HubPages - What Is a Hub? How to make money with a computer on the internet.

1,900 words - All World Rights Reserved 1/30/2012 - Optimized

You are reading a “hub”. It is aptly named. It is the hub of a wheel of information, personnel, and logistics (military/industrial speak). It is a place where you direct “traffic” between destinations, like the hub of a train yard, or an airport terminal. It has a “Multimedia Interactive Magazine Format” (Mimf for short). You make it whatever you want. Most hubs, like this one are (monetized). HubPages, Google, eBay, and Amazon have deals worked out. There is no shortage of detailed instructions, advice and willing assistance. In that respect, this international community concept works. If you wish to be noncommercial and have your hubs free of advertising, the option is there for the purist.

My first experience with computers was in 1984. Do you appreciate irony? I worked at Harris Corporation as a Sr. Graphics Specialist/Technical Illustrator. I was recruited from the side of the road while I was painting a mural. A department director drove up, jumped out and said that they needed me at Harris (advanced electronics corporation). At first, I laughed. He insisted that he was serious, they needed someone with my “skill set” to make tradeshow displays. Eventually, I took him up on it. I was newly married, and needed the steady money and benefits.

We did all kinds of graphics and technical illustrations by hand. It was intense, tedious, painstaking work. If we needed an image reduced, we had to send it in to a real “Photoshop” with the percentage pinned to it. We thought we were cooking with gas to check the size first on the new IBM Copier. Computer Generated graphics was brand new and very limited. It was a great job, but after a couple of years, I began to hate it.

I had always worked for myself, and I didn’t need the corporate structure to be productive. Management and secretarial support are good to have. However, managers and secretaries amassed in formation equals office politics . . . a profound hindrance to productivity and peace of mind. I was getting sick of it. I missed having a steady diet of new, and challenging projects. I was bored to death of the redundant corporate standard.

One morning a weird little man came into our office followed by three men in Polo Shirts, Chino pants and Hush Puppies, who were pushing handcarts stacked with boxes. The little man looked the part of the mad professor in a campy movie. His cranium was too large. It was wainscoted by a ring of disheveled white hair that was in serious need of a trim as was his bush of nose hair. He wore a full length, white lab coat over a white shirt and narrow black neck tie. There was a pair of wire rimmed, half frame glasses sitting on the end of his nose. He was immediately intent on taking inventory as his men returned for another load. He ignored us as he set up an icy wall with his body language.

As usual, we had not been notified. He was here to set up our new computers. We had heard rumors, and now we had to make room for them. The Mad Scientist and his “techs” had their routine choreographed to perfection. By early afternoon, we were training on them.

Now, I am an artist. Symbolism is not lost on me. The logo for the thing was an apple with a bite out of it . . . Adam and Eve. Is it cute or insidious? The little symbols for files and programs were called icons. The inventors of this device had a whole universe of terms to choose from. Why icon? An icon is a religious symbol . . . not just a symbol . . . a symbol imbued with super-natural power. Why did they choose medieval religious terminology? Why not something with more of a modern, secular, high tech feel?

The computers changed the culture immediately. We had a reputation for taking too many breaks, extending our lunch time and malingering at the coffee station. Sometimes our work was so tedious it was excruciating. We were all addicted to coffee to keep our eyes open. When the computers came in, we worked right through our breaks. We only got up to go to the bathroom right before it was too late. When we arrived at our station in the morning, and pushed the undulating light, a ridiculously simple happy face would greet us to the accompaniment of a spacy chorus chime. Soon we were conditioned to be pleasantly reinforced when we were welcomed back into this happy face world by our new friend.

There was something beyond the screen, like a magic mirror that enters into another realm of dimension. It drew us in and occupied our attention to the point of losing peripheral vision. We were transported through. We worked feverishly to complete our task . . . to finish the game with the highest possible score. We were mesmerized and captivated.

Soon, we were doing a week’s worth of work in one day. Somehow, we could never get on top of the load. The more work we put out, the more they gave us to do. I thought back to the 1965 World’s Fair, where the whole world embraced the sales pitch of a future of technological utopia. In this Brave New World, there would be personal sized computers made by IBM that would enable users to do ten times the 1965 workload. There would be more time for family, cerebral pursuits, leisure and fun. There was talk of a four day work week. Now we were doing ten times the work, and someone was assigning us twelve times the work to do, “Can you come in on Saturday?”

Please enjoy this one minute archived video. You will get the drift.

A few weeks later, the weird little man came back with one of his techs and hooked up phone lines to our computers. Then, we were able to send messages and images back and forth to the engineers, the “Chicken Checkers”, the military, as well as other firms and entities that comprise the “Military/Industrial Complex”. It didn’t have a name. Soon the Japanese and others, who were given access, were stealing company secrets and worse. It didn’t take them long to figure out how to pick the locks. Everyone took security more seriously, but the damage was done. They could make our microchips cheaper.

