Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Illusions about Blogging


There is the real world and there is the world as we see it. The wider the variation between the two the more lost to sanity is the concerned person. Everyone is less than completely sane, as far as I know, but if I am typical of a blogger then bloggers are less sane than the rest of the world.
The idea that I am typical of any group of people is risible to most people who know me. In fact, all I have to do is to call myself typical of a group of people to make that group rise up in wrath and commit mayhem on my body. “We may be mad but, boy, as mad as you? Yetch!!” is the war cry!
So, take this piece to mean only my illusions about blogging. Mine may be a miserable life but I still love it and would not want it cut short in its prime…errr…a shade past its prime, if you insist!
I have already talked of the fact that one of my illusions is already gone. I expected the brilliance of my writing genius to shine like a sun and draw readers like moths to a fire. Now I have come to realize that, even if the Internet is transparent, the boundaries of a blog are opaque to the light of my genius and, thus, one needs to go out and invite people into your blog first. Bloggers and Blog readers are, by and large, a shy lot and disdain walking into someone’s blog uninvited!
It is nevertheless a fact that other illusions still persist. I am still under the illusion that one who comes to my blog stays there because he is enthralled and not because he only wants me to return the favor. Like Yudhishtir is supposed to have said in the Yakshaprashnam, “The biggest wonder of the world is that even though men see others dying around them every day, they comport themselves as though they are immortal”, one could say of Bloggers, ‘Even though they see people visit blogs merely because they expect visits in return, they think that their own blogs are visited to be read and enjoyed”. To be fair to my readers I must say that all of them come to read and enjoy my writing. If you think it is an illusion, so be it, I do not want to know of it!
To let you know how far gone I am in this illusion, I even think that they would like to read more of me if only it were more conveniently presented. I have backed that illusion with action (and, if only you knew how much I hated work, you would realize how strong my illusion is). I have ended up indexing my blog and the tabs that you see on top of my blog page will take you to the list of pieces I have written under various categories – and each item on those lists will take you to the concerned piece when clicked upon!
And, I do not want to know how distant the world I see is from the real world!

61 comments:

  1. Good to see you have indexed your blog. I have finally got out of the illusion. I have decided if my writings are not worth visiting for itself and I need to run after readers or publishers, I would rather spend my time doing office work. I would just write for the fun of it whenever the urge comes and would not expect anyone to read. I have also decided to stop participation in contests and will visit only blogs of 1-2 friends like you.

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    1. Took a leaf out of your book, TF! One thing not illusory about the world of blogging is the friends you make! It is also true that there are a lot of people who actually come to read. That is what keeps me going!

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  2. Illusions or not, I love being here for the short stories, humor and philosophy! As long as the love affair with writing continues, I will not bother about the comments or contests and maybe that is what keeps me going:-)

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    1. Thanks Akanksha! What keeps me going is getting to know and befriend people like you.

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  3. i read a thread of urs related to this on Indiblogger..and wanted to comment but i realised the thread was a very old one! the topic u raised was so true..i always wondered so too myself, people visiting blogs and leaving behind their blog ids and the blog owner not sure if his post was read in the first place!! people 'promoting' blogs and again whether actually after reading it or just to gain traffic!

    when i thought about it, i realised, i started blogging because i had something to say, so let me do what i do best...and read who i 'want' to read because i love reading them and it enlightens me when i read them...and as u rightly said, not to return the favour!

    why expect someone to read me if i do not cater to their taste? glad i stumbled here!

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  4. The efforts taken by you and The Fool inspire people like me to improve their writing skills. Rest assured sir I check your blog every weekday to see if you have published a new post :)

    The Fiction Writing Workshop was a brilliant initiative.

    Missed out on exercise-2 - hope I will be able to participate for exercise-3.

    Thanks,
    Mahesh

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  5. well yes even I had a few illusions as I entered the world of blogging ... But I must say indiblogger has introduced me to few great bloggers with whom I love to keep in touch via their blogs ... I just love your sense of humor and your command over the language . Keep blogging ... there are people out there waiting to hear from you ...

