Saturday, July 31, 2010

And the Topic for BAT 13 is...

From now on, each Blog-a-Tonic can submit at most TWO posts for this event irrespective of the number of blogs he/she maintains.

Date for Blog-a-Ton 13 : August 7, 2010

It is that time of the month when you start cranking your brains to get that one elusive innovative idea that can land the BATOM award in your hands. So just gearup to know which Topic will give you sleepless nights in the coming week.

But before that lets Welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics who will help in taking the participations to a new high;
Hoping to see you all participating in BAT 13. You all will be blogrolled soon!!!

On the basis of the voting over last one week, we have narrowed down to the topic for BAT 13. Here are the results of the final phase of voting that took place on this blog and Facebook simultaneously.

 Topic for Blog-a-Ton 13 : Goodbye

Debosmita makes a comeback after giving BAT its earlier topics What if! and Time Travel in the seventh and eight editions respectively. Keep suggesting such wonderful topics!

And is it a Jinx that the topic 13 got stuck on 13 during BAT 13???

Imp. From now on, each Blog-a-Tonic can submit at most TWO posts for this event irrespective of the number of blogs he/she maintains.

While dealing with the topic 'Goodbye', 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 Aug 7 to post it finally along with everyone else.

Please write your posts on time as the late entries will not be allowed to participate in the voting round (though the links will be added to the participants list).

Other rules regarding posting will be conveyed to you later.

So kindly wait for that notification on next Friday rather than putting up queries right now. If the queries are regarding general pattern of the event, please go through the posts about previous events.


Wishing you all, a free flow of thoughts
Blog-a-Tonically yours
Posted on Saturday, July 31, 2010 17 Comment(s)
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Sunday, July 25, 2010

My BAT XP and VETERAN BATonics!!!


To some it reminds the Dark Knight , to some it reminds Sachin

Tendulkar ; but when you ask the bloggers, BAT reminds them 

the red and blue, three haired winking Marshal   .


Are you are here to decide the topic for BAT 13???
Or simply continue reading My Blog-a-Ton Experience and Meet the Veteran Blog-a-Tonics.

It’s been one whole year, a wonderful one year in this journey of Blog-a-Ton. As a blogger, I have created my own niche in this period while as the Marshal, I have enjoyed the whole process and the appreciation I have received for my initiative.

Did I ever expect BAT to rise to such an extent?

Yes, I always hoped so. That’s why the mission from DAY 1 was to have an edition with 100 participants. It was frustrating when after rising initially, for next six editions the number of participations kept swinging around 40-45 and came crashing down to 35 during BAT 9. It was surprising when in the very next edition, the number touched 60 and within two more editions, it has reached 70. The ultimate mission now seems within reach, thanks to all the bloggers who keep participating month after month, also attracting other fellow bloggers in this process.

Did I ever expect to win BAT?

Yes, I always hoped so. It was very frustrating when despite writing some good posts in the initial editions, I failed to garner desired votes. Competition was always stiff. The quality of entries was always great. It took 10 BATs to win the BATOM badge award and within two more editions, I have two BATOMs under my belt.

However, this has also got me thinking if it is fair for other participants. Should I, being the Marshal, be competing with them for BATOM? With due respect to all those who have voted for me in previous two BATs I participated in, and made me win both of them, I do wonder if  there is any kind of favoritism taking place! It is a tough call for me as BAT has become a way of life for me, not just as a Marshal but also as a Blog-a-Tonic. So, do give your feedback about it!


FELLOW TRAVELERS
THE VETERAN BLOG-A-TONICS

In the last three weeks, four wonderful bloggers have shared their BAT XP with you. These are the four who started this journey with me on August 1, 2010 participating in Blog-a-Ton 1. There were 7 other bloggers too, but only these 4 have stayed and enriched BAT with their wonderful posts month after month.

