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Quick Summary: Check out the ‘Blogging Idol Contest’ on ‘Daily Blog Tips’ to learn how to get as many as 500 new subscribers in a month.

Daniel Scocco of ‘Daily Blog Tips‘ is not only one of the most influential “bloggers who write about blogging”; he also hosts some of the most interesting collaborative blogging activities.

I had earlier participated in a collaborative blogging project hosted by him where 48 bloggers had shared their blogging mistakes.

Now, I have submitted ‘The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption’ in Daniel’s ‘Blogging Idol’ contest where 108 bloggers are competing to see who can increase their feed count by the most numbers in the month of July.

If you aren’t aware yet, ‘The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption’ is my year-long book-as-a-blog experiment in why we choose to consume, or not.

On March 23, tired of buying and owning too many things that I didn’t need, I decided to stop buying things I didn’t need, go off consumption for a year. Then, on July 4, realizing that not buying things was not enough, I decided to give away almost everything I own.

I have been so busy with managing the going away/ giving away logistics throughout the last month that promoting my blog has not even entered my mind.

However, the other bloggers have used a number of innovative techniques to increase their subscriber count, such as –

- Increase your blogging frequency to more than one post a day.
- Start a new series on your blog with deep content.
- Write a few longer pillar posts as linkbaits.
- Display subscription options, including the e-mail subscription box, prominently, preferably on the top right hand corner.
- Add the ‘What Would Seth Godin Do?’ plug-in to display a subscription prompt to new visitors.
- Run a contest, with giveaways (including link-backs and free e-books) for new subscribers.
- Ask your Twitter/ Facebook/ Friendfeed friends to subscribe to your blog.
- Ask the subscribers of your other blogs/ mailing lists to subscribe to your blog.
- Become active on social sites like Digg/ StumbleUpon/ Sphinn.
- Comment on other blogs and forums in the niche.
- Participate in a blog carnival or a group blogging project in your niche.
- Submit your feed to RSS directories.
- Guest blog on other blogs in the niche.

I see all these tactics as part of three sequential strategies –

1. Content: Increase the quantity and quality of your posts and mix shorter posts with longer pillar posts, or a series, or even an e-book.

2. Design: Fine-tune your blog design to prompt visitors to subscribe and make it easy for them to subscribe.

3. Promotion: Promote your blog using both pull (guest blogs) and push (request to online and offline friends) tactics.

I suggest that you head over to the weekly update posts for the ‘Blogging Idol’ contest to see which of these tactics have worked for the participants –

- Blogging Idol week one update
- Blogging Idol week two update
- Blogging Idol week three update

I have spent some time on the participating blogs and some of them are really good, so I also suggest that you sample some of them and, maybe, even subscribe to them –

#1 Standout Blogger
#2 Stock Market India
#3 The University Kid
#4 Crenk
#5 Winning the Web
#6 Girl Robot
#7 Tech at Hand
#8 Home Design Find
#9 Phat Mommy
#10 Rose’s Life
#11 The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption
#12 Economics Help
#13 Groovy Vegetarian
#14 Big Marketing Online
#15 Final Dog
#16 Rajaie Talks
#17 The Paparazzis
#18 Techie Buzz
#19 Concholakeaz
#20 I’m Blogging That
#21 Absolutely Bananas
#22 Shed Blog
#23 Everything Everywhere
#24 Umar Siddiqi
#25 Dev 102
#26 The SW Geek
#27 Techie’s den
#28 DSP Log
#29 Winning Startups
#30 Book Club Classics
#31 Trying to Blog
#32 Indian Devs
#33 Inspiredology
#34 Talking With Myself.com
#35 I Blog to Blog
#36 You Are Living
#37 Kia World
#38 Back-links
#39 Sellotape and String
#40 Work Happy Now
#41 Catch the Posts
#42 Distilled Rose
#43 eBook Informant
#44 Viper Chill
#45 Melvin Blog
#46 And Another Thing
#47 Web Master Plaza
#48 Job Mob
#49 Pinoy Webstartup
#50 Apocalypse Picture Book
#51 Neo Blue Panther
#52 Learning Nerd
#53 Get One Billion Euro
#54 Jungle of Life
#55 Ad HD Guide
#56 e-Book Informant
#57 Love Reads
#58 Tech Treak
#59 Dancing About Architecture
#60 Monkey Blogger
#61 Mr. Javo
#62 Review of Web
#63 Teen Blogger
#64 Ward on the Web
#65 Abundance Highway
#66 Romeuy
#67 The Net Fool
#68 Log Home’s Cabin
#69 Crime and Crooks
#70 Eavesdrop Writer
#71 Debit versus Credit
#72 Roshan BH
#73 40 Redux
#74 Digital Photography Blogs
#75 Marketeer
#76 Adam Pieniazek
#77 Solid Smack
#78 WP Theme Designer
#80 60 Mile Walk
#79 Debby Banning
#81 Money Bites
#82 Coffee Sage
#83 Web Dev Lounge
#84 Theme Playground
#85 Techno Tip
#86 Techno Diary
#87 Elite by Design
#88 Revenue Reservoir
#89 Historical Side FX
#90 Free Birthday Treats Blog
#91 Mommy Meryl
#92 Pursuit of Your Boyfriend
#93 Ledgerpad
#94 Rue the Day Blog
#95 Benson Bear
#96 Shake the Salt
#97 Hoei
#98 Asio Groups
#99 The WM Blog
#100 Protycoon
#101 Discovering Dad
#102 Debiz Blog
#103 Apple Quack
#104 Life with Harper
#105 Stock Market Guide
#106 Messaoud
#107 The Serendipity Effect
#108 Blogging is Not a Crime

Finally, if you haven’t subscribed to ‘The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption’ yet, please do subscribe, either in a feed reader, or by e-mail –

Even celebrities are not immune from the blogging bug. Many have their own blogs and a few even post regularly, or have someone in their entourage post on their behalf .

Three Tips for Celebrity Bloggers

While many celebrities have flirted with blogging, very few have seem to have done it well. Here are three tips for celebrity bloggers who want to do it well —

- Make it personal.

Your blog is not your ‘news’ page or your ‘press release’ page. Write about upcoming awards and events, but also write about your friends and family and what’s on your mind.

- Make it regular.

