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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Bloggers Foundation

Hi !! To all my blogging community. Whether you write on Technology , Entertainment , Education , Science, Personal , Fashion , Philosophy , Life and what not..... consider my thoughts for a moment.

Let me lay some premise to this discussion that will unfold in next few paragraphs. I assume that you are a serious blogger, you have something interesting to say and your opinion is unique and is counted. Writing for the pleasure of it is what everyone of us enjoys and unless the thoughts flow at ease words will not shape up as a 'masterpiece'. Till now i hope you all agree that we all love this hobby of ours and would be interested to add more meaning to these creative pursuits. I am not going to talk about SEO , Adsense or Monetization of our work, that's for more intelligent species which i am not.

Blogging Community is pretty colorful
Blogging Community is pretty colorful

If all the above perquisites are met, there is something that we all can do by joining hands. Now consider a body called " Bloggers Foundation " . This body will have to have an Editor , 1-2 Admin , a Designer , a Content creator and few people who can run around and get our work published.

This group or body will be a formal group that does the following :

1. Promote common threads and build opinions - This blogging community comprises of very well read  intellectuals who are no lesser than the 'Noble Laureates' themselves, if they may believe. Writing collaboratively for a cause and building 'impartial opinions' is definitely what all we can do.
2. Publishing and showcasing our thoughts - There could be a book , a monthly magazine , a journal that can come out where every blogger has contributed. It is a mode for free speech and thoughts, the intent of which is adding value to people's mindsets. The body won't mind publishing a collection of short stories, poems and light hearted talks too.
3.Protect rights of bloggers for free speech - Copyright , Intellectual Property Rights & Claims.
4. Protect rights for bloggers for thoughts on national and political issues.

To give you a clue, as a starting point why not consider an online monthly journal titled " We the Bloggers " . Mind you this entire work can be collaboratively done online.

At the moment i see so many talented fellow bloggers who have written good posts on myriad issues but none of them are collated at a single place. There are causes that each one of us is passionate about and that only comes out when a blogging contest is organised. Why can't we decide on themes and announce it in advance, let the community debate and come up with their best. The best of all gets published and everyone else reads and appreciates the thoughts. This interaction will not only refine our own thoughts but also give us avenues to discuss and debate which is a very healthy sign for growth.

I rest my case before you all and would invite maximum comments to give shape to this idea. If we succeed we build a very strong presence , a very strong voice that is for a cause and for a change !!



12 comments:

aativas said...

This idea is interesting. However, let us think in advance about practical difficulties e.g. time and willingness etc. It is always easy to start something, but hard to keep it functional.

Anonymous said...

very nice idea. vivek. i see a lot of activity of a similar nature taking place of late. i am not trying to discourage you, but i have noticed a few things that might put perspective on this. most people who are blogging on social issues are either already involved with a social agency and use their blogging as an extension of their work, or are working some other job and blog with their spare time. all their time and energy is focused on creating a readership for their own work, to some extent even their own brand. if you look at the number of interactive networkers on the indi forums or on similar facebook pages, you will get an idea of what i mean. instead of asking them to participate, maybe you can think of an editorial team that looks out for exceptional material, contacts the blogger for permission to use it, and then goes about all the stuff that you mentioned, vivek. that way, other than a team that volunteers to scout the blogosphere for relevant content and some people to help out with logistics, you will not be demanding the time or attention of the noble laureates.
this will also free you up to develop an independent editorial strategy based on emerging trends, priorities, and developments.

congratulations again, vivek bhai, for coming up with such a thoughtful idea. do let me know if i can be of help in any way.

AmitAag said...

...great idea Vivek, but organizing all this would be a mammoth task!

Viveksheel said...

Thanks guys for your encouraging response. My idea is to come up with an e-digest that has blog posts from good bloggers like you all. There will be categories like travel, tech, photo log, personal, fiction , poems etc and we will publish the best works of chosen few bloggers to start with.

#aativas - i want to start small and then see the response. If time and commitment allows me to publish 2-3 monthly digests and supports come along we might get some good traction.
# subhorup - I dropped you a mail on your g mail id.

# Amit - Sir !! I am taking small steps at a time. Let's see how can i build on this idea.

Bikram said...

a good idea and all the best with it.

but as Subhorup Dasgupta says above there is already too much of that happening..

I also understand not all are doing great work, for example the indiblogger forum, where we put our latest posts, I dont understand whay I am doing it , as all people do is click on the promote this post button, I have never till date gone back and checked how many votes I have got..

Where ever I have clicked promote , I have made sure to go to that article read it and leave my 2 cents worth of a comment there ... Now that is good because at least i have read the article rather then jsut press the button not even caring what the other person has written.

SO yeah there are a lot of oppurtunities to do different things and I with all my heart wish you all the best in it ..

Bikram's

Santosh Bs said...

Great idea Vivek, let me know, I can contribute from my blog and let's see if I can contribute on any other activity you need! Just drop me a mail.

Saru Singhal said...

I agree with everyone about the no. of groups doing the same thing. In fact there was a group which took the domain name but never took off. I think we need to have high standards of quality, lot of dedication and great marketing strategy to make it a success.It is very difficult in the beginning but once it takes off, many channels open. It is a lot of hard work if you ask me. I think you should work on creating a good team and have a proper plan.

As a blogger, I feel if you connect with your readers, nothing is impossible. Good luck!!!

Unknown said...

The idea sounds good and I would love to help in any way I can. Do let me know. Thanks!

Vikram Waman Karve said...

Excellent Idea.

Vikram Waman Karve said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Medha BN said...

Hi Vivek.

This is one great idea. I read the post you mentioned on your blog and I see quiet a response and all positive.

I have a couple of suggestions for the body and the e-magazine.

You have asked for 5 best posts form each blogger. I think one or at the most 2 posts should be requested for submission to make the task for the selectors easy(unless the team of selectors is really big to handle 5 posts from n number of bloggers). This way we make sure the selection is based on quality rather than quantity and the selectors get enough time to analyze the post and reward points based on a set of rules! This will also make sure that every time a new blogger gets enough space to prove their ability.

At-least one person (more will be better) should be authorized/volunteered for each category to refine the number of posts from that category before it makes to the next level of refinement (if there are any levels at all)!

Well, all the best and I am in too! Has the selection process begun?

Viveksheel said...

Thanks for the encouraging response !!

Let me define the direction ahead .

a )There will be 10 categories 1. Short Stories 2. Poems 3. Personal 4. Technology 5. Fashion 6. Travel 7. Photo 8. Sports 9. Entertainment 10. Homecare & Parenting

b) There will be a core committee of 6 members whose task is to collate a list of best bloggers in each of the above defined category, invite posts , screen them and on the basis of merit propose to the editor to publish them in the monthly e- digest.

I volunteer to be the first member of this core group and will own up 1. Short Stories 2. Poems 3. Personal . 5 more volunteers required who will own up categories (max 3 ) and start collecting the best of the blog posts. If there are more people who want to join they can be clubbed with the first core member.

c) A technical team of 2-3 people will be required to design the e -digest, find web space and publish it electronically. Volunteers please !!

d) If you do not want to be part of the above 2 you can still contribute by sending the posts to the core committee, once it is formed.

Next step: Need 5 more volunteers for the core group with categories that you will own up and 2/3 for the technical group. Once this shapes up we will have a poll to choose the Editor.