blogger tips blogger voice discover your inner blogger public vs private blogs random random rambling random thoughts reasons people blog why blogging why do you blog

I’ve been doing a lot of reading this morning (like any other morning) and came across an interesting post by Jeff Bullas titled ‘Why Do You Blog’ (hence the title of my post since there was really no other way of putting it)  which I highly recommend you all read.

I have taken the liberty of putting together a little diagram to summarize what Jeff has said :

 

I’ve been blogging for almost 2 years now .. seriously since about 1.5 year .. and I’ve never really thought about ‘why’ I blog .. I blog because I want to.  There’s no real hidden purpose behind it.  It’s more about the ability to be able to express myself and to voice out an opinion.  I’m not a political blogger nor am I a business blogger .. I don’t fall into the dating / relationship blogger category (but am flattered that a few of my Twitter friends consider me to be so) ..

I suppose I blog for all of the above illustrated reasons – more so in the personal blogger category because I tend to write about a variety of things .. hence the name Sporadic Reflections for my blog.

I never thought I’d make money from blogging.  Hats off to those who make a living as bloggers.  I just don’t know if I would be able to do that.  I mean I love to write but I barely have the time that would even remotely qualify me to be able to make enough money to sustain myself.  Having said that, I have over the past few months enrolled myself with various sites that pay bloggers for content.  I’m also quite proud of the fact that I’ve managed to make about $100 from doing what I enjoy in my spare time – writing – or to say it correctly – by blogging. 

Everyone has their own reasons behind why they choose to blog – after all it’s about finding your blogger voice.  As an events & wedding planner – I have been meaning to put together a few articles that I feel would be helpful for brides and grooms and have them put up on my blog.  I’ve even thought about having a separate blog just for that.  I’m still in the researching phase for that – but it’s something I want to do and hope to have up and running soon enough.  Alternatively I will just wait until my company website is live and have the blog as a part of that.

I recommend business blogs to all my clients who come to me for marketing consulting.  I am very pro social media marketing and encourage clients to delve into it if they haven’t already as I feel its a better medium for them.  There are a plethora of ways of business to promote their brand and their products by way of blogging and incorporating a few other social media mediums and use it to their advantage. 

MySpace introduced blogging quite a few years ago – and created an avenue for music artists to put up their latest projects, gigs, their new music, and also enable them to interact with their fans.  There are a growing number of photo blogs out there that lets photography enthusiasts show off their talents and lets the rest of cyber space enough their photography.  Some of us have never seen the images captured and probably never will.

Now that I have found my blogger voice – what about you ? Have you found your blogger voice ? And lastly I’ll leave you with this thought – does a public or private blog affect your writing ?

So why do you blog ? Would love to know your thoughts on this and if you have taken the time to read any of the other posts linked to this article – don’t forget to leave a comment :)

celebrating birthdays guilt guilty pleasures love to party random random rambling random thoughts

cos it’s my birthday !!!  Okay so it’s not really my birthday today … but it is coming up on 23rd January and I am super excited about ! My birthday could definitely be classified as one of my guilty pleasures !

I love my birthday – and organizing it even more !  My birthday tends to be a drawn out affair – a minimum of 3 days of celebrating : the day before, the day off, and the day after.  After all – I am an Aquarian =)

Last year I’d booked a bungalow out in Lonavala (about 100 km out of Mumbai and a good 2.5 hour drive) which is also considered a hill-station.  I was quite impressed with the turn out of about 6 guests.  My bartenders were stunned at the amount of alcohol we consumed ! The party went from 6 p.m to 6 a.m with the last guest arriving at 3:30 a.m !

This year is going to be no different.  In November I got it into my head that I ‘want to’ have a ‘pool party’.  Sounds like no trouble right ? WRONG ! It’s practically impossible to find a good bungalow / villa with private pool that can be hired within the city.  Sure there are some – but they are quite far off and the snail-paced traffic is enough to deter most people from attending !

I have driven close to 400 kms between Sunday & Monday … all for the sake of finalizing the perfect bungalow (with a pool of course) to hold my 28th birthday … and I finally found it.  On my drive back home – I thought about how I have been wanting to start writing tips for wedding planning .. so why not also note down tips for general party planning.

So while I try to sort my party out over the next few days – I’ll leave you guys to read up on 7 Things To Do for a Great Party !

blogging blogs nature ocean breeze perception rambling random reflections sea thoughts water writing

Note:  I wrote this post on 28th May but only managed to upload it this morning

I am sitting on my maternal grandparents terrace which overlooks the sea face .. their house is located in an area aptly named Worli Sea Face …

I love chilling out on this terrace … it’s huge !! In terms of space – at least 75 people could hang out here with a full blown bar hehe but I am side tracking …

I’ve been sitting here for the past 2 hours and just enjoying the sounds of the sea; hearing the waves crashing against the rocky shoreline; and feeling the light breeze against my skin.

I managed to take a few pictures … what do you think ?

Isn’t the view just stunning ??  Whenever I am here – I feel like I am not in Bombay.  It’s as if I am away from the dirt and grime of an over populated city and have been transported elsewhere. 

