Baby in the Oven and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and that is why everyone is happy in the US. However, there are stories that make people not so happy. Read for yourself about Baby in the Oven in which a tragic life of a baby has been described. The mother put the baby in the oven and for that she was arrested and prosecuted.

Read More:

Baby in the Oven and Killing Female Fetus in Womb in South Asia

Earn Money Online: Spam Online

Really, it is a pity that we have so many spammers in Internet who are always trying to earn money at the expense of common people. The spammers try every way possible to earn some money. Sometimes, they use legitimate ways while often they use not so legitimate ways. Their only target is to earn money online. So, they do not develop content and they just develop spam. They do not care if others read or not read their spam. Rather, they just care to earn more money.

Here are just few ways that spammers try to earn money online:

1. Send spam mails containing nothing but advertisements of different products. Their goal is to spread the message of a product to millions of people in Internet. Fortunately, most people have become smart now but still some people will buy their products.
2. Sometimes, the spam mails contain adware or spywares and this way the spammers collect information about your surfing habit.
3. Phishing is a great example of illegal activity in Internet. They just do not stop. I often get emails from phishers who pretend to be some big banks on which I do not have any account.
4. Spammers make many worthless blogs and then fill up with garbage content that has no value to anyone. They do it to get ranked high in search engine results. It has become a big business. Fortunately for us who try to develop real contents, search engines are fighting back and trying to pinpoint spam contents.
5. Cyber thieves would send you emails that they are very rich and have millions of dollars in Nigeria or another country and they want your help and transfer the money in your account and give you 25% of the money. This is a very dangerous game. If you get any email of this kind never ever go for it.
6. Phony lottery companies send mail to you that you have won millions of dollars. The funny part is that they even do not know your address and even your name but they have decided that you have won the lottery. How it is possible unless they want to con you?

I really feel sad to see that the number of spammers is not decreasing in Internet. The worst part is that we live in a world now where money is the only important thing. It does not matter how you earn the money as long as you are earning it.

Earn Money: 7 Reasons Why Adsense is the Best?

Now in Internet, most people who want to earn money are familiar with Adsense. If you look at the explosive growth of professional blogging then you will find that Google Adsense is the key reason behind such growth. Thousands of websites and blogs earn money (monetize) through Adsense program. I do not need to explain in details about Adsense as I am sure that most of you are aware of it. I am trying to discuss here about the matter that Adsense is indeed the best source of earning money in Internet. Here are few reasons:

1. You can easily get accepted in Adsense. In fact, Google accepts people from almost all the countries on earth. They do not bother if you are in Asia or America. They also accept almost everyone who apply provided that the applicant’s website or blog does not violate any ToS of Adsense program. Google also accepts a site within a day or two. So, you do not need to wait a lot.
2. Implementation: Implementation of Adsense is very easy. You do not need to become a tech guru to insert Adsense codes in your website or blog.
3. Relevant Ads: I think that this is the strongest feature of Adsense. If you write about laptops in your website or blog then your visitors will surely find advertisements related to laptops.
4. Good Income: Many times, I have read in websites, blogs and even in forums that publishers earn highest amount of money by Adsense. Yes, there are some exceptions for some website, blog or forum owners but exception is exception- not the rule.
5. Blogger: If you are using Blogger then you will notice that Adsense has great integration with Bloggers. I am a very big fan of Blogger and I love the way Adsense works.
6. Great support from Google: Yes, I have to admit that Adsense has great support team. They response very quickly and effectively.
7. Ideal for everyone: It does not matter how many visitors you have. You can always get accepted from Adsense whether you are small or big. It also does not matter what kind of topic your website or blog has. Adsense covers everything as long as there is any commercial value of your topic.

Well, this is surely my personal experience only but I know that I am right because most websites, blogs or forums that I come across the Internet, use Adsense for earning money. If Adsense was not the best then it would become so overwhelmingly popular.

Earning Money Online: How Easy is it?

This is a very attractive thing for all of us. We all want to earn money be it online or offline. Earning money in Internet is a great thing. You do not need to go any place and you are in the comfort of your home and you can work according to your wanted- any time you like. Many times, I find advertisements promising a fortune by working from home. Well, it is true that many of these advertisements are nothing but scam. The reality is that if you want to earn money then you should never look for a short cut.

