and why)?

A: I'm going to pick my favorite guitarist, Dick Dale. I've played guitar for 19 years now, and I actually didn't discover instrumental surf rock until a few years ago. It has taken over as my favorite, and I particularly love Mr. Dale, who invented the style in the early 1960s. Besides enjoying his guitar-playing, and how much fun it is to play that style, I've enjoyed learning about this man and his life.

Besides inventing a new style of music, which dominated the USA for a few years before the Beatles and the whole British invasion took over, he has a love for animals and even kept pet jaguars, leopards, lions, an elephant, and more. I can't say I'm quite that brave, but I very much love animals and have always had a variety of pets.

He also practiced martial arts for three decades. I've been studying martial arts for over a year now, and love it. He also loves surfing of course, and the beach. I also love the beach. And he overcame serious health problems that doctors told him would kill him. More than once. That also reminds me of myself. Overall I find Mr. Dale very inspirational – in his music, and in many other ways as well.

Back to you and your work:

Q: Where can readers find you?

A: Readers can find and follow my work at the following sites:

My InfoBarrel Articles: TanoCalvenoa on InfoBarrel
Facebook Science Page: Tano Calvenoa Writer
Google+ Science Page: +Tanocalvenoa
Pinterest Account: Tano Calvenoa on Pinterest

Q: Do you have any strange (or helpful) writing rituals?

A: I always have a list of articles I'd like to write. They're articles that I know I would like to see, that as far as I know don't exist – at least, not how I would want them to be. When I feel like writing a new one, I'll look at the list and choose one. Sometimes I want to get an article done quickly so I'll pick one that is on a subject I already know really well and can get done in no more than a couple hours or so. Other times, I'll pick ones on subjects that I don't know as well, intentionally chosen so I can research and learn more about the topic. In a case like that, I'll expect that it could take up to a week to finish, spending time on it each day.

When I finish an article, I have my wife read it. She's a pretty normal person with her understanding of science, so if something isn't understandable to her, I'll think of how to change it. My goal is to make each article interesting and understandable for anyone – whether they know the subject well or not at all. I've also had my 11-year-old daughter read some of my articles to see how well she understands them.

I also will most often finish an article, then wait until the next day to read it over again. I typically find ways to improve the wording whenever I do this, and sometimes completely rearrange the sections or think of an entirely new angle to write the article from. I don't publish anything unless I believe it is really good.

I'm not sure how strange or helpful these methods are, but it's what I do.

Q: What are three articles that you would like readers to check out (of yours)?

A: Okay, the first is my most successful. It's currently #83 on InfoBarrel's Top 100: The Top Five Places to See the Giant Redwoods in California [Nods. Love that one Jonathan.]

The second is one I really like because it has photos taken by my dad and I, and it was a 'Lens of the Day' when it was on Squidoo: Grand Tour of Nevada's Incredible Valley of Fire State Park [Agree, an excellent choice.]

And as a good example of what I write about with my background in geography and Earth sciences, here's one I'm particularly proud of: Mount Tambora in 1815: Largest Volcanic Eruption of the Past 10,000 Years [Yes, yes, this one fascinated me.]

Q: Are there any other writers on InfoBarrel you'd like to see interviewed? And if so, is/are there any question(s) you'd like me to ask them?

A: A couple of writers I like and follow on InfoBarrel, who I would like to see interviewed, are Yindee and Leigh Goessl. I'd love to ask Yindee how she got involved in learning about natural health, and I'd love to ask Leigh Goessl about her interest in volcanoes – because she has awesome articles on the topic that remind me of the ones I've written, and also how she writes so many really good articles so quickly.

[Okay, I will certainly ask those ladies (and Leigh again) to see if they are willing to be interviewed by me. I agree, great choices and I loved learning more about you Jonathan.]

Is HubPages Becoming Bubblews?

Satirical cartoon of Robin Edmondson as she address a forum post about HubPro edits. Created June 12th, 2015 by RoseWrites / All rights reserved (Click to enlarge cartoon)

I found it entertaining to read a HubPages forum post titled 255 Words in my Hub..... Er .... Enough? Because the OP, earner, stated exactly what every seasoned web writer would think:

"Go away and write more you moron."

Apparently, the professional team of HubPages editors (and photographers) redid what was a 600-word "masterpiece" and created a 255-word article that "answers the question" according to Robin Edmondson.

Now remember this: HubPro only edits successful articles that garner a minimum of 500 visits a day.

