IndiBlogger Weekly Diary | Edition 4
Greetings of the season and welcome to the last edition of IndiBlogger Weekly Diary for 2014! This week we look at the spirit of Christmas through the posts from our fellow bloggers, how the last week’s question on world peace opens a can of whoop ass, the mystery of the Hitler video and the Top 12 IndiBlogger posts for the year 2014 (one for every month)!
We were browsing for posts related to Xmas on IndiBlogger and I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few on the subject from different perspectives. There were posts on Christmas fashion, travel, history, its tradition, et all. There were also some photo-posts on Christmas trees along with delicious sweets and savories of the season. Here’s a list of a few posts that you can check out!
Krishn & Christ– An interesting theory of sorts!
Merry Christmas – Some pics of a manger and a church decorated with Xmas lights.
What will Santa gift me this Christmas? – A bit about the relationship between gifts and Santa claus
A picture is worth a thousand words – (23) – It’s Christmas time! – Some pics on decorations on an Xmas tree
Christmas – Childhood memories – A personal experience on memories of Xmas past!
Santa Wrapped My Year In A Travel Kit – An interesting post on Xmas and travel
Holiday Cheer – A fashion statement!
When Santa disappeared from earth! – A story that give a bit of the ol’ reality check!
What joys will your Christmas bring? – An Xmas tree made entirely books? wot? 🙂
Christmas Nail Art – You can make your nails feel the Xmas too!
Christmas tree alternatives – Some great decorative ideas
Christmas Special: Make snow fall on your blog! – An interesting way to make your blog feel the Xmas spirit as well!
A Letter to Santa – A neat piece of creative writing!
Christmas Recipes – Xmas Food!
DIY – Christmas Crib – A crib is something very few people have the time to make, but if you want to heres how you can get one done!
The Christmas Angel – Another creative piece on Xmas
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year – Bow barracks during Xmas
Dear Santa, thank you so much! – A personal experience on last years Xmas
There are many many many more .. and I am afraid this blog post is not big enough to cover them all but go ahead to browse and feel the excitement of an age-old tradition with a modern spin to it.
What’s up on Christmas?
Last week we asked what everybody really wanted to do this Christmas and here are the winners of a brand new IndiMug for that!
The Big Question Last Week!
Ok, so we asked everyone what they thought of world peace! For a few, the response was, “WTF is world peace?!?”, some offered solutions such as inner peace, personal responsibility, breaking stereotypes and barriers; a majority seemed to think using religious principles was not an effective method for governance of a country. I agree to all of that!
Here’s what I think: I believe the capitalistic world that we live in is playing a major part in the slow progress that we are making towards peace. There are many people who don’t have the basic necessities in life. Money seems to be the only commodity that drives things on earth at the moment. You may have the worst personality known to man, but if you have cash, living on earth is rather easy. What if you don’t have any means and were born to a family that could not provide for you and you had to do it all on your own? You probably are susceptible to people using you for their own needs. I feel terrorism is no different, it preys on the vulnerability of a human soul, that dreams of a happy life and that one meal a day needed to survive. Religion sometimes preys on this very same need. “Come to my church/temple/mosque and I will give you rice and maybe a gun or a vest bomb if you are worthy”.
Most of the people who should be reading the thoughts that we write about on the internet don’t seem to have internet! I kinda like the Mark Zuckerberg principle of free internet for all. Freedom of being informed maybe our only hope of bridging the great divide that seems to be consuming everything in its path at the moment.
(Editor’s note:
)
….moving on to this week’s winners of the IndiMug!
The mystery of the person in the purdah at the IndiBlogger Meet in Hyderabad!
OK! So a few people made guesses. Poonam made a couple. All wrong! :-). Heres the story: so the night before the IndiMeet, we got a bit sugar happy and decided that someone should be in a purdah at the event pretending to be Hitler in disguise. Before we knew it, Vineet Rajan was on his bullet, roaming the streets of Hyderabad, trying to find a purdah. The funny thing was, at the event, while he was running away when ‘spotted’, he rammed into a wall, cartoon style, because he couldn’t see through the veil! :-).