Just think of real life. Can you earn money with a short cut? Have you seen any person working just 2 hours a day and becoming rich? It is impossible even in the illegal way. Anyway, I feel that earning money online is just as easy or difficult like earning money off line. Yes, it is true that you do not need to go out of home when you are earning money online. It is also true that you can set your hours and then work.

However, don’t miss the third reality. Earning money online is like being on your own. Most of the time, you have to work independently and then earn money in Internet. There are hardly any full time jobs you can find in Internet. I often feel that working in Internet is some how similar to the works of taxi drivers. They go out very early in the morning and then work until midnight and someday they have good income and in the next day not so good. However, they have to work everyday and they cannot afford to be selective.

In Internet, I have seen many times that people think that earning money online is easy and you can earn a lot of money very quickly without doing any hard work. From this idea, many people entered in to the world of blogging only to see their dreams to be shattered within a few months.

The reality is that just like a taxi driver you have to work for many hours a day and some days you will earn good money from your earning sources while the next day may become terrible. Earning money online is not just writing some articles and putting some advertisements. You have to promote your website or blog and at the same time attract Google. Believe me, it is tough and you have to give a lot of time and effort in the initial months.

Almost every week, I receive two or three emails by scam artists who promise me a fortune as they have no one to give their money. Or every week, some phony lottery companies send me emails stating that I am the winner of a lottery competition and I am entitled to get millions of dollars. Sometimes, people fall victim to this kind scam. Now, I really feel that people fall victim to the scams because they want to earn money quickly and become rich instantly.

Some websites ask you to create content and in return they offer you a part of the revenue. If you are a newbie in Internet then surely it will give you some good exposure but hardly anyone can become rich through this way. Actually, this way, you cannot earn the amount of a full time job. Of course, there are exceptions but exceptions are never rules.

I hope you don’t feel discouraged about earning money online after reading this post. In fact, I have to say that there was never a better time for earning money online than 2007. Now, there are many opportunities to earn money. I am going to cover some of them in the coming days in this blog. However, I have to say it again that there is a lot of way to earn money online but there is no short cut or quick way to earn money online.

Blogging: How many Entries Per Day?

This is a question I often come across in different blogs and forums. Some bloggers say that you have post frequently while others feel that you should not post a lot. Now, let us see the arguments of these two sides.

Those who feel that you post a lot of entries everyday argue that this is the best way of catching the attention of Google. I agree with this view. The more entries mean you have more pages for Google to index. It also helps you to cover more news items about a particular thing in your blog. For example, now World Cup Cricket is rocking many countries on earth. I am trying to cover it in my professional blog. I am trying to post as many entries possible everyday and it is really paying off. I have witnessed 3 times increase in the pageviews of the blog in just 30 days.

On the other hand, those who want to post less entries in their blogs argue that posting a lot of entries will only destroy your blog’s quality. I hate to admit it but I agree with this idea. It is a reality that everyday if you give 4 hours for blogging and if you write just one entry in these four hours instead of writing 4 entries in 4 hours then the quality of your blog will improve. Yes, it is true and good for the ideal world but our world is not ideal. Of course, if you are an outstanding writer then you will surely get your readers sooner or later but for the average bloggers it wont work well.

So, my verdict is for posting as many entries as possible everyday. However, I am not asking you destroy your quality in writing. I am just asking to make a balance so that you have some quality but at the same time you can post more frequently. I know that it will take time for your to understand and find out the right balance. So, do not be impatient and keep blogging.

10 Worst Fears of a Newbie Blogger

This march 22, I will celebrate my first anniversary as a professional blogger. So, I am not exactly an experienced blogger and I rather like to consider myself as a newbie blogger as I know that there are many bloggers who are in this field for 3-4 years or even more. Starting a new blog is a very easy thing. Anyone can do it anytime without spending any money. However, many newbie bloggers regret the decision of jumping in the blogging bandwagon and then stop posting within a few weeks or months.

