This is my 600th post (according to my WordPress dashboard). Also this month on 20th August this blog will turn five. In the accelerated world of the Net, that’s considered to be an eternity. Actually I would say that’s quite a lot of time in the real world also , enough for instance to have completed another PhD.
Which is why today I put on the cap of cranky old man and fortified by five-years and six hundred posts of wisdom, dispense five totally unsolicited bits of advice for bloggers.
Advice Number 1: Don’t give up. There are several good reasons for deleting your blog or leaving it to rot in cyberspace like a small pile of toxic waste. But don’t merely the fact that no one reads your blog except your mother make you pull the plug. Yes I know. People should not blog for traffic or attention—-a “lonely impulse of delight” (to quote Yeats) is the only thing that should motivate them. However, in my experience, that is rarely the case and if feedback or readership was not a driver for most of blogging then everyone would be scribbling down their musings in a red diary hidden in a desk drawer or password protecting all their posts. A majority of people desire attention and a level of publicity for their thoughts and causes (and there is absolutely nothing wrong in wanting to) and once they don’t get what they want in a certain period of time, they run out of patience and ditch their blogs. Or worse move onto Twitter, the lazy man’s expression medium.
I started this blog for two reasons. One was after graduating with my PhD I moved to a city where I knew no one. Missing my circle of graduate school friends, I stumbled upon blogging as a medium to communicate with similar-minded people where the basis of conversation would be what I believed in and what I thought (as in contrast to social networking sites and chat rooms where people connect based on who they are or more accurately pretend to be). The second equally important reason was to create a readership for my work with the hope that one day it would lead to media opportunities and perhaps even a book. Before conceiving of this blog I had tried various ways to get my writings published, including sending unsolicited material to different media outlets. All of them were met with silence.
Things didn’t get better for quite some time even after starting the blog. No one visited. There were no comments. I got increasingly frustrated and wrote this post. Yes that particular piece of prose makes me cringe today at the immature desperation and the persecution mania that runs through it but at that time there was no denying that this is exactly what I felt. The important thing is that I never gave up, even though I came mighty close. And five years and six hundred posts and 36,805 non-spam comments later, I am still here. And will hopefully carry on.
Advice Number 2: Don’t go into blogging for the wrong reason. Namely just money. No matter what the social media evangelist, the Web 2.0 startup expert, the excited anchor on TV and the online advertising don tells you, blogs, especially in India, are not going to generate pots of gold. No it’s not that your ad placement is wrong or that you are choosing the wrong affiliate programs or that you are not properly search-engine optimized. It’s just that minting money online is not as easy as it is made out to be. Far from it.
Do people not make money from blogs? Sure they do. There is a whole group of clever people who have made money by selling the dream of making money to others. There are also an exceptional few who have indeed managed to generate such an audience for themselves that they can quit their day job and log in to their ad account and see the counter moving up every few seconds. But then the likelihood of that happening to your average Joe are very very slim and if your motivation for blogging is purely to retire on your ad earnings, then the odds are that you are headed towards a gigantic disappointment.
Remember that building up a steady readership is one thing. It is possible with a level of persistence (Advice 1). But the scale at which a blog’s following needs to be in order to make even a decent amount of money is so immense that for 99.9% of us it will be a bridge too far. Alas. I wish things could be different. But that’s just the way it is.
If there is any money from blogging it is not so much from ad revenues but from the possibility of getting writing assignments or book deals based on your content. However getting noticed by those who matter, no matter how exceptional your content is, is largely a matter of luck. And even if you do get noticed it is unlikely that these secondary sources of income will rake in you the kind of cash that you need to have so that you may quit your day job and become that mythical creature—the “professional” blogger.
Advice Number 3: Don’t get too taken in by the technology. I see many newbie bloggers so totally absorbed in the technology that they miss the wood for the trees. Moblogging. Podcasting. Videocasting. Search engine optimization. Pay per click. Pay per impression. Barcamp. Blogcamp.
All this jargon sounds cool and gives you a pleasant buzz. But remember technology is just a medium. What is important is the message.
As an example, you want to moblog because blog evangelist Mr. X says it is the wave of the future. However have you ever asked yourself what is the immediacy of your content that would justify the need for real-time updates via a cell phone? You want to videocast? Are you “Obama Girl”? If not, you have no use for that medium. If you are however, then by all means “bodcast”.
