How I started Blogging…
I guess you should have read why I blog, but do you know how I started blogging? That is what I am going to tell in this post 🙂
Once upon a time…*Too much* Ok, a few years back I was generally *clueless* on what to do on weekends, and I used to visit some friends place in the little time that I was not sleeping. One day, one of my friends suddenly decided to show me his blog. Until then, I was not aware of what a blog was.
So, I asked him – ‘What is a blog?’. He told me that a blog was like an online diary and we can write whatever we want. He also told me that people from *all over the world* will visit our blog, read what we have written and comment on some of the posts. He showed me his blog’s Google Analytics readership stats which contained a world-map plotted with the location and number of all his readers!
Like this:
I was both *amazed* and *fascinated* 😀 In my *excitement*, I took an oath to start a blog immediately after I reached home. As you can guess, I did absolutely nothing. After six months of hibernation, I suddenly decided to start a blog and wrote this post. *Reading it once again, it’s not that bad! Just (Un)Poetic (nonsensical)Abstract-ism* 🙂
Once again, I went into hibernation. For six more months. After that, I was really determined to start and maintain a proper blog. So, with utmost *seriousness*, I set-up a compulsory weekly schedule of posting and (for the most part) stuck with it.
One thing I still remember is, once I published my second post I was reminded of my friend’s Google analytics bragging and hence I kept checking my stats and comments every one hour! Only to find 0 hits and 0 comments even after 3 days!! 😀
I guess it pretty much continued like that for the next six months or so. Ok, I did get a few comments and few hits, but there were no followers as such. I was pretty much writing for myself. In retrospect, I feel that some of my most creative posts were written during this period.
Frankly speaking, not much has changed, even today. But I would prefer to believe that I have developed a *cult-following* for my blog 😉
So, how did you start blogging?
Destination Infinity
PS: I experienced a small splurge of that passion and excitement once again when I recently redesigned my renewable energy blog. That’s why Destination Infinity is burning on the top 😛
Interesting. I used to be a reader of a few blogs. One such blog is Insignia’s (Bindu) B Log. A very popular blog. One day, a few years ago, she asked me to write a guest post. I wrote it. She was impressed with my writing that she asked me to start my own blog. I told her that I have no idea how to set up one. She told me she would set up a blog for me and did that. Even today, she is my technical advisor.
The above mentioned friend was my technical adviser initially. Wrt. blogging, now I know more than him 🙂
Destination Infinity
Insignia knows more than me even today.
I liked the ‘cult following’ part! 🙂
My husband’s colleague saw my love for reading and told me to read blogs online. After a few days, he suggested me to start my own blog and rest is history. I remember pestering my family and friends to read and comment and 1-2 of them would do it after persistent mails/calls. Even now none of my family and friends read my blog! 😀
Talk about asking family/friends to read our blogs. Once, I wrote an article about my best friend and asked him to read at least that. He visited that post after 10 days and just sent me an sms to the tune of ‘nice’!! 🙂
Destination Infinity
LOL 😀 at ‘Nice’ 😀
Ah, now i know 🙂
DI, now, your book should not be too far away!
No, it was supposed to mean 32 years after that date. At the age of 60, I will definitely publish my autobiography 🙂
Destination Infinity
I know you are one of the oldest blogger. Started blogging way back.
In my company an IITian started blogs. He developed programs himself ( a very efficient code) and made this blog system over our intranet. I seemed to make an impact. I did not know there was blogging at google etc.
Then I jumped on internet starting with Politics and Fashion. Then I followed people from there.
