{mosimage}I always used to say Vaithiyanathan & Bala, my mama (brother-in-law) to start blogging, because these are two guys who are best conversationalists and with beautiful vocabulary, I had ever come across. Not only these two but also I had come across many more people in my life who see things in different yet intresting perspectives. People who look things in a sensitive as well as different way always have more to say to the world. The more you have to say, more you have to express and more expressive you are, more content you have for your blogs. Thats why I always used to tell my friends "YOU SHOULD WRITE BLOGS". Going through my blogs, once Vaithiyanathan asked me whether I had aspirations of becoming a journalist or to run a magazine of my own. What to say?
It is partially "YES" & "NO". In the first year of Engg., on student level we had decided to bring out a quarterly department magazine for our department, but it didn't materialse due to some bureaucratic issues. We believed to have a platform for us to express ourselves and showcase our talents. Except that occassion, I didn't have any such aspirations. But with the advent of internet, now everybody who has an urge to express themselves can set up their own blogs.
Coming back to "Why you should blog..", let me take an alternate approach of explaining it. The common repsonses I got are "I don't have time to blog", "I am reluctant to put my opinion on a 'permanent' record", "Who will read my blogs even if I do?", "What can I write?", " I find most blogs narcissistic in approach", "I am not a good writer", "What is the use of blogging?", "I don't have technical expertise to set up a blogsite for me". So let us move ahead by nullifying the responses.
1. I don't have time to blog:- Who said that you need enormous time to blog? All it needs is just few minutes a week to put down your thoughts. If you find something intresting, just put it down in a raw format, exactly the way and with the words you saw it, mark my words - it won't take more than 10-15 minutes if you do so. The more you try to decorate it, by proofing, editing you are bound to spend more time on it. Else it shouldn't consume much of your time. The more you read others, the 'near perfection' is automatically imbibed in due course of time. So don't worry about the time factor. Also nobody points gun on your forehead and makes you blog at an alarming regularity. So when you feel like blogging, when you think you have enough time to blog, just blog.
2. I am reluctant to put my opinions on a 'permanent' record:- Believe me, I had this problem for a long. All my initial blogs used to be non committal and were on general things like movies, music and books etc. Thats why my tagline reads as "Online Galatta - when books, movies and music meet online". I always feared to put down my thoughts fearing of a 'permanent record'. Slowly I realised nobody around us is perfect, so why to be ashamed of if we think that we are not perfect and accept it. Admitted that some of my personal blogs are watered down versions, but the moment you put something on record you are bound to stand by it, you do it with a conviction, whether it is right or wrong. To admit that you had done something in front of the world needs some guts, which comes with the emotional maturity and pride. You definitely feel good that you did. OK! Even if you feel after sometime that your 'record' is something you had changed your stand, you can always 'edit' or 'delete' it. So why give unnecessary importance to the 'permanent' factor?
3. Who will read my blogs even if I do?:- I had come across certain blogs that had been maintained for more than 7-8 years. If they had thought so will I have been able to read them now and observe their gradual & intresting transition in personalities. This is something Vaithy adviced me "When you write, don't think of your audience". So if you don't take audience into account while writing, you won't bother also who reads them. This approach is very much useful in letting you being honest to core. Ha! Jokes apart, don't expect an overwhelming visitors number to your blogs immediately. It will take its time to build your niche audience. There are other factors like searchability, indexing etc, which is beyond your scope. After sometime when people discover your blogs, if yours strike a chord with them, not only they will return again and again, but they'll refer to their friends also.
4. What can I write?:- The advantage of blogging is that the scope it offers is simply infinite. You can write on anything you feel like, whatever you feel you are good at, either it can be technical manuals or your speciality like poems or displaying your creative talents. Unless you face a creative block, there is no dearth of topics to blog on. I used to visit many other's blogs and used to wonder at their creativity. Some people put down the very normal things in an intresting perspective, something mindblowing. Infact I tried to see things that way, but realised that I have a different outlook towards life. Apart from regular stuffs, you can write technical manuals also. When I was searching for a tutorials to install a personal web server, I landed on a blog site which was very much simple in a layman language.