Advice Number 4: Don’t let negative comments put you off. Do not be afraid of critical comments. Keep them on your blog as long as they are not offensive and do not attack you personally. Remember it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. Plus even though you write for an audience and it is human nature to want to be appreciated, the blog’s most important person is you. So write freely on whatever you feel you must. Use user-feedback to improve. But don’t let it be the be-all and end-all.
Advice Number 5: It is never too late to start blogging. Someone was telling me the other day “It’s too late to start a blog in India. The market is saturated.” What I told her was that I thought the exact same thing. Five years ago.
If there is any problem with the Indian blogosphere even after so many years, it is the lack of variety. Which means there are many stories that are waiting to be told. We want personal insights into Indian law. Into the Indian medical system. Into the life of a railway ticket checker. We want to hear from beyond the 15–35 demographic. We want grandma to tell us how college life was in her time. We want uncle to tell us how he felt when he bought his first fridge.
Final words. Write about what you are passionate about—-be it wriggling your ears or collecting match boxes. And most most important of all, produce original content.
Remember once you build it, they will come.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
Keep up the good work.
Nice post GB. Read your old post too. It was odd reading that post in your blog now and that was good too- “May I do friendship with you”, ha ha- typical GB stuff. Regarding ads in blogs, for some reason, visiting a blog with lot of ads puts me off. It is like reading a book filled in with advertisements between pages.
Arnab, congrats on reaching 600 posts. I hope you give us thousands more. 🙂
Long still is thy path and miles still thou hast to trod ere thee reach thy goal. 5 years is but a passing shadow and 600, a trifle. Thy words still have to surmount the dizzying heights of those misty mountains, to delve far below into the mysterious depths of those blue seas…
(Sorry! Too much LOTR this weekend)
Awesome blog this has been, GB. Keep it alive and those hilarious posts coming for many years to come.
Cheers.
Great going, Arnabda ! 600 posts in 5 years > approx 1 post every 3 days..Consistent delivery of slam-bang material.
To me, you are the undisputed king of mass entertainment in the indiblogosphere a la my other God- Rajinikant.
Btw, how long it took you to build a decent loyal audience (by decent, i mean atleast 2500- 3000 hits a month ).A month n half ago, I started mine with great expectations (infact inspired by GB 🙂 ). Though ve made a decent start, the numbers sometimes are depressing..Have given myself 2 years to become a somebody in Indiblogosphere. Too long ?
Dear GB,
I owe you so much. You blogged consistently and the posts are very brilliant. Many blog posts changed my views and opened new horizons for me. I am really thankful to you. I pray God that he gives you strength to go on for another 50 years.
Kishor
Have been a reader of your blog since the last three years. And what amazing fun it has been. Me and my sis always make sure that we read your posts together; we always tend to laugh more when we have somebody to share it with. Thank you.
Very nice post. Hung on till the last bit of advice too 😀
GB,
Interesting since that post that you wrote and which makes you cringe was the very first post when I started following your blog.
Without meeting you, I have seen your thoughts and style mature out here.
What you write here is very much true for writing in general.
I have been writing my blog more to practice narrating my ideas. It started as something more intimate but once I got to know a lot of my relatives and friends had started following it, I substituted intimacy with gyaan and humour. I had some breakups and lost some people in the past two years but instead of directing it in my blog, I started maintaining these journals inside hidden folders in my laptop.
I follow blogs based on their content and honesty. A blogger blogging for claps is not for me – for me, blogs would always be an inferior substitute to books.
One bit that I would like to add is that research well what you’re about to write about. And never substitute reading books with following blogs. It shows in the content.
Great advice, GB. I must be one of your earliest readers – I read RTDM regularly even in the days you wrote “Why Oh Why!” and I’ve recommended your blog to many friends over the years, though somehow I never commented before.
I also think it’s important to have goals/expectations relevant to the nature of the blog. I write two blogs, one of which caters to a very small niche. No matter how much I advertise the niche blog will never get volumes of traffic or generate revenue as the other blog. My goal for it then is not to have tons of visitors but to get the right visitors, and I actually count my low-visitor niche blog as the more successful of the two.
I am one of those silent spectators of your blog. Keep going!
Keep on going soldier 🙂
5 years and 600 posts. Gosh, that really is something.
Keep going and please don’t stop now since you have already achieved what you have started for.
And thanks for taking the trouble for this particular post. It really helps, to know that even the Great Bong has had his share bad days. 🙂
BTW, calling twitter the lazy man’s expression medium has hurt my feelings real bad that I ‘am gonna tweet about it right away. 🙂
Thanks for the advice, guruji!
