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… and no I don’t think it sucks =P

It;s 5:01 a.m as I start this post and I’ve had a REALLY long few days .. been working from 10 a.m to 10 p.m as of yesterday on the documentary shoot and some client meetings; rushed home to get ready and head over for an Xmas party at a friends’ apartment by 11 p.m; got back around 4 a.m and I’m still awake !

So now that I’ve filled you in and you can appreciate my state of mind … I was blog hopping around the neighbourhood when I came across a tweet to 10 Reasons Why Your Blog Sucks by Edward Khoo.  The reasons come about pretty obvious when you read them but the perception described comes about in a really harsh manner.  If someone had to feel so angry or disgruntled after reading my blog – I would come away feeling pretty shyte ! I won’t put it all here but will give you a summary instead.

10 Reasons Why Some Blogs Suck =(

1. You use syndicated content. You cut & paste articles from sites across the net onto your blog.  You can, but you shouldn’t. Without unique content your blog is nothing.
2. Your blog is boring.  Write about topics that your reader, not topics that interest you.
3. Your blog revolves around your person. Stop talking about yourself already. Readers don’t know you personally, and couldn’t care less about your ramblings. Tell them Facts or stories, not boring personal stuff
4. Oh no, not your favorite music on auto-play!  Don’t add music to your site. Half the people won’t like it and the other half will find it’s a distraction.
5. You use clip art
6. No search boxes or archives.
7. Bad Grammar, typos, misspelled words, and poor punctuation.
8. Spinning Articles.  You write the same things others do that belong to your niche.
9. Irregular posting.
10. Your blog looks like 12023532989 other blogs.

Why My Blog Does NOT Suck

1. I don’t use syndicated content. I swear ! Last time I checked, I hadn’t copy-pasted anything other than my scribbles from my word docs to Live Writer once I got it downloaded.
2. My blog is NOT boring ! At least no one has said so or sent me ‘yawn’ comments.  I like to think I’ve got a variety of topics on hand ranging from Music; some Blogging Tips; Poetry new blog discoveries; and some deep & meaningful reflections as well.
3. My blog revolves around my person.  Why ? Because I am more likely to relate to things that interest me – impact me – and hence better able to convey those thoughts to my readers.
4. I don’t have any music on auto-play.  I have blogged about some of my favourite music and the Magic Of Melodies by using links and video streams but none are on auto play. 
5. I use any and all sorts of videos and images that I feel will enhance my sporadic thoughts and help you relate to whatever it is that I am writing about. And that includes clip art.  I don’t own a personal database of over a billion images representing all walks of the universe.  That’s what the Gods of Google are there for.  However I’ve been lucky enough to capture some real Mumbai Moments as well as some great shots on my camping trip with my own camera so that should count for something !
6. I have a search box on the top right corner of my blog !  I also have a really cool tool-bar (that took me forever to find) at the bottom of this page.  And even if the feature was not available – there’s always the CTRL F feature right there on your keyboard !
7. Did yuo konw taht as long as teh frist and lsat letetrs of a wrod are palced coerrclty tehn you can from the snectnece wihtuot any turolbe.  I got an A in English through my schooling years.  I am quite a stickler for good grammar so not only do I use spell-checks when writing posts – I have also added certain words such as ‘woohoo’ to the dictionary just so that I have less errors during the spell-checks =P  Being a blogger is about being able to express yourself at leisure, or even whilst on the move – and hence small errors every now and then is still acceptable. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt!
8. I don’t spin articles – at least not intentionally.  I write about anything and everything (although I probably will never be able to write about ‘everything’) and considering there are over thousands of similar articles and posts across the blogosphere – there are bound to be similarity to my posts as compared to those who write with no fixed agenda.
9. My blog has been around for about 1.5 year and 152 sporadic thoughts old.  There were 28 posts between July ‘08 – Dec ‘08; and as of today excluding this post – 124 posts between Jan ‘09 and Dec ‘09 which is about 10 posts per month and 2-3 posts per week.  I’d like to think that makes a pretty regular blogger.  Ofcourse I could always try to write more .. but I can’t because I really can’t find the time to always be able to make a note of ‘everything’ that could perhaps be the most interesting content one would ever read.  I blog when I can – about whatever it is that I can – because I just ‘can’.
10. Some people actually like my blog and that’s good enough for me. I don’t blog because I’m trying to become an expert in my niche - I don’t even have a niche !  I’ve managed to receive awards from fellow bloggers – and  it was a total dazed blur of awards for me when I got 3 in September.  A few people out there thought my blog worthy of an award in the form of a JPG image which is pretty cool =) In fact one went on to call me an Awesome Girl too :)  My newbie blogger ego got the better of me at the start of the year and I nominated myself for the Bloggers Choice Awards (just for fun) and I’m proud to announce I got 18 votes – out of how many thousands I don’t know – for Best Blog About Stuff !
11. Various Blog Communities have given me some sort of decent ranking – even though I never asked to be ranked.  Don’t most of us belong to various blog communities or have been reading blogs for a while and hence got encouraged to write ?? because that’s how I got into blogging.  Besides the ranking status or Cyber Highway Traffic (as I like to call it) sort of gives one an idea of how other bloggers perceive their blogs.  I am not an expert – I’m not trying to be one – but I’d definitely like to know how I stand in the overall realm of things in blogosphere.
12. Lastly I’m not writing this post because I think my blog is ‘the bomb’ – that’s Bombchells department =) It’s not because I think that my blog is a Bitch Fab blog – that title totally goes to the Fab Bitch herself :) But the main reason that my blog doesn’t suck is because it’s MY blog and it’s all about My Sporadic Reflections =)

blogging blogs cyber space expressions insights meaning neighbours outlook perceptions significance thoughts writing

I came across this blog title from Carol over at Balsam Ponds and Shibu and thought it would make for some great reading as well as gaining some blogger insights.

First off - I quite like the term 'Bloggerville' ... When I first read the posts - I thought I might want to label my title as 'Welcome to Blogsville' - but since Blogville already exists - decided to continue the trend of keeping the same title.

As Shibu puts it - what is Bloggerville ? As far as I go - is a large community (albeit cyber) where the many blogger residents come together - if not on a daily; at least a regular enough basis - and set their thoughts free !

It's home to those who find themselves laden with a never ending train of thoughts that need articulating in some way or form lest they be forgotten in the chaos of day-to-day living.


Think about it this way - if you went to work one day and blurted out every thought you had - people around you might just be dialing a crisis helpline ! There are people we encounter who are unable to process or fathom how one is able to consider a thought or opinion that is solely based on their on personal ideology and is not inspired by traditional books; facts or figures.

Carol and Shibu have got it quite pegged down ... In this vast cyber space - there will be blogs in Bloggerville that we as individuals will enjoy; agree with or disagree with; some that make us laugh; others that show you pain; and some that show you great insight into a topic that you might not know about.

The more you look into the insightful chapters of those in Bloggerville - the feeling that you are not alone out there in your thought process is reassuring - comforting - admit it - it's a huge sigh of relief - that there is someone else out there with a completely unknown and unrelated background - who 'gets' what you mean.

The Bloggerville Residents are non-judgemental - they accept you as the parcel that you are - and provide in their own little ways - that it is in fact OK to be saying, doing or thinking what you are. They also impart and share knowledge - thus giving our mind that much needed exercise when the monotony of 'every day living' becomes just a tad too predictable !!

So I take this opportunity to Thank You - the Residents of Bloggerville; my neighbours who follow my journey of Sparodic Reflections - for taking the time to stop by my Blog and spending a few minutes soaking in whatever I have to offer; and for taking me down your subconscious avenue of insights.