5. I find most personal blogs narcissistic:- This is bit sensitive part of blogging depending upon the intentions of the writer. Admitted many personal blogs are whining and complaining in nature. This depends on the blogging individuals. Since internet gives the advantage of anonymity, some people simple unload their personal problems, their unmentionable secrets on the net, fearing to discuss with their friends. Some people put themselves at the pedestal, simple reason being just too self absorbed. My sincere suggestion is "Don't get bogged by these kind of blogs".
6. I am not a good writer:- Again who looks for 'professional' writings in amateur blogs? Infact the basic thing that attracts the regular reader of the blogs is the honesty and sincerity in their approach. Nobody looks for ornated writings in the blogs. Just be yourself, put down exactly what you feel. The raw words has its own beauty that attracts people in hordes. If you feel style is important than the soul, you are looking for a magazine because blogs are soulful, but need not be stylish. Also a blog need not be a large one. Just a few lines per article will be fine.
7. What is the use of blogging?:- What is the use of playing sports? What is use of watching TV? What is the use of reading books? Same is the use of blogging. If sports attributes to physical health, reading to mental health, then blogging changes your attitude, outlook towards life and makes you expressive. You see beautiful things that inspires you to write, after some time you see beauty in everything you see / write. At the risk of being narcissistic, I personally feel that I am more at peace ever since I started writing taking cues from my personal experiences. Sometimes you find yourself amidst people of different wavelength, you want to admire something to somebody, but nobody is there. Just put down on blogs, you'll be happy to find somebody who sees the things the same as you.
8. I don't have the technical expertise to set up a blogsite for me:- Do you know how to compose an email? If so, you are technically qualified enough to start your blogging site. Just sign up with a blog service provider like "Blogspot", "Blogdrive", Rediff", "Indiatimes", a very few to name. In the control panel, you'll find something like "Compose a blog", on clicking it you'll get a text area box, similar to your email composing box, type your contents in that. Finally push the "Publish" button. Voila! you had announced your views to the whole world. As simple as that.
It is really a wonderful experience of blogging, so much lovely that I am recommending to all of my friends to blog. Once you start blogging, you might be surprised at your own skills and the way you look things is not necessarily the same ever. More details about BLOGGING can be found here. I would love to see you people blogging soon.
Coming back to "Why you should blog..", let me take an alternate approach of explaining it. The common repsonses I got are "I don't have time to blog", "I am reluctant to put my opinion on a 'permanent' record", "Who will read my blogs even if I do?", "What can I write?", " I find most blogs narcissistic in approach", "I am not a good writer", "What is the use of blogging?", "I don't have technical expertise to set up a blogsite for me". So let us move ahead by nullifying the responses.
1. I don't have time to blog:- Who said that you need enormous time to blog? All it needs is just few minutes a week to put down your thoughts. If you find something intresting, just put it down in a raw format, exactly the way and with the words you saw it, mark my words - it won't take more than 10-15 minutes if you do so. The more you try to decorate it, by proofing, editing you are bound to spend more time on it. Else it shouldn't consume much of your time. The more you read others, the 'near perfection' is automatically imbibed in due course of time. So don't worry about the time factor. Also nobody points gun on your forehead and makes you blog at an alarming regularity. So when you feel like blogging, when you think you have enough time to blog, just blog.
2. I am reluctant to put my opinions on a 'permanent' record:- Believe me, I had this problem for a long. All my initial blogs used to be non committal and were on general things like movies, music and books etc. Thats why my tagline reads as "Online Galatta - when books, movies and music meet online". I always feared to put down my thoughts fearing of a 'permanent record'. Slowly I realised nobody around us is perfect, so why to be ashamed of if we think that we are not perfect and accept it. Admitted that some of my personal blogs are watered down versions, but the moment you put something on record you are bound to stand by it, you do it with a conviction, whether it is right or wrong. To admit that you had done something in front of the world needs some guts, which comes with the emotional maturity and pride. You definitely feel good that you did. OK! Even if you feel after sometime that your 'record' is something you had changed your stand, you can always 'edit' or 'delete' it. So why give unnecessary importance to the 'permanent' factor?