I am going to start blogging too. Just settled into the “Way of the Weasel” mode and fully adopted Wally’s outlook at work; I foresee a lot of productive blogging at work time (And no, I do not work in a PSU). Recently got some real estate on the web at Kut Price too….
Anyway, there will be a big banner (among others) screaming “There is only one Greatbong” and in the background shall be your divine visage photoshopped into the iconic Bhagavat Gita Vishwaroop portrait, the LED studded disco suit in AB’s Yaarana, with Payal Rohatgi & Chesz Shetty in Laila, fighting Mechagodzilla.
Sigh…. it will make Andy Warhol proud. XOXOXOX
😛
Hi GB,
Firstly, congrats for the 600. I stumbled onto your blog few months ago while Googling and I’ve been hooked ever since. What I like about your posts is the frankness with which you write without caring how it would affect you in the real world. And I admit I find this particular aspect very difficult, specially with regards to my family members & relatives [since they read my posts]. I mean, no matter how simple it might sound, writing about sex [well, I’m a virgin..lol], drugs [no, I don’t do drugs] etc. is very awkward. Sometimes, it also feels as if I’m putting out all my feelings out there for the world to see, because when I write something, I give my best. I hence stopped my previous blog where I used to post under my real name and now have started this new one with a fake name. The problem is that while I had a decent enough [growing] readership for my previous blog, I’m afraid this one will never get noticed. But as you rightly said, “Don’t give up”. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Dude, this was a very, very insightful post. Thank you. For me, you’re a blogging idol – not due to the HUGE number of comments, but for your frankness.
i have been reading your blog from 2006 and i absolutely love it. i think i visit every alternate day to see if you have put up something. if there is anyone who understands how to build loyalty and keep them coming, its you.
Best of luck, for another long haul. Will be with you.
Cheers
Congrats on the milestone and the upcoming one!
This post was helpful but I was looking forward to a 6th point, like most others I’m sure:), which you didn’t delve into – What’s the best way to publicise one’s blog? Constantly email all friends? Facebook/Twitter/Gtalk status updates? Commenting on other’s blogs? Adding to email signature lines?
Or just hope someone finds the content interesting and starts forwarding and the blog becomes popular?
After 2 months and 14 posts, I am sitting back and reconsidering blogging, the obvious question “What am I doing here?” being on top of my mind.
But after having read your “inspiraional” post, though I’m still asking myself “What am I doing here?” – Ifind myself answering back saying “I want to be here, so hang on!”
Thanks!
i have always found it rather strange that the minute people write about “how no one reads my blog” a whole lot of comments come to tell them how they love that blog… i guess the day i start feeling dismal about the way my blog goes…im going to put another post about it…. i have done that once… worked fabulously for followers to come onto it and tell me how well i write…
not that i really do… but i guess its just that “i am an intellectual woman who uses men’s words and smokes” so it helps!
lol!!! good post… and congrats… i pod ta kothaye?
another thing…was the ipod a sort of bribe for making people comment?
Congrats on your 600th Post:)
How can we get an audience for our blogs? I mean, you cannot compel a person to read ur blog.
In short, how to market it?
Excellent post. Many congrats, Greatbong! You have a fantastic blog going here and your writing style is unique. Many of your reviews are laugh out loud stuff. Keep writing.
Congrats GB. You have inspired many and hope you will continue with different forms of writing in future. Best wishes
Arnab Da, Keep it up. Great going….
I have been blogging for an year now, and the reason i blog is to keep a personal note of things…For example how I felt during 26/11,Indian victory at 2020 world cup, when BJP lost.
People some times stumble upon my blog, Some times they leave some nice comments and some times not so nice comments.
Making money from blogging!!!
I rather take my chances with a lottery ticket.
Its just too hard to make money with a blog until and unless you are as talented and as popular as Great Bong.
I see congrats are in order! 5 years is a long way to have come.
This unsolicited advice is actually inspiring, esp. looking at that earlier why-oh-why post. 🙂 And, the icing on the cake is the pic of Alok Nath. Much too good. 😀
600 not out. Keep playing mate 🙂
first of all, onek onek obhinondon! and your experience shows. even that day i was asking my dad as to why cant he have a blog of his own, to tell his stories…of the time when “hoyto tomari jonnyo” was a rage! this gives me inspiration to pester him some more!
Would need all that advice GB (i am also a GB, by the way!)