Err.. so no IndiMug on this for anyone 🙁
Top posts on IndiBlogger for every month in 2014!
To compile this list, we took into consideration the popularity of the posts and the impression it made on readers.
Note: The time the post is submitted into IndiBlogger is taken into consideration and not the actual date of the post.
January 2014:
Biswas and her internal tussle with understanding where her blogging stands makes it to our top post in January. I have thought of unplugging and have done it before!
February 2014:
Saru Singhal and her intellectual post on the relationship between intelligence and knowledge takes the top spot in February.
March 2014:
Arti Shah and her ‘The Story of A Girl’ post for the British Airways contest on IndiBlogger makes it to the best post of March this year!
April 2014:
Joshi Daniel and his picture taken in the UAE is the first of two of his photo-posts that make it to this years list and it is indeed our top pick for April!
May 2014:
Bhavya Kaushik and his dark rendition of lovers is our best post for May 2014!
June 2014:
Anita and her dissection of virginity mixed in with Indian pop culture references is our top post for June this year.
July 2014:
Damayanti’s blog post recapping an experience at a writers conference is our pick for the top post in July!
August 2014:
Chaitali’s analysis on the core ideology behind writing and blogging is our best post for August this year!
September 2014:
Joshi Daniel’s powerful imagery and his ability to communicate intense feelings through a picture and a short description is an art form in itself. This one of a samosa seller seems to tell the story of a vendor anxious to sell his snack while its still hot!
October 2014:
Jahid Akhtar and his ‘See All, Tell All’ trip to Gangtok makes it to the best post of October.
November 2014:
Debajyoti Ghosh’s hysterical evaluation of the present commercialization of the Indian blogging scene makes it the best post of November.
December 2014:
Shweta Dave and her post on young love seduces its way to the top post this December
So those were what we think are the best posts for this year. I feel I wrote some good posts too but they didn’t bother to pick any! grrr…
The Question of the Week and the last question for the year 2014!
A lot of times I hear people say that the language is the most important thing when writing a post. There are others who say the experience or information that the post talks about matters more than the quality of the language. Let’s say a 10 year old writes a blog post on his experience in the school. We cant really expect Wren & Martin type English when they decide to pour out their feelings on their blog!
So, the question is, what matters more to you – the language or the experience? …and why? Talk to us! And you can win “Blog Now, Live Forever” IndiMugs. These mugs cannot be bought or won at any contest. You can only get them right here on our comments section! So shoot! 🙂
The End is the Beginning is the End:
The title of the song from Smashing Pumpkins seems apt as life flows from one year into the other. I hope, for the most part, this year has been kind to you and your blog!
#FunFact: In the year 2014, the number of posts submitted to IndiBlogger is 1,12,109 so far! It has been an honor serving you.
We leave you with a video from the IndiVault taken at the Milaap IndiBlogger Meet last Christmas where the bloggers who attended sang The Twelve Days of Christmas. We hope you enjoy it. Until next year, keep the comments coming!
Hello Indiblogger
Overjoyed at picking my blog post on Krishn & Christ.
Cheers!
Hey Sweety, It was an interesting post! 🙂
I’m so excited you featured my post ‘Holiday Cheer’ 🙂 Thank you!
Hey Audrey, you are welcome!
Heartfelt gratitude for the validation and best wishes for the coming new year…
hey Chaitali, Thanks for the wishes.
Thanks,
How to claim for my IndiMug?
For me,
Experience is the matter to draw excellence.
Hey Abhishek, just update your address on indiBlogger if you havent done so already and we will be sending you teh mug soon
Okay Anoop.
First, thanks for letting the IndiBlogger Community know that I made two guesses. 😛
And, I could NOT have guessed it was Vineet, anyhow. IF he would have been wearing his spectacles, it would have been easy as cake for everyone! 😀
Second, I’ll get back to you for the Weekly question, in a bit. 🙂
Prosperous New Year wishes for the IndiTeam, too.
P.S. I also loved the Blogger’s Tree that had been tweeted on Christmas.
Ha ha … yes it was tough to pick vineet .. I thought ppl may have guessed seeing his “Penguin” type walk/run 😀
Love this week’s edition!
