Friday, 20 November 2009

And Here Comes the BLOG-A-TON 5 :-)

Date for Blog-a-Ton 5 : December 5, 2009
Topic declaration : November 28, 2009

Last month, when we initiated Blog-a-Ton 4, our membership had reached the 100 mark. And today, we have moved well beyond 150. So lets welcome the latest members first of all.
You all will be blogrolled soon.
So with this, I invite your suggestions for the topic for Blog-a-Ton 5. Please keep the following things in mind while suggesting.
  • Each member can suggest only one topic.
  • The topic should be general in scope, so that more and more Blog-a-Tonics can participate.
  • Before suggesting, go through the previous ones for sure.
  • If you like any of those, VOTE for them rather than giving a new suggestion.
  • If you like a suggested topic but don't like the wordings, still VOTE for it and alongside suggest a new title for it.
  • In case you have already suggested a topic but find some subsequent suggestion better than yours, you are allowed to vote for it. But this can be done only once.
  • Give your suggestions and votes in the comments section of this post.
  • Do not embolden your comment using HTML bold tag. Only the Marshal is allowed to use it.
  • Please keep these points in mind to make my job easier.
  • In case a comment is not posted according to these rules, it will be deleted.
    Kindly volunteer to compile all the suggestions every third day and post them together in the comments section to help others.


Hoping to receive some cool suggestions
 Blog-a-Tonically Yours

Thursday, 12 November 2009

And the Blog-a-Tonic of the Month is....

Well another Blog-a-Ton, another 'THE END'. With the voting over for the fourth edition of our event, this happens to be the final post for it.
Before we move further, lets welcome the new members:
You all will be blogrolled soon!

Without building any suspense this time, here are the results:
As evident, each vote from a participant =2 cheers whereas from non-participants =1 cheer




Congratulations Madhu, you surely deserved it. Please forward your postal address, so that Chetan Bhagat's latest novel can be mailed to you. Right now, I am e-mailing you your badge award!

You all can also read the voting comments now. Just click here to find what others had to say about your posts!

Once again, thanks to Sojo for sponsoring this gift for the winner.

Will soon be back with Blog-a-Ton 5,
Blog-a-Tonically Yours

Sunday, 8 November 2009

Vote for the BATOM 4..

Voting is over. Madhu Rao is the Blog-a-Tonic of the Month!


Finally the recession has hit the Blog-a-Ton too. It shows a negative growth in its fourth quarter.. errrr.. I mean edition. For the time being lets stick to the task at hand and leave the brainstorming to find the reasons behind this downward spiral as an agenda for the subsequent post!

Well now, dropping this boring corporate lingo, lets welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics first of all -

Click here to check the fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton along with the direct links to their posts.

In short, 38 entries came in and some more late entries are expected (genuine reasons for getting late have been conveyed to me).

If there is anyone else who was unable to post in time due to any genuine reason, please convey it to me at 'Contact The Marshal' along with the link to your post.

Based on our discussions, I have finalised the Voting rules this time.

First of all, lets see the Discussion trends:

Those in favour of half voting rights for non-participating Blog-a-Tonics:
Madhu, Avada Kedavra, Mustaf, Talking skull, Raji, Naveen, Swapna, Shankar, Ki, Sojo, Shilpa, Guria, Ankit, Vipul
 = 14

Those in favour of full voting rights for non-participating Blog-a-Tonics:
Narendra, Pramathesh,  Aativas, Soin, Dhiman, Makk, Daisy Blue, Debosmita
= 8

Those in favour of no voting rights for non-participating Blog-a-Tonics:
Prashant, Venky, Chetan, Pushpee
= 4

Kindly bring it to my notice if I have missed to include someone inadvertently or categorised his/her vote wrongly.

So, as is clear from these results, half voting rights it is. I hope everyone appreciates the decision.

Please follow the following rules while voting:

1. You must cast only 1 vote and of course you can not vote for yourself.
Don't vote for more than one person because that will be of no use for any of them as your vote will be discarded without any prior warning.

2. Your Voting Comment should start as follows:



In case you participated -

I vote for - XYZ; his/her postlink = http://ABC.com/pqrst.html

Code:
<b>I participated - <a href="YOUR POST LINK">YOUR POST LINK</a></b>
<b>I vote for - NAME OF THE BLOGATONIC YOU VOTE FOR; his/her postlink = <a href="HIS/HER POST LINK">HIS/HER POST LINK</a></b>



In case you did not participate -

I did not participate but I am blogrolled by the name of Vipul Grover.