I just started a second stint at blogging (http://ganesh-babu-blog.blogspot.com/).
And your blog is certainly an inspiration (fun, at the same time thought provoking. Keep up the good work and congratulations for the mammoth 600th post!!!
GB(@ganesh_babu9)
Great GB. Congrats. Good to know that you have been there and done that. I have gone through these periods of depression and have been on the verge of clicking the Delete button many a times. But now I have started to write for myself than for others. I guess that makes all the difference.
Congrats on the 600th! Keep blogging. 🙂 And thanks for those useful tips…
Congratulations!
Keep writing – Remember there are a lot many people like me who read regularly but comment rarely.
Keep up the good work!
Congrats GB for 5 years and 600 posts! That’s something which can be done by anyone – even a software. But, i’d CONGRATULATE you for being 36,805 non-spam comments old and for being 4462 avid readers old. That’s what makes GB that it is.
I have seen people churning out useless, senseless contents like the kgs of excreta which a stray dog releases everyday. But how many of them get the kind of readers and the comments you get? I’d say the comments are an integral part of your blog. The post that you write are such strong a catalyst or a viagra that people can’t but comment on it. That shows the kind of readership you generate. And i’d congratulate you for it. Your comments section takes your post to the next level. And writing post which can do this is AN ART, in the true sense.
Thanks GB, for the 600 content rich posts. Looking forward to thousands of such posts from you!
Congrats 🙂 600+ you are devanand of blog 😀 still going great.
BTW, GB – I know it’s not decent to ask, but anyway – how much do you end up making from your blog? 😛
Thanks for the advice GB….
GB,
Congrats on the 600th post…that is a long way indeed.
And I totally agree with all the tips that you have given…has been to Kolkata Blogger’s Meet yesterday where people were expecting to see you (even though you had said you wouldn’t be able to make it). So people did talk about your blog and how funny you make things and yet put everything into context. Also, most of the points discussed over there have been neatly penned down by you in a much more concise way.
And new things that people could start writing on – fish (picked this up too from the Meet:) )
Congrats on reaching 600!
“We want to hear from beyond the 15–35 demographic. We want grandma to tell us how college life was in her time. We want uncle to tell us how he felt when he bought his first fridge.” Why not? serious readers love and appreciate original content.
Good one! 6 centuries! Congrats.
We have kolkata’s blogger’s meet yesterday and some ppl talked about you .
Congrats on the 600 posts! You have inspired me to blog, and while I don’t always agree with your political opinions, movie reviews or other stuff, I always check out your blog every couple of days. Keep going! That is some good advice you have given to bloggers. I have myself found that lack of traffic on my blog has dampened my spirits, but somehow I have always found a way to go on. Hope that stays true…
This is a real nice and very practical advice. Thanks a lot for this and in future will wait for more such posts from you..You rock GB!!
Congratulations Arnab.
I must say that most of your observations have been true with me. Maybe inspiration to blog more 🙂 .
Thanks for the encouragement Arnabda 🙂
Reminds me of old proverbs about trees falling in forests where there’s no sound made. I’m close to the 5 year, 2 month mark, with 529 posts (and obviously far fewer comments).
Your first point is spot on and it’s what I’ve been doing- I just write for the fun of it and am quite content with the couple of friends that regularly read it (and I in turn read their blogs)
Congrats on hitting 600. You’ve been a permanent fixture in my Google Reader for the last 3 years or so – and I am forever indebted to you for introducing me to Prabhuji, as I go about proselytizing the Gunda Gospel among my friends, to their bemusement.
May it continue for 1200 more and counting!
too good a post as your 600 th post..
nice set of guidelines for newbies to follow..and oldies to remember
Though I do read your blogs, regularly, I comment only rarely..yes, its just that am plain lazy 😛
loved ur point on negative comments..Infact am a fan of negative comments…I wait for those cos that means my post had something in it to stir up some strong emotion in another individual …
and also about money..yes, the professional blogger indeed will remain a mythical creature in India for a pretty long time..
and I really do hope that u’ll keep on blogging until the end of blogosphere, which am sure is never gonna come…BLOG ON BONGO!
Regarding the twitter list of 10 most controversial film, how is Crash controversial?
