Ezine

Monday, August 24, 2009

Which animal do you identify with and why?

Have you ever wondered which animal do you identify with and why do you identify with that particular animal? This question was put forward in a group discussion once and each member who was participating gave one example. One guy stated that he identified with a dog as it is loyal and faithful, always eager to learn and a great companion. One gentleman said that he identified with an elephant because of its size and the fact that it looked majestic. One person said he identified with a lion and he would like to tame it and keep it as a pet.
One of the participant's even stated that she identified with a cat as she was a female and the cat is a feline creature, she further added that a cat is clean , elegant and graceful just like a female and the cat nurtures and lets go again like a female. Interesting answers! have you ever wondered why there is this trend to liken human behaviour to animal traits?
Recently I read this article about how one can attract all kinds of readers to one's blog. There too readers were grouped into animal types. It made for interesting reading and I'll try and summarize what I read. The writer had divided readers into four types:
The first type was of people who always look for what they can get out of reading that article. More like what is in it for me? this kind was called the cat type.
The second type was of the kind who learn by practice, trial and error; such people would thrive on there being activities for them to do. This type was called the dog type.
The third type was the analytical type, so for them there should be illustrations and examples, for this class of readers you should sound like an expert so that they can repeatedly come to you. This type was likened to rats.
The last type was the monkey type of readers who ripped the writers work and made it their own. This kind of readers according to the writer were always interested and would always leave interesting comments.
The writer summed up his article stating that no reader was predominantly one animal type most had the traits of all types. The best way to attract readers is to have general discussions leave a few loose ends for others to comment on...

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Why are Birthdays special?

Have you ever wondered why birthdays are so special? We all worry about aging, whether we say, "I'm young at heart"or pretend to be immune to the ravages of time. One sentence or the other in our conversation always belies the truth. Inspite of all this I have yet to see a person who doesn't feel a wee bit excited on his or her birthday. We all wish that there was somebody who remembered and somebody who would make this day special for us.

One can perhaps say that as we love ourselves and life, birthdays are perhaps a celebration of being born on this earth. They are a celebration of the life force. Well that is true indeed but there are so many other things that celebrate the life force. Why is it that our birthday is that special to us?
I have always tried to figure out this mystery. When people are so scared of the aging process why do we celebrate birthdays with such elan?Perhaps it is one of our impulses that loves a contradiction. This to me seems to be the only reason. I know that the most age conscious amongst us remember their birthdays and celebrate it in great style. Some people would say that it is the child in us, well I'm not too sure about what it is that makes us celebrate birthdays and yet worry about aging and it is not always the fear of imminent death that makes us scared of aging. I guess this will always remain a mystery like all other things in life. More musings later...

Friday, August 21, 2009

Does Connecting on Social Networking Sites Help Professionally?

Recently I started a discussion on Linked in to gauge whether connecting on Social networking sites like Linked in or Facebook or Twitter etc did really help them professionally. I got a lot of response from people. I'm going to put all their comments here and then we shall salute such sites for making serious work possible and lifting networking from the realm of meaningless dating sites.
Me: The link between jobs and connections on Linked in. A fellow networker Monique Fritz found a job on Linked in. Has anybody else found a job on Linked in? How does Linked in or networking help in getting jobs and is there anybody who has got more business through contacts or through networking groups?
Roger Toennis: My two prior jobs one employment and one contract were found through Linked in.
Mathew Keanne : I have had several good leads come from jobs on Linked in which is good, for my personal search I use the jobs here and on several other sites/ services. Try indeed.com for an aggregated search service across all the main job sites.
Jackie Ernette Z Athey: I received a small contract through Linked in. I had lost touch with a previous client and found him through Linked in. By Serendipity, right after I contacted him, I received the OK for the contract and contacted me.
Well lucky for you Jackie and she has tips for us too.
Jackie Ernette Z Athey: You still have to be active though and not think that because you are connected to x number of people you can just sit back and wait. This is true of any networking group.

The next comment by Allison Simmons will definitely tell you that all is not hunky dory as far as networking sites are concerned and you have to be circumspect like with all things in life.
Allison Simmons: So far I have not received any leads through Linked in, although I have received some good feedback on my resume as well as some good ideas. I remain optimistic, but have also found that there are a LOT of network marketers here (and I wish them all the best of luck and good fortune as well as a LOT of links to jobsites and fictitious jobs that are posted by affiliate marketers. Unfortunately, this group has found the unemployed a great target and are sending us by the droves to their websites and even jobs that are not legit........
The nest one is a self employed professional just like me, lets see what she has to say,
Marianne Weidleinn: I'm self employed and live in a small rural community that cannot even support my minimal income needs. Therefore I need Linked in...........
I have been active on Linked in for two months and I have two new clients and some are interested. I have connected with many old friends..........
You need to be clear about your intention with Linked in, determine specific goals and how to use Linked in features to further those goals............
Rick Peterson: I have found several partners for our project To Bring Back the American Dream http://www.bringbacktheamericandream.com/

I had several other inputs but most did find networking helpful and I think this should drive home the fact that when you set out your mind to do something and have a clear plan of action you find several helping hands along the way. More on my musings later please keep those comments coming...