Even if you post only once in a month, do post regularly, so that your readers know when to return to your blog.

- Don’t make it on MySpace.

MySpace is great of sharing music, but MySpace celebrity blogs are painful to loot at and even more painful to read. Good celebrity blogs deserve their own www.celebrityname/blog domain name.

Top Eleven Celebrity Blogs

Here are top eleven celebrity blogs that have got it right —

If you noticed, this list doesn’t include blogs by celebrities like Neil Gaiman, Michael Moore, Mark Cuban or Deepak Chopra who are, well, celebrities of a different breed. Neither does it include blogs by totally obscure celebrities like Wil Wheaton. The list also doesn’t include some great celebrity blogs at Huffington Post that are more columns than personal blogs: Alec Baldwin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Maher, John Cusack, David Mamet and Erica Jong.

What are your favorite celebrity blogs?

Also See: Bloggers Blog, Celebrity Cowboy.

Most bloggers find themselves falling into a blogging downward spiral at some time or the other –

- You are growing through significant changes at work/ in life and you don’t have any time or energy for blogging.
- You have taken on too many blogging commitments (multiple personal/ group blogs, collaborative blogging projects, or over-ambitious blogging series), and you feel that you aren’t doing justice to any of them.
- You feel that you are spending too much time ‘managing’ your blog and not enough time writing on your blog.
- The number of feeds in your feed-reader have proliferated and you are so intimidated by your 1000+ unread items that you don’t even try reading them anymore.
- Since you aren’t reading any feeds anymore, you have fewer ideas to blog about and, even when you have a little free time, you don’t really know what to blog about.
- Your page views, ad revenues and feed subscriptions go down, further decreasing your motivation to blog.

Between my Athens trip that refused to stick to script, my mysterious illness that almost got me admitted to the hospital, my totally pointless shift to Kolkata for three months, my on-yet-again-off-yet-again love-life, and the absence of a broadband connection, I’m way into the downward spiral myself.

I have been through similar phases twice before, and both times, I closed down one blog and started another (gauravonomics.blogspot.com to gauravonomics.wordpress.com to gauravonomics.com). I don’t have that option this time, so I have put in place my own three-step action plan to come out of the blogging downward spiral –

- Take a mini-break from blogging: If you have unresolved issues off your blog, they will soon start to show on your blog. Take time off to sort out some issues and make peace with others. When your mind is not preoccupied with problems, fresh ideas will start to flow in on their own.

- Remember the reason why you blog: Every one of us has a different reason for blogging, and, in most cases, it has nothing to do with page views, ad revenues or feed subscriptions. Remember the reason why you blog, remember how your blog fits into your life, and you’ll re-discover the motivation to blog.

- Cut back on your blogging commitments: Reduce your blogging frequency, cut back on your group-blogging commitments, put some of your blog improvement projects on the back-burner, say no to new blogging opportunities and unsubscribe from half the feeds on your feed-reader. Focus on what is most important to you in the long term, read only what is really worth your time, write only when you have something worthwhile to say, until you rediscover the joy of blogging.

So, after not blogging at all for almost ten days, I’m back to blogging, in a manner.

I have marked all the items in my feed-reader as ‘read’, unsubscribed from almost two hundred feeds, and said ‘no’ to two new blogging opportunities. I have requested Neha, Patrix and Amit to be patient with me as I go slow on my group-blogging commitments. I have also decided to reduce my blogging frequency to two to three posts per week on both my blogs (Blog and Diary).

Even though you’ll see less of me for a while, you’ll see some at least of me, a ‘blog brake’ instead of a ‘blog break’. So, subscribe to both my blogs (Blog and Diary), if you haven’t already, boot up your laptop, plug in your broadband cable, sit back in your favorite chair, put your feet up and relax. Normal programming will soon resume on Gauravonomics.

In the post-Sanjaya Malakar world, my Shyamali Malakar search traffic has dried up and my page views have dropped to half of what they were a month ago. As a result, my Google Adsense revenue now approximates to zero every day.

I have said before that it doesn’t make sense to use Adsense if your blog gets less than a thousand pageviews per day. I have also said before that most non-tech bloggers should focus on making money because of their blog rather than from it.

I have decided to take my own advice now and remove all advertising from my blog until I find a way to increase my pageviews to more than thousand per day.

This is also a cautionary tale for bloggers who want to make quick money off blogging. My blog is ranked within the top 17,000 on Technorati (in terms of linkbacks in the last 6 months) and about 3,00,000 on Alexa (in terms of average pageviews in the last 3 months), and still I’m not making enough money to make it worthwhile for me to use Adsense. It’s not likely to be any easier for you either.

So, my advice to novice bloggers is: blog for a reason that is bigger than making money, invest time and money into your blog for the long term, and be patient if you are not rewarded immediately.

Patrix is an urban planning doctoral student at Texas A&M, the founder of DesiPundit and a self-confessed Shyamali Malakar fan. Patrix blogs at Nerve Endings Firing Away.

I have already written about why I love Patrix’s blog -

- Patrix has an intuitive understanding of how conversations are created on blogs, and, as I try to understand the nature of online conversations myself, I find myself looking up to him as something of a guru.
- Patrix has an innate curiosity about technology and popular culture and the ability to write from an enthusiast’s perspective, something any blogger would do well to emulate.
- Patrix is one of the most generous people I have known, online or offline, and, via DesiPundit and his own blog, he has probably done more to promote desi blogging than anybody else.

Patrix belongs to the second most widely seen species of desi bloggers, the doctoral-student-blogger (the first, of course, is the journalist-blogger) and I’m sure that you’ll meet many more bloggers from this species in the ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ interview series.

Patrix says that he doesn’t like being in front of the camera because he isn’t photogenic. So, I took the liberty of using a picture from a ’silly photo’ tag in which he looks really cute. Don’t you think so?

Q. When and why did you start blogging? Has the reason why you blog changed over time?

A. I started blogging in June 2003. I had been reading blogs then for over six months mostly at Rediff and was intrigued by the concept. I had always wanted to write informally and indulge in opinion writing which my blog let me. I don’t suppose the reasons why I blog have changed much. Perhaps, the content and the topics I blog on might have changed but overall, I have tried maintaining the personal touch.

