Spinning The Web

Many of you must be confused after reading Kashika's post where she went on about how blogging can be such a pain in the ass. For those of you who haven’t read it even after her multiple requests to do so and her pasting the link for the post on every person’s Facebook profile that she has ever spoken to, here’s what I’m talking about-

Expectation is a bitch. Everybody expects something from someone. Like, my parents expect me to wake up by 7:30am every morning even during vacations, my cousins expect me to wish them at midnight on their birthdays and my friend Kanupriya expects me to “like” all her pictures on Facebook. I hate it when people expect things from me. ‘Coz if you’re someone like me, you’ll give your best to not let them down. On the other hand, if you’re someone like my brother, you’ll never stop expecting things from your awesome little narcissistic sister, and force her to match up to them.

Sarthak has asked me almost a billion (yes, with a ‘b’) times to write a guest post for his blog ever since he wrote his first post here, and I’ve always blown off his requests. But every time that I did, I’d end up feeling guilty. And even though I tried writing something for him a couple of times, the thought of my condescending, judgmental brother reading it would make me change my mind. It’s something really sad when you fail to meet someone’s expectations. But since I think Sarthak wouldn’t ever stop begging me to write a post, I thought it would be better if I finally pen something down for him. Atleast now if he’ll be disappointed, it would be over my sucky English and immature style of writing.

I’ve never been good at writing. And to have my writing become a part of the digital world for everyone to see? I don’t think I can ever be comfortable with such public display of my personal thoughts and opinions. Which is why I think being a blogger sucks. Why would I want to sound my innermost thoughts or rant about things in public? Plus, I’d rather watch a movie than be concerned about what I should write for my next post which would probably keep the readers engaged. Being a blogger comes with all these troubles and more. Here are the 4 major reasons why I think blogging sucks:

1. Trollism

Trolls are the BIG BAD WOLVES of the internet. They’re ugly, annoying and mean. And when you’re getting trolled by a bored hater, it ain’t pretty. Probably the main reason why I was so apprehensive of writing a post was this. I knew I couldn’t write a blog post, but having to face a scrounging hater insult me –that would be a big blow to my already low self confidence. And if one day I have to wake up to see some badass hater criticize me and this post, before killing myself, I would kill my brother for talking me into writing it.

2. You Always Have To Come Up With Interesting Things To Write About

There, I said it. No matter how lame it sounds –it’s true! It’s always a big pain in the ass to come up with something fun and entertaining to keep the readers engaged and interested. And let’s face it –my life is no hilarious sitcom or some cheesy Bollywood flick. In fact, it’s pretty boring. Which is why more than half my time was wasted when I sat down to write this post as one question haunted me –WHAT to write about? What on earth would I write about that would keep you engaged and interested?! Like any other teenager, I’m in my own damn world and don’t have a strong intellectual opinion on things. No sire. Which left me with another question –Why on earth would you even want to read it?

3. Blogging Is A Time Consuming Activity

I never thought writing a little blog post would be so time consuming. As embarrassing it is to admit, I spent almost 3 hours writing this post. Blogging is no walk in a park. You have to think of a topic, collect your thoughts, get your content up, promote your blog on Facebook, and spend ages trying to make sure it’s a fun read. Especially for someone like me who doesn’t have a bone of humor, blogging can be a tedious task.

4. People Judge/Expect

As I mentioned before, expectation is a bitch. Being a “guest blogger” here, I’m expected to match up to the level of all the other cool posts Sarthak wrote. If I fail to write compelling content, then of course, I’d be judged. “How can one sibling be such a cool blogger and the other one so lame?” I didn’t want that! “I’m a guest blogger. I have to write something totally awesome to blow people away.” But thanks to me and my critical self, whatever I wrote wasn’t good enough. I’m someone who’s LITERALLY able to have never ending conversations with people. But blogging? Nah! I knew I had to do anything to pull this off –scare you, excite you, fight you –but NOT bore you.
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No doubt her post is brilliantly written and is worth more than just a few laughs. But why has she took to blogging, if she is ranting about how much it sucks and how much she detests it, in the first place?!