Why HubPages doesn't just get rid of substandard articles instead seems like a reasonable question. Until you understand their business model. They reap 100% of the profits from "inactive" (or abandoned) accounts.

Hence, the urgency to "edit" high traffic Hubs (especially those that put all the money back into the Edmondsons' pockets).

But once this forum post caught Robin Edmondson's attention and she looked over the Hub in question, suddenly she wanted earner to change some things.

What?

The original author has to "fix" their oversights now?

Yeah, she actually stated: "...we should have added a section on why it's not safe to reheat chicken more than once. Maybe you can add that bit..." and "I think we should have changed your title to 'How to Safely Reheat Cooked Chicken'. I'd suggest doing that."

Oh but I truly hope that this author simply takes his (or her) original version and posts it elsewhere online.

Earner promised to "sit by the money pot to see what happens next."

Could this finally cement the reality for some people on HubPages?

HubPro is not about the writers, their work, or their consent. It's all about profit and catering to (what I believe) to be scrapers and identity thieves.

InfoBarrel Author of the Week: DebW07

Hey, does anyone else notice the resemblance and sense of style?

Photo of Jacqueline Kennedy by Cecil W. Stoughton (Public Domain) | Right photo provided by DebW07 (June 7th, 2015)

I am thrilled that Deb contacted me for this interview (because I would have kept on asking her anyways). She's the reason I write for InfoBarrel and Paw Mane Fin.

I never told Deb this: she's the first writer that helped me see how incredibly spammy the majority of Squidoo lenses [articles] were - even some of my own (gasp). I remember reading one of her lenses and thinking 'this is so thorough, everything is properly credited and her attention to detail is impeccable.'

I secretly wished she replaced Bonnie Diczhazy (Squidoo's community organizer). Deb and her work stood out from the crowd (more than I think she ever realized).

After absorbing myself in her work, I started to pare down my Amazon products and soft sell instead of being an overly enthusiastic lunatic.

And her commentary is just as thought-provoking (and kind). Deb comes across as someone who accepts everyone and who has an open mind - yet is firmly rooted in her beliefs. I respect that. A lot.

Without Further Ado

I present to you my interview with Deb. And yes, Deb also answered all of my questions (even the highly inappropriate ones).

Writing-related questions:

Q: How did you end up on InfoBarrel?

A: A few years ago, when my oldest daughter was a high school senior and preparing to leave for college, my husband noticed my gloomy mood. He encouraged me to take a class he'd found in our local paper on "how to make money online." The four-week course covered several topics, including revenue-sharing sites. The instructor shared his favorite websites with the class and InfoBarrel was on the list. IB was the second site I submitted my work to and it quickly became my favorite. I was drawn to the friendly atmosphere, and I liked the way Kevin and Ryan ran things. Since joining IB in 2010, I've written for several other sites, but InfoBarrel remains one of my favorites.

Q: Do you have any strange (or helpful) writing rituals?

A: Hmmm, not that I'm aware of . . . . Sometimes, I'll turn on the television for background noise. I also keep a notepad, pens and pencils on my nightstand in case I get some ideas in the middle of the night (it's happened). [Yes, I can relate Deb, but I keep other things on my nightstand.]

Oh, and I use a note app on my cell phone to jot down thoughts, ideas, sentences, and occasionally entire articles when I'm away from home.

Q: What do you enjoy most about writing online?

A: First, I like the freedom to choose my topics, write from my point of view, and work when I want. I also like seeing the finished product in the form of a published article; it's quite gratifying. Lastly, I enjoy the positive feedback and interaction with other writers.

Q: If there was one thing you could change about the online world (Internet), what would it be?

A: I would ban plagiarists, trolls, scammers, and predators. These folks either need a life, psychiatrist, prison sentence – or all of the above.

Q: What are three articles that you are most proud of?

A: "You Must be Born Again - 5 Compelling Christian Conversions," because there's a personal element to it and the subject speaks to the core of my being.

"Introspective Book Review: The Pilgrim's Progress," because the book is absolutely amazing, awesome, incredible, marvelous . . . you get the picture.

"The Wizard of Oz ~ A Political Statement?" because it highlights an allegorical theory of the beloved classsic that few people have heard.

Personal and highly inappropriate questions (entirely voluntary):

Q. Ever fart in church?

A: No, but I've had the misfortune of sitting behind someone who did; talk about your hazmat situation! My husband and I took the first opportunity we had to "make a run for it" and find other seats. [Gee Deb, I was wondering where you guys went!]

