Posts Tagged ‘Blogger’

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Ranjan Varma

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

RanjanRanjan Varma has over 17 years of work experience in Insurance, Housing Finance and Investment industry with LIC. A topper in Physics Honors examination way back in 1990s, Ranjan did an Executive MBA (Finance) in 2008 from ITM. He has also built a very informative personal finance portal at personalfinance201.com along with a financial websites rupeemanager.com. Ranjan Varma actively blogs on www.ranjanvarma.com

His Blog started as an effort to understand his own finances. According to Ranjan he wanted to share his learning on personal finance. The first thing he wants the world to know is that it is not rocket science and can be easily understood by a lay man. Ranjan states “I am trying to build a module for a personal finance workshop where people can start taking responsibility for their finance.”

Ranjans dedication towards the blog and the cause is apparent when he states, “There’s a question that doesn’t leave me alone, “What can you offer the world that no one else can?”. It’s a pretty tough question. Maybe this blog will help me with finding the answer. In any case, I believe that I can be the medium which can change the way Indians manage their money!”

What’s more, Ranjan has also developed a software RupeeManager, that helps in tracking and managing ones money. Not only that, the software is also available as an online application. He conducts money management workshop which improves ones capabilities to make financial decisions. He proudly states that this workshop can be conducted on ground and online. Well, even we are proud to state that for all this and more, Ranjan Varma is our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.”

Read more from our “BLOGGER OF THE FORTNIGHT” series.

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Sanjay Lakhotia

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Sanjay LakhotiaSanjay Lakhotia is a management graduate from XLRI with more than 15 years of experience of working in human resources area. He has worked for more than 13 years in consulting where he has helped clients in various issues of HR including HR Strategy, change management, organization restructuring, leadership development and coaching, capability development, performance management, rewards etc.

Sanjay currently undertakes assignments as a free lance consultant helping companies with various aspects of Human Resource interventions including program design, competency development and soft skills training. He is also a top rated HR Blogger with his blog “Simple thoughts” being amongst the best in the country on the subject.

Tackling issues such as leave policy may put him in a spot as most HR departments try hard to justify non-granting of leaves, Sanjay on the other hand is an advocate of simple HR policies starting from leave system in an organization. Not only does he give a simple solution to a complicated problem, but also makes sense of many complicated issues.

He also provides uncanny lessons in HR through real life happenings. His post on Leadership Learning from Dhoni speaks a volume not just about the cricketer but also how clearly Sanjay can draw a parallel between HR theories and real life. It is this quality that has put Sanjay on the list of visiting faculties in many premier institutes. In fact how much he enjoys teaching is evident from his comment

“My suggestion to everyone who wants to learn or become better at his / her subject will be to try teaching a course on that subject. Because I believe from my first experience, that to TEACH is to LEARN.”

Sanjay has for always shown this hunger to learn. He believes that people can get better by making things simple. His own assessments of issues in his blog posts are very simple and that helps his reader to learn better. It is this simplicity that simply makes Sanjay Lakhotia our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.

Read more about our previous Bloggers of the Fortnight.

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Amit Agarwal

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

His blog “Digital Inspiration” was awarded the “Best Technology Blog Award” at Indibloggies in 2006 and 2008. He has been involved in advocating freedom of speech and an end to internet censorship in India. He is Amit Agarwal, our Blogger of the Fortnight. Amit writes about computer softwares, consumer gadgets, and web applications that help us become productive. He also pens a weekly personal technology column for The Hindustan Times.

HT calls Amit the “founder of the Indian blogging revolution” while the prestigious The Straits Times of Singapore included him in their list of Asia’s Blog Stars alongside Chinese actress Xu Jinglei and Japanese Ambassador Naoto Amaki. Microsoft awarded him the Most Valuable Professional award for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

 

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Amit Agarwal adressing students at the blog school

Digital Inspiration, launched in 2004 by Amit, is now among the Top 100 Technology Blogs on the Internet out of an estimated total of 130+ million blogs. The purpose of this site is to help one take maximum advantage of the software tools and web technologies at one’s disposal. Digital Inspiration averages more than 3+ million page views per month.

