Good Blogs: How to Find & Keep them

These days, every tom, dick & harry (and even his cousin) are into writing blogs. How then do you differentiate between the flotsam of the internet and genuine blog writers? At the insistence of Yuri, I am writing this article on finding & subscribing to good blogs around the blogosphere!

Searching for good blogs

Tip 1: Ask your friendsNothing beats personal opinion. Google blog search and other related devices for searching for blogs on the internet can only take you so far. For example, I am currently subscribed to two Arsenal related blogs - A Cultured Left Foot (ACLF) and Arseblog, which in my opinion offer damn good reading material for Arsenal fans. However, these two do not appear in the top 20 or so search results. Most of the top results will be populated by popular sites where the "aam junta" go for their daily kicks. However, when you are looking for specific reading which will appeal to the thinker within you, it makes sense to take advice from like minded people. Ask your friends, chat to people about blogs they like (with topics of your interest), ask on orkut/facebook/wherever.

Tip 2: Check wordpress.com / technorati for "happening" blogs of the dayThese sites display a list of the hottest blogs of the moment. There is a reason that a blog article appears on the front page of such sites: popularity. And not just popularity amongst the general masses; popularity because they are good blog articles appreciated by chronic readers! There is a blog I subscribe to: Angry Aussie. The guy has a knack for humour & I picked up the link to his blog via Wordpress. Another pointer for a good blog is the number of comments it has. A blog having multiple comments by different people over a period of time is more likely to have good content as opposed to the blogger interjecting to reply to every other comment.

Tip 3: Once you find a good blog, check for related linksThe best bloggers hunt in packs. Correction, make that "write" in packs. That is not to say that they know each other in real life. Writers write because they have read a lot and cannot control the urge to pen down their own two pennies worth. The very fact that they are writing well suggests that they are reading well. Check the "blogs I visit" section of any good blogger. You are bound to find some wonderful reading stuff over there as well.

Subscribing to good blogs

Tip 4: RSS & SyndicationNow that you have found a blog that regularly updates and has exceptional content, you want to ensure that fresh material uploaded there is made available to you at the moment it gets posted. There are three ways to this: RSS via browser, feed reading software, online syndication providers. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication where your browser automatically downloads latest posts on your "favourite" blogs. These are simple text downloads and will not be as effective if the blogger of your choice has a penchant for the visual media. Nevertheless, these are a very good starting point for you to decide whether a blog is worth reading or not. Syndication softwares download stuff to your PC and the best one around is FeedDemon (available for free download). Similarly, you can go online at google reader / bloglines / etc. to get fresh updates of your favourite blogs.

Tip 5: Sign up for emailSo you are tired of firing up your browser to visit that blog that you like reading the most. Check if there is an option to receive the feed via email. This is a very nifty option that most bloggers like to give to their readers. Nothing as convenient as getting the latest article in your inbox, is there? :)

Improving the content of blogs

Tip 6: Never thought that you could actually improve blogs in the blogosphere?Think again. Writers write because they want people to read. How will there be an impetus for a writer (unless s/he has a compulsive typing disorder) to keep on doling out good reading material? The answer is: feedback. Bouquets & brickbats are typically welcome and the best of bloggers take the time to read each and every comment posted about what they have written. Wherever improvement is warranted, it is usually implemented. So go ahead and type out that witty comment that you thought of. It might just make some one's day! :)

/Radgovin

Your article in the Times of India dt. 19/11/2008

This is an email I wrote to the Editor of The Times of India for the headline of the day's
newspaper.

Dear Sir,

This is in reference to your article in The Times of India dt. 19/11/2008.

I would like to state up front that I am not in support of any political party that claims
to be working for the benefit of the local Maharashtrian.

Your article states that the data has been sourced from Maharashtra Government.
What were the means used to source these data? Was it gotten under RTI Act, 2005?
Again, the data is for industries in the private sector i.e. the so called micro, small, medium
& large industries. What about the data for Government organizations such as the MCGM,
the Railways, BEST, et al.? Why not publish data from the above records?

As I recall, the pro "sons-of-the-soil" parties are all agitating because of the Government
"safe" jobs being given to outsiders. You have very cleverly deflected attention from that
by publishing data of private sector and pumping up the high percentages.

I am all for equality in employment. I don't care who gets the job (Maharashtrian or otherwise)
so long as that person is capable to handle the responsibilities of the job & eligible for the vacancy.
I believe that the private sector employs people on the basis of their abilities and irrespective
of their background i.e. there is no scope for reservation. That they have employed more number
of Maharashtrians probably points to the fact of the superior ability of the said employees.
Either that, or the local Unions are strong holds of the locals. However, to me it seems more of
an exception rather than the norm.

I am sure that your headline will get lots of attention. I am also sure that you are going to get lots
of flaming emails in your inbox. But you deserve all of the hate that you will get; simply because as
an irresponsible media person, you have published an article for the sake of publicity and not for sharing
of "news".

Regards,

Govindraj S. Umarji

Compaq 301TU review

This is a review I had written for my own laptop (for a contest organized by a leading monthly magazine)

A laptop is about as effective as its owner wants it to be. In spite of all the hype surrounding newfangled laptops available in the market today, my plain old vanilla Compaq C301TU scores over them when it comes to sheer basic productivity. Sporting a spartan configuration of 1.6 GHz Celeron processor and 512 Mb RAM, the C301TU is not F1 class laptop material. However, it does provide for fundamental office work applications and simple gaming.

Review:
Performance: Since I am running Windows XP, speed is never a concern for me. The 512 Mb RAM suffices for most office applications and I can easily multi-task between office applications and roller coaster tycoon, if I so desire. Of course, for resource intensive tasks such as CAD, it makes sense to have minimum applications running. Switching between applications is a breeze and there is hardly any lag when switching from movies to office and vice-versa.

Looks and Handling: I opted for the understated look of the Compaq over the glossy finishes of the HP/Dell laptops. The C301TU is black and silver, has a wide screen and handles well. It can be carried around for hours without being a pain in the shoulder!

Connectivity: Wireless capability for a low price is the USP of this laptop. Coupled with a standard RJ-45 ethernet LAN port, this makes the laptop one for those addicted to the internet.

Battery life: The C301TU has consistently given me battery life of over 2 hours over two years. Since I live in an area prone to load shedding, this utility comes in really handy when work needs to be done and there is no power available. Even with movies/audio running, battery life is over 1.5 hours.

Applications: The laptop did not come loaded with a lot of software. However, a basic investment in office software makes the laptop very useful.

Support: Compaq (HP) offers good customer care, with all the software/hardware drivers available at their site. However, I have had to send constant reminders to the local dealers for getting an extended warranty. This is probably an area that requires HP's attention.

Cost: The deal is made sweet by the price, which was a modest 32k when I purchased the laptop over two years ago.

Overall a nice and cheap laptop to own and maintain. Great value for money for the corporate types on the move.


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