HubPages vs My Own Site

I've been thinking about leaving HubPages and have been giving this whole thing a lot of thought. Should I continue on HubPages or create my own site and post articles there? Here are some pros and cons of creating my own blog, to kind of help flesh things out a bit:

Blog Pros

• I get 100% of the earnings
• I have complete control of the site from the design to the SEO
• Sharpen my web dev skills. Chances are I would use Drupal (I don't care for WordPress.) I would want a lot of customization in the way of plug-ins.
• It could be a lot of fun managing my own site.
• I wouldn't have to worry about a bunch of crappy or stolen content dragging down my domain. I would be the only one posting.
• Having your own site is something to be proud of.
• No Westside story Facebook drama.
• I think I could make a pretty strong domain. I've done it before. I think a lot of the "crap" weighs HubPages down. Cutting the crap wouldn't be a matter of hitting a report button, but rather, just deleting it.

Blog Cons

• I would have to pay for a domain name and hosting
• Creating and maintaining a site is a lot of work.
• I would have to rely on AdSense clicks again.
• I'm really sick of the whole SEO thing. As lazy as it sounds, I feel like I'm on autopilot with HubPages.
• It would get lonely. My comments would come solely from search engine visitors.
• Too much control could lead to micro-managing.
• No more eBay... not that I earn a ton from it, anyway.
• No HubScore. Even though HubScore is generally worthless, a score below 70 does kind of let me know, "Hey, Melanie, you really need to work on this on."

So, what's the verdict? Well, I'm going to give my own site a trial run. I finish the apprenticeship here soon and I think, while I'm finishing up some of those last hubs, I'll work on starting my own site. I already own a good domain, so I think I'll be good to go.

What do you think? Should I stay with HubPages or develop my own site?

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I'll publish the full recipe in the next few days for those of you who are dying to try this.

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Embarrassing Technology Story?

What's your most embarrassing technology story? What's something you did with your computer that was super dumb?

When I first started using the Internet (this was 1997), I went to the library in town and their homepage was the State of Michigan website. I couldn't figure out how to get off that site. I kept searching in the site's search box for "Hotmail", but it kept taking me to State of Michigan search results. I knew nothing of the address bar.

I told you my story, now tell me yours. :)

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This post has been moved. You will be redirected to Funny Dinosaur Pictures shortly. :)

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