Q. What do you blog about? Has the focus of your blog changed over time?

A. Like I said above, I am primarily a personal bloggers and in my recent post upon completing 2000 posts on my blog, I looked at the categories I post under. The ‘Personal’ category came out on tops by a wide margin followed by my observations/ rants/ opinions on current affairs, politics, and society & culture. I admit to being a reactionary blogger but I have always been. Lately, like you have, I have been writing on how one can make your blog better.

Q. How do you think people describe your blog to others who don’t read it? How would you like them to describe it?

A. Top bloggers advice you to have a niche and focused blog but frankly, I treat my blog as a personal space for my writings which consists on my opinions, thoughts, and raves/ rants. People may describe the blog as sometimes being all over the place regarding content but I am not worried about that. It just means that I am interested in a host of issues and topics and my blog reflects that. However, I recently changed my tagline to “Crossing Borders, Crossing Cultures” (apologies to a photo contest I once participated in). I would like my blog to be a reflection of an Indian living outside the country’s borders and experiencing different cultures. Presenting my thoughts on a rapidly evolving landscape of the constantly shrinking world (ok! that was a bit too ambitious).

Q. How do you think people describe you to others who don’t know you? How would you like them to describe you?

I think I am widely perceived as overly diplomatic (at times) and guarded in my opinions but I don’t think that always applies to me and I have been blunt and forthcoming at times. Based on my writings, I hope people think of me as a balanced, rational, and intelligent individuals who is not averse to changing his views if he is offered a better argument.

Q. Is your online persona different from your real self?

A. Not really. But I would add that I am perhaps more lucid in my writings that I am in real life. I am able to lay out my thoughts and get my point across more clearly on my blog.

Q. How important is your blog to you? In what ways? Why?

A. It wasn’t intended to be, but now, it is quite an integral part of my life. I will be blogging at least in some form or the other for a long time. It has helped me meet up with really intelligent, smart and creative people. Bloggers can be a helpful bunch and you learn something new everyday either through comments on your blog or content on other blogs. Apart from serving as a ‘warehouse’ for my thoughts, opinions, and bookmarks, I have earned quite a bit from my blog and although not enough (by a long shot) to sustain on its own, it is encouraging to see that I could if I put in the effort and time. But I like to keep it as a hobby.

Q. What have you learnt from blogging?

A. I have learnt to network and voice my opinions in a better manner. I have also learnt a lot about technology and design that I would have otherwise not learnt. I wrote a longer post about this when I completed my 2000 posts.

Q. What are you highest and lowest blogging moments? Why?

A. My highest blogging moment was during the IIPM-Bloggers face-off and I think it was the first time, blogging came into its own and successfully rallied against an institution that was making false claims and bullying ordinary people who simply exposed the truth. The lowest point I think in hindsight was the entire tirade against Rohan Pinto. He obviously did a mistake and seemed genuinely apologetic but I think the blogging community could have handled it in a better manner primarily because even though everyone forgets it in time, Google doesn’t. I hope it hasn’t affected him too adversely.

I found it really interesting that Patrix has interpreted this question in this wider sense: almost like “what have been the highest and lowest moments in desi blogging?” What do you think?

Q. Which are your three favorite posts? Why?

A. I’ll not mention my most popular ones (hits-wise) – Cricket World Cup & Malakars at American Idol, so here goes (in ascending order):

- Have I changed much?
- My Olympics 2004 series.
- I haven’t written the best one yet

Actually, Patrix has not only managed to mention all three of his highest hit posts, he has given me only one of his favorite post. Patrix, we want two more favorite posts from you!

Q.How many blogs do you read? If you were to read only one blog, which one would it be? Why?

A. I read a lot less now than when I was posting on DesiPundit but still I have around 150+ blogs (mostly desi) in my Google Reader. Just one blog? that’s difficult because I different kinds of blogs – personal, technology, political, opinions, etc. There I go being diplomatic again!

Come on, Patrix, tell us! We’ll still love you if you say it’s not Gauravonomics!

Q. If you were to think of one question I should have asked you, what would it be? What would your answer be?

A. Ah-ha! smart question. I would perhaps ask something about the future of blogging and where is it headed in the Indian context. Well, in answering that question I would say that I had expected blogging to take off but somehow it seems to have stagnated and we aren’t really seeing the explosive growth that I have seen in other countries like Japan, China or even Iran. I guess the community or social networking culture is still restricted to Orkut and YouTube and probably lack of widespread Internet access is partly to blame.

‘How to grow blogging in India?’ is a question I have been thinking about myself. It’s a mix of two questions actually: ‘how to encourage more Indians to set up blogs?’ and ‘how to encourage them to continue blogging?’. I don’t have all the answers yet, but the key to both the questions is ‘community’. You’ll hear more on this from me very soon.

Thank you, Patrix! And, yes, you are too diplomatic!

Neha Vishwanathan from ‘Within/ Without’ is next up on ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’. Do walk in tomorrow for more virtual coffee and real conversation!

Have you read these ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ interviews with your favorite bloggers: Jai Arjun Singh, Jammy Rajan.

Jamshed Velayuda Rajan, or Jammy Rajan, is based in Chennai, works for an Internet major, blogs at Ouch My Toe and is one of India’s funniest bloggers.

I have already written about why I love Jammy’s blog -

- Jammy manages to do that rare thing – being personal and funny at the same time – and every post on this blog is laugh out loud funny.
- Jammy has one of the best 404 error page I have seen on a desi blog. Reminds me that I have to work on mine.
- Jammy does innovative little things to engage his readers, like offering a Best of Ouch My Toe PDF file for download, asking readers to pick a topic for him and putting subscription and archive buttons within his posts.

Jammy, I feel, is the perfect follow-up to Jai, because of the contrasts between them in terms of their backgrounds, their content and their style of writing. It will be my endeavour in ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ to explore this diversity in desi blogging.

Q. When and why did you start blogging? Has the reason why you blog changed over time?

A. I started blogging in 2003 – reason enough to called an old hat. When the mania began I was just trying out a new internet tool… like how somebody would try out Digg or Delicious… didn’t know I would get addicted. Yes… you are right… reasons for blogging have kept changing. First it was for distribution within the office, later comments from benevolent souls, mid-way thro’ it was the Google Adsense… and now it is just the thrill of entertaining people one hasn’t even met.

