Does google analytics slice up your heart? {Your Opinion}

It sure does mine! I am right now very very sad. Man, I can never understand how do the statistics vary so f*****g much. Why can not they remain constant if not go up and up!! Or, is it really necessary to worry about those stats that much? 

Yes, blogging is more about passion but is it just that? Nah, I am not talking about being jealous of the bigger blogs over there but just for self-sufficiency, do we never think what is really wrong. Do we really never doubt ourselves? It is pretty easy to say the counter that there should be no self-doubt but how do you really triumph that?

May be by following the stricture from Bhagvad Gita

karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani

which really means do not bother about the fruits of your labor will help. Just do the labor well without being attached to the labor. Does that even happen? 

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Blogging Series Vol. 10 - How to overcome Blogger's Block? {Five Series}

So as I said yesterday that I am lost as to how to come back to blogging, I thought this would be a damn good topic to start with! I have been thinking about it for the last week and I have put down a few things from where one can start!

Reading and Observing and Drawing Analogies!

This is one of the primary sources of inspiration for all my posts especially the ones in the category of Your Opinion! I love to observe and like to blog about any small thing which catches my eye or which my ears catch :D

Anyways, reading about your niche helps. Other blogs or reader's comments, anything can give you fodder for your next post!

Readers

For me, they are definitely one of the major post sources because of the amazing amount of queries I get but unfortunately in my case, I am not able to reply to all the mails lying in my mail box and when I am replying to the comments, very seldom does it occur to me to make it a post. But, if you have time and patience at hand, writing posts on unique queries is always helpful in the larger picture.

Re-blogging

As I mentioned in my last post of the series, republishing your older posts is a good practice. It gives more visibility to the post and more often than not, your reader's get something new to read. Also, this gives you chance to update the post and improve on it.

Passion

This is the easiest to do. If you are die-hard passionate about something, you can definitely blog about it anytime. I would also add that there may be some restrictions to this but still this comes easily to the tips of fingers to type away!

Gossip

Your blog is also a form of entertainment so always remember that juicy gossip is always welcome. A blogger is always an enigma to the reader, especially when the person hardly reveals anything about their personal life so giving them a peek into it every now and then really works :) And, when are girls not good at gossiping :D

So, these are a few pointers to overcome Blogger's Block. I do not know how much they will end up helping me but I can surely say that I finished writing this post in 20 minutes. So, may be the tips actually do work. So, give them a try and let me know :)

What do you all bloggers think? And, I would also welcome the reader's to add their tips :)

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Blogging Series Vol. 6 - How to design the layout of the blog?

So, layout is something which you would have seen a lot of changes in if you have been reading this blog since quite long. And, I am quite proud to say that I am happy with the current layout. 

I have definitely received many comments saying it is not girlish enough or its too bland and not colorful or some other things. So, let me acquaint you with the first rule of design.

Some Pointers

white background, preferably!

minimal elements

ad placements should be not very obvious

font size should be decent (18 is the new 12)

It is good to have a really intricate design but when it comes to blogs, there are varied kinds of people, who would be reading it, with various tastes. And, it is not easy to make everyone happy. But, the least you can do is come up with a design which would be easy on everyone's eyes. 

Readers are fickle. Trust me! If they would not find your blog easy to read, they would happily go to someone else's. So, try to keep the design layout of your blog as simple as possible with minimal elements. 

Also, there is an issue of page loading and page speed which contributes to the user interaction in a major way. If your blog takes forever to load, people would be tired of waiting and not open it again!

If you keep a lot of widgets and gadgets on your blog which might be fun but take hell of a time to load, it can make anyone testy. So, try to keep the elements in your blog simple and as less as possible. 

And, also, the design or layout of any blog is not perfect. You can only try your best. There can be thousands of things which can do with bit of improvement. So, always be patient with your blog and learn to play around. And, always remember, things always evolve over time and so will your blog. You wouldn't get it right the first time!!

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Blogging Series Vol. 5 - How to time the posts?

So, I did receive some encouragement for this series so here goes another post. But, I want to say this beforehand that these series are based on my personal experiences and problems I have encountered as opposed to the blogging rules laid down. For such rules, you can google them.

Now, getting back to the post, this is a problem I have encountered in two extremes - posting too many in a single day or not posting for quite a long time. This is not only a problem of writer's block or lack of enthusiasm but also a problem of not being able to do proper management.

Excess of Enthusiasm
This is a case which generally happens when you start writing a blog or sometimes when the writing juices are continuously flowing. And, you come to a standstill when those juices stop.

Total Blockage
When writing, in general, passionate writing gets influenced by a lot of factors - your mood, your life, pressure of other works or many other things. And, sometimes, you are just not able to think of any topic plainly.

So, how to deal with either of these situations. You get a feature called Schedule. No, I am not telling you about this feature in this post. When you get used to writing for quite a long time, you understand these timing issues and start using this feature on your own.

So, what is this post about? Actually, I have started another blog and honestly I am not able to write for it even though I want to. So, I have decided that I shall start with aiming for one post per week. What if I write 2-5 posts in a day? Then, I shall schedule these posts till the one post per week condition fulfills for the entire year.