The engineers and programmers complained that the computer products were not ready for market, but were already on the shelf. There were glitches, worm holes, and quirks. Our graphics computers couldn’t relate to the engineers’ IBMs. Our "superior" models still couldn’t handle the more complicated, elevated schematics we needed. We had to loosen up the dry ink in our technical pens and go back to the drawing board for the big ones.

They started calling the new communication medium the “World Wide Web”. Everyone was enamored with it. Not me. It was growing too fast, and I agreed with the design engineers. They didn’t have the bugs worked out, yet. Before long it was tagged the “Internet”. Think about that symbolism . . . “World Wide Trap” or “Inter-snare”. It reminded me of the book of Isaiah Chapter 24, “. . . the one who escapes the snare will fall into the trap . . .”

The next thing I know, one of the microwave research engineers and his glorified bean counter project manager were selling booths at a “virtual shopping mall”. They could even hook you up with wholesalers who ship after you take the order. I didn’t even consider the free lessons that went along with a “nominal membership fee”. Who would buy stuff from a store on the internet with a credit card? People just aren't that stupid. Are they?

People quit using phones. The automated systems were too cumbersome to navigate. Everything had to be done by computer on the internet. It was maddening! The "net" would get jammed with users and react like an overloaded pack mule. The more you know about computers the more worry they cause. Was your problem from the user, software, hardware, browser or website? Even the most well versed experts got confused. They would drive themselves crazy with trouble shooting. Everything about the whole thing was off kilter to me. The internet seemed like a man-made astral plane . . . the knowledge of Faust, who traded his soul for the secrets of alchemy and magic.

Chat rooms popped up, advertising began to litter the screen like signs on the highway, and pornography came out of nowhere. Porn? I searched “Battery Powered Drill”. One of the managers got in deep trouble when his wife found his email account and his steamy back and forth with a secretary who was taking his executive privilege course after work.

Meanwhile, I was working on some projects that were making me uncomfortable. They came out with "Crypto" programs that allowed the engineers at Harris to communicate with the their counterparts other countries . They could hold a "conference" involving six different countries with all paticipants typing away in their own language. This was an obvious attempt to reverse the "confounding of the languages" at Babel. Why were we designing high tech individual identification devices that track your finger print or the iris of your eye? Are we being lined up to receive the “Mark of the Beast?” I wanted to get out of there.

I had outside customers who wanted a sculptural sign. It was a big job. A promised raise never came through. I complained to Human Resources, ”You didn’t keep your word. You promised me the raise to move to the new position. You and Saunders need to keep your word, Rich. I sent a lot of contracts over the top. If you renege on the raise . . . that’s unacceptable.”

“You need to understand, Curry. This is an engineering firm. Graphic artists are a dime a dozen.”

I got a dime out of my pocket and flipped it on his desk, “Here . . . get yourself a dozen. You will need them to replace me.”

I worked on my own for awhile, and eventually went to work for Devereux (adolescent mental health facility). I only used computers when I had to, but I stayed away from the net. I like graphic, video and music programs, but I am not into social networking. I am not on Facebook, really. I signed up one day and accidentally sent friend requests to everyone in my address book. I have been getting many new friends, but there is nothing on the page. Twitter is a twibe of twits on a twianride to tweetsville, "Going to Kmart to buy socks now."

Instead of "tweets", they should call it "sqweeks" . . . that’s what lemmings do. I don’t really have time for it. I am a production guy.

This is not a good way to make money from my hubs. You don’t get remunerated directly for writing. You get paid by directing traffic through your hub, engaging readers with wit and wisdom so they will linger long enough to watch a video, follow your links, click on some ads and peruse some products.

I came here because I heard it was a good place for writers to get published . . . a good place to start on the internet. It’s not what I expected. I am not able to take full advantage of the possibilities. I believe, if you consider SEO, are savvy about social networking, and have quality sites to link to, you could do well. I have associates, and we have a lot of work in front of us. It doesn’t start or end here. What I have invested here will pay off.

I don’t really know who runs this hotrod. I think it is on automatic while Big Brother is out playing golf. Either way, it is free. Success depends on how well you master the medium. I may not have answered your questions well, but you have just been treated to a fine example of the technique of “Stream of Conscious” writing. It may seem digressive, but all connected and relevant.

Forget about a clap trap lap tops or quirky, quarky, cranky, cruddy software. It's time to get serious about computer generated design and graphics!

Hotrod . . . get it . . . the ''search engine"? A great big motor in a souped up car?! Orwell, "1984" . . . Big Brother is watching you!

Maybe a lot of you are too young to remember, or never read Orwell's famous book "1984". It was written in the fifties and spoke of a day when the world would be run by a computer system. The shadowy figure who was in control and monitoring people's whereabouts, interests, and activities was referred to by all in the society as Big Brother.

If you are trying to be self sufficiant, or suppliment your income, this is a good place to start. There are many, many sources of good stuff here. I haven't made much money, but I have learned a lot. One thing . . . I need a team. I need to be on a team.

This guy out in California can show you how to work the gig.

These are links to a neat little trick that will help you get free money.

J.S. Matthews - "Hub Greeter" - He's a nice & will help you out.