Q. What do you blog about? Has the focus of your blog changed over time?

A. This may sound like a cliché… my blog is about funny twists to my day-to-day observations. I have always tried to keep my posts funny… initially by using my wife as the punching bag (the Google Adsense money keeps her happy) and now my 30-day old daughter.

Q. How do you think people describe your blog to others who don’t read it? How would you like them to describe it?

A. Since I make fun of my wife and all things women (and men) do I wouldn’t be surprised if my readers describe Ouchmytoe as ‘that woman-hater’s blog.’ I would want them to refer to Ouchmytoe.com as ‘that funny blog’.

I thnk I can assure Jammy on behalf of all his readers that we do indeed think of his blog as ‘that funny blog’ and not as ‘that woman-hater’s blog.’

Q. Is your online persona different from your real self?

A. Yep. You caught me faking there. In real life I am a control freak. Besides, the photograph being used on my blog has been worked upon in Photoshop and was chosen from among 1465 pictures snapped using my Nokia N70. One thing is true though – I am as funny in real life conversations as I am on my blog. PS: We Rajans are very modest.

I think I need to go back and ask Jammy if he chose the picture from 1465 pictures because: (a) it made him look the funniest, or (b) it made him look the most handsome. Jammy?

Q. How important is your blog to you? In what ways? Why?

A. Ouchmytoe is very important because of the Adsense revenue it brings. Just kidding. Needless to say, the blog has brought along new friends. There have been at least four instances where people have recognized me outdoors (I say outdoors, coz I am not referring to my family here) and asked if I was Jammy of Ouchmytoe. I am sure there must have been a few undecided souls like me, who never approached me because they weren’t sure.

I’m so useless! My adsense revenue approximate towards zero dollars on most days and nobody, albsolutly nobody, has ever stopped me in the middle of the street and asked for my autograph!

Q. What have you learnt from blogging?

A. I have learnt that if one keeps going day in and day out… soon enough people are going to turn and say: “Hey, you are doing a damn neat job. I am proud of you.” I am still waiting for somebody to say this to me.

Q. What are you highest and lowest blogging moments? Why?

A. The lowest blogging moment was when I decided to shift from Rediffblogs to my own domain and came to know that there was no “import from Rediffblogs” feature. I had to manually upload 600 odd posts written over the last 4 years. My advice… if you have been blogging regularly for more than three months… you have the spark… go get your own domain.

The highest blogging moment will be when a publisher gets in touch for a book deal.

My first blogging advice for any semi-serious blogger: go get your own domain name. I’m glad Jammy agrees.

And the book deal, I think, is already happening. Future invitees pay attention: ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ brings good luck to bloggers.

Q. Which are your three favorite posts? Why?

A. The page view hungry blogger that I have become, I couldn’t select my top three favorite posts. Instead, I give you five:

- Our visit to the gynecologist.

- A married man’s guide to safe and sound staring

- Am I a lesbian?

- A Gentleman’s guide to your wife’s sari

- About Jamshed Velayuda Rajan

Q. How many blogs do you read? If you were to read only one blog, which one would it be? Why?

A. If you give me 30 days time, I would have read 50 new blogs – the frequency of re-visits to each blog may vary. And then, there are the standard ones like Amit’s, Great Bong’s and Rahul’s. A preferred pastime of mine is blogroll hopping – clicking on a random blog from the blogroll and continuing the game till the cows come home.

Q. If you were to think of one question I should have asked you, what would it be? What would your answer be?

A. You should have asked me about my wife’s contribution to Ouchmytoe’s success. My answer would have been: “Nil. Zilch. Zero”. PS: If I acknowledge her contribution here, she might ask for her share of the Adsense payouts.

Thank you, Jammy! It will be fun to see if any of my future invitees are as funny as you!

Patrix from ‘Nerve Endings Firing Away’ is next up on ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’. Do walk in tomorrow for more virtual coffee and real conversation!

Have you read these ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ interviews with your favorite bloggers: Jai Arjun Singh.

Jai Arjun Singh is a New Delhi-based freelance writer/ journalist/ blogger. Jai works part-time with the Business Standard newspaper, blogs at Jabberwock and is mainly known for his erudite reviews of books and movies.

I have already written about why I love Jai’s blog -

- Nobody else writes as prolifically or as beautifully about books and movies as him.
- His interviews are more personal and insightful than any other I have read on desi blogs.
- He manages to make even his rants read like literature.

Jai, I felt, was the perfect person to start off the ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ interview series because he is the perfect example of the desi A-list blogger/ journalist, a species you’ll often come across at ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’.

Q. When and why did you start blogging? Has the reason why you blog changed over time?

A. I started in September 2004. Initially I thought I would use it mainly as an online “storehouse” for some of my published articles and reviews, for easy access and reference. But over time that function changed: I found myself increasingly writing fresh things purely for the blog, whether in the form of personal posts, general observations or notes about books, films etc.

Q. What do you blog about? Has the focus of your blog changed over time?

A. At least 50-60 per cent of my posts are about books and films, but I write about anything that I want to write about – as long as I’m comfortable putting it up on a public forum. I don’t think the focus has changed much – in fact there hasn’t ever really been a “focus” to begin with!

Q. How do you think people describe your blog to others who don’t read it? How would you like them to describe it?

A. Can’t really say, but some friends tell me (perhaps half-jokingly) that they describe my blog to others as “erudite”, which is a bit embarrassing. How I’d like them to describe it – “funny”. One thing that’s sometimes frustrating is that my sense of humour (such as it is) often slips under people’s radars. It happens all the time that I write something in a facetious or tongue-in-cheek vein and readers take it at face value and send in solemn comments.

Quick Reader Poll: Jai’s blog is (a) funny, (b) erudite, (c) both, or (d) neither? Let Jai know what you think, in the comments section below! My answer is (c), by the way, although I did end up describing him as ‘erudite’ above.

Q. How do you think people describe you to others who don’t know you? How would you like them to describe you?

A. Can’t answer the first question. Would like to be described as 1) being funny and 2) being very inclusive – having a very wide range of tastes and an openness towards all sorts of things/ genres. I’m always puzzled by (and a bit envious of) people who can fill the “About Me” field in a questionnaire or a profile – it seems to me you are only restricting yourself by doing that. But on some level it’s good to be so certain of who you are, I guess!

