The Boringbug

As I sit in a cafeteria and mesmerize at my newly developed love for French Press, I cannot help but ponder over a youngster’s plea seeking his way towards the world of blogging. A conversation that sparkled my otherwise dead eyes. The spark, profuse with the purpose of instilling and improving upon my writing ability, that brought me to the world of writing.

I turned around to confront the naive boy. Only to reflect upon my yesteryear(s).

It has been a roller coaster ride from inception. I remember my first blog titled “the difference between literacy and education” in the year 2015-16. At that time the internet had an obscure content on the said topic. Within a period of a few months and therewith a year, the blog post garnered thousands of views and reached to the top of the search result on Google. However, the reader participation was negligible. The content that I had referred from various sources and penned so dearly was further copied onto other platforms, in one form or another, from answers on Quora to write-ups on linked-In. I was proud. However, I was reluctant in my posts, albeit inconsistent.

Inconsistency is what affects the popularity of a blog, inclusive of the lack of content, poor quality and failure to identify the target audience. In the three and a half years of my existence on the blogging platform, I have had the honour of interacting with professional bloggers, environmentalists, reviewers, aspiring students and artists. Although I do not count myself as a blogger per se, the blog somehow became a happening hobby of mine. A hobby that nurtured my thoughts and taught me the importance of words, inter alia teaching me the art of participation and interaction.

One failure led to a successful approach in another. The plea to serve better led to a desire to learn more. The effect could be observed in my narrative, personality and style of communication. Serving as an escape mechanism, it became a world distinct from the cut-throat competition of my professional life. Granting me the freedom to experiment with every post, content and style. Although the same was bereft of the quality and quantity of subscribers. In the absence of a target audience, consistency and encouraging title (proclaimed boring) I lost hundreds of prospective followers, readers and participants. I remember observing bloggers with intriguing articles and dedication shooting up to thousands of subscribers in the meantime, with me as one of their proclaimed fans.

Yet, I never desisted from experimenting with my blog. Why? Because creativity is what describes a blogger, professionally and personally. Never have I followed a herd, and the same is what I aim to pursue. Remember, the moment you stop challenging your creative self, you lose out a part of your soul. That includes plagiarism. 

I remember reading targeted articles suggesting plagiarism as a silent principle of blogging. That it was an important aspect to climb up the ranks of Google. A deed that isn’t admitted but performed by all. Following up the adverse thoughts’ I picked up stanzas or ideas from pieces of literature, aiming to make them mine. Albeit, it should be noted, words or ideas, the very intent to plagiarise in itself is plagiarism. I realised it the hard way that somewhere down the line the same might happen to you. It is a cumbersome fact but as they say “it is never too late”. 

It would be incorrect to state that I did this without any guidance or support. Without hesitation, I would admit having taken inspirations from a few bloggers and been motivated from book reviewers. One such person is Jeyran Main. It isn’t surprising that it is in a virtual world where you interact with some of the finest beings.

Post seize and desist, I decided to redo the apparent framework of my blog. With the grace of the unspoken, I was blessed with the time, the ability to spend and a noble profession to have a clear insight into content. As it is said, you are what you make it out to be. The same goes for our blog. It is what we aspire it to be.

*Looking back at the boy*, his naive and confused expressions, I couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“A piece of advise?” I inquired. At his seemingly- nod and approval, taking a pen and a paper I wrote down the following words:

“Start with yourself and the world shall follow.”

The same goes for blogging.

regards,

Boringbug