I am surprised at the way internet/social media has revolutioned the way we communicate. Most of us are on Facebook, and as much as we hated the new format, it has brought about a shift in the way we connect with people. If you thought Facebook was to 'get in touch' with your friends, it isnt any more. It is about status msgs, updating links, being parts of groups, supporting causes etc.

Social media tools includes Facebook, Twitter, Youttube, blogs etc. These days, more and more organisations are using these tools to create an awareness about their products innovatively and to create a formidable online presence. I am using this too.

I have seen an increase in the number of hits to this blog though many havent been leaving behind comments.

My story - in short :
I use Facebook to increase visibility for my blogs. As soon as I update my blog, it shows up on my Facebook profile. As and when a writer posts on this blog, I update my status msgs and trust me, it has been helping me. The number of visitors being reffered from Facebook has increased.

Are you using Facebook/ Orkut/ Twitter to your advantage? To get more people involved, I want to know how the internet or social media has changed the way you connect with people.
Tell me your story.
( I am yet to register on Twitter though!)

"Change" is the term that everyone adores. Though sometimes we want things to be the same as what has been the case, there is an element called 'betterment' that adds/increases productivity to/in the system through an improvement over what it has been, that lets each of us to chant for change. Change is constant but leads us to receive two results, worsening or betterment.

What is your present situation now? Worst? Worse?? Better??? the best:-? It depends as is the case with any other. You can not rate it without referring to any other situation. You are in worst situation now, when compared to the recent good olden days. You might be better now when you see it with a feel good factor. Or You might have also felt that you are in the best situation over all what you have faced and you might wish things be the same. It is comparative. You always have a reference point when you rate something.

When you think beyond this, with no reference frames, you will always find something that at some point of time, you feel like it would have been better to what it was if your decision was something else to what you actually chose.

'Need' has something to do with change. When you 'need' something you want something to be changed. Your need might be either instantaneous or eventual and long-lasting.

If you are conscious of your need in a social point of view, we are needed to choose between two things.
1) Soothing our need temporarily or to see the results immediately that may not produce a permanent solution(In our case, especially).
2) Planting the seed and wait for the SYSTEM that will, at some point of time, give us solutions that lasts for long.

And, This is one of the few most important chances that one get to make a decision out of.

By no chance, Have I decided to miss the voting this time. I am 25 now, where in a number of election processes have already been passed, and, I have not yet involved in the elections through voting. This time, I strongly wanted to be a part of the process and I got my voter ID, and :), unless I don't find my name in the voters list at the polling booth, I would be sure voting this time.

Agenda is not the only thing to look for. We should also look forward to see a political party that plays a political opposition to be matured, problem conscious and solution oriented, and, a political party that governs us to be more matured to receive criticism and with a problem solving approach.

I am not here to campaign for any political party but I want you to plant the seed.

I have been trying for quite sometime now to make a re-entry to blogging and when Mrunal came up with this new blog idea, I decided it was time. Being my first guest post, I will stick to the one subject I love the most – Cricket.

Cricket versus T20

Along with over-arm bowling, Kerry Packer and the third umpire, T20 will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the few things that changed the game forever. Like all those changes, the impact of T20 was not immediate – Two years and an Indian win in the inaugural World cup was what it took to capture India’s, and thus, the cricketing world’s, imagination. Smartly, Lalit Modi & Co stepped in. A few cash-rich corporates, some of the world’s best players, a borrowed concept and a booming economy (on second thoughts, just a growing economy) took care of the rest. No one even remembers poor Subash Chandra now.

Well, with IPL2 ready to rock South African audiences and Indian televisions, I thought about why IPL1 didn’t fascinate me as much as it should have. Surely, if not for all the glitz and glamour, atleast the big names and the cricket on display should have had me. First and foremost, I guess it was the city-based teams’ concept. I really didn’t feel that passionate about supporting my city, or any city for that matter. And when Mathew Hayden, Joginder Sharma and Andy Morkel turn out for Chennai SuperKings, whatever little you felt is also gone. On the other hand, when Team India is playing, it’s a totally different ball game. The ecstasy that an Indian win brings is truly unmatched and so is the disappointment at a narrow loss.

The second thing that doesn’t work for me is the whole T20 concept itself. Sure, it gets over in three hours and fits television audiences perfectly but for a serious cricket fan, the cricket on view is not as pleasing as Test or one-day cricket. I remember seeing the inaugural T20 WC and truth be told, I fell for it. What nail-biting excitement it provided and of course, India kept winning. Two years on, the format has not evolved as much as it should have with the result that we keep seeing batsmen trying to hit every ball for a six. Swing and seam are gone; Flight and loop have been forgotten and it’s all about getting the Yorker length.

There is no doubt that T20 has given an exciting twist to the gentleman’s game. As Richie Benaud famously remarked “Test cricket is what parents take their kids to and T20 is what kids bring their parents to” (or some such thing). It has got a whole new generation of people hooked onto cricket. It has got more money into the game and for a cash-strapped ICC, it’s a huge opportunity. But let this opportunity not lead us to the demise of the game. Let it not turn cricket into some fast-paced action thriller where power and purpose take control over skill and strategy. The Dhonis and Gambhirs of today were brought up on Sachin’s Sharjah-like innings. Let Yuvaraj’s six sixes in an over not be the role model for tomorrow’s cricketing princes. Let T20 be what it is - the fun-filled, relaxed form of the game.

It’s a tribute to the game that Test cricket is still considered the pinnacle by its players and fans. And it’s a tribute to its administrators that they have maintained the balance between all the three formats. Undoubtedly, the big challenge will be to sustain the same in the coming years. Let’s maintain IPL as what it is – a cleverly packaged entertainment show with cricket as its anchor. Let it stay as the format where Buchnan tries out his multi-captaincy theories and Modi his time-out commercials. But let’s not take it beyond that.

I usually come across ppl who tell me that they are too shy to write. Some of them have resigned themselves to the fact that they can never write well, though they still nudge the hope of writing what they think and feel - an urge to shout out to the world whats bothering your mind - it could be a story, a concept, a movie review, a book review, a gadget review, a daily update, a stock market view or a general observation about life.

I am willing to help all you souls through my blog. You will get to publish your articles on my blog. If you are unsure, I will help you develop the story line or help you with proof reading and editing. If you choose to not identify yourself, you could give yourself a nickname, and be rest assured that I wont divulge the information.

Why would you use this option? This helps you to remain anonymous if you wish; you can still be lazy about creating your own blog; you can enlist my help in editing/proof reading/concept stage; you get to share your story with the world; you dont have to register like you do everywhere else to access the content; and last but not least, it gives you the confidence to start a blog of your own.

Whats in it for me? I am interested in your stories and I wanted a place where I can read all the stories at a stretch instead of wading through a lot of blogs in search of something good - this esp goes out to those who dont update the blogs regularly! I love to hear your stories and I love to tell mine... what better place to start this than my blog!

Reach me at mrunalini@gmail.com, if you are game. Time to vent out you frustration, among others.

PS1: I might consider sketching out some writers agreements just so that we dont disagree on these little things in the future - depending on the response I get.

PS2: Please feel free to forward this link to all those who might be interested in this

PS3: I am considering publishing all of these on a new blog altogether