The next example has nothing to do with church but when I was in college, I worked for a high-end department store and had the unpleasant experience of someone expressing air in front of me. One evening, an elderly Asian couple walked by my register and as they were pacing along slowly, the heavy-set gentleman let one rip. I couldn't believe it. [Hmm, I think I know him.] Later, my friends and I had a long belly laugh about it, but it was really gross.

Oh, and for the record, I don't fart; I'm an alien from outer space. [That's good Deb, there's an alien friend of mine I hope to interview soon – for that reason.]

Q: What's the worst food or drink you ever ate (but pretended to like)?

A: Curry – many years ago, my boss and I took some clients out to their favorite restaurant – Indian.

Q: If you were an animal, what would you be (and why)?

A: I would choose any animal that made it onto Noah's Ark. "Why?" Duh . . .

[Come on Deb, what about those two mosquitoes? Don't ya wish Noah swatted them?]

Q: If you could have a coffee with anyone in the world (dead or alive) who would it be? [And for some people who follow me, yes, I mean the dead person when he or she was alive.]

A: Clive Staples Lewis aka C.S. Lewis. He is widely regarded as one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth-century and one of the most influential writers of his day.

Although he was raised in a Christian home, Lewis' faith was shattered when he was ten after his mother died of cancer. His atheistic beliefs were strengthened after he volunteered for the British Army and witnessed the carnage of the First World War. Lewis believed one of the strongest arguments for atheism was a quote he often cited, "Had God designed the world, it would not be a world so frail and faulty as we see."

Lewis met J.R.R. Tolkien while teaching at Magdalen College, after joining a group of writers and intellectuals known as "The Inklings," Lewis credited the influence of Tolkien and the writings of G.K. Chesterton and George MacDonald for his conversion to theism but he described himself as, "The most dejected, reluctant convert in all England." He eventually converted to Christianity and became a member of the church of England. Lewis was a prolific writer with several titles, including The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe. His book Mere Christianity is considered the best twentieth-century Christian apologists treatise.

C.S. Lewis (along with Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan) is my favorite author.
My top five Lewis books are:

1. Mere Christianity
2. Surprised by Joy
3. A Grief Observed
4. The Great Divorce
5. The Pilgrim's Regress

Q: What are your thoughts about the "Free the Nipple" campaign?

A: I must admit that until now, I was unaware of this campaign. I'd have to say that I would definitely side with the opposition on the issue. My position is that whatever body parts are required to be covered by law should remain covered.

I believe that the proponents have it all wrong when they use the word "free," as if this is somehow liberating for women. It isn't. It's quite the opposite; it causes an atmosphere of self-degradation and reproach for women whose bodies are less than ideal. Look, women are already extremely self-conscious with clothes on, and now these folks want them to go shirtless?!! Right now, women can wear pushup bras or other body enhancing clothing to level the playing field, but without the aid of these garments, women will most likely feel intimidated and inferior to other women, not free.

We know that, for the most part, the type of woman who will embrace this campaign and go topless is either the young gal with the perky set or the slightly older woman who's had breast augmentation surgery. Older women with natural breasts, women who are post-childbirth, and women who've undergone mastectomy or have other issues will probably not want to expose themselves in public. That's not to say there won't be the occasional woman who will let it all hang out no matter what. But, can you imagine Hillary Clinton whipping out her C cups (or whatever size she is) on the presidential campaign trail? Also, I, for one, do not want to see the likes of "Mama June" out in public exposing her enormous mammary glands (or anything else). This initiative may lead to women feeling pressure to undergo breast augmentation surgery. Hmmm, makes me wonder if, behind the curtain, the plastic surgery industry is behind this campaign . . .

To any woman who claims she has a right to go topless I counter with I have a right not to see your breast in public. Instead of "free the nipple," let's be free of these shortsighted campaigns.

Q. Do you secretly enjoy the satirical cartoons I've done about HubPages?

A:  It's no secret; I do enjoy them. I used one (with your permission) in an article.

Back to you and your work: 

Q: Where can readers find you?

A: You can find me on the web under the pen name of "DebW07." In addition to InfoBarrel (where I go by "Introspective" and DebW07), I write for HubPages, Wizzly, SeekyT, and a few others (not to mention a few private clients).

I'm also an avid photographer, and a photo contributor on Shutterstock and Pixabay. I recently put together a photography blog: "Introspective Pics" where I post new photos Monday through Friday – feel free to follow.