Yes, Politics and Fashion is a good blog. I get a lot of info (including current affairs) from there. Since I don’t watch news channels, it is very useful… Good to know that someone coded a blog system in your company intranet. I hope we’ll see more such innovators…
Destination Infinity
Almost same as my experience…
thanks
good to know 🙂
Destination Infinity
Good read 🙂 As I finished my graduation, I was too eager and I was getting ready for a job, but the destiny had some other answers. I was jobless for long time and during those days I would be simply surfing on the Internet. That time I went through a blog named ‘A travel blog of an Indian Backpacker’ . I liked it much and it provoked me to start a blog on my interests just as a pass-time. But after one year of blogging, now it became as my passion 🙂 Keep blogging 🙂
During the initial days, I too was inspired by a blog. It was called, ‘A wide angle view of India’ written by Nita. I used to read all the informative posts written by the author and participate in the discussions. The comments could easily cross 100 on many blog posts! To me, knowing about a blog was more like a ‘Eureka’ moment. I knew that this was something that was custom made for people like me… 🙂
Destination Infinity
I began blogging without realizing it and I was just looking for a website for myself and blogger provided me the opportunity. Until receiving my first comment I don’t know we can share with others. Following the first comment, I visited many blogs and my world expands.
LOL @ Not knowing about page-views/comments when you started blogging. Many people start a blog so that they could get page-views and comments 🙂
Destination Infinity
You are getting the ‘cult’ – we all readers are of same cult. 🙂
Don’t worry about readership – just keep on writing.
I started with 0 visits – for 6months stuck at 2visits then to 5 visits for 4months. Finally last year it picked up some momentum. But I am not even near any impressive no. 😛
But I think – I am also sharing a cult-culture. 😀
We all have mini-cult followings. Or is it micro-cult?? 😛
Destination Infinity
I was practicing essays for GRE and somehow found “blogs” online and then I thought of starting my own to practice some writing. Interesting to know how you started 🙂
You started a blog for academic purpose? Interesting… 🙂
Destination Infinity
There you are then! Found you.. 😀
Ha ha… Welcome 🙂
Destination Infinity
Cult following eh? Way to go!
I started blogging because I saw everyone around me had a blog back then..I thought maybe it was coool to have a blog..I felt left out! And one day I decided to start one for myself 🙂
Everyone around you had a blog? I don’t know even on offline character around me that has one! Ok, one person has, but that’s it!!
Destination Infinity
I started blogging when I wanted to share my travel tales with friends back home. So started my photoblog. Also, it was a time when I had some extra time and this had seemed a good way to pass the time.
Yes, blogging is a much better hobby than many others out there!
Destination Infinity
I started blogging just because I felt like writing and needed to distract my mind from some stuff that was going on in my life that time. 🙂
I guess we all need that distraction and find them too, at our blogs 🙂
Destination Infinity
I started blogging the day a newspaper editor invited me to meet him but forgot all about our meeting making me sit in his office for hours.
And I named my blog Freebird.
So, all that waiting did not go in vain, after all! 🙂
Destination Infinity
interesting start and still going on and will going on
Yes, for some of us, SM, blogging has become life 🙂
Destination infinity
I came to know about blogs from 2 of my colleagues who were writing technical stuffs! Nice read DI!
I wonder what people who use blogs for their work, think about it? Were they saying something like, ‘Oh, I need to update my blog today also 🙁 ‘?? 🙂
Destination Infinity
Even for me, it happened all of a sudden. One day I just went for it and I dont regret it 🙂
That’s something that surprises me – We start a blog suddenly, but somehow end up updating it frequently! Blogging is a much better hobby than many many others!
Destination Infinity
It’s very exciting to first start blogging. I started writing mainly for myself though, and thought I would never get any readers! This was the nitawriter blog. The success of the blog was unexpected, and finally so much that it interfered with my life. However, I am happy that I got to know so many people (even if it was electronically) through my blog. Now I am very much in control of my life through my new web log (blog). It has in fact given me a flourishing career! 🙂
Here we are, wishing that the success of our blogs WILL interfere with our lives soon!! hmmm….. 😉 Happy to know about your new flourishing career…
Destination Infinity
Reading this post has no doubt brought back some memories. I remember my real reason of blogging – it was to talk about the daily happenings in my life but anonymously. To date, I have managed to keep the pledge but I’d like to blog a little more frequently.
It’s sort of freakish that those close to me have no idea I blog.
I was also blogging anonymously during the initial years. I have noticed one thing with people around us – They won’t read our blogs, even if they come to know of it (or they will read very rarely!).
Destination Infinity
pretty much my story…
Are you sure it was not the same friend for both of us? 😛
Destination Infinity