You see, when she relentlessly criticized blogging, what she failed to realize is that it has its pros as well, that a coin has two sides. With good, comes bad to accompany it. Which is why, if there is Oscar, there is Razzies. If there is internet, there are hackers. If there is Sholay, there is RGV ki Aag. If there is Friends, there are tons of crappy sitcoms trying to imitate it. Well, I have a truckload of other examples to illustrate my point, but I'm guessing you get my drift. And as far as blogging is concerned, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. So without much ado, let me present to you the reasons as to why blogging –does not- suck.

1. Best Way to Pass Time

Picture this. You're lying on your couch looking quite similar to a dead sloth. The can of soda is crushed and the bag of chips is empty. Your eyes are transfixed on the not-so-idiot box. But frankly my dear, you don't give a damn because THIS is what vacations are all about, bitch! Not until you realize that what you're actually watching one of those Chikni Chameli/Sheila Ki Jawani/Jalebi Bai type of item numbers whose popularity seem to have risen unexpectedly and now form an integral part of every Bollywood flick. Suddenly, everything comes together and you experience a major epiphany –you have nothing better to do than to watch sleazy item numbers all day. The post-vacation blues can make you want to curl up in your sock drawer and sleep for ages, and to keep yourself alive, you NEED to find something better to do. Something fun yet constructive. Blogging is just that! And let's face it –blogging is far better than sitting on your tushie and getting fat while watching sitcoms and chick flicks all day. 

2. Platform for Opinionated People

This is probably why the first blogger in the history of blogging ever blogged. The best aspect of the virtual world is that anyone who ain't anything in reality is SOMETHING here. Think of the numerous people we have to deal with everyday. Some whose bursting overconfidence and patronizing attitude is enough to leave a few weaker mortals speechless. Blogging is a platform for those people to finally speak out their mind and stand by what they always believed in. And who knows, while expressing your thoughts and perspectives, you might end up walking on the trail of self-discovery? 

3. Overcome Your Fears

Everybody possesses a deep, dark inbred fear. It could range from something like a fear of heights (which I possess) or a fear of water, to even a fear of clowns (if you think THAT is ridiculous, then you better familiarize yourself with phobias like the fear of bald people and the fear of hair. No kidding.). The point is, you can only overcome those fears by facing them. Go to the circus every week if you don't want those red-nosed creatures to make you pee your pants. In fact, in all honesty, even when we first thought of blogging ourselves, we too had a fear. The fear of being judged. We spent a long time trying to convince ourselves that it wouldn't matter what others think of how we choose to express our views and opinions. And after hours of deliberation, we decided to give plunging into blogging a try. We don't know if it's worth it or not as yet. But being uncertain about the outcome and not giving into your fears, and creating your own blog –that requires courage. So if you’re someone like us, blogging will definitely give you the opportunity to get past your fears. After all, Darr ke aage Jeet hai! 

4. Blogging Goes Beyond Facebook/Twitter

At a day and age where the position of the trendiest social networking site seems to change every day, blogging has always been here to stay. It goes beyond Facebook and the "micro" blogging site, Twitter. There is no word limit and you're given the liberty to express yourself just the way you want to. You might even end up meeting people with similar interests and preferences. It doesn't matter how "popular" you are or how many "likes" you're able to fetch, what matter are your thoughts, your content, your originality and your ability to appeal and connect to the readers.

5. Exercise Your Creativity

If you're someone who has a genuine love for writing, then there is no better writing medium. Not everyone is a Paulo Coelho or a Dan Brown, and no one expects that from you here either. It's all about conveying your views and opinions creatively. From designing the layout of your blog to actually penning down the content, the whole process demands just creativity. And if you end up interacting with people who possess similar thoughts and help you broaden your horizons –then double whammy! Also, you might never know when you find yourself unlocking ideas in your mind that you never thought existed.

And now here we are, without seeking anybody’s approval or a fear of being judged, with our first official post as “bloggers”. Sure, we realize that committing to a blog is not an easy task, and it is a little scary at first to really put our opinions out there for the world to see, but if our ideas reach the right people, I think it’ll all be worth it.

The web has been spun. Walk into it.

Image source: www.gabrielweinberg.com