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Overland, A Love Story with the Russia-Afghanistan Conflict as a Background

Afghanistan has been hitting the world headlines for almost three decades now, to examine where it all began we will have to move back in time-lets examine some historical facts. As per Wikipedia, The Soviet War in Afghanistan was a ten year long conflict, which involved the Soviet Union armed forces in support of the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, at their request and against the Islamist Mujhaideen Resistance. The PDPA government was also supported by India. The cause of the Mujhaideen found support from various sources like USA, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some Islamic forces. In fact the situation in Afghanistan at that time perfectly symbolised the Cold War.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan lasted for ten years, starting from 1979 to 1989. On December 24, 1979 Russian Para-troopers landed in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The country was already gripped by a civil war like situation. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Dr. Najibbullah Ahmadzai was placed as the head of KHAD. He was a member of the Parcham faction of the PDPA. He was made President of Afghanistan in 1986. Later he was killed by the Taliban forces.
Those were days when the world was clearly divided into the capitalist nations USA, UK and the Communist governments USSR, plus the smaller nations that were part of the Non-Alligned movement. Some of the nations indulged in proxy war and Afghanistan was a perfect example of this.
An interesting love story written in the wake of the Soviet- Afghanistan conflict called ,Overland is available at http://www.amazon.com/ this book is the work of an upcoming author Mark Stephen Levy. Read more about this in my blog later...
To link directly click here to Amazon in UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Overland-Mark-Stephen-Levy/dp/143899625X/ref=sr_1_2?ieUTF8&s=books&qid=1250772198&sr=8-2
For Amazon US please click: http://www.amazon.com/OVERLAND-Mark-Stephen-Levy/dp/143899625X/ref=books&qid=1250772118&sr=8-1

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Thoughts

On days when you are feeling low, disheartened and perhaps feel that nothing will work out right for you, has it happened that a sudden event or a quote that you happen to read has suddenly brightened your day and filled you with renewed vigour for life, even if the thought is as commonplace as, Winners never Quit and Quitters never Win."
I recall an incident that happened several years ago I was working in the sales field and the job was high pressure with daily targets that had to be met, the moment you entered the office the boss would ask, did you get any cheque? How much is the amount? On one such day when I went from office to office and couldn't get a single payment, I had become totally disheartened and was wondering did I complete my education for this kind of work? I went to an office where I was asked to wait at the reception and there on the receptionist desk was this thought....that ended with Winners never Quit and Quitters never Win , at the risk of sounding cliched I can say that suddenly I was filled with hope and when I went in to meet the company boss, I presented my product with renewed enthusiasm and definitely got better results.

Often in life when you are just about to give up this sudden moment comes that pulls you back right in, it could be a friend you meet, a stranger who gives you advice or even just a child who smiled at you.
More on life and times later....

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Reminisces

I was communicating with a famous American novelist, Mr Stephen Levy and he mentioned that he had visited India way back in 1985, that remark sent me on a trip down the memory lane. I recalled how relatively simple life was then. The communication media had not made a major breakthrough. The world was not a global village and media like television had just begun to make a social impact.
Life was comparatively peaceful and maybe a bit dull as well. Evenings were all about hanging around with friends. With no cell phones and even few landline connections, people communicated more on a one to one basis. The interactions were more humane. Celebrities were venerated as they made rare television appearances unlike today where you bump into them everywhere either in person or on one of the numerous television channels. Today people communicate with the western world on a regular basis, back then, it was limited to the odd visit to some foreign countries or if some professional would visit India to impart technical know how. Enough reminiscence for today more later.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Introduction

Let me begin my blog by briefly introducing myself and the reasons why I forayed into the field of creative writing.
I have worked in diverse fields, starting from teaching, sales, the BPO industry and finally I have begun Content Writing. Most of my jobs happened by chance, that is, I was looking for something else and had to take up these jobs due to financial needs. Well I'm sure the cynic in everybody would say, "A rolling stone gathers no moss", I certainly won't refute that, but, it has certainly given me some enriching experiences. It enabled me to meet people from diverse backgrounds, understand them their views and most importantly the reflection of their background in their views. When I was teaching, I found people I was working with to be conservative, set in their way of life and they had fixed beliefs. It was a world of old people. You were always old, irrespective of your age as you were handling children.

Sales was of course about hardcore sales, aggressive marketing strategies and payments that took a long time to come through. As far as the BPO industry is concerned it is a young industry. Everybody is young, irrespective of their age. It is night shifts and hectic routines, high target pressure, FM in cabs, hearts breaks and love stories told and retold.To sum it up I can say that these experiences prepared me for the future.
I think my foray into the field of content writing is sure to enrich me further with more experiences. I hope to make my mark in this world and create a niche for myself.
This is just a beginning so see you folks around.