Gimme more, more often

Thursday, July 10, 2008, The Hindustan Times
Blogosphere is what it is
because there are hardly
any rules; but one
would hope that there
was some way to ensure
that good bloggers post
more regularly

Good content can be like cocaine, addictive after trying it a couple of times. While unlike cocaine, good content does not burn your nasal septum, not getting your regular dose of blog stuff can be quite irritating.

Professional bloggers – those who get paid for blogging (yes it happens!) – insist a blog's not a blog till it's not updated daily. However there are others who subscribe to the I-post-at-will theory. A rule against daily updates sounds positively divine when you consider the can-cause-brain-damage blogs that are out there. A special mention goes to the umpteen broken heart blogs and boring travel blogs.

While the heartbreak blogs constantly whine about dating serial jerks (just dump the man!), there are more than enough travel bores who put up everything from their first Spanish omelet to the star-shaped rabbit poo they encountered on a guided trek.

Conversely there should be a rule that makes good bloggers post more regularly. Like Kamakaze who writes on Kakisi's World. From writing on how the Indian Home Minister's cranial powers puts US pres George Bush to shame, to calling the bluff on Shiv Sena's Maharashtra-for-Marathis campaign – "So dear Thackerays, become Thakres or sod off" – Kamakaze's posts are mostly-India-centric, caustic, incisive and make for quick, sharp reading. However, his updates are few and far between.

It's the same with Phil on The Rut. The tagline on his blog header ('masthead' atop a blog, usually displays blog name) reads, "No, I don't draw my cartoons with my feet... why does everyone keep asking that?" With a fresh, sketched perspective on things, Phil's toons are irreverent to the core. From making fun of the media's macabre love for death and disaster – corresponding cartoon is of a man reading a newspaper with blood splatters with the headline, "Man falls into newspaper printing machine" – to taking pot shots at lifestyle trends like speed dating – the toon is titled 'Speed Mating', has rabbits and the rest you can check out – Phil has a quirky, often delightfully twisted sense of humour.

Indie, the 'American living in Europe since the late 1980's' on The Synchronicity of Indeterminacy tells unusual stories, rather makes his readers tell the stories. He clicks a picture, encourages readers to share perspectives based on that picture and then puts out the real story behind the picture a few days later. He also links and posts about other cool things to do in the blog-zone. If only he'd do it somewhat oftener.