GB, you write an ‘Indian’ blog sitting there in the US, and you’re always more knowledgable on things Indian – be it politics, sports, movies or even bhojpuri ‘art’. For the first half a dozen of posts that I read, I never suspected that you do not live in India, but then it makes no difference, since probably you keep yourself so updated on all things Indian and thoroughly research your content before writing (videos of the like of ‘Rasiya Tailor’ are rare gems that only a few can unearth). I’ve often tried to lure my friends to your blog, but them still being ‘blog-unfriendly’ doesn’t hook them on readily. I just hope you’ll do something big someday and be in the ‘real news/media’, and I’ll have the opportunity to tell them – hey, know what, I’ve been following his blog for the past x years (three as of now), and I was sure this was coming.
Okay, but there ought to be a long term agenda in here. Your profile has the words ‘wannabe politician’. I’ll sure wait for that too. Maybe you’ll be an Indian one. Or maybe an American one, sitting there doing for India what people here haven’t been able to do yet.
Congrats !
My demand ….
Less cricket and no Ganguly…
And forgot to mention…the Alok Nath photo is so so so apt 😀
Arnab, congratulations once again on the marathon run of RTDM, but congratulations a hundred times more on that *absolutely* perfect image. However, while we’re on the subject… could you perhaps get back to your friend and ask her what she means by the blog market being saturated? One writes because one wishes to share thoughts, and one can always get a core audience who evolve with the blog, surely? Blog and market simply do not go together in my mind. But then again, I’ve never quite grasped the concept of monetising a blog, so I suppose it’s inevitable.
March of the 600 ! I like this post. Very inspiring. Do you think it is wise to put ‘blogging’ as a hobby on your resume?
Congrats!
Have been reading your posts for a long time now! Somehow, this post first thing on a Monday morning seems to be totally inspiring stuff!
Congrats arnabda !!!
RTDM has been a companion for quite some time now and honestly there is nothing available in the web-world (to my knowledge) which suits my taste better. Thanks for this absolutely delightful arrangement.
6. Pray that you have a legion of ardent followers like yourfan2 among others.:))
:)In a way, given the nature of this blog, a part of the credit of this blog goes to the comments too. And therein lies your credit, of not filtering out the negative comments. This leads to nice debates. Splendid job! 6 years? Time flies. I feel very old and jaded now. :)RTDM is a considerable and varied body of work which uniquely describes Indian culture and many other world affairs. Given your keen mind and astute observations, the output can only get more refined and suave. I also foresee the range of your topics fledgling into many new areas which were hitherto untouched. Quite a remarkable journey!!!! Now bring on the book.
Congrats on the 600th post .. this is some achievement .
We missed you at the Kolkata Bloggers Meet
Oh Great Great Bong!
I’ve much to learn from this post of yours. And rightly timed, I’d say. Great going! Keep writing!
COngratulations on your achievement.Reading the comments on this post have made even me emotional, can only imagine how your feelings are.I have been reading this blog for quite some time now and am pretty much a regular visitor but this is my first comment.Will like to see some more fictions here.
Keep up the nice work.
Inspiring…
Finest (period)
36,000+ comments! 🙂 Congratulations indeed. There was a short time in the middle where I fretted you going the way most bloggers do – reach a pinnacle and almost reduce blogging. but Im happy to note that you enjoy it way too much to give it up.
What is the kind of time you dedicate to blogging? Do you keep any target in mind (like – at least one blog a week)?
I agree. Its never too late to start anything. Around five years ago I too started a blog, but that was, and is, mostly private. So, I decided I wanted to write on shoes, and now I have a months old site dedicated to shoes. Mostly for Indians, but yes, only shoes. Though I dont hope to make money off it, I hope I too someday get 36,000 comments 😉
PS – i would appreciate fewer cricket posts if thats possible?
GB,
Great work and great advice. Have been reading this blog for more than 4 years now – and I still go back to what I consider to be your best post – about your parents visit to the cellular jail in Andamans.
Hearty Congrats GB for the 600 and the year 5,
Keep it going, its an absolute treat (with a thought process) to read your blog
Thank you
Congrats, GreatBong! And thanks for the unsolicited but useful advice. Its very inspiring for us beginner bloggers struggling to get a footing in the blogosphere.
i have been a lurker to ur blog (see? now i know the jargon also)…but today i thought i shud congragulate u…keep writing…i never knew that theres a chance of making money by blogging…fortune here i come..
Congrats GB !
I am sure, like me, there are many others who visit your blog every day for the updates, and to boost themselves with the positive energy from the humor.
rock on !
Congrats. I am sure you influence/ inspitre many.