I have struggled with the depth versus breadth question myself, both on my blog and in my life and always find myself returning to the ‘T’ shape theory. The best skill sets are a mix of a little knowledge about a lot of things – the horizontal bar – and a lot of knowledge about a few things – the vertical bar (enthusiasm for everything and expertise in a narrow niche). Jai’s skill in dissecting a book or a movie, or his taste in literature or film, is clearly the vertical bar in his Jabberwock ‘T’.

Q. Is your online persona different from your real self?

A. Not in the sense of having a conscious alter-ego self (for instance, though I use the name Jabberwock, it’s just incidental – the blog has never been themed around Jabberwocky or Lewis Carroll, I wouldn’t have the imagination to do something like that). But I do strongly believe – and I’ve blogged about this at length – that a person’s writing is just a very small part of what that person is. All of us are much more complicated, much more inconsistent people in our daily lives than our writing would suggest. So in that sense, yes, there is bound to be a disconnect between the online persona and the “real self”.

Q. How important is your blog to you? In what ways? Why?

A. Very important. I feel quite proprietorial about it and much of the writing that I’m happiest/most satisfied with is up on the blog – in fact, a lot of it has even been written exclusively for the blog and published nowhere else.

It’s become important at a professional level too, though I never imagined it would happen that way and I certainly didn’t plan it. Most of the job offers or assignments I’ve got in the past couple of years came about because of editors having read and liked the blog (as opposed to seeing something I had written for an official publication). My standing in the journalism/ freelance-writer market went up as the blog became popular.

Jai’s blog has no Google Adsense, although he does use some Amazon Affiliate links. Jai’s blog, then, is a perfect example of how to earn money because of your blog rather than from it.

Q. What have you learnt from blogging?

A. It’s been a valuable forum to keep up the practice of writing regularly, and one tends to improve with practice – I hope I have. Also, watching the diversity of voices and opinions in the blogosphere, one gets a good sense of how many completely different perspectives there can be on an issue and how those perspectives can be equally well-articulated/argued. Helps one appreciate life’s rich pageant – and on a more cynical note, it helps one appreciate that people are never going to truly understand one another!

Q. What are you highest and lowest blogging moments? Why?

A. Difficult to say, but speaking offhand:

Highest – when someone whose tastes I respect says something nice about one of my posts. Or when I meet a well-known author and they say they’ve “read me” (it’s happened a few times).

Lowest – some of the nasty comments/ trolling, though that sort of thing rarely affects me now – used to earlier.

Q. Which are your three favorite posts? Why?

A. *Groan*. There’s absolutely no way I can pick just three – if I do they would have changed within a few hours. But here’s an attempt:

1. This one I wrote very early on about my cat Sandy: I’m a little embarrassed by it now – it’s very raw and transparent, was written at a time when hardly anyone was reading the blog and I probably wouldn’t be able to do a post like it now. But it still holds up on some level.

2. This review of The Mistress of Spices: One of those very rare cases where I managed to sink my fangs into a film that I hated and wrote a cheerfully, unapologetically snarky piece on it.

3. And since this “three favourite posts” thing just isn’t working, here’s a randomly chosen one about my experience with NRIs in London.

Q. How many blogs do you read? If you were to read only one blog, which one would it be? Why?

A. Not too many. I have around 125 blogs on my Bloglines subscription list but I rush through most of the updates and only stop for a closer look when I find a post interesting. I hardly ever visit a blog directly unless it’s to leave a comment.

One blog – probably Scott Adams. I love his sense of humour and his absurdist approach to life, and it’s vastly entertaining to read some of the hate-comments he gets.

Scott Adams is one of my favorites too. And, Jai does take humour rather seriously.

Q. If you were to think of one question I should have asked you, what would it be? What would your answer be?

A. Question: “Do you write directly on the Blogger compose page?” Answer: Never, not even for the one-line posts. Always on MS Word first, then read the post through 2-3 times before transferring and publishing it!

Thank you, Jai!

Jammy Rajan from ‘Ouch My Toe!’ is next up on ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’. Do walk in tomorrow for more virtual coffee and real conversation!

Yesterday, I announced that ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ was open for business –

‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ is open now! Do walk in tomorrow for (virtual) coffee and (real) conversation with your favorite bloggers!

- and mentioned my ‘eleven Desi Blogging Cafe questions’ –

Sometimes, I’ll ask them my ‘eleven Desi Blogging Cafe questions’. Sometimes, I’ll put aside these questions and ask them other questions. Sometimes, I’ll let you ask them questions. Sometimes, I’ll let them ask me questions.

If you are wondering what those ‘eleven Desi Blogging Cafe questions’ are, here we go –

- When and why did you start blogging? Has the reason why you blog changed over time?

- What do you blog about? Has the focus of your blog changed over time?

- How do you think people describe your blog to others who don’t read it? How would you like them to describe it?

- How do you think people describe you to others who don’t know you? How would you like them to describe you?

- Is your online persona different from your real self?

- How important is your blog to you? In what ways? Why?

- What have you learnt from blogging?

- What are you highest and lowest blogging moments? Why?

- Which are your three favorite posts? Why?

- How many blogs do you read? If you were to read only one blog, which one would it be? Why?

- If you were to think of one question I should have asked you, what would it be? What would your answer be?

Do you like the ‘eleven Desi Blogging Cafe questions’? Do you love them? Do you not like them/ love them at all? Do let me know. What other questions do you want your favorite desi bloggers to answer? Let me know that too.

And, yes, do you want to know who are the first two desi bloggers who walked into the ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’? Jai from Jabberwock and Jammy from Ouch My Toe – don’t tell me it gets any better than that!

Yesterday, I played a trick on you that TV channels all over the world have perfected –

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally found a format for the ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ series I am fully satisfied with. It’s intimate, it’s interesting, it’s insightful, and it has never been done in desi blogging before.

And now that I have your full attention, I’ll leave you precariously balanced at the edge of your chairs, until tomorrow.

Watch out for Desi Blogging Cafe!

Today, instead of teasing you more, I’ll give you – (music building up into a crescendo) Desi Blogging Cafe (loud applause)!

Have you ever wanted to know more about your favorite desi bloggers? Have you ever wished that you could ask them how they started blogging, what they have learned from blogging, even how much money they make from blogging(!)? Have you ever wondered if they are as interesting in real life as they are on their blogs?