Click on their respective names to read all their BAT entries


Shilpa Garg
  • 12/12 BATs
  • BATOM 1
Pawan Maruvada
  • 11/12 BATs
  • BATOM 5
  • SILVER BATOM 12

Siddhesh 'Ravan' Kabe
  • 10/12 BATs
  • Designer of BATOM and Veteran BATonic badges
  • Meet Marshal of BAT Pune Meet

Vipul Grover
  • 10/12 BATs
  • BATOM 10
  • GOLD BATOM 12
  • Founder Marshal of BAT

Dhiman Manji
  • 9/12 BATs
  • Future BATOM *fingers crossed*

I’ll like to share my gratitude by inducting them in BATs Hall of Fame, which has been named as  'The List of Veteran Blog-a-Tonics'!!!

Veteran BATonic

So the first five inductees to the List of Veteran Blog-a-Tonics are
Click on their names to read their Blog-a-Ton Experience (BAT XP)!!!

Here is the list of all the 13 entries for Blog-a-Ton 1. The topic was "The Cream and Scum of Blogging".
Arjuna, Saimanohar, Dhiman, Vipul Grover, Avdi, Daisy Blue, Sid 'Ravan' Kabe, Shankar, Shilpa Garg, Bharathi, Ranee[1], Ranee[2] and Pawan.
Shilpa Garg was voted as the First Blog-a-Tonic of the Month.
There are many others who joined in the following editions and have been with BAT ever since. You all will be inducted in the following months after scrutinizing your posts and your performance in BAT.

To be eligible, you must have participated in atleast 10 BAT's.

Once your number of participation reaches 10, just drop me a mail with the links to all your posts (or simply label all your BAT entries and send me that single link).

Hoping to see many more inductees in future
Blog-a-Tonically Yours
Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 3 Comment(s)
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Saturday, July 24, 2010

BAT 13 is here - Suggest a Topic

DATE FOR BLOG-A-TON 13 : AUGUST 7, 2010
TOPIC DECLARATION : JULY 31, 2010

In the last one month Blog-a-Ton has achieved new heights on the occasion of its first anniversary. BAT 12 saw 70 entries competing for the BATOM award which was for the first time given to three BATonics including the runner-ups. We also successfully held BAT Meets in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. You were also introduced to the BATonics who had participated in the first editon of BAT and have been regulars ever since. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Before I open the BAT 13, lets welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics;

On the basis of the voting on this blog and on Facebook, we have narrowed down to just 3 Topics.


You have to vote for one of the following suggestions only.
    1. 13
    2. Goodbye
    3. Freedom
Please go through the following rules before voting;
  • While voting, also mention the serial number, the topic has. For example, '3. Freedom'
  • You should help in pruning down this list by voting for any of these topics even if you had suggested or voted for some other topic earlier.
  • Give your votes in the comments section of this post.
  • Do not embolden your comment using HTML bold tag.
  • 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.

Encourage your fellow bloggers to participate in this edition. You can share this post on your various social networking profiles through the ShareThis widget present at the bottom of this post.

P.S. Before you leave, do read Pawan Maruvada's Wonderful Blog-a-Ton Experience.

Hoping to receive some interesting suggestions
 Blog-a-Tonically Yours
Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2010 62 Comment(s)
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Friday, July 23, 2010

All in a year's work.

