Blogathon (Mala)

For me, blogging started as a hobby five years ago. At the beginning, I used to make additional effort to make the posts reader-friendly, catering to the reading public. At some level, after a while, it started to choke me. There were a lot of pretensions and I could never be completely myself. The realization of others scrutinizing every move repelled me. I created and deleted a number of blogs. But I was never at ease. Those days, there was no way I could restrict people from visiting my blog. Finally, I discovered livejournal, where I could restrict readers, screen comments, and a host of other features. My posts then started to become more and more personal in nature, and one page posts got reduced to one line. It became a way to relieve daily stress.

But I was noticing a pattern. There was hardly any ‘fun posts’ on my LJ.

That’s when I got an invitation to join betweenusfriends. It gave me a platform to write things other than my daily life. It helped me explore topics I could never post in my personal blog – there was no need for it there. Needless to say, I started enjoying the opportunities to write about topics defined by public. I had thought this very thing would restrict my writing because I wasn’t really choosing my topics. Others were choosing it for me. But, I have to admit, I have been proven wrong. The topics have been entertaining, invigorating, and original.

Another great thing about betweenusfriends is that it invites ideas from its members and implements the same. When I fleetingly suggested a book review column, I never knew that betweenusfriends would also give me the platform to play a critic – by allowing me to review books on a monthly basis. It might sound funny but somehow I felt like somebody pampering me by allowing me to do whatever I want.

It’s been a great ride so far and I hope it continues to be the same way. Looks like it will – with more and more talents joining every month. Here’s a baby that refuses to stop growing. To me, betweenusfriends is the Complan baby : P

I wish betweenusfriends a long stay and immense popularity – wide and far. It rocks!