3. Who will read my blogs even if I do?:- I had come across certain blogs that had been maintained for more than 7-8 years. If they had thought so will I have been able to read them now and observe their gradual & intresting transition in personalities. This is something Vaithy adviced me "When you write, don't think of your audience". So if you don't take audience into account while writing, you won't bother also who reads them. This approach is very much useful in letting you being honest to core. Ha! Jokes apart, don't expect an overwhelming visitors number to your blogs immediately. It will take its time to build your niche audience. There are other factors like searchability, indexing etc, which is beyond your scope. After sometime when people discover your blogs, if yours strike a chord with them, not only they will return again and again, but they'll refer to their friends also.
4. What can I write?:- The advantage of blogging is that the scope it offers is simply infinite. You can write on anything you feel like, whatever you feel you are good at, either it can be technical manuals or your speciality like poems or displaying your creative talents. Unless you face a creative block, there is no dearth of topics to blog on. I used to visit many other's blogs and used to wonder at their creativity. Some people put down the very normal things in an intresting perspective, something mindblowing. Infact I tried to see things that way, but realised that I have a different outlook towards life. Apart from regular stuffs, you can write technical manuals also. When I was searching for a tutorials to install a personal web server, I landed on a blog site which was very much simple in a layman language.
5. I find most personal blogs narcissistic:- This is bit sensitive part of blogging depending upon the intentions of the writer. Admitted many personal blogs are whining and complaining in nature. This depends on the blogging individuals. Since internet gives the advantage of anonymity, some people simple unload their personal problems, their unmentionable secrets on the net, fearing to discuss with their friends. Some people put themselves at the pedestal, simple reason being just too self absorbed. My sincere suggestion is "Don't get bogged by these kind of blogs".
6. I am not a good writer:- Again who looks for 'professional' writings in amateur blogs? Infact the basic thing that attracts the regular reader of the blogs is the honesty and sincerity in their approach. Nobody looks for ornated writings in the blogs. Just be yourself, put down exactly what you feel. The raw words has its own beauty that attracts people in hordes. If you feel style is important than the soul, you are looking for a magazine because blogs are soulful, but need not be stylish. Also a blog need not be a large one. Just a few lines per article will be fine.
7. What is the use of blogging?:- What is the use of playing sports? What is use of watching TV? What is the use of reading books? Same is the use of blogging. If sports attributes to physical health, reading to mental health, then blogging changes your attitude, outlook towards life and makes you expressive. You see beautiful things that inspires you to write, after some time you see beauty in everything you see / write. At the risk of being narcissistic, I personally feel that I am more at peace ever since I started writing taking cues from my personal experiences. Sometimes you find yourself amidst people of different wavelength, you want to admire something to somebody, but nobody is there. Just put down on blogs, you'll be happy to find somebody who sees the things the same as you.
8. I don't have the technical expertise to set up a blogsite for me:- Do you know how to compose an email? If so, you are technically qualified enough to start your blogging site. Just sign up with a blog service provider like "Blogspot", "Blogdrive", Rediff", "Indiatimes", a very few to name. In the control panel, you'll find something like "Compose a blog", on clicking it you'll get a text area box, similar to your email composing box, type your contents in that. Finally push the "Publish" button. Voila! you had announced your views to the whole world. As simple as that.
It is really a wonderful experience of blogging, so much lovely that I am recommending to all of my friends to blog. Once you start blogging, you might be surprised at your own skills and the way you look things is not necessarily the same ever. More details about BLOGGING can be found here. I would love to see you people blogging soon.