In 2010, Amit introduced Sleeping Time, an online service that can estimate of the sleeping habits of any Twitter user. It quickly went viral and was mentioned on CNN, The 33 News, Open Magazine and also made it to the front page of the Bangalore Mirror. Amit is also the founder of India Blog School. It is a non-profit first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to spread the blogging culture in India though training and offline interaction.

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Twitter Application developed by Amit Agarwal

Amit is no stranger to recognition, but he is still rooted to doing what he loves doing. Talking to the world about technology and helping people understand the complexity in a simple and beautiful way. That is what makes Amit Agarwal our Bloggerati of the Fortnight.

 

Click here to read more from our Blogger of the Fortnight series.

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Janaka Dharmasena

Friday, April 15th, 2011

clip_image002There are blogs that keep you hooked because of the complex ideas that they talk about, and then there are blogs that keep you hooked because of their simplicity in explaining complex subjects. Seven’ by 3′ is one such blog. Janaka Dharmasena, the man behind the blog, is an architect working and teaching in Colombo. His blog is a photographic encyclopedia of the amazing architecture seen in the island nation.

Ranging from structures to films, Janaka talks about how architecture lends a touch of fantasy and in some case authenticity to a setup. This is depicted in his posts about films and the structures seen in these films. One such example is the post about Alfred Hitchcock’s film North By Northwest and The Vandamm House shown in it.

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His insights on the matter of Sustainable Construction and Architecture are very interesting. Topics range from subjects like saving Venice from sinking to how to utilize natural light better through improvised architecture. He also gives a handy insight on how normal buildings can be green and it need not be expensive and planned effort to have a green building.

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Also, his pictures showcase the futuristic projects that the country has invested in and his blogs is helping in inspiring a new generation of Sri Lankan’s to appreciate their country’s beauty and heritage. Not only that, his page is also a place to find a lot of award winning designs and architecture from around the world.

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Although he jokingly admits that he is a not a great writer but it is not just about writing. His blog is more about understanding a very complex discipline of architecture through visual interaction. It is this effort of his that makes, Janaka Dharmasena, our Bloggerati of the Fortnight.

 

Read about our previous “Blogger of the Fortnight.”

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Pushpa Moorjani

Friday, April 1st, 2011

pushpa-moorjani“Every piece of art attracts my attention and I stand glaring, studying every detail seeing the perfection of design and form. I am inspired to replicate one more of my own…..” writes Pushpa Moorjani. Well, her words are inspiring enough for us to sit up and take a notice.

Managing seven blogs and contributing to a quarterly magazine called ‘Beyond Sindh’, she also dedicates her time to the cause of mentally challenged through her work with Swami Brahmanand Pratishthan, centre for mentally challenged in Navi Mumbai.

A lot of Pushpa’s writing come from her personal experience. It is her own pain, joy, sorrow that makes her connect with what is happening around her or what someone else may have experienced. The fact that she relates her experience with others makes her words more effective and more powerful. Her concern for the people of Japan post the Tsunami is narrated like this:

“The fear was instilled in me when an earthquake happened during my school days. The earth shook slightly, all children ran down the stair, shouting, screaming, rushing and pushing past me. I had missed my step and had fallen down on my knees, nobody cared nor saw me curled up on floor, they just ran amok in all directions, few children had walked over me, their shoes piercing through my ribs, the pain was intense at that time, my body ached, but I was too proud to cry.”

Another of her impressive abilities is to post and talk via photos. Her Wordless Wednesdays are a perfect example of how she manages to talk even without writing. This also shows her remarkable photography skills. A simple snap of kids playing carom, a photograph at a traffic signal or a burnt out lamp talks a lot more than a whole article on the same.

Funny, witty and definitely very very bold, Pushpa Moorjani is a blogger who has definitely crafted many pieces of art which can inspire a lot of ideas. It definitely inspired us to make her our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.”

Read about our previous “Blogger of the Fortnight.”