In the last one year, I have come across many blogs and bloggers in the blogosphere. I have also visited many forums on blogging. When I started blogging, I had fear too and I am stating here 10 worst fears of a newbie blogger based mostly on my own experience.

1. Fear of a new Thing: Most of us are afraid of new things. Blogging is a new field and even 3 years ago, hardly any of us had any idea about blogs and blogging. About my own fears, I wrote in SouthAsiaBiz:

Getting some traffic was the toughest part for me and in my heart; I got totally frustrated and scared. What if no one reads my blog? What if I do not get hits even in 6 months? What if no one links me? What if I receive a lot of criticism for my entries? I wrote 15-20 comments in other blogs but some days I did not have even one comment in my own blog. My fear and frustration intensified because South Asian business is not exactly a very popular topic that would attract a lot of visitors.

Yes, fear can take away much of your energy. Getting readers is not as easy as many people think. You have to try a lot to get readers everyday.

2. Over expectation: We often read fantastic stories of ordinary people earning thousands of dollars by blogging. Just think of Darren Rowse’s story of Becoming a ProBlogger. He was a very ordinary person before becoming a successful problogger. Now, he is one of the richest bloggers on earth. Many newbie bloggers want to earn more than $5000 or $10,000 per month right away. However, 99.99% of the bloggers even cannot earn this money even after one year of blogging.

3. Shame: I really sometimes feel that blogging is not for shy person. You cannot satisfy everyone with your writing and often you will get severely criticized. It has happened to me often- especially when any of my entries could make into the home page of Fark, Reddit and Shoutwire. Some of the attacks were too bitter and personal to swallow. Sometimes, I felt much ashamed to be criticized in such a bad way. Don’t forget the fear of making a mistake.

4. Google: Yes, getting the attention of Google was a big fear for me for many months. Now, after one year, I know how to attract traffic from Google but in the beginning it was like an impossible task for me.

5. Blogging Daily: Well, blogging is supposed to be a regular work. In fact, bloggers have no holiday and at the beginning, posting regular entries was a big obstacle for me. I did not want to miss blogging even for a single day. I felt that may be some readers would come and would not see any fresh entry in my blog.

6. Adsense earning: Having less than $10 income in your Adsense income after the first month of blogging can scare you a lot. Specially, if you have entered into blogging with the idea of earning some extra money then it is a terrible feeling. I know that some bloggers get frustrated and even leave blogging.

7. Nothing to write: I did not have this fear at all but I know that some newbie bloggers have this fear. They are afraid that someday they may discover that they have covered everything on their field and there is nothing to write. Well, I do not agree with this fear. Knowledge is endless.

8. Getting lost: There are so many successful blogs in almost every area that it is not impossible for a newbie blogger to be afraid of getting lost in the blogging crowd. And, do not forget that it takes a lot of time before a newbie blogger can attract some traffic and comments in their blogs.

9. Blogging jargon: If you read some blogs about blogging and visit some forums then often you can find that many bloggers and visitors are talking in a language that you are not familiar with. They are talking about SEO, design etc and using many words that you never heard. Well, this is a big initial shock for many newbie bloggers.

10: Programming and Coding: For many newbie bloggers, design and programming may be a big fear- especially if you are using your own domain and hosting instead of a free blog host and software then it can give you a tough time. That is why, I always recommend everyone to use Blogger. Google has really created the easiest platform to blog.

Are you a newbie blogger? Are you afraid of anything? Then let us know in the comment section.

Nishabd: Jiah Khan making Waves in Bollywood

Jiah Khan can speak English very fluently as she lives in the UK. You cannot find a lot about her in Internet. Mehdi Hassan has written an informative article in this regard:

All about Jiah Khan: The latest sizzler of Bollywood in Nishabd

If you are a Bollywood fan then you can read this article. Jiah Khan can go only up from here.

Blogging: Covering a Sports Tournament

For the last few days, I am extremely busy about covering World Cup Cricket 2007 in my professional blog. It is not directly related to the topic of my blog but then, people in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are crazy about this event as their teams are participating in the tournament. Blogging about a big sporting event is really a very challenging work.