If the author is able to convey his message, I wouldn’t mind ignoring a few grammatical errors. When I read a post/book I don’t intend it to be a dictionary, as long as the essence of the message stays put in the words, all’s fine 🙂
Hi Bushra, Thanks! I guess the message does matter!
Experience holds the key as it brings something unique to read.
A piece of article which is written in perfect English but is quite common won’t get our eyes glued.
On the other hand an article which is created out of the juices of an experience is worth reading.
Happy New year IndiTeam. Cheers !!!
Hey Ankit, I also love it when people write from their own experience and in their own words without being pretentious..
Language or Experience?
I say none. What matters to me most is the emotion and feeling behind the post. On what the person is trying to covey. What happened to them. And for that: i can ignore a few grammatical errors. 😀
Ah! Thats a nice perspective .. emotion does convey things that are personal .. hmm .. good point!
The festive mood is on and a nice wrap up of 2014. Hope the new year will bring more happiness and smile…..wishing Team IB and all the members a very happy new year. 😀
The quality of the content matters of course, but a precise piece of writing void of any tight plot, emotion and feeling is like a beautiful body without a soul. That’s all I can say.
Hay Maniparna, Happy new year and all that jazz to you too. Love the analogy!
Of course, having bad grammar puts one off from a good post, but then, it is relative. If we know it is a 10 year old writing I am sure we would ignore the language and focus on the young one’s experience and emotions. Again, if it is an awesome Grammar Nazi writing and the post reveals nothing worthwhile except having to open the dictionary 10 times, I would rather go for the 10 year old’s writing.
At the end of the day, ‘good content’ is the King! 😀
ha ha .. grammar Nazi! .. reminds me of the “Soup Nazi” from Seinfeld! 🙂
Best wishes for the coming year ahead and hope you bring on more and more of the exciting activities in this way! Goodluck 🙂
Regards,
heta1311.wordpress.com
Hey Heta! Thanks and yes more will be on the menu next year! 🙂
Good writing automatically implies good language. I don’t see one separate from the other. As far as your question is concerned — experience matters too. Like the 10000 hour rule mentions, the more you do something, the better you get at it including writing. So in a post for me both the information as well as the way it is penned is important.
Wish you a good year, the wonderful folks at IB. 🙂
Hi Rachna! Thanks and yes there is a direct correlation between good writing and language.
Hey Anoop,
Wish the entire Inditeam a very Happy 2015, may the coming year be much much better for all of us. And Thanks for the coveted IndiMug 🙂
I feel that grammar and sentence formation are essential but are not the whole and sole on which a post depends. Yes, the post with a spelling mistake in each sentence would be gibberish but other than that I do not pay much attention to grammar. Normal english sentences which convey the feelings of the blogger clearly are more important. I mean I never liked grammar in my school and I am from a convent but in most cases just by reading the sentences I can say if they are formed correctly or not. That level should be ok for a blogger unless one is considering being a full time author.
PS – Can you please make sure that my mug reaches the address I have given in my profile by 10-12 January 2015. I will move out of that address sometime mid January…
Hey DS! Thanks for the comment. As for the address, please update it in your IndiBlogger profile. That way we can send it to teh address that you want.
I have already updated the address but I would be available at that address only till 12th January.. So either take care that Mug reaches before that else I will update my new address by 20th January, dispatch the Mug then 🙂
For me i feel language is important but to the extent that everyone can understand and relate to my content on that topic, so if i write a experience and if the language is not up-to the mark but it connects my readers to the content, then for me that is the more satisfactory then language 🙂 however it depends from person to person and everyone has their own style of expressing.
Ps. It was a wonderful year blogging and sharing my experiences on Indiblogger ! Wishing all the folks at Indiblogger team a happy and prosperous NEW YEAR ahead.
Hey Aziz, I get it .. its the connection that matters and how people respond to the content.
I have already updated the address but I would be available at that address only till 12th January.. So either take care that Mug reaches before that else I will update my new address by 20th January, dispatch the Mug then 🙂
Ah cool! Will do!
Hey So did you get your mug or do we need to send it to your updated address?