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Anu Vakkalanka

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Vakkalanka_AnuWhen you work as a communications specialist for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, you are bound to be cramped for time for your daily activities, let alone blogging. But that is exactly what Anu Vakkalanka, lady who is of Indian descent, has Dutch roots and is advising the United States very own epicenter does.

While studying for a master’s degree in International Relations at George Washington University, Anu turned her hobby into a profession with her blog Indian Makeup Diva. Today she has become one of the most celebrated makeup advisors on the social media circuit. And, Anu has also been selected amongst 10 most beautiful people in, yes, the Capitol Hill.

Anu is a mixture of professionalism, ardent sports regimen and … girlishness. Her two loves, or true love if you want to say, are nail polish and climbing! In her own words, she loves make-up because it makes the world “a better place, because it’s pretty, and it makes you look pretty in a moment”.

Staying in the western world has not made her grow unaware of what’s happening in her native country, India. A lot of her posts are about the makeup that the leading Indian actresses wear. Also, she has done quite a few round ups of new beauty products that hit the market every now and then.

What is really interesting about her blog post is that quite frequently, she comes up with video posts of her showing people how to get a particular look. One such video blog is a three part series on how to achieve the look that Mallika Arora Khan wore in song for the movie Dabangg.

Quoting her “I’m Indian; I came out of the womb wearing eyeliner,” says Anu. And it is this confidence and her enigmatic charm that makes Anu Vakkalanka, our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.”

Click here to read more of our Blogger of the Fortnight series.

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Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Malini Agarwal

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Miss-Malini1Celebrity blogging might have started with the Khans and the  Bachchans of the film industry, but one blog which even these celebrities love to be on is that of MissMalini!!! Suggested as the Indian blog equivalent of Perez Hilton and Pop Sugar, MissMalini is the place to catch up on the most happening events, parties and everything glamorous in India and in Mumbai specifically.

Malini Agarwal, the author of the blog, is a talent pool by herself. She started off her career as a dancer and today she is one of the most popular RJ’s in India. She fondly calls herself Mumbai’s gossip girl. She is also the founder of ‘Friday Club’ which has over 200 members in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hong Kong, Toronto, London, and New York.

In her own words, she tends to write the way she think so it’s mostly a random stream of consciousness… this helps her “keep it real.” But what is the best aspect about her blog is that it features news and information that normal people would never get their hands on but would love to know about.

“Abhay Deol turned up in his yellow jeep and a naughty grin to match! In fact I got him and Dino Morea to pose together for a double eye-candy shot :)”

Capturing the world through her LPC (Little Pink Camera) at page 3 parties and while traveling, her blog is also visual treat with some awesome photographs of exotic locations and celebrities caught having a blast.

“The first thing that strikes you is just how peaceful and scenic it is there… Like walking into a postcard (kid you not, one of the few places I’ve been to that looks exactly like its website photos)
There’s a spotless pool in the middle of four villas”

What more, in true sense of a social blogging, Miss Malini has evolved from being one person writing, to a lot of people contributing towards making this blog a page where every bit of news and information about the glam world is captured. Right across the globe.

And with the true ethos of a blog that talks about the high drama that is played out in the upper echelons of the glamour universe, the page too reflects it through the dramatic writing of Malini Agarwal. A fresh take on every report, makes the blog so much entertaining and fun to be on.

“Tall Dude: Hi, what’s your name? Me: Malini! Tall Dude: No, your last name. Me: *always skeptical about why people ask that question* Agarwal… Tall Dude: Are you Punjabi? Me: No, Marwari! Tall Dude: *high fives me* Me too yaar! Me: *lol* oh cool! Tall Dude: *slightly cheekily* So how come you’re not married? Me: *hold up my ring* I’m engaged! Tall Dude: Oh. *walks away silently*”

It is this light hearted approach towards life and also towards her writing that hooks a reader to the page. In fact, so much so, that if a high profile event was not featured on this page, well, then it was not high profile enough. It is a pleasure for us to announce Malini Agarwal as our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.”

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