Blogging: Typing against Time

One of my favorite past time is to type against time. I mean that in order to increase my typing speed, often I type in PC about any topic and count the minutes. For example, sometimes, I write about a topic for 20 minutes and I write whatever I like and then after 20 minutes I try to find out how many words could I type. It has a good blessing. It not only increase my typing speed but also increases my thinking speed. Because of this matter, I can think faster than before. Well, it is not so easy and when I started it nearly 2 years ago, I could just type 10 words per minute or sometimes just 8 words. Now, it has increased significantly. I can type more than 30 words per minute in this way. Of course, my typing speed is over 60 words per minute but it happens when I type something not write. Writing is a different matter and of course blogging is different too. In blogging, while I type I have to be very careful if I am making any mistake. I have to also think and try to write a sentence in a beautiful. Grammatical correction is not enough. I have to focus on making the language simple but beautiful. I have to think of the topic and think of reaction of the readers.

However, I am happy that my speed has increased a lot in 2 years of continuous trying. I feel that typing speed is vital for success in blogging. If you cannot type fast then you cannot write enough in your blog and that is not a good thing. I really wish that every blogger and every writer take this matter seriously.

I have seen many people in my society who want to be a writer but does not want to give importance to typing speed. Of course, here, many people still write with pen and paper but I have totally stopped writing on a paper. I just use computer and it is surely a great blessing. I can correct anyway I like and I can also save documents. My hand writing is terrible and that is why many times, others have problems about reading my writings. So, I am very happy that others do not have any problem about reading my typing.

Blogging is gradually becoming typing against time. Look at the top blogs. They post so many entries and cover amny things in their field. That is why many people read those blogs. So, the bloggers covering these blogs have to type fast. Otherwise, they would not be able to cove so many entries every day.

So, if you are a new blogger, I would recommend you that you spend sometime everyday and try to improve your typing speed.

Blogging: How to focus and not Get Distracted?

Now, there are many professional bloggers and some of them are very successful. I feel that my biggest challenge is that I need to overcome all the distractions and give my total attention to blogging. I have written about this matter earlier in this blog too. I feel that I have a number of things that I get distracted. Let me name some of them:

1. Television
2. Browsing Internet
3. Reading Newspapers
4. Going out of home

These are the four basic distractions I have. I know that they are not bad. Watching TV is not a bad thing. Browsing Internet is of course a very good thing. Reading newspapers help to remain updated about my country. I have to go out of home sometimes to do shopping or see others. This is something we all have to do. Well, the problem is that often I cannot find enough time for blogging. For example, today, I slept until noon and then at the evening, I felt so tired and slept again. In the afternoon I watched TV and at night I read newspapers and browsed Internet. So, I could hardly work today and it is now 3 AM. So, if I work now then tomorrow again I will feel sleepy.

I know that what I am doing is good as watching TV, reading newspapers and books and browsing Internet- all these works are making me a more knowledgeable person. It is valuable since blogging is based on knowledge. If you do not know then how you can blog. However, blogging is also something more. You have to write daily and write a lot. You have to write comments in other blogs. You should read some about blogging and SEO. Really, you should think of your blogs a lot throughout the day- everyday. Yes, it is a reality.

What I am doing is great but I guess that it is time I totally focus on blogging. If I could do it for the last one year then I could become very successful in blogging. After, I get a decent amount of success then I can surely again go back to reading newspapers, watching TV browsing other websites.

My problem is that by nature I am an encyclopedic person. I love to know about different topics and about different countries. Although I write about South Asia only, I love to know about the world. I know it is a great quality and very few people have such passion about the world like me but at the same time I have to focus on blogging at this moment. I can always come back to knowing the world but this the time I have to build a good profile for myself in the blogosphere.

If you are a newbie blogger and you have the same problem like me then I would strongly recommend you that you must take the problem very seriously. It’s not that I am a lazy person. I am indeed a very hardworking person with a lot of passion behind my work but I have spread myself too thin over many things in my career. I should only focus on my blogs and I just started this.

Hopefully, I would be able to continue my effort of focusing only on blogging for the next one year.

By the way, I wrote nearly 550 words in this entry withon just 15 minutes.