Amazing edition this one! Refreshing 😀
Being a story writer myself, and that too related to human emotions, feelings and a sophistication named love, I believe that it is not the words which matter, but the feelings, situations, and the life which is carried from a perspective to another perspective. Having a great vocabulary surely does add you to that supreme level but its the form of passage, or the message you are trying to convey matters, perhaps, we should try considering Chetan at this, people may hate him, but the fact remains, he is a national bestseller 😉 and as far as me, I am only concerned how beautifully my stories are accepted in hearts, I want people to read them by their heart, and perhaps if I started to indulge too much of a vocab, the culprit of emotions, mind enters the scene 😉 haha, so it is kind of emotions over perfection for me 🙂
Hey Tanishq, Thanks dude.. “Emotions over perfection”.. Nice! 🙂
Thanks a ton Anoop!:)
Glad to see myself in the list. But would be cool if you can correct my name to joshi daniel 🙂
Hey Joshi, damn! .. I had a feeling the name was wrong .. We have just changed it! 🙂
thank you so much 🙂
Liked the topic. this question has often come up, language or feelings. the self proclaimed grammer nazis go with language, while the weaker ones go for feelings. in my opinion, both are important.
No one reads a grammatically correct shit. at the same time, one can’t read however pleasing a post might be if its in weak language. thus its important to strike a balance between both. present your feelings in a readable language. we dont need Wren and Martin English but a understandable one would be encouraged.
Hey Tanvi, Thanks for the comment! I guess the style of writing matters!
Great work!
Thanks for the mention 🙂
Hey Bhavya! Thanks and you are welcome 🙂
For me both are inter-connected.
Language does matter more , for the fact that even a simple story or anything that you write, for that matter, reaches the person who reads it, loud and clear.SO a well written blog in the simplest of languages can be easily comprehended by all.
Having said that, Information also is equally important. Beating around the bush and not able to hit the bull’s eye is definitely not a good idea and it confuses the reader more and more.
SO, you see. An impressive yet simple language reaching out to more and more readers with the information involved is definitely going to be a Hit blog post.For that one does not have to have a Wren and Martin English, but an easily comprehensible and enjoyable post is more than enough to strike a cord with the readers.
Hey Swarna, Thanks for the comment! I am still waiting for someone to say that its good grammar or nothing! 😀
The language matters more to me than the experience. Words, if handled expertly, can make an ordinary experience appear priceless! I love the magic that words can weave around a story.
I like that one .. I spoke too soon on the previous comment! Telling a simple story with a good command of the language! I likey it! 🙂
If I need to choose between the language and experience, I will need to decide based on the topic being discussed. For example, I blog about crime, human rights and law. This genre of blogging needs experience and bloggers in this genre do not need that great language skill. These blogs are there to help people in their hard times and hence using fancy language or writing creative posts is never intended. However, thanks to Indi contests I try that too. Mixing different genre, bringing in humour or creativity while discussing heinous crimes really thrills me. And it is precisely for those who believe language matters.
However, when I try to write a poem or a novel, language and not experience that matters most. So the answer is subjective to me and depends on genre of the blog.
Hey partha! Nice! “Crime , Human rights and law” .. Theree things I know very little about apart from watching Dexter and psyche! 🙂
A very happy new year to all the bloggers and the entire IB team!
It’s none other than Kaka’s birthday today and I would like to quote his song “Dil ko Dekho Chehra na dekho.” Chehra is zaroori but Dil is zaroorier or zarooriest!
Hey thanks Nikhi! I like the heart in that! 🙂
Hi, Language is nothing but the expressions. you can talk to one year old kid with smile and his expressions even when he doesn’t know any language. It’s the time spent on those moments of life which brings and creates an experience for you which you continue whenever you face next small kid. The same logic can be applied to all the things of life which we learn through our curiosity and love for life. So Language matters but not every time as seen from the last week contest results that Joshi Daniel’s photographs spoke much more what words could speak or write or read. Experience is what we get whenever we write any post or read any post of others, whenever we attend any Indimeet or write for any Indicontest or Happy Hours! It’s the motto of Indiblogger to make us known to the world with “Blog now, Live Forever” which gives us much power using some words of the language and expression but the experience to live those moments are awesome! Enjoy your day! Have a great new year 2015!!! Cheers!!!
