What has been the single most important gain of the computer era?
Do you need to think? No you don’t.
Yes- it’s in the field of writing.
Especially in India! Not only has writing flowered as never before and writers bloomed overnight, writing Indians are now scripting the flow of words the world over.
Till a few years ago we didn’t know a lot about cut-copy-paste, searching-the-net or using a PDF file .
We confused hotmail with hot-male, Google with ogle and yahoo with yoo hoo. But today they are as much a part of our lives as anything else.
Was there ever a life without them?
Urban India embraced them unashamedly. And Indian writing zoomed. It spread.
Even before finger tips could tap out the alphabet, essays, opinions, articles, features, blogs- you name it had reached their destinations. To be published, uploaded or transmitted across continents.
But this could not have happened without help. A few writer-friendly websites have encouraged intrepid writers to blog, search engine optimize and create keywords that are rich!
Crucial to writing they have helped create a whole new pool of hitherto untapped talent and allowed them to flourish unhindered.
Let us salute them.
The foremost among those that have helped revolutionize Indian writing!
1- Rediff.com: A leadingIndian portalthat provides news, mail, commerce, entertainment, shopping, auctions and sports and many more online services.
Has about 45 million registered users and about 4 million daily visitors.
Founded in 1996 by Ajit Balakrishnan it is headquartered in Mumbai India and figures among the top 100 websites. Owns ‘India Abroad’ a US based weekly and is also listed in the Nasdaq. Its blog space rediffblogs/ ILand is representative of today’s young writers –confident and fearless! They air their thoughts in Indian English unafraid to launch themselves as writers on a national stage. Very similar to MSN.com
Website: http://www.rediff.com
2- Chillibreeze.com: The first of its kind it-started in 2004- provides a virtual Indian platform for tried and untried writers to take the plunge.
It handles outsourced writing projects and matches them with suitable writers. It helps edit, write and publish e-books.
A content and design service provider it was based in Bangalore till it moved to Shillong. It is managed by Ralph and Joanna Budelman and is perhaps the only website in Indian cyberspace that does what it does-encourage Indian writing.
Website: http://www.chillibreeze.com
3- Craigslist.com: Founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark for the San Francisco Bay Area it now spans the globe. Carrying classifieds on the internet it is the world’s leading classified service. It is also one of the first place most Indian writers would look- first- for a writing job. Like all classifieds it needs a bit of sifting but more often than not is genuine. Many a writer has started a lucrative career by answering a Craigslist classified.
Website: http://www.craigslist.org
4- Blogger.com: Starting small as Pyra Labs by three friends in San Francisco in 1994 it was soon bought up by Google who saw its enormous potential. Today it is a part of everyone’s lives- tinker, tailor, soldier or sailor. Even rich-man, poor-man and beggar man, thief. Every single person who is net savvy now has his/her blog-free. Would any writer be any less? Writing practice for many a new author it is as much a part of an Indian writers’ life as breathing- especially a freelance writer’s.
Website: http://www.blogger.com
5- Merinews.com: India’sfirst citizen journalist’s website. It offers the Indian writer a chance to vent his anger and air his views on current affairs and more. It has improved by the minute and gone from strength to strength. It encourages free thought and publishes anyone who has something worthwhile to say. A boon for bright young writers who need a start
Website: http://www.merinews.com
6- Wikipedia.com: It is the largest reference library on the internet. Created in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, it is today an indispensable part of any writer’s research tool kit. Current and alive to the concerns and the researching habits of a modern computer driven world it has volunteers write and anyone edit. With its vast article base it is an ongoing collaborative process that has opened up the world for writers everywhere. Is there an Indian writer today who does not swear by it?
Website: http://www.wikipedia.org
- Sreelata Menon
Please Note: Chillibreeze does not endorse techniques or views mentioned in the articles here. The articles listed here are provided as reference material for writers as a support service.
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