Well folks, Shunya's Notes is a year old today! Seems to me that since my inaugural post on Gandhi, it has come a fair distance. It has hosted many good debates and over 130 posts on a wide diversity of topics (most of them original pieces rather than links/excerpts), thanks in good measure to three terrific new bloggers now on board. It got a whole new design midway and its traffic too has steadily risen to average over 350 visitors a day.
Yet the blog remains fairly quiet, with only 3.3 comments per post (might it be because we leave our readers stunned and speechless with our stellar prose?). On the other hand, I am not surprised, given how many articles I myself read on the web and never comment on. Yet a part of me longs to know who the quiet regulars are and would welcome and appreciate their thoughts on Shunya's Notes on this first anniversary.
I've certainly enjoyed blogging and have learned from it. My co-bloggers and a few readers have participated with panache and confidence and haven't shied from strong (yet civil) disagreements. Debating usually involves picking sides; one assumes positions based partly on contingent factors, which may change with time and place, or with audiences and players. Given the time-bound exchanges on a blog, one often chooses words that do not best describe one's position, or nuances thereof, or follow the full protocols of civility. I hope to get better at this over time.
Blogging has consumed a fair bit of my past year. So I thought of compiling a "top 10 reasons I blog" list. Here goes: :-)
10. To try and save the world with my manifestly exquisite pearls of wisdom
09. To realize personal therapeutic benefits by ranting, raving, and showing off
08. To derive a little joy and a sense of accomplishment in whipping an idea into shape out of chaos
07. To acquire the illusion that I am making small (positive) differences while holed up in a nice, warm room or cafe
06. To build a quiet record of a personal history, a journal of sorts, knowing well that it will nevertheless turn to dust
05. To gain independent, third-party validation that I am still sane in a world often incomprehensible to me
04. To chase after the personal growth that (supposedly) accompanies the process of writing
03. To seek conversations with other thoughtful people on topics of mutual interest
02. To kill time, because I have no better use for it
01. Because the world urgently needs to know what I am thinking!
In any case, thanks for patronizing Shunya's Notes. We expect to be around for the foreseeable future. I believe that our best work lies ahead of us. Three cheers!
Congratulations on hitting the one year mark, Namit!
Of all your top ten reasons, I think that nos. 5 and 3 are most apt.
05. To gain independent, third-party validation that I am still sane in a world often incomprehensible to me
03. To seek conversations with other thoughtful people on topics of mutual interest
All the rest is merely icing on the cake.
There's a huge comfort in knowing that there's a small group of like-minded thinkers who are willing to indulge in reasoned and civil long distance discussion on a wide array of topics.
Posted by: Sujatha | October 22, 2007 at 05:06 AM
Happy Birthday and many happy returns!
The good wishes are genuine although tinged with a bit of selfishness. The way I look at it, if and when Accidental Blogger closes shop, it is reassuring to know that Shunya's Notes will be here to satisfy any lingering blogging itch.
Posted by: Ruchira | October 22, 2007 at 04:03 PM
Coooongratulations! Tsk!..found you just a wee' lately..should have had the pleasure of reading up if I had the good fortune to coast through much sooner. Nevertheless, I feel lucky to have stumbled here..quite accidentally in my search for pretty landscape pics...And your writing is about the finest I must say...I am so glad blogging is a venue to give comments even to writers of your genius.
Your reasons for blogging are similar to mine...I have been at it though for about...um'..4 - 5 years I think...Started out as some silly venture to post the happeningz' of my everyday mundane life..Funny to find that people actually read it..Oh' but I am so grateful. I made lots of friends world wide..and...me' thinks the best part was when one of the bloggy' people went meatspace and sent me a "scarf"...
Congrats once again..and here's a little sweet virtual chocolate cake to celebrate!
Posted by: LAdy Luxie | October 23, 2007 at 06:24 AM
Thank you for your wishes and kind remarks, Sujatha, Ruchira, and Lady Luxie.
The 2nd year is starting slow unfortunately, with my day job not leaving enough time/mental space for chunky posts. But this too shall pass.
Posted by: Namit | October 25, 2007 at 11:17 PM