Writing about Technorati Hot Tags

Technorati currently looking after 13.9 million tags. Well, it is natural there are millions of people and they are writing about different topics and they give different tags. SO, sometimes, I feel that I should write about hot tags of Technorati. Of course, the list os constantly changing but it would be fun if someone could actually do it. Well, may be they do.

Hunter Jim Zumbo’s Blog Hunt Him Down

Blogging is fun and bloggers can write anything freely. That is why blogging is so popular. Anyway can write anywhere about anything without spending any money or having any programming knowledge. Well, blogging can sometimes get you into big problem and even cost your career. Jim Zumbo has realized this matter now.

Washington Post reported:

Modern hunters rarely become more famous than Jim Zumbo. A mustachioed, barrel-chested outdoors entrepreneur who lives in a log cabin near Yellowstone National Park, he has spent much of his life writing for prominent outdoors magazines, delivering lectures across the country and starring in cable TV shows about big-game hunting in the West.

Zumbo's fame, however, has turned to black-bordered infamy within America's gun culture -- and his multimedia success has come undone. It all happened in the past week, after he publicly criticized the use of military-style assault rifles by hunters, especially those gunning for prairie dogs.

"Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity," Zumbo wrote in his blog on the Outdoor Life Web site. The Feb. 16 posting has since been taken down. "As hunters, we don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them. . . . I'll go so far as to call them 'terrorist' rifles."

Gun is a big industry in the US and a lucrative industry. It has a lot of passionate followers as opponents. Jim Zumbo has lost his entire career only for his one blog entry. I have my full sympathy for him. Then, this is the brave new world of Blogging. You really do not know what will happen next. I am sure that Jim Zumbo will be a hero many bloggers in the coming days- especially those who are against the gun lobby. Anyway, the controversy is not going to die down that easily.

What is your most Favorite Blogging Platform?

To me, the answer is simple- very simple, I love Blogger. It is free and it has unlimited bandwidth. You can use it very easily. In fact, you do not need any kind of technical knowledge to blog in Blogger. That is perhaps why Blogger is so popular. It uploads images very fast and the new blogger also allows you to give labels. Google search loves Blogger and you can integrate Adsense in Blogger without any problem.

So, why I should not vote for Blogger? By the way, I am a fan of Movable Type too.

Blogging: Late Night or Early Morning?

When should you blog? Late night or early morning? I am a night loving person and that is why I love to blog at night and today I blogged whole night and it is now 6:30 AM Bangladesh time and I will go to sleep now. It was a great night as I could post some good entries and my sitemeter looks healthy too for a Saturday. Now, it is Sunday and I will sleep 8 hours hopefully and then start blogging again.

What is your time to blog?

Blogging: The Value of a Laptop

One of the things that I really wish to have is a laptop. Yes, it can make your blogging so easier. Many times, when I am out of home, I just wish I had a laptop to carry and then type. For example, today, I was out of home whole day and started writing from 11 PM. If I had a laptop then I could surely type some 500-1000 words when I was out.

I know it is very frustrating: blogging without any laptop, any good internet connection but on the other hand, I feel a kind of inner satisfaction that I am fighting against all the odds.

I read that someone could get a house by blogging. I wish I could get a laptop and a fast Internet connection.

Blogging: Believe in Your Dream

I can admit very frankly that I never dreamt to become a blogger- but then who dreamt it even 3 years ago? I always wanted to write and thanks to blogging, I can write now full time. I admit that blogging is not exactly like writing a novel or a book but sometimes I feel that blogging is even tougher. Here, you have to show results immediately. You have to get visitors daily and believe me it is a nerve wrecking process at first.

I have more than half a million visitors under my blogging belt. I got it in just 11 months and I know that very few bloggers could achieve my feat in the first year of blogging. I could never think that someday I would achieve it. So, believe in your dreams. You never know what you achieve next.

Blogging and Internet Speed

I love to use Opera browser because my internet connection is too slow. Right now, in my Opera, I can see that the speed is just 304 bytes per second. Well, when is very good then I have just 4 KBPS. Yes, it is frustrating and I wish with all my heart that I could have a better Internet connection. Well, it is impossible and I am just happy to have Internet connection at the first place. Well, you can find it hard to believe but there are many places on earth where having an Internet connection is a luxury and way too expensive.