hey Aashish! .. Good to see you commenting here bro! “Blog Now, Live Forever” is now a registered trademark .. nah just kidding we dont do shit like that! 😉
I feel that content and language are the two sides of the same coin. Even if a person writes about a daily mundane experience with a great vocabulary, it is a treat to read. Similarly, if a person writes about an exceptional topic or experience in plain simple language, it’s good to read too. However, too many spelling and grammatical mistakes kills the essence of reading especially if it is a long post. So, I feel that simple language is cool. It’s not always necessary to use a rich vocabulary but the post should be free of too many spelling/grammatical errors.
Hey purba, Thats true.. simple vocabulary will do nicely .. although I was made to study a crazy number words at some point for my GRE and GMAT! 🙂 .. I dont remember squat!
Congratulations to the top post’s authors for this year! =) I am so disheartened that my ‘purdah’ guess was incorrect. 😐 I was so sure that it was Anoop. *scratches his head*. It was a tough one though.
Regarding this week’s question: Language helps understanding the writing and makes it more simpler to read and understand if correct grammar rules are followed. It also reduces the effort and time trying to figure what other is trying to convey if the language is used correctly. But if the language is used to write utter gibberish then it is not of interest to anybody. On the other hand, content/experience of the writing provides the essence for the article, and to be honest the content is largely relative to each reader’s interests. Whether or not the reader would be touched with that experience is relative to the reader’s interests and perspective of it. So it is often good to strengthen your foundations, so your house(experience) stands fast on your ground(language). But, hey, a 10 year old’s writing is the epitome of naturalness and hooks almost all readers. 😉
Lastly, I wish a Grand New Year 2015 to the whole IndiTeam. May you shower us with more interesting contests and activities in the coming days. 😛
Hey Abhishek! If I wasnt there during the making of the Purdah video .. I would have thought it was me too! .. But it was a stupid question anywayz .. so dont fret over it 🙂
“a 10 year old’s writing is the epitome of naturalness” .. I guess we can say that .. but you know what .. I did some research and Its hard to differentiate when on a blog … everyone seems to write (Grammar wise) just as good .. maybe MS word has something to do with that 🙂
I will take an example from one of the threads on Indiblogger, I saw today by one David. It reads like this
“Is not easy to update your blog with a fresh content, and that is the reason why many blogger find it difficult to make money with there blog, beause if you don’t update your blog regularly there is know way to make money with adsense , as a blogger how do you get fresh article your blog? From article directories or were. you can get article from other blog and give credit sometime. Am writing this topic to encourage newbie who quite there blog after two month since they don’t have anything to write about”
I had to read this whole text about three times to understand what he was trying to say. So, that is how important language, grammar and spellings are to understand what the author is trying to say.
I’m not really big on grammar, or spot mistakes in tenses or active/passive voice kind of stuff, if the story is compelling, and it has the power to make me hooked to it and interested in it to read till the end. At the same time, laziness with any of the above may lead to passages like the one quoted above, which are difficult to follow, no matter how intriguing the story is.
In a nutshell, stories are what brings the readers, and language has to help in sustaining them, and taking the stories themselves to a higher level
Hey Veturi! Ah I like it .. an opinion based on a bit of research! .. More credibility! 🙂
For me experience and good writing are complimentary to each other. However one can outdo each other in certain circumstances. A good writer can make a not so good experience an incredible one while a badly written terrific experience can be understood. However since blogging is all about language, it’s necessary to be at least grammatically correct .
http://docdivatraveller.blogspot.in/
Hey Mandira, Thanks for the comment and I agree! 🙂
What matters more – Language or experience, and why…
When it comes to writing, we certainly need a language. But then, the language is only a medium to express our thoughts. Because, when we write, our thoughts are converted into black and white and it needs a medium to enable a third person to understand and decipher it.
For me, writing is spontaneous. I would prefer to write what comes to my mind rather than applying the science of grammar behind it before deciding to pen my thoughts. Spontaneous writing, according to me, gives the reader the feeling of oneness with which he or she can relate himself and it reflects the real honesty of the writer.