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  6. apologies - participate in exercise-3 :)

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  7. I believe, hindi words in an english post ( like yakshaprashnam) should be in italics, or a different font, than the rest of the post.

    I, though, too miss out on that but anyways nice to see indexes :)

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    1. Quite true, Yatin! Give me some credit for knowing all these itty-bitty things - and assume that it was only laziness or oversight!

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  8. The index is neat and inviting, Suresh! I assure you, I read and enjoy your blogs as much as you read and enjoy mine! ;) That is a profound wisdom Yudhishthir had offered.

    Every good thing comes to an end one day, except probably the writings. Then again, it could be an illusion and that makes it one too many for a single comment!

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    1. Thanks, Uma! I do know you do - it is people like you who keep me going!

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  9. Hello Sir,

    I believe 'sanity' is an illusion.

    How much we want people to read without any favors. I guess, we have to devise a system to attract non-bloggers, they are better readers, no offense. But about your first illusion, I would say, you made your mind pretty soon. There are many who say high words for you. The number of such people will increase eventually.

    And indexing is a great idea, fetches you more readers. I would suggest you to include, linkwithin widget. It works for sure. :)

    Regard,
    Another insane blogger...:)

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    1. Thanks Saru for those kinds words and for taking the trouble to suggest improvements! Actually 'real world' is in and of itself an illusion - so no wonder sanity is an illusion :)

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  10. I don't know about others, but I came to your blog and stayed to read. you didn't invite me nor did you invite me to add you to my blogroll. But I did because I liked what I read. :) I have no comments about making friends in blogosphere. Period. But often I read and comment on blogs of friends because they are friends, even if their writing is not of great literary standards :)

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    1. Hi Zephyr! When I meant inviting what I meant was putting up things of Indivine and the like. In 2009 I blogged without joining any blogging community and the readership - to say the least - was pathetic. I stopped blogging for the next 2 years and re-started this year after joining Indiblogger.

      I do not know if you found this offensive - but I only intended poking fun at myself for thinking that people would want to read more of me and would be interested in an index of my posts. After all, no blogger can compare in literary standards to the likes of, say, P.G. Wodehouse!

      I like and value the friends I made on blogosphere and you - despite the physical distance between us - have been warm to me in all ways. The last thing I would wish is for you to carry the impression that I thought of your interest - and the interest of a great many of my friends here - in my blogs as illusory.

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  11. I was intrigued by the post topic and navigated here. Well, we have our illusions with bloggers and blogging. I am new here and haven't read you much to comment. But one post that I remember about hair that you did for the Dove contest was totally hilarious. Just like in life, one can only do one's work and hope that all else falls in place.

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    1. Thanks Rachna! Btw, please do not think that I consider all my readers a being the tit-for-tat types. I am blessed by a lot of readers who actually entertain warm feelings for me.

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    2. Of course I didn't find it offensive. I was merely making my position clear. Why leave something to chance, eh? :) I remember coming to your blog the first time and reading the post on going blind and instantly felt a connect. I enjoy all the posts of yours though I don't read too much fiction on blogs. And I will always have warm feeling towards friends, Suresh. Hope you remember the meeting we are supposed to have when you go on the Himalayan trek. :D

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    3. Looking forward to that, Zephyr! Will touch base when I finalize my visit.

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  12. I wish I could say Ditto. I would have done that for Zephyr's comment. I would also like to believe that readers on my blog actually do come, regularly or not, because they like to read my posts. Yes, I have a Facebook page now and I do send out invites to Like the page - but Liking a page by no means is a measure of how much someone actually reads me, I do not remember ever getting any invites from you. But I have you on my reading list. As well as a bunch of other people. About 30 or so right now. They are simply blogs I enjoy reading. Of which maybe 5-6 people might leave comments on mine, the majority might never have read me. But I read them because I like to. For no other reason. Likewise as Zephyr says, there are some whom I also read because I appreciate the simplicity and frankness of their thoughts, not the literary content. Yes, I do revise them from time to time, weed out some which have stopped updating or because of a host of other reasons, add some newly discovered ones in, but some always stay on, because they deserve to. Nice move on the indexing!