If I had a better Internet connection then I could become a better blogger for sure.

Blogging and Sitemter

I spend a lot of time checking my Sitemeter stats. At first, I used to give more time after sitemeter but now I cannot find so much time. When I started professional blogging then I used to check each and every day. Well, I must admit that it is a mixed matter. On the one hand, it is nice that I can know about my stats but on the other hand, it takes away a lot of time and I should have written more entries.

Now, I feel that in the first few months of blogging, you should give more time to your sitemeter to understand how you are doing and from where your traffic is coming. Then just give a daily look one time to your sitemeter.

What about you? Do you give a lot of time after your sitemeter stats.

Blogging: What is Your Favorite Topic?

I write about a number of topics. I write about business, entertainment, sports, technology, laptop, literature and what not. I enjoy writing about different topics as I love to read and know. However, now I feel is that the best thing to do is to focus on just one topic. I would try to do so but it is not possible at this time. I am doing all kinds of tests with all kinds of topics. May be after one year, I will really select just one topic and blog about it. My problem is that I cannot figure out what is my favorite topic.

What about you? Do you know your favorite topic and blog about it?

Jiah Khan: Making Waves in Bollywood

SouthAsiaBiz has posted a long article about Jiah Khan. She is a new Bollywood actress and she is acting in a movie against the legendary Amitabh Bachhan. So, let us see how she can do. So, read the article:

All about Jiah Khan: The latest sizzler of Bollywood

5 Reasons: Social Bookmarking Sites are Useful for Bloggers

Yes, they are extremely good for basically 5 reasons:

1. Making into the homepage of Digg, Fark or Shoutwire can increase your traffic immensely for a day or too. It can also increase the number of subscribers to your feedburner.
2. The social bookmarking sites give you a lot of new ideas to blog about.
3. They increase your earning from Adsense and other sources slightly.
4. If your entries can make the homepages of Digg, Fark or Netscape (and any other social bookmaring site) then your confidence level can go very high just like your traffic.
5. If your blog entries get picked up by the social bookmarking sites regularly then you can become a star blogger sooner than you expected.

Do you know of any other reason?

Blogging: Having a Daily target

I must say that I am terrible at planning and organizing. I am not lazy but I always felt that being organized destroys the creativity. Well, it may be true but in blogging, you have to highly disciplined and motivated. Otherwise, you can never reach the top. This is the main reason, I could not be a top blogger yet.

Blogging: Writing Against Deadline

In the media, deadline is a word that we all want to avoid. It is a tough thing to fight with. In blogging, the deadline is even more intense- especially for professional bloggers. You often get the image that bloggers can write about anything and in their own time. This is not true for most professional bloggers. Breaking stories is very important in the world of professional blogging. However, just breaking a story is not enough. You have to follow through it too.

Suppose, I can post something here now about a breaking story. Then, I will have to mail a number of other bloggers in my field to catch their attention. I would also have submit the link in social bookmarking sites. Then, pray to God that others take note of my blog entry. Of course, if you are an established blogger then it is not so much tough but if you are a newbie blogger then it is a very tough ask. I know it from my own experience.

By the way, most blogs are not recognized as news source by Google News yet. So, you have to wait nearly 24 hours to your blog entry to appear in Google search.

Microsoft: In the other End of Patent Damage Suit

Bill Gates is always vocal against patent and copyright and now Microsoft is facing a billion dollar patent damage suit.

Google Apps is Here to Stay

Bill Gates could never imagine that searching in Internet could become so powerful business someday that it could even threaten his empire. Microsoft is surely behind Google when it comes to Internet searching. And now, Google is even targeting the main business of Microsoft, Microsoft Office. So, we have now Google Apps professional version. It would surely give Microsoft a run for its Microsoft Office.

Blogging: Diversion tactics to Face Blogger’s Burnout

Last night, I wrote about getting some relaxation from the pressure of professional blogging. In fact, last night, it was a good tactics and I enjoyed it much. Within just a few hours, I wrote 16 entries as a diversion tactics and I enjoyed it a lot. I realized that instead of getting blogger’s burn out the best way to relax is to write about off topics. Today, I am in good shape mentally and I do not feel any tiredness or exhaustion. Instead, I am working whole night and writing some nice entries.