I vote for - XYZ; his/her postlink = http://ABC.com/pqrst.html

Code:
<b>I did not participate but I am blogrolled by the name of YOUR NAME ON OUR BLOGROLL. </b>
<b>I vote for - NAME OF THE BLOGATONIC YOU VOTE FOR; his/her postlink = <a href="HIS/HER POST LINK">HIS/HER POST LINK</a></b>


Replace the parameters highlighted in red with their actual values.
Do not forget to give your post link or blogrolled name (whichever is applicable as clearly visible in the above code) as it will decide whether your vote is counted as 1 or 1/2 in value.

3. Vote for only those entries which are listed here. If there are any late entries which are allowed to participate, they will be posted there as well.

Now coming to the other rules:
  • Voting ends at 1900 hrs (IST) on  Nov 12, 2009.
  • Post your vote in the comments section of this post.
  • I have started moderating the comments and won’t display the voting comments till the end of this process to keep the result secret till its conclusion.
  • After the voting code mentioned above, you may also add the reason, why you voted for a particular post to help others know what you expect as a reader. Moreover, you may also mention the other posts that you liked though you can vote for just one of them.
  • In case there are multiple entries from any Blogger, while counting the votes received by him/her, the entries will be considered individually for the award.
The Votes will be discarded without any prior warning in case they are not sufficiently compatible with the rules.

So, if there is any query about voting or you do not find yourself blogrolled, feel free to drop in a mail at 'Contact The Marshal'. I'll try to get back to you asap.

Hoping to see dozens of votes this time
Blog-a-Tonically Yours

Friday, 6 November 2009

Rules and Reminders for Blog-a-Ton 4!

Time for Post Submission is over!


Date for Blog-a-Ton
: November 7, 2009


Before I give you the details about posting, lets welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics
  • Dhiren Shah (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)
  • Sravan Pradjumna (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)
  • Vinay S.
  • Vinaya Bala (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)
  • Nishant Singh (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)
  • Casey (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)
  • Chandrasegar Viswanathan (Please provide your blog link to be blogrolled)

As you already know, the topic for Blog-a-Ton 4 has been finalised as:
If I were a baby again


Please follow these rules while publishing your post and thereafter:

  • The title of your post should be the topic itself; i.e. If I were a baby again.
    Please do not use any alternative title or your post link will be removed.

  • The post should start with this text within blockquotes and with link to this blog. Just copy the following HTML code and paste to your post in Edit HTML mode:

    <div style="text-align: justify;">
    <blockquote>
    This post has been published by me as a part of the <b>Blog-a-Ton 4</b>; the fourth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <a href="http://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/"><b>Blog-a-Ton</b></a>.
    </blockquote>
    </div>

  • The post should end with this text within blockquotes and with links to the comments section of this post and this blog. Just copy the following HTML code and paste to ur post in Edit HTML mode:


    <div style="text-align: justify;">
    <blockquote>
    The <b>fellow Blog-a-Tonics</b> who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective <b>posts</b> can be checked <a href="http://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/2009/11/rules-and-reminders-for-blog-ton-4.html#comments"><b>here</b></a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <b><a href="http://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/">Blog-a-Ton</a></b>.
    </blockquote>
    </div>

  • Publish the post on November 7, 2009 anytime between 0000 hrs and 2359 hrs.
  • Use the following code to provide direct link to your post.

    <a href="ADDRESS OF YOUR POST">YOUR NAME - IF I WERE A BABY AGAIN</a>

    It will look like this: Vipul Grover - If I were a baby again and will link to your post.
    Please follow this rule to ensure easy navigability to your post as this time no separate list of the participants will be provided later on
    .
  • Return on Nov 8 to vote for your favourite post. A separate notification for the same will be posted upon the conclusion of the event. So do not vote till then. Till then just enjoy reading the various entries, keeping in mind your favourite one. 

  • The Blog-a-Tonic of the Month, this time will get a copy of Chetan Bhagat's latest Novel - 2 States, the story of my marriage, thanks to our fellow blog-a-tonic Sojo Varughese. So if you haven't bought your copy yet, just wait for another week. Who knows you might be the winner this time :)

Looking forward to great participation
Blog-a-Tonically Yours

Saturday, 31 October 2009

Topic for Blog-a-Ton 4 and an important discussion!

Date for Blog-a-Ton 4 : November 7, 2009

Lets welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics first of all as our blog gets its first Google Page Rank of 2/10.
There is a long list this time and also a long way to go :)
  • Ankit Mishra
  • Debosmita Nandy (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Pushpee (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Push Vs Pull
  • Magiceye 
  • Solilo 
  • Kamal Singh (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Ariyathe (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Sylvian Patrick  
  • Yojitha (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Kanagu (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Nikhil Patokar 
  • Intrepid Dreamer (Please provide us your Bloglink to be blogrolled)
  • Heyy India  
  • N J
  • Mustaf 
  • Chitz
  • Niharika
    You all will be blogrolled soon.