The experience of spontaneous writing provides me the thrill and the adrenaline rush that I would relate to an adventure sport, where the sportsman does not anticipate the next moment. I feel that the real experience is derived when the thoughts just flow down from our mind and gets imprinted on the paper rather than jotting down ideas and then correlating the dots later to create a picture in the form of an edited and re-edited story.
So for me, I honestly wouldn’t mind compromising on a few gospels of the Wren and Martin, while the matter keeps flowing from my thoughts.
When I am writing, it’s just mind over matter. And as long as I don’t mind (about the language), it doesn’t matter.
Sanjay Thampy
Hey Sanjay, “Spontaneous writing” .. Thats actually a good point! I feel sometimes that’s what makes a great post! 🙂
Happy new year to Inditeam and all my fellow bloggers. 🙂
Now, about Language vs Experience question –
1. I feel blog is about personal experience, it’s not justified to ask for magazine or “Wren & Martin” quality language.
2. language should not be that bad that it hampers readers experience. Bloggers should try to proof read and make minimum mistake.
3. “Sharing is caring”…Blog is for sharing and communicating so we should be a bit lenient.
If blog be the food of sharing…write on. 🙂
Have a blast guys. 😀
Hey Gaurab, Thanks for the comment dude and I am replying late because oddly enough I didnt see this until now!
If Blog be the food of sharing .. nice thought man ..
When I read the question for the first time, it looked like a pretty obvious choice to make. But here I am, looking at the cursor blinking endlessly in my comment box.
But there are times when Content IS King. Like for now,here in this forum, no one would be impressed with the posh jargon you use in your comment. There is a very high possibility that they know more. So, only your content can save you. More important than that is HOW you put it. I’m not talking about the degree of English Grammar excellence. You might have a very valid point in a Group Discussion but you will just not be able to put that into words that justify the depth of your message.
That kind of communication, the ‘connect’ with the reader is most important.Definitely more important than Grammar and Content standing solo! 🙂
I agree to teh fact that only content can save you regardless of what you are writing about. Amit Agarwal mentioned that in his presentation at one of our IndiBlogger events recently as well .. so true ..
Hi Team,
Happy New year 🙂
Language vs Experience – I believe its the thought, the experience and the feelings which matters the most. We write to express , to tell our stories, experiences and feelings and when we read we love something because we like the content of it, the creativity or idea in it and not the language.
I know language is important as at times some mistakes can actually change the meaning of what you want to convey but its not everything, as far as am able to understand whats written – a few mistakes does not matter because I rather read a great story in a simple language with few mistakes than a boring content in great language.
But yes I do prefer a great content with great language but even in this content comes first.
Because we all crave for good content, experiences and thoughts and if this would not have been true and if language would had mattered the most to all of us than I think every english teacher or someone with a phd in english would have become a great writer.
But that’s not how it is- at times we get mesmerized even reading a cute letter to santa by a 7 year old kid. because we just fell in love with the cute little wishes the kid has wrote.
So my vote goes to experience 🙂
Hey pooja,
To quote your comemnt: “But that’s not how it is- at times we get mesmerized even reading a cute letter to santa by a 7 year old kid. because we just fell in love with the cute little wishes the kid has wrote. ”
That is true, there is something about the whole premise of the post that people take into account to finnaly decide if they enjoyed the post!
Happy new year everyone.. I haven’t been here for a while and even before, I don’t really know much about this whole Indiblogger community. I’ll stick to this from now on and I have just discovered your forum!! So I’ll stay.. write some. idk.. and these selection of winners you’ve made here. I wish if I could be one of that guy. But, I’m a tech blogger right now, that doesn’t desire many readers like the biographies and other cool stuffs.
Sure Shanjei.. whatever your heart desires 🙂
Waiting for the next edition! 😀
err.. I should have replied to this ages ago 🙂
Great to find my post amongst the Top posts on IndiBlogger in 2014! Thanks for the honour 🙂
Here’s wishing a wonderful New Year to Team IndiBlogger and all IndiBloggers 🙂
Hey Anita, Its nit surprising for me at least that you made the list 🙂 Keep Blogging