Blog a ton. A year ago when all the hype about it started I had no expectations on it. I didn’t quite like the idea in the first place. Who’ll write? I thought. And time knocked me out my senses. Blog a ton. Now it’s a phenomenon on the Indian blogging platform. When Vipul asked me to participate in the first edition in those seedy gtalk pop up boxes I had no option. Now it’s the largest generator of traffic on my blog. Come blog a ton my page stats zoom up into the sky. The first Saturday of everything is a treat to my hit counter and Google analytics. Blog a ton. The example of great marketing. Vipul has built a global brand locally. As we talk, a blogger from the remote Guinea islands hits the ‘follow’ button. The first two months, blog a ton was just a group of twenty members writing together. Later, the scale got larger and the topics more intense.
In the initial days there used to be simple topic suggestion threads with the topic almost being decided in a matter of a few comments later on the selection process started becoming more vivid with weird ideas pouring in. Time travel, all in a day’s work, what if, topics like this fuel the spark in a writer. Given that there are no restrictions, each post has a different dimension. The more abstract the topic, the more vivid is the thinking. This has given me a rare opportunity to hone my skills in different genres. Sci fi, romance, tragedy, drama, murder, crime, horror, I’ve done them all. The main beauty of Blog a ton lies in the format itself. Indeed blog a ton is a life changing venture for me and I think it’s the same for many other bloggers. If not for BAT, I’ve wouldn’t have met wonderful people like Shilpa Garg (consider her my mentor/editor, a special thanks to her for making my journey in the blogosphere smooth so far!), Neha, Guria, Karthik, Rumya, Tikuli, Vinay, The Fool (an meticulous reader and a better reviewer).

Once the topic is finalized, it’s the time for the mind to set out on a creative rampage. I generally think till the last Friday before the competition and then start writing, a process that every time consumes the deadline to every last minute. I’ve the recognition of being the last submitter of the post for Blog a ton all the time. Well, it’s something I hope to continue too :D Those warm comments, intense criticism, moments of pride, and similar moments of defeat are something that’ll go down the memory lane. My blog got popular, it is only due to Blog a ton. Winning the title once and coming second 6 months later, I something I’m really proud of. My entry for “All in a Day’s work” topic took my blog’s status to higher levels, giving me more freedom to write on bolder topics. Ironically, I’ve won the top slot for an emotional drama and the same genre brought me the second title too. Those who follow my blog closely will know the irony. I’ve noticed the pattern of the winning posts in BAT; they are always emotional posts, written on a deep seated problem or conflict. Well, this is not revealed until the results night, usually the Friday after the D- day. In between there’ll be random suggestions inside the blogger community and some reviews on who is good and who is bad. Good posts are appreciated and are spread like wildfire and the bad ones criticized (not on the blog though, where one can still find comments like cool, good etc)

Once the winner is declared, there’ll be massive traffic bound towards the winner’s blog and therein emerges another super blog. I’ve been seeing this for over a year now, except for one edition I’ve taken part in all the others. It has been a wonderful journey for me, and I guess it has been for the others too. I can’t think of a world without blog a ton, without which our blogs would be the correct examples for draught in the sub Saharan region. I think we all owe one for Vipul, founder in chief, CEO and Marshall of this wonderful concept which is constantly encouraging new talent and has been grooming the old. This idea has endured a year’s journey and no doubt, it’ll survive an eternity. Hail Blog a ton.

Amen.
Pawan Maruvada
Posted on Friday, July 23, 2010 4 Comment(s)
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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Some Wishes Fulfilled - BATOM 12 are...

Blog-a-Ton has crossed the mark of 500 Followers but the ultimate aim is still far away. - the aim of having an edition where 100 Blog-a-tonics come together and participate. The last three editions have been quite promising with nearly 65 participations in the final edition of BAT's first year. Lets find who has swept this edition.

But before we see the results, let's welcome the new members of Blog-a-Ton;
You all will be blogrolled soon!

So now, without loosing any time, lets see who are the BATOM you all Wished for...
BATOM 12


As evident, here are the three Blog-a-Tonics of the Month. Just Click on their names to read their respective entries.

GOLD BATOM

SILVER BATOM

SILVER BATOM

Vipul Grover

Pawan Maruvada

Vee...


Vee..., please provide your e-mail id to receive the badge award. Just drop in a mail.

You all can also read the voting comments now. Just click here to find who all voted for you or liked your entry and what they had to say about it!

P.S. We have received three late votes which have been discarded. However, votes from  Narendra and Himanshu aka Azad are not visible in the comments but has been taken into consideration as they were directly communicated to me within the stipulated time.
In future, please be on time so that your precious votes do not go wasted!!!

I Hope You All Had A Great BAT 12!!!