    Blog-a-Tonics have overwhelmingly voted for If I were a baby again as the topic for Blog-a-Ton 4. I must congratulate Daisy Blue for suggesting this - as she puts it , a - fun topic. Lets see how everyone perceives it.

    While dealing with the topic, you have the freedom to treat it the way you want. Its upto you; which genre of writing you choose, i.e. simple essay-type, article, dialogue, short story (even 55 Fiction for that matter), poem or whatever you feel like.

    Moreover, its upto you; which mood or tone you choose to set it in, i.e. serious, witty, humour, optimistic or whatever that comes to you naturally.

    Again, you have the freedom to choose the language of communication. However, we'll suggest you to write in English to put across your views to the maximum members which will also help you when its the time to vote for the BATOM.

    I hope this clarification helps the new Blog-a-Tonics.

    So, you all have ample time to write it but you'll have to wait till Nov 7 to post it finally along with everyone else.


    Other rules regarding posting will be conveyed to you later.







    P.S. There is an important discussion that is taking place in the comments section of the previous post. It pertains to the voting procedure to elect the Blog-a-Tonic of the Month. The question is whether non-participanting Blog-a-Tonics be allowed to vote.

    We have three options - 
    a) No voting rights for non-participants
    b) 1/2 vote for them
    c) Full vote for them just like the participants


    Do take your stand on this issue. Those who have already voted, again vote in the comments section of this post to make your stand more visible.



    Wishing you all, a free flow of thoughts
    Blog-a-Tonically yours
    Vipul Grover

    Thursday, 29 October 2009

    A Quickie and a shameless self promotion!


    Hello friends, here is a quick post from my side to share some really 'intelligently hilarious' stuff with you.
    Even before, we flag off the fourth edition of BAT in a couple of days with the declaration of the final topic, our fellow Blog-a-Tonic, Madhu has come out with a brilliant post on the topic suggestion discussions taking place here. It is a must read post for all Blog-a-Tonics. Here is an excerpt -

    ‘Getting Married’ is pretty famous these days, especially if you get that ‘crème de la crème’ of a girl you seek (or your mom seeks!).Dream on, ‘Hallucinations’ you say ? Maybe. But ‘The Indian’ in me doesn’t give up.

    Click here to read the complete post and do leave your comments at Madhu's IndiMag site to let him know how you feel about it.

    And before, I take a leave to return on Saturday; I must not miss a great opportunity to get a bit shameless and request all Blog-a-Tonics cum Indibloggers to visit Indiblogger of the Month (Original Poetry) contest and vote for me, Vipul Grover (Reflections of an Empathic Libertarian), if you like my submissions. In addition to me, other Blog-a-Tonics - Pramathesh (Bamboo Lounge), Narendra (Frozen Well), Amit Kumar Singh (My Voice through my words) - are also participating. So do take out some time to encourage us all there as voting ends in a couple of days (Remember, there are 5 votes this time). In case, I have missed anyone's name inadvertently, do leave a comment and I'll add it asap.

    Blog-a-Tonically Yours

    Friday, 16 October 2009

    Time for Blog-a-Ton 4!

    Date for Blog-a-Ton 4 : November 7, 2009
    Topic declaration : October 31, 2009

    It is Diwali eve and we are joined by our 100th member. What a great time to kick start the fourth edition of Blog-a-Ton after conducting three successful ones in the last three months.

    Membership has been increasing all this time. So lets welcome the latest members first of all.
    In case you have joined our Fan page on Facebook but are still not following us through the Google Friend Connect widget on this blog, do it right away. It is a mandatory step to become a Blog-a-Tonic, get blogrolled and participate in our events .

    So with this, I invite your suggestions for the topic for Blog-a-Ton 4. Please keep the following things in mind while suggesting.
    • Each member can suggest only one topic.
    • The topic should be general in scope, so that more and more Blog-a-Tonics can participate.
    • Before suggesting, go through the previous ones for sure.
    • If you like any of those, VOTE for them rather than giving a new suggestion.
    • If you like a suggested topic but don't like the wordings, still VOTE for it and alongside suggest a new title for it.
    • In case you have already suggested a topic but find some subsequent suggestion better than yours, you are allowed to vote for it. But this can be done only once.
    • Give your suggestions and votes in the comments section of this post.
    • Do not embolden your comment using HTML bold tag. Only the Marshal is allowed to use it.
    • Please keep these points in mind to make my job easier.
    • In case a comment is not posted according to these rules, it will be deleted.
    Kindly volunteer to compile all the suggestions every third day and post them together in the comments section to help others.

    Wishing you all a prosperous and safe Diwali
     Blog-a-Tonically Yours