Oh, and don't forget Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Q: Are there any other writers on InfoBarrel you'd like to see interviewed? And if so, are there any questions you'd like me to ask him, her, or them?

A: Well, since you've already interviewed InfoBarrel heartthrob Vic Dillinger, I would recommend "MommyMommyMommy" (although she's probably "Mom, Mom, Mom" by now) and "Debra-Diane." These two women are top-notch writers and good folks. We can all learn a thing or two from them. I would also include you, Ms."RoseWrites" but I don't think you can interview yourself – well maybe you can . . .
[I will ask the women you mentioned, but no write up needed on me, there's enough of me "out there" already Deb – much of it I'm trying to get removed. No nipples though.]

CEOs You'd Like to Do, Dump or Marry

In 2009, Lindsey Unterberger, Glamour's deputy online editor, wrote a brilliant piece called Celebrity Do, Dump or Marry: The Late-Nighters Edition. And I couldn't agree more with voter outcome.

Stephen Colbert, of course, was the man most voters picked to marry; Jimmy Fallon was the pretty boy you'd call for a good time; and poor Conan O'Brien was destined to be dumped.

And this little piece by Unterberger caused such a stir that even Stephen Colbert mentioned it on his show. And this left a lasting impression on me, obviously. Because last night I thought I'd try a CEO Edition of her Do, Dump or Marry.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if these men are "available" (only they know for sure).

The Gist

All of these men should be universally known by now. If not, I provide a pretty good resource to check out about each one (not written by me).

The Contenders

Larry Page, CEO of Google

Business Insider's Nicholas Carlson wrote a wonderful article about Larry page last year called The Untold Story Of Larry Page's Incredible Comeback.

My thoughts?

Look, Google has improved. Instead of finding credible information on page 10 of a search results, I'm finding good stuff on page 3 (sometimes page 2, depending). So definitely, Mr. Page is doing an excellent job. But who cares about that right now, look at him here:

Photo credit: Bob Lee (crazybob on flickr) CC-by-2.0 | Taken August 10th, 2008

Mr. Page is listening to some old guy intently (actually, I think that is The Lord Martin Rees of Ludlow). And his body language tells me he's completely absorbed in whatever this gentleman is showing him. Larry doesn't act like a "know-it-all" (which makes him extremely appealing).

Photo credits: Left image of woman's body by wonderlane on flickr (CC-by-2.0) with RoseWrite's head added using Pixlr | Right image of Larry Page by Steve Jurvetson on flickr (CC-by-2.0)

See how fun-loving Larry Page looks when I was addressing him in my article Dear Larry Page and Paul Edmondson. Obviously, he has a great smile and I love his dressed-down look. His shaggy bangs with the grey hair is HOT. He pulls off boyish-cute brilliant computer scientist that loves to laugh all at once.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors

Even I wrote about Elon Musk in Environment911. But for a childhood to adulthood account of his life, Financial Post's technology reporter Kyle Russell did an incredible job with The Fabulous Life of Elon Musk. Note: Mr. Russell is presently employed at TechCrunch.

Photo credit: Maurizio Pesce (pestoverde on flickr) CC-by-2.0 | Taken on October 1st, 2011

Whoa, put the brakes on and consider this genius for a minute. The fact that he went to Queen's University in Ontario, Canada makes me like him even more. The thing is: he's so brilliant, I'd feel dumb around him all the time. I'd be dropping things and spilling things - guess I could never measure up.

Ben Rattray, CEO of Change.org

The Lavin Agency provides a fairly good write-up about Mr. Rattray. For some reason, I imagined him with a British accent when I saw their photo of him. And on his website, the About | Change.org page inspired me.

Photo by Change.org (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mr. Rattray is the man you could walk down the red carpet with; he could play the next James Bond. With impeccable clothing and stylish hair, I'm amazed he isn't more widely recognized among my peers.

Incredibly, he can sport the grizz, yet look sweet and vulnerable at the same time. He'd be the man your mother and father would love to meet. I'd definitely want to meet him or (at least) have him read one of my posts about HubPages.

I'd be equally thrilled if any of these fine men read my open letter to CBS.

Time to Vote

In the right sidebar (under my Blog Archive), you'll see the poll. (Previously, my poll asked other things). I will keep this new poll up until this post starts to lose steam. Then, based on voter outcome (and my own bias) I will write a follow-up blog post.