Will be back soon with Blog-a-Ton 13
Blog-a-Tonically Yours
Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010 16 Comment(s)
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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A to Z of My BAT Experience

Blog-a-Ton turns ONE, this month! And I turn ONE on Blog-a-Ton too!! Yeah, I have had the pleasure of participating in all the 12 Blog-a-Tons!!
When, Vipul asked me to share my BAT experience here, was I thrilled?? Well, that’s putting it mildly.
So, here’s my BAT experience from A to Z…
An ‘Aha’ Experience… Awesome!! Amazing!! has been my BAT experience. No, I am not saying this coz, I am doing the guest post here. And believe me, neither did Vipul ask me to say so!!
Blogging Marathon… BAT is a blogging marathon par excellence. All the activities, announcements are on time, as per the schedule. That’s something commendable!
Cool Comments Needless, to say that BAT posts always receive the maximum comments, which is like elixir for any blogger!
Diverse Diversity It’s always awe-inspiring to see such diverse thoughts and expressions on a topic.
Excellent Exposure Looking for that perfect exposure in the blogosphere?? BAT is the platform!!
Friends Forever Have found some wonderful people here. Thank you BAT!!
Great Experience The whole process of deliberating, expressing, sharing, understanding, learning at BAT is a great experience.
Hats Off Hats off to Vipul for hosting such a wonderful contest.
Ideas Galore A BAT post which was on a format of a research paper, simply floored me. There have been pretty innovative and imaginative ways of presentation of BAT posts…Lists, A to Z, Puzzles, Picture Posts…
Journey Joyous 12 months and 12 BAT posts with a winner post too is a joyous journey, truly!
Knowledge Everywhere Knowledge is the food of the soul… and I got it in abundance at BAT.
Learning Experience BAT has opened my world to newer forms of expressions viz Drabble, Minisaga, Cinquain, Haiku, 77 Fiction, Mirror poetry…
Midnight Oil It Is… Somehow, I have always written for BAT on a late Friday night. May be subconsciously the idea is, “Early bird…” :D
New Networks BAT has been a wonderful platform for networking too.
OMG!! There have been many ‘OMG moments’ with BAT. An amazing write-up, an unexpected twist, a beautiful and poignant tale, an appreciative feedback… all left that lingering wonderful feeling.
Plus Plus Plus… Being a part of BAT has been ALL PLUS + PLUS… and not a single Minus!!
Quite a Lot Coming Together With each BAT, more of our brethren are coming together and blogging together. That’s something cool!
Reading Galore With each new edition of BAT, the number of posts to read is on the rise. So the more you read, the more you learn…
Some Serious Fun Yeah, BAT is some serious fun!! I had loads of it!!
Topics The topics have been great for almost all the BATs. Though, there were a couple of them, which I didn’t fancy much.
United We Stand BAT is unity in action! Truly!
Vote for… Ah! This has been the toughest part.
Winner is… Refreshing the BAT page every other second after the deadline (10 or 11 pm), to know the winner would surely cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, some day!
Xtra Xtra For… You get extra marks, extra love, extra fun for good writing at BAT!
Your Post on Your Blog! Nothing could be better than this and I’m lovin’ it!!
Zeal and Zest Continues… A year with BAT but my zeal and zest to participate in BAT continues. How about you??
Here’s wishing a very Happy 1st Birthday to all Blog-a-Tonics!! And a great fun time too, at BAT!!
Cheers :)
Shilpa Garg
Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 10 Comment(s)
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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Lets fulfill Someone's Wishes - Vote for the BATOM

Voting gets over at 22:00 hrs (IST) on Jul 18, 2010. Remember, that means time stamp of your comment can be at most 21:59 and not 22:00.

Let us welcome the new Blog-a-Tonics before proceeding further
You all will be blogrolled after the completion of this edition of Blog-a-Ton!

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 this edition,  70 entries came in from  65 blog-a-tonics within the stipulated time. 