Honestly, every time I comment here, I feel like the phuchkalwala (for non bong readers it’s the bong version of pani-puri)outside the Jumbo-circus tent. Some call it intelligent marketing.
Thanks, for posting the 23 Dec 2004 link- amazingly that post would hold good for many even today.
Cheers!
Congrats GB !! Looking forward to your book. I am also looking forward to translations of your work in indian languages. I wish we could have space on ur blog to make comment/ opinion on each article/story of your book.I love comments made by yourfan2, thalassa, rishi khujur,HHBB, Shan, kishore, wafa & many more..
Its surprising that indian doctors and lawyers dont blog the way they should !!
I’ve been following this blog for 5 years now???? Man, I feel old.
And to add to that, I feel congratulations are also due to Kishor, J. Alfred Prufrock, Yourfan, Yourfan2, Rishi Khujur and the other usual suspects for making the comments section almost as enjoyable as GB’s post.
posts
and savita bhabhi’s comments too..
she is one hell of a character.. 😀
Congrats! Keep going…
Congrats GB!! You’ve inspired and educated so many of us.. Wish you many more milestones!!!
600 posts, 5 years…. a long way indeed!! Kudos to you Greatbong… I personally am too lazy to blog… but reading your posts have always been a delight…. Infact I log in everyday just to see what’s new…Keep up the good work… The literary delight derived from reading your blogs is unparalleled..
Congrats on the 600! And here’s to many many more!
Congrats, great one. Thanks.
Can I shamelessly promote my [virgin] attempt at blogging here? Hope you are ok with it.
http://dreamsofanderson.blogspot.com/
Congratulations on the 600th post, GB.
When you hit the 1000th post, we expect you to throw us all a grand party. 🙂
hey GB,
i dont bother commenting too much bcoz i just njoy reading a few blogs i follow. but for yr achievement i had to post one.. congratulations !!!!
Way to go ,dude…Congratulations !! It definitely gives me hope and inspires me to keep blogging…
I am bored of the nineteen IPODs, I managed to collect from GB.
I guess on GB’s 1000th post GB will be giving a fuel efficient smart car to the first commenter.
Can’t believe I have been hooked on reading your blogs for almost 4 years now.Keep up the good work.
Congrats on 600 great posts. 🙂
Congratulations GB – both 600 posts and 5 years of blogging and maintaining the quality of posts like you have done is a very big achievement indeed. I tremendously respect your writing skills, as well as personal viewpoints. I am sure many people have started blogging just by being inspired by you – I am one person who did. Doesn’t matter where they stand now, if you can inspire people to follow you, you totally deserve all the fame, book offer and whatever good things are coming your way! Keep up the good work!
Keep up Arnobda, u rock.
Hi Gb . im one of those “silent” fans of yr blog . been a regular
for the last 3 years . but never felt the courage to leave my comments here. But today i finally managed to gather some courage and thought of congratulating you !! well done arnab . u have made many a day of mine over the last 3 years and am sure u’ll continue to in future too ..
all the best.
Well, got to your blog by a friend whose blog is Photo Musings or something; its a gift to make mockery of established proceedings with the kind of ease that you do… people back in my office appreciate some of my own ramblings but I cant churn out a good one in say 30 mts, for me it at least takes 2 hours to write a quality one… Ever since I got to know about your blog, I started reading from the oldest archive available.. & yes even I check your blog every two days…
Really looking fwd to your book, reading is the thing I hate to do most so its the spark that’s ignited from blogs like these (only one tbh) which make people give me the benefit of doubt with respect to my perspective towards things & I don’t emulate you completely, I try my best to preserve the originality aspect…
At a time when your Blog has completed five years and 600 posts, its not Ironic at all that people are talking about their own experiences on their most frequented virtual abode… that I believe is the testimony for the impact you have made Sir Arnab.. a 90 degree bow..
first of all.. congratulations on your 600th post..may u have many more.. i have been a ardent reader of ur blog for the past many months and i must say many of ur articles have struck a chord within me.
i too belong to a generation that has seen Prabhuji, as u affectionately call him, dance to “ëverybody dance to pa pa pa , everybody dance to maa ma”.
Noone comes even close to describing the angst felt by those of us lucky enough to be part of this 80s disco generation. I sumtimes feel pity for the present generation of 20 year olds, brought up listening to crappy hip hop music.. we aint cool anymore.. but thats alright..
i loved the 80s and 90s and of course, i love ur blog.
keep up the good work.. All the Best!!
first of all.. congratulations on your 600th post..may u have many more.. i have been a ardent reader of ur blog for the past many months and i must say many of ur articles have struck a chord within me.
i too belong to a generation that has seen Prabhuji, as u affectionately call him, dance to “ëverybody dance to pa pa pa , everybody dance to maa ma”.