If the answers to those three questions is ‘yes’, you would love ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’! Because, at ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’!, you’ll get to know your favorite desi bloggers like you have never known them before!

And, yes, the answer to the third question above is ‘yes’! Most of my favorite desi bloggers are indeed as interesting in real life as they are on their blogs, if not even more interesting!

So, What is ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’?

‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ is what my blog will become once every day, starting now! A cafe is about catching up with friends, about freewheeling back-and-forth banter, about striking up conversations with complete strangers. ‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ will have all that, and more!

Every day, for the next 100 days, I’ll interview one desi blogger on my blog (yes, I did think of ‘Coffee with Karan’, all you Bollywood fans!) and, sometimes, I’ll even interview two together, or three, or more.

Sometimes, I’ll ask them my ‘eleven Desi Blogging Cafe questions’. Sometimes, I’ll put aside these questions and ask them other questions. Sometimes, I’ll let you ask them questions. Sometimes, I’ll let them ask me questions.

‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ will start as a simple post with a photo, but will eventually evolve into a podcast, or even a videoblog! Who knows? The possibilities are endless!

Excited? Let me know. Not really excited? Let me know. Not excited at all? Also let me know.

‘Desi Blogging Cafe’ is open now! Do walk in tomorrow for (virtual) coffee and (real) conversation with your favorite bloggers!

Also see – BlogTipping and Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs.

As regular readers of my blogs would know, my ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ series has had severe identity crisis issues.

First, there was ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ version 1, where I featured one desi blog everyday, gave three reasons why I loved the blog, and offered one (hopefully) helpful tip to the blogger. I did the series for about two weeks and then realized that I was not doing enough with the series.

Then, there was ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ version 2, where I included a small bio of the blogger and three of their best posts to give you a sense of who they are and why they blog, apart from the three reasons why they are included in the series and my blogging tip to them. However, after doing only two posts, I realized that I wasn’t satisfied with that either (did I mention that I’m a perfectionist?).

So, I stopped the series for almost two weeks, to fine-tune the format.

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally found a format for the ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ series I am fully satisfied with. It’s intimate, it’s interesting, it’s insightful, and it has never been done in desi blogging before.

And now that I have your full attention, I’ll leave you precariously balanced at the edge of your chairs, until tomorrow.

Watch out for Desi Blogging Cafe!

Also see – BlogTipping and Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs.

Alistor Cameron, who calls himself a Blogologist, has put together a tongue-in-cheek compilation of must-do blogging tips offered by the million must-read blogging experts we must have on our feed readers.

My favorite, however, is #22 (or is it #1) –

You should — on a scheduled and regular basis — be standing apart (completely dispassionately) from your blogging to gain a sense of balance and perspective on your efforts, in order to be able to review and adjust your “workflow”, choice of tools, and approach. You will need to accommodate technological change, shifts in expectation of your readership, and the greater and greater need to cater to a Chinese readership, where the real money and traffic is.

Today’s Desi Blog of the Day is Saffron Trail by Nandita.

Here’s Nandita on herself –

Nandita is a medical doctor by qualification, a a nutritionist and cook by passion and a freelance writer by occupation. She writes for Men’s Health – India and Complete Wellbeing, among many others and she is one of the group bloggers at Daily Tiffin – a family and lifestyle blog. Nandita dreams of starting a little home-style restaurant someday soon and her husband has already reserved the position of CTO (Chief Tasting Officer).

Here’s Nandita on cooking –

Cooking is like meditation. When I stand in front of my wok, I just put in the ingredients instictively. My heart tells me what will taste good and what won’t. And I cook with my heart. When one does that, the results are usually good. I believe in healthy cooking – low on salt and oil, fresh ingredients and spices, simple and quick procedures that help us eat freshly cooked meals at any time of the day. I eat to live so that I may live to eat!

Here are three reasons why I love Nandita’s blog –

- Nandita blogs in a niche she is passionate about and the passion shows in her nutritious but mouth-watering recipes.
- Her blog is very well-designed, with an uncluttered home page, thoughtfully done About and Feedback pages, a focussed nice-specific blogroll, a section on most searched recipes and prominently displayed subscription and contact details.
- I love how she uses her Weekend Breakfast Blogging series – a fortnightly food blogging carnival – to spread link love and create a community.

Here are a few of Nandita’s favorite posts -

- Nandita shares the pleasures of her early morning routine inside and outside the kitchen.
- Nandita lovingly details the role of potatoes in Tamil Brahmin cooking.
- Nandita shares her super hit recipe for Parsi Dhansak.

My tip to Nandita: I think that your’s is an almost perfect blog, Nandita, except that it’s hosted on Blogger. It’s too late to shift platforms now, but do consider using Blogger’s custom domain name service – saffrontrail.net and saffrontrail.org are available as of now.

Also see – BlogTipping and Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs.

Today’s Desi Blog of the Day is Deep Thought by TGFI.

Here’s TGFI on herself –

TGFI is a Ph.D student, chronic procrastinator and risk-taker. Right now, her life revolves around lab, and getting that elusive Ph.D. She loves science, Bombay, people who laugh, cribbing about grad school life, arguing about women’s lib, drunken revelry and cute salsa partners.

(which reminds me that the post which had me hooked to her blog also involved a drunken night out with the girls, and much laughter, and maybe even some roadside singing. URL please Thank you, TGFI!)

Here’s TGFI on her blog –

Her blog is a personal diary with snippets about her life. Initially very skeptical about such a thing as baring your soul on the www, TGFI has gotten hooked onto blogging as a venting board and enjoys the camaraderie, sharing of thoughts and the several blog-friendships that came out of it. Her biggest nightmare is her blog being “found” by people she knows in real life and she blogs in that fear, constantly.

I’m sure all you anonymous personal bloggers have dealt with that dichotomy too – the joy of finding friends in strangers and the fear of being found by friends.

Here are three reasons why I love TGFI’s blog –

- She writes with an infectious sense of humor.
- She never shies away from an argument.
- She has one of the coolest Blogger templates I have ever seen.

Here are a few of TGFI’s favorite posts -

- TGFI remembers her first car, Candy.
- Why TGFI doesn’t listen to her MP3 player on the bus anymore.
- TGFI’s dreams of meeting Stephen Hawking and James Watson, and then does (which reminds me of my own dreams, all thirty of them!)