Please recheck the links you have provided. Some of them do not have correct path. So please repost your links.
Please follow the following rules while voting.

1. You can cast upto 3 votes or cheers as we call them, and of course you can not vote for yourself.
In short, you are allowed to vote for one, two or three entries. All your votes will carry the same weightage.

2. FROM NOW ON, REVERTING TO OUR EARLIER TRADITION,  ONLY THOSE BLOG-A-TONICS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR VOTING WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE EVENT.

We have flaunted with the idea of voting by non-participants but it has shown no results, only leading to favoritism in some cases. These are the number of votes casted by non-partcipants in previous BATs going chronologically backwards - 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 6, 3.
In short, rather than making the counting cumbersome for me, I've decided to drop this rule.

3.  Your Voting Comment should start as follows:


I vote for - 
1. XYZ; his/her post = http://ABC/xyz.html
2. DEF; his/her post = http://LMN/def.html
3. PQR; his/her post = http://RST/pqr.html


Code:
I participated - <a href="YOUR POST LINK">YOUR POST LINK</a>
I vote for -
1. NAME OF THE FIRST BLOGATONIC YOU VOTE FOR; his/her postlink = <a href="HIS/HER POST LINK">HIS/HER POST LINK</a>
2. NAME OF THE SECOND BLOGATONIC YOU VOTE FOR; his/her postlink = <a href="HIS/HER POST LINK">HIS/HER POST LINK</a>
3. NAME OF THE THIRD BLOGATONIC YOU VOTE FOR; his/her postlink = <a href="HIS/HER POST LINK">HIS/HER POST LINK</a>


Replace the parameters highlighted in red with their actual values.

Remove the extra code in case you are voting for less than three entries.

3. While voting for a Blog-a-Tonic, use his/her name as provided by him/her in his/her participation entry.
Moreover, in case of multiple entries by that blog-a-tonic, don't forget to number his post as mentioned by him/her while commenting.

 4. All your votes should be posted in a single comment. So, take your time - go through all posts - only then decide your one or two or three favourites.
In case you vote separately, only the first comment will be taken into consideration.

5.  Post your vote in the comments section of this post.

Now coming to the other rules:
  • Voting ends at  2200 hrs (IST) on  Jul 18, 2010.
  • 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 of multiple entries by any blog-a-tonic, all his/her entries will be evaluated individually while deciding BATOM, i.e., the award will go to a post rather than the blogger.
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. I'll try to get back to you asap.

NOW COMING TO THE NEW AWARDING SYSTEM - 

On popular demand and requests received and discussions done with some individual Blog-a-Tonics, we will be having 3 BATOM (Blog-a-Tonic of the Month) awards this time.
  • GOLD BATOM
  • SILVER BATOM
  • BRONZE BATOM
Some (highly complex) rules for rewarding -
  • Awards will be given to maximum (and not necessarily) three individuals only.
    • For example if two individuals win the Gold and Silver and there is tie for Bronze, the Bronze badge award will stand canceled rather than giving it to all the tied ones.
    • Similarly, if there are more than two contenders for Silver, both Silver and Bronze shall be canceled.
  • In case of ties at higher levels, the lower rewards might be cancelled.
    • For example, if there is a tie for silver between two, both will be awarded it, and the Bronze will be canceled.
  • In case of certain ties, Marshal's vote shall decide the winner (as otherwise, I do not vote)
    • For example, if there are more than three contenders for Gold, then inevitably, Marshal's vote will decide the three winners who all will be given gold and there will be no Silver and Bronze.
  • These rules are to ensure that we don't end up awarding non-competitive posts.
    • As this is a new feature, I'll have the sole discretion to adapt it as required. So kindly, bear with me.
    • As time progresses, we'll be substantiating the rules.


    Remember, the time stamp of your comment can be at most 21:59 and not 22:00 on Jul 18.

    Hoping to see similar participation in voting too
    Blog-a-Tonically Yours
    Posted on Sunday, July 11, 2010 35 Comment(s)
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