We started out as a group blog, and it is a sad fact that it is only I that posts regularly, and others are not at all frequent. Initially I worried about why they were not posting, why they were not commenting, whether anyone reads this or not, so on and so forth.
Not now- my focus has shifted- so much so that I don't worry about how many people visit this blog or how many comment. In fact, I feel some dismay when I see a comment, because I have to reply out of courtesy (not that your comment is unwelcome, it is just that I am disinterested in this, sorry- but feel free to comment, it helps me know what I am doing).
Phew! That was egotistical- this whole business is narcissistic, so it goes with the territory.
What I want to do now, is to clarify what I am doing here nowadays- I am just providing links to what I find diverting.
How I do this is the point of the post- and also, how you can get them quickly than through this blog- you don't have to read this blog at all!
What happens is that I have subscribed to a few news aggregators and blogs with Google Reader. Whenever I get a good story or post I like, I share them on the Reader, and then through the FriendFeed bookmarklet, send it to Twitter.
So there are four ways to find these links: through this blog, or Google Reader, or FriendFeed or Twitter.
If you follow this blog, you get the links late- some of them find the light of day weeks later- and some not at all; and another advantage is the verbiage from me.
If you follow the Reader, you get the links as and when I share them- the problem is, there are some long posts, and you have to scroll past them.
FriendFeed is good- You get the headline, plus a small extract with a photo or two- if you are here for the links, please make use of Friend Feed.
If you find that even that is too much to read, I hope you follow this blog through Twitter. You only get the headlines, and then you click a link to get to the original story. If you are short of time, Twitter is best- but sometimes, I am lazy and don't tweet the point of the story in the headline.
You might wonder about the point of this all- it is just that when you read a story and move on, nothing happens, but if you share them, it feels like there is a meaning to it. It is a lame excuse for wasting my time, but this will do for now.
By the way, I think Twitter is a fantastic concept- I remember someone asking what is the use of Twitter, and for that I have to talk about DericBownds (Retired Univ. Wisc. Professor, studies brain and mind), psychcentral (Psychology and mental health information and support, since 1995), weirdnews (We try our best to bring the weirdest and most offbeat news as possible), BreakingNewz (Our mission is to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability and objectivity), tricyclemag (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review—Buddhism, Meditation & Community), haohaoreport (All the best news and blog posts about China) and more... I get great links from them.
Twitter has many more uses, and I make use of some, it is just great to find stuff you want to read:
As I post, the last five tweets I got from those I follow are these:
Home
And these are the most recent five tweets I marked as favorites:
Your Favorites
I think you get the idea...
But what about this blog? Don't I want lots of people following this and commenting? No. Definitely a big NO. I have no such expectations- mainly because there are two blogs I admire for their quality:
The Daily Irrelevant has 29 readers, and
Small Bits & Pieces has 39 followers. There'll be more people reading those blogs, and I am sure I won't do anything that will go anywhere near them. So?
Once again, a rambling post- see what I mean?
Be happy.
I read. Would like if you write your own ideas and thoughts, like the one on parenting.
ReplyDeletealso confirm once again that zzz... = Baskar
don't comment out of compulsion
Kartikey, thanks for commenting. Really. I am happy to comment back.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'd like to comment on your posts in the Young India, but I hesitate because you were not posting for a long time, and now if I come there and comment, it might look like I am doing this by way of mutual admiration... This is a terrible bind I should not have gotten into this. Anyway, zzz is myself, baskar.
To be personal, I thought Walker Percy had written in his novel, The Moviegoer, "True despair is the kind that is not aware of itself as despair", and then I Googled at found Kierkegaard said that and Walker Percy had quoted it in that novel. I think mine is the kind of despair that does not mind itself- the kind of despair that loses itself among trivialities without finding any joy.
So I don't think there is any value in what I am doing, and so, even as I write, I am aware of the absolute vacuousness in the significance of my words (what a way of saying that I think I am writing nonsense!). But that does not stop me from writing or defending what I say- my attitude is just a kind of conditioning, I think.
Thanks for your support, and I hope I could do something better here- but for now, this will be a links post. I hope you find at least one or two links useful or diverting.
By the way, I found two links on Walker Percy, i thought you might be intrigued them (in case this is new to you)- One is an article at The First Principles, Walker Percy and Suicide, and the other is a short interview with Walker Percy.
Regards,
Baskar
I read most of the posts. But I don't comment unless I have something to share on the topic. I do want to post at least once in a week.
ReplyDelete