5 things you missed by not attending #SMWMumbai

So, it happened. The Social Media Week in Mumbai. Surely an event that stands out the norm. I'll get straight to the regrets now. Yeah, reasons you'll regret for not attending SMWMumbai.

#1 No boring lectures. Actually, no lectures.

None of the sessions would make you sleep. You can take my word on that one. All of them were fresh and trending. They all fragmented of social media, something we all love. My favourite part was where I almost ran into a debate with Arnab Goswami (Yeah, the newshour's Arnab) and got entertained by Suresh Menon (He's so phunny!) for his take on sarcasm.

#2 The whacking audience!

I personally loved the people who attended this. All of them excelling with social media, sharing their success insights. Amidst the Picassos and Da Vincis of social media marketing, I did feel like a rookie. Conversations were more like learnings for me. Not to forget the inherent friendliness and sarcasm in every talk.

#3 The food and bar.

The irresistible, lip-smacking food was a bonus. I'm pretty sure the people who left early missed it terribly. Can't forget the ambience at the cafe now, can we?

#4 Goodies!

I now have a huge handsome Messi poster in my bedroom. Plus, few one liner stickers, bookmarks and pinning tags. That sure made me happy like a kid at the entrance.

#5 Everything. Period.

You literally missed everything by not attending this. I'm not even exaggerating. A new experience altogether. I don't remember having such a good time at any other event.

Meet you next time or meet you next time at #SMWMumbai?

PS: Huge thanks for the invite to Blogadda. You guys really made my day. :)

Let me burst that bubble for you

This post has been in my drafts folder for too long. The delay was caused because I didn't know if it made sense back in time. But, at present, I have come across a lot of people who believe blogging is hard. I have also met another educated set of folks who blog and boast like they are the chosen ones. So, this post is for people who are taking those trembling steps to blog, falling back before trying and for those who think blogging is only for the few (including them and excluding everybody else).

Spoiler alert: Tongue-lashing ahead.

#1 "Blogging isn't just anybody's cup of tea."

Bullshit. Blogging isn't rocket science. Anybody can blog. You too. Get a topic, break your head around it, gather enough content and arrange them correctly to form a flow. It isn't a big deal. FYI, not that easy too.

#2 "Just write X type of blog."

Another bullshit filled sentence. Types don't matter. You can blog about anything and everything that interests you and your audience. I don't remember following a type for my personal blog. I sure do write content around a theme on my business blog but that's a different story. That blog needs to be written in a certain format. It is related to the work I do. Whereas, my personal blog is just - personal. So, as far as you don't want to follow a theme, paying attention to type is a waste of time.

#3 "Use top-notch vocabulary."

Now, this depends on what you choose and how you choose to write it. Novels tend to have vocab that needs you to use the dictionary a lot of times. The story with blogs is different. Don't use out-of-the-world words. It isn't important. Simple blogs have their way easily into a reader's mind. The more you complicate, the better you get at making them leave. You can always use some new words but make sure they don't have to refer the oxford for every second word. That'll be annoying.

#4 "Blogs take up all of the time."

Again, this changes depending upon the person's skills, the topic, its content, length, etc. There are times when I finish a blog in a day and there have been times when I have taken months to get one together. So, it depends.

#5 "You have written a book. Blogging must be a piece of cake."

Nope. Not at all. And this applies vice-versa too. Just because one has written a book doesn't mean AT ALL that blogging becomes easy. Plus, just because one can write blogs everyday doesn't mean they can write a book. They are two different things and mixing them is plain stupid.

Well, these are all I have for now. There will surely be more to come. Keep an eye out. Till then, happy blogging!

Ctrl+Z

I was reading a post of my favorite blogger. His mention about the moon just brought some childhood memories (read: awesome times) back. I remember how much I fascinated the moon. I still do. I just happen to adore it less. Back in time, I woke up early not to view the sun rise but to see the moon fade away slowly in the sky. The white handsome face has always been my best buddy. Waving it, finding it behind the clouds had become a habit. The calm nature played its charm on me well. With time, my relationship with it lulled. The most surprising part is that it has always been there unintentionally. No matter how far we are, it still has the tendency to calm me down. No matter how less we realise each other's existence, it still manages to prove its existence. I regret not being an active participant of our relationship. Nevertheless, my love for the white beauty will always be a cherished feeling. It's my only childhood crush to have made it this far. Only if I could go back in time and save our relationship, things could have been different. If only.