My tip to TGFI: A “best posts” section on the sidebar, maybe?

Also see – BlogTipping and Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs.

You might have noticed that I haven’t done a Desi Blog of the Day post in the last few days. That’s because I have been asking myself a few questions about the series of late.

But, first, a little background. I started my Desi Blog of the Day series because -

I found myself thinking of the joy I felt when I first discovered blogs, and realized that I still feel it when I read some blogs.

I also incorporated a BlogTipping element in the series -

by offering three compliments and one helpful tips to the featured bloggers

- because even very popular bloggers often focus exclusively on the writing part and don’t really leverage the true potential of blogging in terms of optimizing design/ usability and/ or building a community.

However, I wasn’t really satisfied with how the series was shaping up. Here are some questions I have been asking myself –

Is there any value in featuring well-known blogs all my readers are probably reading anyway?

Should I focus exclusively on new or relatively unknown blogs – ‘Must Read Desi Blogs You Probably Don’t Read’?

How can I increase the involvement of the featured bloggers in the series?

How can I make the BlogTipping element more useful for the featured bloggers?

Here are some of my preliminary answers on how I want to take the ‘Desi Blog of the Day’ series forward –

- I’m planning to break up the ‘Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs’ list into two parts – ‘Fifty Must Read Desi Blogs You Probably Read Anyway’ and ‘Fifty Must Read Desi Blogs You Probably Don’t Read’.

The first list will feature bloggers who are already prominent in desi blogging circles and are frequently featured in DesiPundit or Indibloggies, for instance. This is because no list of desi bloggers will be complete without these bloggers.

The second list will feature two types of bloggers: bloggers who are relatively new or unknown and bloggers who are very well-known in their own niches, like Technology, but are not read by the DesiPundit/ Indibloggies crowd.

- I’m also planning to change the format of the post itself. The posts will now include a small bio/ interview with the blogger to give you a sense of who they are and why they blog, followed by three reasons why they are included in the series and my blogging tip to them.

- Finally, I’m planning to extend the BlogTipping element by offering to help the featured bloggers implement my tip.

The Desi Blog of the Day series will be back soon, but do let me know what you like/ don’t like about the series, so that I can incorporate your feedback/ suggestions into the series.

Diogenes at ‘Quasi Fictional Views’ asked me to contribute a piece for her ‘Fine Art of Blogging’ project. Blogging biggies like Liz Strauss and Chris Garrett have contributed to the project previously and I’m truly touched that Diogenes asked me to participate. Diogenes asked me to answer a few questions about my blogging and here’s the piece as it appears on her blog.

What is my blog to me?

At the simplest level, my blog is a repository of my thoughts and ideas. It is also a white board where I experiment with words and projects, a place where I try to find my voice as a writer, and a project that will become my purpose, my calling, or my legacy. My blog is also a medium to create new conversations with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and some of these conversations have already become entrenched into friendships.

Why do I blog?

I started blogging because I wanted to be a writer, to write for a living, but wasn’t sure if I had the voice or the discipline to shape it into literature. Blogging was one way to find out.

Over time, however, why I blog has changed. It is not only about writing anymore, it is also about ideating, creating conversations and helping others find their own voice and purpose.

Take, for example, my Desi Blog of the Day series, where I offer gratuitous blogging tips to one known or unknown desi blogger everyday. To most people, especially to the more established bloggers, it probably means nothing at all. However, to some bloggers it does, and it feels great to know that, by taking out a little time, I have been able to help someone else, in at least a small way. I’m now planning to start a desi blogging network that will help new bloggers in India find their own voice and an audience for it.

Another example is my 30 by 30 list, or the thirty things I want to do before I am thirty. It’s a very ambitious list and every single thing on it looks impossible today. I’m trying to do two things with the list. One, by putting it out there in the public domain, I have committed myself to it, and the amount of positive energy it has already generated for me is amazing. Second, if I do get all the thirty goals on my list, or most of them, it would be such a positive example to motivate others to go all out for their own goals.

What do I blog about?

Gauravonomics is my personal weblog, an online diary, but I also offer blogging tips for beginners and write about desi blogging, desi popular culture and marketing in a converged world.

What have been my blogging high points?

Every time I create a new conversation online is a high point, but the big high points will be getting all the thirty goals on my 30 by 30 list and setting up my desi blogging network.

What is my blogging philosophy?

You need to give others a reason to visit your blog. You also need to give others a reason to continue reading your blog. Focus all your energies on finding that reason and, once you do find it, let your readers know.

Diogenes and I first got to know of each other through my Technorati Favorites Exchange and creating new conversations like this was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote about using linkbait projects for discovering new blogs, not only exchanging links.

Darren Rowse wonders: what’s next in blogging?

I see more focussed, maybe even city-based, blogging networks emerging and becoming mini portals/ communities in themselves.

I’m working on one such project, and, as of now, it looks really promising. Will keep you posted on this one.

Gauravonomics is a Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blog now!

A big “Thank You!” to everybody who made it possible.

If you also want to make it to the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blog list, please leave a comment on my Technorati Favorites Exchange which allows you to be automatically favorited and discovered by hundreds of new blogs across the world.

If you are new here, please have a look at my noteworthy posts and, if you like what you see, subscribe to my feed via your feedreader or via e-mail.

I’ll write a longer post about my Technorati Top 100 quest later, but here are some thoughts –

- Gauravonomics is the first non-tech desi blog to be on Technorati Top 100. That must mean something!
- It’s so easy to game Technorati. John Chow has made a career out of doing just that; I’m sure there are others.
- What will Technorati do now that the number of fake favorites on Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blog list is approaching double digits?
- Nothing if impossible. If you have the will you will find the way.
- There are shortcuts to everything. It might not feel as good or mean as much to get to your goals via shortcuts, but, often, that’s the only way to get there.
- Is it 1 down 29 to go on my 30 by 30 list?

63 67 71 74 84 90 101 125 people have already favorited me and I only need 61 57 53 50 40 34 23 more faves to break have broken into the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list.

A big “Thank You!” to everybody who made it possible!

If you love reading my blog, please please please add me to your Technorati Favorites now!

Quick Summary: Read about how I entered the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list.

