Golden Jubilee

So now I have 50 followers on this blog. Actually 51, but it took me that long to decide that I did want to comment on it. First I was thinking why make a big deal. But in fact, it IS a big deal! There are blogs that have 100s or even 1000s of followers so why is it a big deal? Well, mine is a very humble little blog. I am not a celebrity so it's not a status symbol to follow my blog, nor do I have a team that could publish 7 psots a day making it imperative that you check every 2 hours. I write about simple things and I write as and when. So each follower is someone who liked something in my blog, in what I write about or how I write about it. And that, my friends, is a warm feeling. So excuse me while I enjoy this moment! 


Essentially, all writers, including myself, write for the sheer pleasure (?) of writing. It's kind of like a disease, they can't help writing, whether anybody reads it or not. But would they continue writing if nobody ever read it? Well, Dev Anand is still making movies, isn't he? But seriously, would I continue to write, if nobody read my blog? I doubt it. 


Even though the writing habit is like a disease and I write when I think of a topic where I want to sound off it still is wonderful to get comments from the readers. To get a comment that makes me think or one that makes me want to snub the commenter (only happens if it's an Apple fanboi being himself), it is a lot of fun when the blogging is more interactive than just one-sided. 


There are several bloggers whose blogs I myself follow and admire their writing. Irfan(http://irfanurs.blogspot.com), Bikramjit (http://mannbikram.wordpress.com/) , Purba(http://purba-ray.blogspot.com), Always Happy (http://dilkibaatblogkesaath.blogspot.com/), Red Handed(http://anuglyhead.blogspot.com/), The Technical Author (http://thetechnicalauthor.blogspot.com) are just some of them. It is such a joy to be able to share ideas and interact with such people so easily because of this wonderful thing called the Internet. Did you know that the internet was originally invented for porn? No, just kidding! It might well have been though, don't you think? 


When I was a software faculty I used to give these seminars to my students, one of the topics was the internet. And one question I was always asked, "What can we do with it?" This is way back in the 1990s when the net was not so widespread, especially in India. And my answer was, "There are 3 million users on the net. What can you do if you have access to 3 million people?" And here's the answer - interact. To share ideas, to tell jokes, to regale them with the stories of your childhood, to ask advice and to bore them with your discourse on why Apple sucks. 


So, you see it IS a big deal that there are 50 people who think that my blog has what it takes to make it into their reading list. 


A big thank you to all of you!