View source for HubPages

{{COI|date=July 2023}}
{{Short description|Online publishing platform}}
{{Infobox company
| name = HubPages
| logo = Hubpages logo.png
| type = [[Privately held company]]
| foundation = 2006
| area_served     = Worldwide
| location = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.
| owner = The Arena Group
| industry = [[Internet]]
| products        = [[Blog]], [[online publication]]
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|Paul Edmondson|Jay Reitz|Paul Deeds}}
| homepage = [http://www.hubpages.com/index.php hubpages.com]
}}
'''HubPages''' is an American user-generated [[Electronic publishing|online publishing platform]] developed by Paul Edmondson that was launched in 2006. HubPages acquired its main competitor, [[Squidoo]], in 2014. In 2018 Seattle-based content company The Maven, Inc. acquired HubPages, and went on to rebrand as The Arena Group in 2021.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210920005835/en/Maven-Rebrands-as-The-Arena-Group-Expanding-Business-Strategy-Around-Consumer-Media-Verticals-Anchored-by-Flagship-Brands | title=Maven Rebrands as the Arena Group, Expanding Business Strategy Around Consumer Media Verticals Anchored by Flagship Brands | date=20 September 2021 }}</ref> The company is headquartered in [[San Francisco, CA|San Francisco]].
Though the content is user-generated and owned, the editorial staff and engineers are responsible for managing, editing, moderating, and publishing articles across the two dozen network sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hubpageshelp.com/about-us#:~:text=HubPages%20is%20an%20open%20community,asking%20questions%20and%20finding%20answers. | title=About Us }}</ref>{{primary-inline|date=July 2023}} The network sites focus on niche content that ranges from topics like automobiles and travel to beauty and pets.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
== History ==
The site launched on August 5, 2006, funded by a [[United States dollar|US$]]2 million investment from [[Hummer Winblad]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/08/05/hubpages-launches-gets-2-m-from-hummer-winblad/ |title=HubPages Launches, Gets $2 m from Hummer Winblad |date=2006-08-05 |accessdate=2008-04-08 |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |first=Michael |last=Arrington}}</ref> The three founders, Paul Edmonson, Paul Deeds, and Jay Reitz, are former employees of [[Microsoft]] and were part of the startup [[MongoMusic]].<ref name="Better">{{cite web|title=HubPages, a better Squidoo?|url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/02/07/hubpages-a-better-squidoo/|work=TechCrunch|publisher=AOL Inc|accessdate=7 December 2013|first=Michael|last=Arrington|date=7 February 2006}}</ref>
It raised $8 million between 2007–2008 and has not been able to raise any since and struggled for the next ten years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Levy|first=Ari|date=2018-01-06|title=After 12 years and endless fights with Google, start-up HubPages finds a buyer|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/06/hubpages-sells-to-maven-giving-venture-investors-exit-after-12-years.html|access-date=2020-10-15|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref>
In 2011, traffic to revenue-sharing sites, including HubPages, was slashed following changes to [[Google|Google's]] algorithm ("Panda").<ref>{{cite web|first=Matt |last=McGee |url=http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-two-years-later-real-impact-149519 |title=Google Panda Two Years Later: The Real Impact Beyond Rankings & SEO Visibility |publisher=Searchengineland.com |date=2013-02-25 |accessdate=2017-10-28}}</ref>  Over the ensuing years, HubPages made strenuous efforts to recover from the setback, while most of its competitors gave up and closed their doors.  In 2014 HubPages acquired its largest competitor, Squidoo, in a friendly takeover.
In 2016, HubPages announced it was moving from a single-site to a multi-site structure with the introduction of separate "vertical sites".  Each site contains articles covering a group of broadly related subjects.
In 2018, it was acquired by Maven which gave investors a mild payout.<ref name=":0" />
== Memberships ==
Unlike its competitor [[Medium (website)|Medium]], HubPages is not a subscription-based platform and creating a user account can be done for free.{{cn|date=July 2023}} Members post informational articles and earn a share of the income from those articles through the HubPages Earnings Program.{{cn|date=July 2023}}  At one time, having an AdSense account was a prerequisite for being a member but this is no longer the case.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.hubpages.com/index.php Official site]
[[Category:Online mass media companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Knowledge markets]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2006]]