Gauravonomics is a Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blog now!

A big “Thank You!” to everybody who made it possible.

A Little Background First: My 30 by 30 List

I made a little list sometime back – ‘Thirty Things I Want to do Before I am Thirty’ –

The interesting thing about my 30 by 30 list is that every single thing on it looks impossible today… But, if I do manage to do all thirty, what a story it will be! So, even though I know that the odds are impossible, I’m doing it anyway, because, never again in my life, will I be young enough, or foolhardy enough, to even try something as insane.

- and ‘Take Gauravonomics into the Technorati Top 100 List’ was one of the more ambitious items on my list.

My Technorati Favorites Exchange

When Dosh Dosh broke into the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list by running a Technorati Favorites exchange program I realized that –

While it is really difficult to break into the Technorati Top 100 Most Linked Blogs list, it is easier to break into the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list because you only need about 125 people to add you to their Technorati Favorites list.

- and started my own Technorati Favorites Exchange.

Why Am I Running a Linkbait Exchange?

Many of my regular readers will be wondering why I am participating in a linkbait exchange program, instead of doing what I do best, blogging. Let me give you an example and explain why.

I’m sure that you have heard of an ‘open book exam’, where you are allowed to refer to a book while taking the test. Now, imagine that you are part of a class of hundred in an open book exam. Imagine that only half the class is aware that they are allowed to refer to a book while taking the test. Imagine that you are in the other half. Linkbaiting is to blogging what an ‘open book’ is to exams. These are the new rules of the game and, if you are not playing by them, you are likely to lose out.

What’s more, I don’t really look at my Technorati Favorites Exchange as a linkbait anyway –

I am very generous with link love and add all the blogs on my feedreader to my Technorati Favorites. Even though I haven’t updated the list for months now, I have 195 blogs on it; once I update the list, I’ll have 400+ blogs on the list.

- I look at it as a way to discover new blogs.

Discovering Blogs or Exchanging Links?

There are three versions of the Technorati Favorites Exchange running now –

- The original Technorati Favorites Exchange at Dosh Dosh

Create a post on your blog announcing that you are exchanging Technorati favorites. Prominently include a link to this post to indicate that there is a similar exchange going on at Dosh Dosh.

Once I’ve noticed the link via trackback or Technorati, I’ll include a link to your post on Technorati favorites in this post itself so readers here can visit your blog to participate if they want to.

- The Technorati Favorites Link Train at Gary Lee.

Take “My New Faves” and move them into the “The Original Faves” list. Add 3 Blogs that you’ve just added to your Technorati Favorites to the “My New Faves”. Add Everyone on this list to your Technorati Favorites List by clicking on “Fave the Site.” Those who want good kharma will fave you back. If not, you will for sure get the benefits of faves from the bloggers who continue this list after you.

- The Automated Technorati Favorites Exchange at Garry Conn

Once you have added everyone already on the list to your Technorati Faves and have subscribed to the feed, you can drop a comment and instantly have your name added to the list. Nothing else is needed. No additional comments are required. You don’t have visit hundreds of different blogs. You don’t have to waste hours on end doing these exchanges. One comment gets your site added by hundreds if not thousands of people.

All three variations are innovative ways of running the exchange, but they miss out on one important aspect: if you are taking all this trouble only to exchange links, you are probably shortchanging yourself.

All of you know why it is important to have your blog discovered; who doesn’t want new readers? However, it is equally important to discover new blogs, because new blogs give you new ideas for your own blog. Today, these bloggers are running a Technorati Favorites Exchange on their blog; tomorrow, they might think of an even more interesting meme or linkbait. Don’t you want to be the first to know when that happens?

Discovering Blogs by Exchanging Links

My new Technorati Favorites Exchnage combines the best of the three versions running now and adds the unique element of discovering new blogs by exchanging links.

Here’s what you need to do –

STEP #1: Scroll down to the comments section and click the “add me to your Technorati Favorites” link for everyone on the list to add them to your Technorati Faveorites. Also click on the “read my best posts” link to read the best posts by them and, if you like the posts, click on the “subscribe to my feed” link to subscribe to their feed.

STEP #2: After you have added everyone on the comments list to your Technorati Favorites, you are ready to add your name to the list. To add your name to the list, enter the following text in the comments form below –

Hi! I am {YOUR NAME} and I have added everyone on the list to my Technorati Favorites. Please add me to your Technorati Favorites {YOUR BLOG URL}, read my best posts {YOUR BEST POSTS PAGE URL} and subscribe to my feed {YOUR FEED URL}.

Please see my comment below as an example –

Hi! I am Gaurav and I have added everyone on the list to my Technorati Favorites. Please add me to your Technorati Favorites, read my best posts and subscribe to my feed.

Don’t worry if your code is broken; I’ll fix it after you leave the comment.

Do make sure that you have checked the box to receive e-mail notifications on new comments on this post so that you can keep track of how many new people have added you to their Technorati Favorites.

So, what are you waiting for? Enter your blog for my Technorati Favorites Exchnage now and have your blog favorited, and discovered, by hundreds of bloggers all over the world.

And, yes, do remember that this is just a game, one which will end the moment a few of us manage to get into the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list (Technorati cannot allow this to go on, can they?). But, till then, why not have fun?

63 67 71 74 84 90 101 people have already favorited me and I only need 61 57 53 50 40 34 23 more faves to break into the Technorati Top 100 Most Favorited Blogs list. So, if you love reading my blog, please please please add me to your Technorati Favorites. I know it doesn’t mean much, but it will be so much fun!

Today’s Desi Blog of the Day is Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind by GreatBong aka Arnab.

Three reasons why I love Arnab’s blog –

- There are no sacred cows on Arnab’s blog and nobody and nothing escapes his razor sharp satire.
- Arnab’s headers are often laugh out loud funny.
- Arnab’s devotion to Mitunism is now legendary.

My tip to Arnab: How can I even presume to offer a blogging tip to the master himself? But, if I must, consider adding some navigation elements on the sidebar for your single posts.

So, why is Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind the Desi Blog of the Day? Because in the Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs list, he would define ‘Must Read’ for most desi blog readers.

PS: I just realized that Arnab has 1100+ feed subscribers; I’m not sure if another desi blog has half as many.

Also see – BlogTipping and Hundred Must Read Desi Blogs.