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    1. Deepa! Sometimes humor miscarries and I am afraid maybe this one did. The idea of me thinking that the world was so enamored of my writing that they would want to see an index of all I had written and go through the posts struck me as a bit funny at that time and I wrote that about illusions. I, certainly, did not mean anything pejorative about a lot of my readers - particularly the ones who take the pains to leave detailed comments on my blogs. In fact, if they are readers then they are the only reason why I am writing!

      As for FB, I do not use it at all. It is only cos of that workshop that I at all had to visit it - and, mostly, I visit only the group. As for the invites, what I meant was the tacit invite involved in posting on Indivine and not an individual invite :)

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    2. LOL Suresh. For a humorous post, this is getting so serious :) Don't worry about genuine readers who read you for your posts or for the person you are! They'll always be around. I'll be very honest. I still don't see myself using this index. Well maybe sometimes :) I have your post bookmarked, the one where you talk about all your different posts - people's favourite, your personal favourite, contest winning entries and stuff! That's my index :) And I must admit, I haven't been very regular with that index - but every once in a while I jump in. Otherwise its all your recent posts! :) But yes, indexes are helpful! I can see people captivated and jumping from post to post! :) It keeps you going!

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    3. ** using this index yet. Once my index is exhausted, then yep! :)

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    4. Oh! There go all my dreams of having those posts read which were written before you knew I existed :(

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    5. aww Suresh! :) I am referring to your post My Contest Wins - Blogaton and Writeup Cafe which has a whole bunch of links within to some of your own chosen ones! :) Decent start don't you think for posts written before I knew you existed! And now that you have this neat little index all done up, what else could a reader ask for! :)

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  13. Hahaha where is my return visit ?????

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    1. :) I will, Indu, I will! Though I never included you in that list of tit-for-tat lot :)

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  14. What is illusion for one may be reality for another and vice versa. My visiting your blog is not an illusion and my commenting on your posts is a reality. However the reason why I visit your blog and comment may be different from the your perception of why I do so. I visit your blog and comment on it because, very simply put, I like it. I like your writing style, the humour and the topics you write on. Now I'd like to know, why do you think I visit your blog? :-)

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    1. Never have I had a humor post that communicated the exact opposite of what I wished to communicate like this one :) To index my blog was to assume that people were so captivated that they would spend the day running from post to post :) That seemed funny to me - that I should assume that my writing was so captivating. That was the illusion that I intended poking fun at - and it has miscarried badly for quite a few.

      There are people, Sudha, who visit my blog and go and promote on Indiblogger about whom I am unsure whether they even waited for the post to open. There are some who come and leave a bland comment like "Nice read" - where I cannot be certain whether they actually read the post through and meant it - they could have but I cannot assume it.

      I am blessed by a whole lot of others of whom I am certain that they not only read my posts and enjoy them but also entertain friendly feelings for me - enough so they would like me to improve or make use of my abilities better. All the people who comment regularly on my posts are more than readers - they are friends. I'd certainly not be including them in any category of people who come here only to get a return visit. I am sure you know that you count among the cherished friends that I have made due to blogging.

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  15. Aiyyo ! This humour thing has suddenly become very serious. I do consider you as a friend, Suresh and that is the reason why I have taken the liberty of commenting the way I did. :-)

    And I did not intend for my comment to be that way. Since this post was about illusion and reality, my comment was from that PoV only. I'm sorry if I seem to have conveyed something else.