And, only then, will I start scheduling for 2 posts or so on. And, writing even 1 post per week for an entire year is not exactly easy. Anyways, the moral of story is that give your readers a timeline to expect your posts. Giving them a barrage of posts one day and leaving them thirsty for another month is a bad option and it kills their enthusiasm.

Yes, you would argue that you are writing for yourself not the readers. But, ultimately it the readers you find your real fulfillment in!! So, remember to time the posts according to your writing capabilities. That helps in keeping you happy and satisfied as well :)

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Blogging Series Vol. 3 - Don't forget to buy the domain first!

As you all would be aware by now that I have bought the domain recently for this blog, I suddenly realized its disadvantages! Yeah, you would ask, why? Ok, the details would be a little technical. 

Now, whenever I link to any post, whether within the blog or from outside, they create backlinks to the blog. These backlinks were all to the earlier valid blogspot address. 

Though blogger now redirects the blogspot address to the current domain but those backlinks are now invalid. And, these backlinks are essential to maintain blog page rank or popularity in the search engines.

Since these backlinks are invalid now, the blog's page rank is back to zero and it will take probably a long time to get back to the same PR. Though I have not yet seen any affect on traffic but this change is disheartening. 

So, the first lesson in blogging is TO get your own domain. When you buy it from blogger, it costs 10$ for a year. Well, I would suggest this only when you are sure you would like to write regularly, only then you should spend this money.

Also, a custom domain gives your blog an identity of your own. And, don't forget that going mobile is very essential for your blog business. That's the next thing in blogging.

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Blogging Series Vol. 2 - Blogging on the Go!!

I gained enlightenment during this 10 day trip!! What happened, you say? Ok, lemme recount part of Guwahati trip, the part where maps were of only help when we were doing educated frolicking around the city. And, that was when I realized the importance of an Android-based phone. 

Wait, more is yet to come! And, then, we sat in the bus and the guy started reading a blog. Then, it dawned on me suddenly what I am missing!! I wasn't able to make time in Guwahati and for that matter in Kharagpur either to come online and put up a post. 

So, I thought what great fun it would be to have a mobile connected to internet round the clock and I can atleast put down my ideas which always seem to come at the most unlikliest of the times. And, sometimes, I just feel too lazy to get up and open the laptop.

Also, probably, I might interact with you all more if I have a portable device which is simple to use. I was of the class of people who deplore this amount of dependence on technology but it becomes imperative to stay with the

advancements when you own a business.

And, blogging is no less than business, trust me!! So, the next on my list is an HTC mobile. Well, BB and Nokia are not android based, Samsung is not high on my list of loves and iPhone is way too expensive and has compatibility issues if you do not belong to the Apple group. 

So, that leaves HTC. So, here are my requirements - it has to have a big screen which is easily readable, clarity is very important, airtel gives 2g connection at 100 bucks a month or something and even with the usage of maps, one doesn't reach that limit it seems. 

And, the final part of the story is that it will save me so much of time. I can blog whenever I want and I don't have to depend on the presence of laptop. So, if you are of the class of people like me, realize the importance of being connected. And, the best part, you won't miss any more mails from the PR's :D

Oh btw, do you have any model recommendations for me? Honestly, I am not interested in spending a lot on mobile. Its just a device for me unlike the camera which I am totally loving and guess what I learned how to use the shutter priority mode as well...yipeeeeee :)

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Blogging Series Vol. 16 - Are you setting up goals for 2014?

I do not remember if I did a round up of the blogging goals achieved in January, 2013 but I do know that I did not do it yet. The reason being the second half of the last year fared badly for my blog as you all are already aware! I guess I was taking blogging too seriously and it became really monotonous because of which I felt like being burnt out all the time.

Anyways, leaving all that aside, I would say that the blog was doing quite well in first half of 2013 and I would like to take the blog from there!! So, for all you bloggers over there, are you creating strategies for your blog this year or just keeping simple.

Aim High but keep lesser goals as well

I had decided last year that by the end of 2013, I would like to earn some x amount from the blog. It is a good goal but there was no plan as to how I was going to achieve it so I would say this time I am gonna breakup the entire schedule into short term of 3 months or a quarter so even my blog would have a quarterly appraisals now on :)

Keeping the Goals flexible
I had last year not accounted for the changes in my life which would take a lot of priority over the blog. Needless to say, I was unsuccessful in achieving the goals!! So, I am gonna adjust my goals this time over a range so that at least the lesser range would be feasible in any case!!

Taking out Time

Yeah, this is like a huge issue right now for me. So, my major goal has become this that I should have enough to post at least a meaningful paragraph everyday. Of course, I have not done it consistently in the new year either!! But, I am trying.

Enjoying the Blog

Lately, I have realized it has more of become an obsession to post instead of just enjoying the posts!! I am always brain-storming as to what to write today. That is something I want to stop and really sit and enjoy the blog while I write it.

And, treat yourself for every goal you achieve

There is a huge advantage of keeping small goals. I would not have to work my ass off obviously and when they are reached, I can always treat myself and get motivated to reach out for more!! Nothing is more motivating than success itself.

So, what goals you are setting for your blog this year?

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