Blogger Interview # 4 :Alpana Jaiswal

1. Can you tell us about yourself and your blog?

Ans. My name is Alpana Jaiswal. I am a 38 year old....married woman currently staying in Siliguri..West Bengal, India. I have a 12 year old daughter. I did my schooling from Kalimpong, St.Josephs Convent (Class XI & XII), Bachelor of Arts from Loreto College Darjeeling. I am a housewife, I love reading fiction novels...Sidney Sheldon , Danielle Steel, Jeffery Archer, Arundhati Roy, Shobhaa De, Jhumpa Lahiri..are some of the few authors who I read. I love cooking, travelling, making friends and now writing.

My blog..Motifs On The Wall..has posts mainly subjected to human relationships. I can only write about things very close to my heart and with something I can personally connect to. In that way I know that people will like reading them because the issues are some how related to them. I am a romantic person at heart...who is highly emotional.

2. Are you a full time blogger?How did you get into blogging and why?

Ans. No, I am not a full time blogger. I blog only when something moves my heart terribly. I need to devote time to my family also. I got into blogging because of a friend..who has her own blog. I am quite active on Facebook and she loved whatever I wrote as my status. So she got me into writing my first blog, which was posted on her web page. After the response i got, I thought of writing and my friend created my own blog. She was after me to write..and since I was going through an emotional turmoil so I expressed my feelings on the blog....and so now blogging for me has become a platform for expressing my feelings.

3. If someone was interested in blogging what would be a few things you would suggest?

Ans. I consider my blog as a place which helps me learn, and thought that I might share some of the things that I find myself trying to learn.

It's tempting to think of a blog as a place to write about your experiences and your thoughts on a topic, or on what you observe in the world, but it’s just as easy to consider it as part of a conversation, where you can publish your thoughts, and receive comments and emails and responses from others.

A conversation worth having is never one-sided. You should listen also.

 You may find yourself interested in writing about things on your blog that you didn’t anticipate when you first started blogging. Explore those interests and include them in your blog.

 It’s your blog, and if you decide that you want to write about your pet, a song you love,or a memorable childhood experience, instead of the latest news from Google, or a new patent filing,then go for it. You don’t have to be a professional writer to be a blogger, though you may see your writing improve as you spend more and more time writing.

Develop your own voice, and take some risks, have some fun, and let your personality show through. 

A blog can be a platform that you can use to try to make the world a better place, to share your experiences and education and solutions for problems. Remember though, it will take time. Even if you make mistakes..you are learning.

When you come across an idea that you find interesting in another blog, in a book, on television, in a conversation with someone, or from some other source, and you find yourself wanting to write about it, give credit to the inspiration for what you are writing.

4. How do you build a community around a blog and social media?

Ans. A common mistake we bloggers make is thinking that if we put information out on the blog..readers will come. But to create a successful blog or website or an organisation..we should try to turn information into conversation, into a community..a place where people would like to visit again and again.Try to provide good content..something unique, inspiring. Give open ended questions..where people can weigh themselves. Respond to your comments...leave comments on other pages you like...not only the blogger but the readers might follow. Link your posts other bloggers posts. Make your blog interesting by using images. Use popular places like Facebook ,Twitter..people will follow. Join and try to find other writers colonies.

5. What are your three favorite blogs to read?What makes those blogs special?

Ans.   1.The Definitive Melting Pots

          2.Rabin Photography..Fall Rhapsody

          3.Sliced Moon Beams..Random Dreams and Perspective

  The first blog is very close to my heart..I can relate to it.Each and every post touches my inner soul..leaving me thinking and wanting more.The second one takes my breath away..the photographs have a story of their own..they speak for themselves.The third one is a collection of beautiful thoughts,memories...to which I can loose myself into deeply.

 6.Which one plugin would you suggest all bloggers have?

     

Ans. I would like to suggest the following plugin...

 Admin Management Xtended : This plugin will provide you more options when you click on your ' Posts' screen and allow you to do many additional edits without having to open each individual post separately. I use this to add quick tags, change categories and to do other quick tweaks to posts after they have been published. It makes it easier to do updates on multiple posts from your post summary screen.