InfoBarrel Author of the Week: Vic Dillinger

When I mentioned in InfoBarrel's forum that I wanted to do this series, I was hoping Vic Dillinger would volunteer to be interviewed. Instead, he suggested a few other writers. One of them was someone I already had in mind. So, I just straight-out asked Vic and he said yes.

Hey, does anyone else see the resemblance?

Left image provided by Vic Dillinger (June 3rd, 2015) | Right photo of Patrick Swayze by Alan Light (CC-by-2.0) via Wikimedia Commons

The day after I joined InfoBarrel, I read Vic Dillinger's article Aileen Wuornos: Damaged and Deadly. Since I thoroughly enjoyed Charlize Theron's performance in the 2003 film Monster, I felt reasonably confident that I could muster up a meaningful comment.

Well, I was completely immersed in Vic's account of her life. It was nothing like any fluffy superficial film review. He presented a depth of research that didn't become clinical. I was amazed the way he maintained a human, personal perspective while he recounted her troubled life.

It was like fine dining, I savoured every paragraph and I hung on every word.

Since that first article, I've read several of Vic's pieces. One which had a lasting impression on me (for days) was his article Most Conspicuous Courage of the Indian Princess Spy, Noor Inayat Khan.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't know anything about this woman until I read his piece.

And rarely, when I read history articles, am I impressed with how women are depicted. Vic proved to me how compassionate and respectful a male author can be. It was refreshing.

On a Fun Note

Whenever spammers post in InfoBarrel's forum, I wait and see if Vic will 'tell them where to go.' I've adopted his catch-all phrase "jackhole" to describe them now.

Without Further Ado 

I present to you my interview with Vic Dillinger. I was pleasantly surprised that he answered all of my questions (even the naughty one).

Writing-related questions:

Q: Tell me, what you enjoy most about writing online?

A: Interestingly enough, while I like the creative process involving research and composition, I actually enjoy more the "building" of the article done in the upload process, integrating videos, working on doing the artwork (if that's what's included), regular images, etc., ya know . . . the layout process. I like the assembling. And, sometimes, when I'm done I'm amazed at how nice stuff looks (mostly).

I also like the fact that a lot of my material has been cited by people writing e-books and articles elsewhere; makes me feel good to know my material is credible and trustworthy enough for citations (one woman with a teaching site used a piece I wrote as a guide for a lesson on folklore and folk song history for her students).

Q: Okay, what do you dislike most about writing online?

A: A few things bug me. I hate when scrapers steal my stuff and in broken English try to make it look like some "original" work of theirs. I spend a lot of time on my writing; I don't think someone else who merely copies-and-pastes should be benefiting from my labors. It doesn't happen often, and I've been pretty successful in shutting most of them down, but it still irks me.

I also hate spinners and people who specifically write keyword-stuffed junk just to get views via the SEO process. They are not writers, they are hacks and grub worms. One can write a good, SEO-friendly article and have it be informative and/or entertaining without resorting to such lame tactics as unnecessary repetition of keywords or awkwardly contrived phrasing just to generate visibility on a search engine. Write well or don't write at all – the Interweb has enough garbage on it and doesn't need more of the same.

Another "dislike" is in researching online – trying to find quality source material is often very difficult and frustrating (which is why I am grateful that I have an extensive home library that provides me with much resource material). A lot of what is online is poorly researched, incomplete, or goes by hearsay or what is commonly believed about a subject (and presents that as fact). In some few cases, my work on a particular topic is what ends up as the most complete and authoritative on that subject thanks to the dearth of decent material available "out there".

My final annoyance has to do with the expanded role social media has in ranking of articles and other online content. Just because something is popular (with "x" number of "likes" or "re-tweets", for example) doesn't necessarily mean it is good. [Just Bieber is popular. Is he good? In a word, "No." In two words, "Hell, no!"] I've seen many "popular" pieces on a subject that are right there on the front page of a search result while something that is written ten times better with more "meat" in it is buried on page 4. That's because of social media – the sheeple don't always know what is good for them; hell, the masses will "like" damn near anything (read: Kim Kardashian).

Q: How did you end up on InfoBarrel?

A: I started writing creatively, for my own amusement, as a kid. Later, creative composition in high school was one of my favorite activities (in English or history classes, et al). Same in college. I had written several short stories back in the late 1970s through the late 1990s, and a novel (unpublished) in the early 1990s. I then wrote another novel in the mid Nineties, but only a few years ago bothered to do anything with it (it's a Kindle book now). Regardless, I always liked writing and the process of writing (whether it was pen or pencil on paper, a typewriter – for a few years – or today with a PC). 