Noone comes even close to describing the angst felt by those of us lucky enough to be part of this 80s disco generation. I sumtimes feel pity for the present generation of 20 year olds, brought up listening to crappy hip hop music.. we aint cool anymore.. but thats alright..
i loved the 80s and 90s and of course, i love ur blog.
keep up the good work.. All the Best!!
I like the fact of saying blogging for yourself and nto the money making thing.
Yes i wouldl ike people to read my blog daily.. and post comments on it all the time. But i dont want to appear cheeky and ask all my friends and aquaitances to read the blog…
its my outlet, and its me making myself heard and getting the vent for the observations.. even if mundane… mean a lot to me.. whether it is for the mom in me, the child in me or for just me.!
So i love the advice..:-) it is very true.
@ Rishi:
I heard that he is giving iPhone 3gs with AT&T connection which is free for life time..
what say ?
As my blog name suggests, I do not write…I scribble. So when you say “scribbling down their musings in a red diary hidden in a desk drawer”, I can’t help but smile and think…”look that’s me!” I REALLY did have a red diary hidden in a desk drawer, till my handwriting got so bad that I couldn’t read what I wrote. I started blogging to be more comprehensible to myself. Your advices really make a lot of sense…thanks.
And Congratulations on the 5th anniversary of an immensely entertaining and informative blog. All the best.
Hey.. congrats! Great words of advice from you ..inspirational… would you consider opening a ‘School of Blogging’? .. in the lines of of IIPM or Frankfinn Institute Of Airhostess. ok! just kidding!
I discovered your blog while googling for Mimoh. And has been hooked ever since because by then you had this treasure trove of Prabhuji realted writing.
Am still waiting for your take on the good, bad and sheer ugliness of latest Bengali movies.
hey thts a really good entry!
hey thts a really good entry!
I heartily agree with your advice! This is my first time visiting your blog and it looks interesting! I shall return! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Have read most of your posts and enjoyed them all. Dont think i have ever commented but wanted to say Congratulations on your 600th post and thank you for the thought provoking posts full of humour. I look forward to many more.
Congratulations on your 600th! (I think I’m up around 2000!) Your advice is excellent!
Congrats! 600 posts is quite something. This is the first time that i am commenting on a blog. I’ve recently started mine and still learning the ropes of it! I just know the basic stuff but would certainly love to make it more colourful like yours once I get better with technology!!
Keep it up!
Good work!
Hey GB,
Always wanted to know the hows and whys of your beginning as a blogger. Very nice post. Thanks.
Thank you for all your wonderful blogs that have made us laugh,think,ponder,analyse, so on, and so forth. The best blog ever. 🙂
Congratulations Arnab! Though, you have to admit one has to be as talented as you to not only ‘survive’ 600 posts and 5 years but to continue to rock. We love you, man!
Congrats on the 600th post. And keep blogging, and thanks for the tips. 🙂
Hi GB,
I was introduced to your blog by a friend about 2 years ago.
Among your fans, I would catogorize myself as regularly irregular.
Had fun reading everytime I had a chance.
Your latest blog is awesome. Can’t imagine you being where you were earlier.
I am one such blogger who gave up long time ago due to lack of readership.
Well, nothing Pulitzer material though.
I was just wondering that now, would you ever think, “Do I really want all these anonymous people commenting on my blogs?”
Great read. Keep it coming..
Arnab,
Some time back I left a comment on one of your article, mentioning you by your nickname and I think you got embarrassed and hence Arnab.
I am honestly proud of you – not only because you are about to have the 5th birthday of your blog but mainly because you have so candidly talked about everything – your earlier disappointments, your process of learning not to expect too much all the time in whatever one does in life no matter how hard one tries or how much a person may have talent as there is an unpredictable factor called luck in life and most importantly how you have learnt never to give up. And after reading this article, I realized that you have turned out to be a fine gentleman who has now so much of wisdom and patience. You made me a proud mother indeed.
Oh one more thing – the last part of your article throws open the possibility for ppl like me to start blogging – may be I will make more ad money!! 🙂
God bless you and your creative power.