    PS: The separate pages you have crated for the categories is a great idea. I'm not sure about the readers, but is is definitely of help to me. :-)

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    1. Hahaha! Actually, it did seem like my post had communicated an ambiguous message. I did feel that your comment was meant in fun - I was only playing safe :)

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  16. .... and then you can make some inferences lie, the guys who come regularly and suddenly they dissapear for a long time... it means he/she is having some crisis (which is true most of the time)
    ..... and from the type of comment one leaves, it is clear that he/she has not read your blog but just posted something to put in the attendance.

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    1. Yes! I do know of a few whom I miss nowadays!

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  17. I am not a regular in indiblogger. Nor do I have things to share every day. I write things which I feel I won't regret reading couple of years later. Earlier this year, when one day when I had lot of time, I was browsing various blogs and started liking some of the writers. So I regularly come back to check.

    A true artist creates for himself. So keep on writing.
    Cheers,
    Sabyasachi

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    1. Mmm! Quite true that we create because something in us impels us to do so. But any creative expression is incomplete without an audience. After all, all art is about communication - of thoughts, feelings, emotions!

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  18. hahaha, people come here because they love what you write, and that's not an illusion e.g. i am here to read a fun post and i thoroughly enjoyed this post; and you cannot return the favor now because i don't have a new post.

    i write for comments :D and that's what makes me work on my otherwise poor writing skills. and it feels great when i know that my posts will be read by friends like you.

    as i said earlier, this blogsphere is a nice place because of people like you.

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    1. Hi Debs! Blogosphere is wonderful thanks to people like you - I am but a pale imitation :)

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    2. Deb, your writing is missed. Hope your personal endeavors are shaping up nicely.

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    3. Don't we all Subho! Hope Debs will return soon.

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  19. Nice one with your usual sprinkling of humor. Let me tell you.. I definitely visit your blog because I love your writing. And I am sure others too come here for the same reason. I do agree with the fact that people do visit other people’s blogs with the expectation that they will return the favor but once they see the quality of a writer they will (or at least should) stick on and enjoy the writing for the writing and the genius of the writer. :) And you are definitely one! :)

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    1. Thanks Raj! That is praise indeed coming from you - even if undeserved!

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  20. Hi Sir, this is my first return visit after we met at Bangalore Indiblogger meet :) Yeah it is a fact that in the blogosphere "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours" policy works. But being an online marketer I can think of 100 ways to attract readers to your blog. I wish I can start a series of articles on my blog and write about how to attract readers like moths to fire :)

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  21. Between the indexed tabs on top and the labels in the sidebar, you have got navigation nailed. I visit your blog because you make me smile (most of the time). Now I have got inspired to fix the labels on my blog. So yes, I got my back scratched too. Dogs bark. The caravan moves on.

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    1. I only wish I had the contents nailed as well :)

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  22. I started reading your blogs after meeting you at the Soak No More event.. because you have great sense of humor and I love to laugh.

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    1. Thanks, Farida! Like I keep saying this post was more about laughing at myself than pointing fingers at others. And, even if I were pointing fingers, it would certainly not be at you.

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  23. Good to see you moving Suresh. Illusions are many. People end up adding widgets which is used by nobody. Email subscriptions boxes where no email address is put and facebook boxes where no clicks are registered! Uncountable are they :)

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    1. I seem to have rung every change on the illusions myself :)

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  24. Hmmm....Well Suresh, I keep visiting your blog because I really like your writing....Okay, first time visits may be triggered by Indiblogger or returning a visit, but beyond that its the writing that keeps readers coming back....I dont think thats an illusion Suresh. :)

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    1. Mostly when one fishes for compliments he only loses the bait :) I am lucky that I have such friends who actually give me what I am fishing for :)

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  25. I return the courtesy only if the blog has something worthwhile to say. And the number of times I have visited your space, I haven't regretted it even once.

    The sad part is most of us work hard at building a community around our blogs. Once we manage this seemingly impossible feat, we get too caught up to visit other blogs that are not part of this community.

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    1. Quite true! There are only so many minutes in the day :)

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  26. Well, after so many words on inviting, visiting and reading blogs, I am simply taking this little effort to write out a comment to say I actually wanted to read you. Period! :)

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