Salute Thee Blogger!

When I started blogging in 2009, I was desperately seeking some form of communication with the outer world. After my first blog, there were a few technical glitches that dissuaded me from blogging. I returned after a couple of years in 2011 and took to this medium with passion. The more I explored reading fellow bloggers, the smaller I felt in stature in comparison with them. Nevertheless, I continued though at a snail's pace. Participating in contests, commenting on other blogs, it was an exciting journey. When I read inspiring stories of bloggers who had turned into sought after columnists in noted newspapers and magazines, I was motivated to try harder. I admit my ability to spontaneously spin out suitable articles is limited owing to minimal, irregular reading of books and magazines. But I managed to make a start.

 

Image Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/

After almost 6 years, I have transformed from a part time trainer to a freelance content writer. Interestingly, my last content writing job was through a friend who had read my blog. Over the years, I have evolved more as a person partly due to the exposure availed through blogs.  People like Alka Gurha and Purba Ray are my inspirations as they stand out of the crowd through their quality driven content and unique individuality. At times, I had felt my presence at blogosphere was unwarranted for with brilliant writers like them. I had even taken a sabbatical and sat back to simply soak in the pleasure of reading their posts. Politics, Parenting, Homecare; I had everything on my platter whenever required.


Thankyou blogger for this wonderful platform. If not for you, I would have lost in the pages of a book seeking thumbs up for selfies and fake friendships. Looking forward to learn much more from you...

The month that passed by

April-May seems to be a tough time for mothers. Those 60 days that were our childhood desires throughout the year turned out to be dreadful dreams. I had to agree on a few honest attempts made to spend quality time with the girl initially. She too was excited. Interest waned for the two of us as time passed. Nevertheless, we lazied around and now are waiting for the academic schedule to keep us on our feet in the coming months. To the more serious segment of the post, here goes my 'points to ponder' from these days.

• I was browsing through the Internet on April 25th as usual when I saw a birthday doodle. Least interested, I continued. Minutes before exiting, my pointer indicated to the doodle and guess what?! It read 'happy birthday Vaishnavi'. I was more perplexed than pleased as Google was the last person (?) I expected to wish me on my birthday. When I returned from my visit to Madurai, home town, Google+  mailed, " Vaishnavi, you have a story to share". The entire journey pictures were chronologically arranged and displayed in slides.  Now, I am not a very public person wanting to tell the world all I do. My Facebook account deletion 2 years ago justifies this (not considering the occasional logins through spouse account :). Are we becoming way too visible even without wanting to? Today's article in The Hindu titled 'The big data conundrum' throws more light on the topic. Right from the government's policies such as Aadhar card to internet requirements of personal details for every single transaction, validates the fact that  'you are being watched'. Beware folks, it's not just your dubsmash video that you upload in Fb that is seen, but also the secret birthday bash you celebrated in the pub with your chosen few.

• "Whatsappening ?" I yelled of late.  Yes, too much of whatsapping left me laughing over a few funny things. Too many groups and you lose account of the conversation loop. 'Congrats SI, You have lost weight' messaged AA. ' Thanks dear' came the reply. I was wondering why SI didnot look so to me when I met her yesterday. Later did I realize that it was SI from college group who had lost weight and AAs were numerous to rememember. The prompt commentor no matter what is posted ( I wonder if she ever reads , for the emoticons appear nanoseconds after the post), the benign wellwisher ( happy bday to A's cousin's daughter who is my Fb friend), the reposter ( copy paste copy paste, oops that was not meant for this group), the who-knows-who non-participant ( dude, who the hell added me here), the gracious greeter (today is the day, gm; if not today tomorrow, gn), the list goes on. 

Not happy: Paula Cochrane has been hit with a staggering £1,200 phone bill after texting hundreds of smiley face emoticon symbols that weren't included in her 'unlimited' £31-a-month contract. Read full message from website.

Picture message from dailymail.co.uk

• The power of advertising was seen again at home. An exclusive tamil message for those who understand.

        ஐந்து வயது மகள் இரண்டு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு நேச்சர் பவர் சோப்பு விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிரித்தேன். ஒரு வருடம் முன்பு டேபிள் மேட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிந்தித்தேன். இந்த வருடம் சென்னை அமிர்தா காலேஜ் ஆப் ஹோட்டல் மேனேஜ்மென்ட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறாள். ஷாக் ஆயிட்டேன் அவ்வ்வ்வ்வ்....

Happy digital living, readers!

An ode to orkut

Dear Orkut,

It's been years since I interacted through you with my friends and family members. Today, a mail from you made me realize that I can only interact with you for one last time before you expire on September 30, 2014.

Orkut, you, had been our first window to the now buzzing social networking sites. When a friend introduced you to me, little did I know that this will change the way I am going to spend time in the future. I had just finished my school and did not have much of contacts to get back in touch with. However my seniors whom I admired as role models could be approached; mere acquaintances for years became close buddies. A personalized message made me feel important. I as a person had an identity to reckon. What a boon you were to people who wanted to say million things but were shy facing others!

I had played games like anthakshari, riddles and puzzles earlier but imagine playing all these online with people whom you don't even know?! I mean, I had never played a game without knowing the players though attempted some, not knowing even the rules :) But this was exciting than anything else. Forum discussions helped me share my views on various topics. I also learnt different ways of looking at a half-filled glass.

You had your ways of tricking us and I was no exception falling prey to it. I chanced upon ( okay okay say searched for) the profile of my favorite television anchor and found his name with a single letter misspelt. Too busy poor lad, I thought. After waiting anxiously for a couple of days , he accepted my friends request and I was on cloud nine! When I asked him about his profile photo which looked like a younger him, he casually said it was a recent picture. After chatting, I came to know that he was actually the brother of the celebrity whose name rhymed with his sibling and face resembling the celeb very much! And there ended my silly searches for big heads!

Marriages are made in heaven. You showed people that relationships could begin with Orkut. Interestingly, I decided to break one such marriage proposal through you. As I was not ready for marriage, I searched for the profile being considered by parents, found it, made pretty sure that it was the right guy and decided to tell him a no if the proposal was accepted by my family. Luckily horoscopes didn't match and I didn't have to take that extreme step. On a serious note, Orkut taught there was a way, of letting others know your say ! No fairness cream or stylish two-wheeler could do that in today's distant lives. You gave us the courage and confidence to express ourselves better.

People accuse you of not changing with time but that's fine. Pioneers only share blue prints. Initiators only inspire once. We have taken to different forms of social networking and virtual connectivity but without you, this would not have happened. The unlimited availability of networking  has resulted in a slow down of our online activities. We no longer develop goosebumps like we did, when we opened you in closed browsing center cubicles. The restricted ones linger for long in our minds. So will you, Orkut. We may not miss you but will remember you forever as the one who transformed our social networking experiences to the next generation platform.

Love you!

Picture courtesy: indianexpress.com