Today, I was very busy and I was out of home until 8 PM. Then I came home and started working from 11 PM. Yes, my body is tired now but my mind is fresh and by drinking a cup of coffee, I could overcome the physical tiredness. So, now I am in good shape both physically and mentally.

In past, to get some freshness, I would take some time off form blogging and enjoyed movies, reading books, browsing websites or just being totally out of home. That meant being out of blogging. I am happy that I could find this diversion tactics of just writing anything I like and then posting it in this blog.

Jashimuddin: Does he Matter Today?

‘PalliKabi’ (Rural poet)- this is how Jashimuddin is known to most of the readers of Bengali literature. He dedicated his entire life writing about the rural life of Bengal. This way, he has made a strong place in Bengali literature and he is considered to be one of major poets.

Bangladesh is a country of villages. We have heard the slogan that if 68,000 survive then Bangladesh will survive. Well, many of the villages have not survived anymore. They have turned into modern wastelands with people destroying nature and making unplanned constructions. Development is surely good but unplanned development is a trap for unhappiness. So, few people care for the life that Jashimuddin depicted in his poems. In many villages now such a life only exists in the memory of old generation. Yes, Bangladesh is changing very fast. So, is Jashimuddin still relevant today in our life? I do not think so. The other day, I was talking about a poem of Jashimuddin to one of my former students. He is a urban boy and he could not understand any significance of the poem.

It’s not that Jashimuddin wrote his poems in difficult language. Rather it is the other way around. He used very simple language and simple thoughts. Simplicity was most powerful poetic weapon that he could use very successfully.

Blogging: Conversation vs Echo Chamber

I write many entries a day and it is not that all of them manage to get good response from readers. In fact, most of my entries just do one thing- increase my achieve and make my blogs more powerful in Google search. Many of my entries get picked by Google later rather than sooner and they get read and visited. Very few of them can ignite strong passion among the readers. When you are writing 10 entries or more a day then it is bound to happen and I do not have that much regrets as I reap the fruit of what I sow.

Darren Rowse has written a great post with the title:

How to Add to Blogging Conversations… And Eliminate the Echo Chamber

Any blogger would enjoy reading this entry and would learn some good things about improving blogging skills. I agree with everything that Darren has said in this article. However, I just feel that blogging is a very long process and it requires a lot of time and attention. Yes, we are creating echo chambers in our blogs on a continual basis and it wont change in near future. So, it is better not to try to make your every blog entry perfect. Instead, I can focus on writing one good entry a day or a week and write other not so good entries and create more echo chambers for Google to take note of my blog.

Blogging: Your Chair Matters Most

I am a big admirer of Steve Pavlina. I visit his website regularly and feel inspired and often wish with all my heart that I could be like him. Recently, I read his article:

10 Business Lessons From a Snarky Entrepreneur

There is no doubt that Steve is a very successful entrepreneur. However, what I admire him most is that he built everything himself. He is a real self made man and he should be perhaps the best role model for not so successful persons like me. I am quoting his second advice:

2. Buy the best chair you can find. You’ll probably use your chair more than any other piece of business equipment, including your computer, so don’t settle for a crappy one. Consider a chair with padded arms and a high back (to the top of your head) for maximum comfort. The most expensive chairs aren’t necessarily ideal for you, so you must test your way to comfort nirvana.

Yes, as each day passes by, I realize the value of this advice. My chair is not a good bad one but not so comfortable either. And in the past, I used even worse chairs. I never understood the value of having good chairs until recently. Because of full time blogging, I have to sit infront of my PC for 10-12 hours a day and I often wish that I had a better chair. I bought this chair hurriedly and now I am paying the price. So, do not make the same mistake like me if you are a blogger. Just think that buying a chair is an important investment for your blogging success. After making this mistake, I have learnt my lesson and do not make the same mistake like me.