Ma
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Congrats on your 5yr/600 posts. i have been reading your posts for long time and love your ‘Prabhuji”!!. I would add one more advice to your list. Read other’s posts.Different Viewpoints,different aspect of an event or incidence.it broadens the horizon. With twitter and Facebook, basic blogging has suffered but it is still immensely enjoyable. i am infrequent blogger but avid Blog reader.Your blogs make my day!!—PK
Great job, Arnab. This is the best Indian blog without a doubt.
Hi,
a great piece of advice. i will congratulate you on your 1000!!!
congrats on the 600!
i think u have such a huge following coz u didnt really start with the pointers u have enumerated above. 😉
great article!
Ours is a new blog, so will keep this advice in mind, however unsolicited
Many congratulations GB…RTDM has indeed come a long way and probably is the best blog atleast I know about in terms of content & for the kind of readers who follow it!
Salute from this long time fan of yours. May you continue to write for many more years and some day when I am old I will tell my grandchildren about this famous writer who was once a blogger and made it in life partly because of patrons like us… No i was joking 🙂 you are seriously good and I am sure you are very aware of it. Just keep it coming.
Congrats GB. Waiting for your book.
Keep up the good work. Yur posts are really are candid insights.
Indeed, appreciation is a better motivator than money.
Congrats! on the 600th….started reading your blog about 4 years ago and have been glued ever since…keep up the good work, many of your posts have really made my day! Look forward to many,many more posts from you…
gud writing but I didnt understand the image of this StarTV 🙂
Loved the “Field of Dreams” reference right at the end 🙂 One of my favourite movies!
Great stuff, GB. Very encouraging to see a blog like yours not just holding its own but actually growing in popularity, purely on the strength of its content. 5 years, 600 posts and still going strong. More power to you I say!
Congrats on 600 great posts. 🙂
greatbong, It’s a great, great post as always. and yep in that desperate phase of not getting any comments or followers. 😦 😦 amd a copywriter and while i write about everything, i also write a great deal about advertising.. but guess got to wait.
I read some of your posts and but i liked only few of them. May be the sarcasm in ur blog turn me off. But I liked this one a lot.
I think Alok Nath makes the perfect father figure in post 90s cinema. He even beats Anupam Kher because Anupam Kher can carry off roles of a father, a comedian(in films like Khosla ka Ghosla not in films like Mohabbatein – there he carries of the role of a ham to perfection) and a villain with equal ease.But apart from Bol Radha Bol(*SPOILER ALERT*where he plays the villain) I haven’t seen Alok Nath deviating from his character in a single film(correct me if I am wrong here).But why I respect Alok Nath most is because of a scene in Hum Aapke Hai Kaun …
The scene is the one where he meets Anupam Kher for the first time in the movie in Ramtek(or some other place of worship,not sure) to discuss the marriage of Mohnish Behl. While they are discussing stuff and remembering old days of college a FLY comes and sits on the forehead of Alok Nath and unlike Barrack Obama (who would rather kill-and-show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYdSzAo1do4) ),Alok Nath leaves the fly undisturbed.This has to be the one scene in Bollywood which PETA will approve.Watch the movie to confirm the truthfulness of this act of non-violence from one of the most “natural” father-figure of Indian film industry. I think Alok Nath’s non-violent nature also influenced the editors of the film.
Very well written Arnab da. I am perhaps at that point where you were in 2004 – finding hard to find readers for mine. And yes – that does disappoint.
Here’s hoping that my blog gets to a hundredth of where yours is in a couple of years 🙂
Hi,
I had used your tips in my Hindi blog here:
http://raviratlami.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post_31.html
Hope, you’ll like it. 🙂
Hi GB, Your writings are comic and satirical and me being more or less fond of it. This advices for publicity of blog is good. There was a phase when I had received 10 comments till centurion post. And I was losing interest due to lack of encouragement from other people. I have not became a popular blogger today but carved a satisfacotry notch for myself.I have taken inspiration of writing blog from some other place. Its little lengthy but quite true: http://steve.yegge.googlepages.com/you-should-write-blogs
Blogging is not something that you do only as a reaction to what other people write! It is about being proactive than reactive. And comments or ads are just side business.
Finally , I have unearthed video footage of Alok Nath’s benevolence. I had commented more than 2 years ago on this post about a scene from Hum Aapke Hai Kaun where a fly sits on Alok Nath’s forehead.
It seems that the entire movie is now available on youtube.
Here is the scene in question :-
Watch carefully for 5 seconds from where the video starts in accordance with the link.