An InfoBarrel writer (sound_foundation) got me started on IB, explaining what the site was about, how it worked, and how money could be made there. While it doesn't allow "total" creativity (you can't just write any old junk; it needs to be "content" writing which is far different than writing fiction) it does allow you to be creative within the parameters established. Thus, I can sometimes write comedic things that still fit the guidelines in letter and spirit as well as more serious and sobering articles.

Q: Do you have any weird (or helpful) writing rituals?

A: Neither of these things are probably so weird or unusual but I always gotta have a cuppa joe while I'm working. And I also have a kind of "cart-before-the-horse" process for online writing. I pick a subject and then I dig for images related to it first. Or, I make my own artwork that may symbolize the overall theme. The text then forms in my mind around the images I've selected. I compose in my head before I set one word to the page, and most of what I end up writing is roughly 75% complete in my brain before it gets printed.

Other than that I keep a steno pad handy to jot down ideas as they come to me and I make sketches as needed or write down key ideas or notes.

And I'm a believer in total immersion – if I'm working on a particular thing I want as much data as I can get about it, and I "live" that topic for as long as it takes to get it written and submitted. I like digging for the more obscure sources where I can find them, or reporting from firsthand experience where I can. So, when I was writing about French chanteuse France Gall I bought a CD of hers in addition to listening to a lot of her material online so I could better know her and her music. Writing about murders I'll dig into newspaper accounts where warranted. Things like that.

And I always make sure to wear my lucky socks.

Q: Is there some topic that you'd like to write about but haven't (and why)?

A: I get suggestions occasionally from people about things they think I should/could write about. While some of the subjects seem interesting (and I have acted upon a few of those suggetions) I simply don't have the time for everything that people put to me. My own WIP file is huge: I recently posted a piece that I'd been working on since mid 2014!

I wish I were perhaps more well-versed in philosophical musings ("meaning of life" stuff, etc.). While I've touched upon such ideas as part of a larger subject I've never tackled a tenet of, say, Schopenhauer and analyzed it. I simply don't feel qualified to do justice to something like that.

Q: If you could change one thing about the online world (Internet), what would it be?

A: I'd make it so a minimum standard of literacy was a requirement to upload anything on the web. I'm sick to death of seeing material fraught with grammatical and spelling errors and poorly composed material.

Something that sent me through the roof a few years ago was a craptacular article written about The Entity Case. At that time, it was the #1 item on that subject; it was a total piece of garbage that looked as if it had, maybe, been written by someone who dropped out of high school in his freshman year. Misspellings, sentences that didn't make sense, random interjections, grammar problems – it was (and still is) a hot mess. And yet that was the "top" piece on that subject.

Look, an occasional typo or word misuse I can understand, but it seems the majority of what I read online, regardless of source (even from some of the more "professional" sites such as The New York Times), contains myriad errors. It's disheartening, to say the least. It's demoralizing, to say more. And it's disgusting that we find that level of incompetence so easily overlooked and acceptable, to say the most.

Photo by Steve Johnson on flickr (CC-by-2.0)

Back to you and your work:

Q: Three articles you are most proud of?

A: Wow, that's a toughy. Though they comprise more than three, my faves are all those in IB's "Why I am Madly in Love with [insert name here]" series.

And there are at least a dozen more things I like a lot, but narrow it down to three specific individual articles? I guess I'd go with the piece I did on Ronald Edwin Hunkeler (the faker who inspired The Exorcist), the one I did on serial killer Aileen Wuornos, and a more recent article on the chocolate diamond scam.

Q: Where can readers find you?

A: Though I have owned the domain name, vicdillinger.com, for years I haven't bothered to start my own site yet. Nor have I really made any commitment to "blogging" – who cares what I had for breakfast?

So, for now, I can be found only on InfoBarrel, HubPages, and seekyt (where I recently pulled old material entirely and will be putting new material on again soon). I review things on Amazon. I'm also on facebook, Google+, redgage, and twitter. And, finally, I do bad art on DeviantArt.

Q. Just how sexy are you Vic?

A: Very!!

Q: Are there any other writers on InfoBarrel you'd like to see interviewed? And if so, are there any questions you'd like me to ask him or her?

A: I'm liking what I'm seeing from Leigh Goessl, so she would be a good one. Also, Moina-Arcee, he's posted some pretty good material, too. Just make sure to ask 'em their shoe sizes and how much I mean to them (tee-hee).