It’s just really nice to be out here … I am a nature lover and have always loved the water … If the sea was cleaner and not so dirty – I would have enjoyed taking a dip in the water … but alas you don’t always get what you want …

The time has flown by – and I’ve not coughed too much; even had a light  dinner out here – a traditional dish which can only be perfected at my grandmothers’ house – so a source of comfort for me =)

Check this photograph out … I basically had to lie down flat on the terrace and angle the camera upwards so as to be able to capture the palm tree, clouds and the moon.  Of course the moon was more crescent and since I’m not using a professional camera it looks like it is more full than crescent – but I still think it’s a really cool picture :)

Maybe I needed this ‘breath of fresh air’ to get out of my sick-mode … I’ve been ill so many days now – that I feel that I have forgotten what it is like to be outside .. since I’m not really allowed to go out and walk around etc.  Damn ! I should have come here sooner !

advertisements adverts air new zealand blogging blogs nothing to hide perceptions rambling random reflections

 

My friend AM had posted this link up on his FaceBook and I thought it was a pretty cool advert.   I really like the way the producer has made the advert – there’s nothing obscene about it AND doesn’t look like there is anything to hide either =)

 

 

Living in India at the moment also means being subjected to some really bad advertisements on telly – which sometimes are so pointless – it makes you wonder what the brand managers and producers were thinking when they thought of the concept of the advert !!

Considering that there are some amazing creative geniuses in this country – their talent doesn’t always come out to the public – and when it does – it’s to a very select audience.  The majority of TV adverts are made for the masses and very few are actually made for the classes. 

 

If a similar sort of advert was done for the Indian audiences – that would just become the next big headline and cause for scandal !! Lord only knows how many lawsuits might follow !!

 

I will be hunting for some examples to show you guys and will put this together for another post.

awareness blogging blogs life neighbours perceptions personal perspective present random reflections writing

Good Morning Blogsville !

It’s 09:23 in Mumbai, India on a Friday morning, and I’m sitting in bed, typing away.

I couldn’t sleep very much last night – surprising as I had a really long day, and have been avoiding a splitting migraine for the past 2 days.  Not to mention that I’m working on an event today as well.  Reporting in at 12:30 – so I’ve got time.  And I can already feel the beginnings of a migraine.

Ate something – but so far, it’s not helping.  Might just put some Tiger Oil or Roll-On which is made with Eucalyptus oil – my life savers when I can’t find a pain killer for the migraines.

I took a leisurely stroll through the neighbourhood yesterday, and found myself fascinated by some of what I came across.

A little while into my stroll, I bumped into a new face who looked like he was moving into the neighbourhood Mr J Patel, and it was over by Simply Ridiculous cafe that I overhead him discussing Why Evolution & Natural Selection Don’t Make Sense …

On the way back home, I literally Found Shit !!  A really cool site with some funky images with cheeky tag-lines !  Some can get the creative juices flowing.  I’m just going to point out a pic or two that caught my attention.

I’ll Need  A Paper Clip

 

Croissant Kitty

 

Lifebouy Soap Ad : ‘You Eat What You Touch’

There’s quite a bit more that I came across but haven’t had the chance to be able to put it all across ! It’s already 11:36 a.m now – I’ve been surfing online trying to hunt back all the great spots I found last night – but was too sleepy to bookmark all.

I have to rush to work now – so will let you know how the awards go this evening !

blogging blogs face lift random reflections thoughts writing

Yippeeeeee !!!

I’ve finally managed to change the layout and background of my blog =)

It’s taken me almost forever – well it feels like that ! – to find a background that I really liked and wanted to use for my page.

I always thought I could get a nice background with some water reflections … or maybe even a setting moon .. I actually found some wicked photographs across at some of the neighbours in Blogsville over at Kinobile Avenue.

I really loved these two photographs and had to download them for myself … I just haven’t learned to create my own backgrounds as yet to get this up and running for my own page. One of these days I’ll learn .. worst case scenario – I have friends who do web design – I’m sure I can pull in a favour or two LOL

Since I’m so excited about my new background – would love to know your thoughts on it – and if you think any changes need to be made.

blogging blogs dancing personality test rambling random writing

What type of dancer are you?

You are a Seductive Dancer!

Look out! You are the hottest thing on the dance floor. No one can resist your charms and you’ve perfected your dancing as a means of scoring. Everybody knows that if you are a good dancer, you’ll probably bring your rhythm to the bedroom which is a huge turn on for your admirers.

I have to be shameless and completely agree with the results of this quiz !! One of my qualities where I know beyond a doubt that I am good at is dancing !!

I've mentioned before that I really like to dance - and if I have a good dance partner - then there's really nothing stopping us from creating fire on the dance floor !!! I have had the pleasure over the years to be able to dance alongside some fantastic dancers and it is because of their partnership that I have been able to pull of some of the moves that I have done !

Now it's not like I have danced with anyone famous - just some regular guys (and gals) who have rhythm flowing through their bodies; their feet just interpreting the beats behind the music; their stance making them a presence to be acknowledged !

There have been nights where I have danced without a care in the world !! My dance partner and I would be the only people on the dance floor for all that mattered and it was just about the rhythm and beats of the music and our bodies moving in sync to the magic behind melodies.

So here's a shout out to all my dance partners that have made a difference to me ... Dubai - YK, Mumbai - HRH, YK, RO, AT; London - my ladies AP, DA, VN, EG, and the lads RDS, SP; Montreal - AC, SN, CT, AD !!

perception personality test quiz rambling random smart social thoughts

I just took this quiz and it's pretty accurate I would say ... I like to think of myself as a socially smart person who is also 'street smart'.

What kind of smart are you ?