Blogging: Typing Speed Matters

If you do not have good typing speed then it will be almost impossible for you to be successful in blogging. So, if you want to be a successful blogger then the first thing you should try to improve is your typing speed. This is the age of computer and you can easily improve your typing. There are many typing softwares to help you. Chatting a lot also helps to improve typing speed. I do one thing and it really helped me a lot. I used to sit in my PC and then type continuously for 10-20 minutes and checked how many words I could type in that specific time. At first, it was not so good but gradually it improved a lot.

Actually, if you try anything for 7 days then it is bound to be better. So, try to sit in your PC like me and type everything you like and then you will see a marked improvement in your typing speed. Do not stop if you make any mistake. First, type and then you can easily find your mistakes thanks to the spell checking abilities of most word processors and then you can easily correct them.

I see many people around me who do not understand the value of typing speed. Actually, it is necessary for any work related to PC not just blogging.

Blogging: Writing about Technology and Business

Blogging is fun but you can see that many of the successful bloggers write about technology. In fact, in blogging world, two things can bring good money for you:

Technology

Business

I have experience of writing about business, entertainment, sports, literature and technology both in professional and personal blogging capacity. In the blog networks, there is always a good demand for bloggers who can blog about business or technology. The same goes for earning money online too. You can have good income from these two fields. Of course, you can good money from any topic as long as you can generate thousands of visitors.

After 11 months of professional blogging, I have realized one thing very well. If you really want to make a living from blogging then you should have a flexible attitude. You should not be selective about what topic to write. In fact, if you have some knowledge and interest about technology and business then it is really a good idea to write about them. This way, you can make a name for yourself quickly and then switch to the topic that you really love to write.

Bangla Literature: Banalata Sen

Banalata Sen is perhaps one of the top most popular poems in Bangla/Bengali literature. If you do a Google search of this keyword then you will see that this blog is features in the first page.

Jibanananda Das and his Banalata Sen

This article was written by Biplob Kishore Deb and he wrote it nearly 1 year ago. You can read the article and know more about Banalata Sen. What I like about the poem is that Jibanananda Das has made a nice combination of urban life, natural beauty and love of woman. That is why, I love this poem and it has the musical quality that very few Bengali poems have. Many of us love to recite it when we are alone or when we are with others.

Jibanananda Das was extremely a talented person but he did not care about earthly matters. Actually, those days, there were not too many sources of earning money. Jibanananda Das dedicated his life for writing poetry and he was very successful. He successfully created a place for himself in Bangla literature. No poet in Bangla literature could write about nature like him. He is indeed the Wordsworth of Bangla literature.

The Love of Writing: Blogging

Yes, I love to read and write. I spend all my hours with information and when I write something then I get happy. In the past, writing was my hobby and passion. I always wanted to be a writer but getting published was a very serious issue. However, after blogging came then it was no longer an obstacle. I would not say that I was a bad writer. In fact, before entering into full time professional blogging, I published more than articles and features in various newspapers and magazines. I also have some experience of working with radio and television.

The main obstacle for me in writing was that I could not write the things I loved. I had to write about the things that there was any demand. Secondly, I had to depend on the editors. Often, I got a lot of satisfaction from writing a piece and then the editor did not like it or change it in a way that I lost all enjoyment. It happened more than one times or even 10 times. So, naturally, I did not enjoy the field of freelance writing and freelance journalism.

On the other hand, I love blogging. Blogging has given me the freedom. Of course, I have to keep in mind of Google and SEO but most of the time, I try to write naturally and I enjoy. So, when I earn my daily breads by doing the thing I always dreamt of, I feel very happy at the end of every day.

Of course, blogging is full of stress and pressure for me. It is not a 9-5 job but it is more of a 11-3 job (11AM-3AM). For the last three months, I had to be busy on some personal matters and I could blog that much. Now, again I am back to full time blogging and I am happy to be back again. Sometimes, the pressure is too much as I have to fight with many bloggers in my field. I have to think of writing in a way that it would be appreciated by the readers and by Google. Well, it is not so hard when your blog becomes one year old. I have seen with my professional blog SouthAsiaBiz that now if I cover any topic in details related to the scope of the blog then it gets impressive Google ranking within 3-4 days.

I can give you the example of World Cup Cricket 2007. Just do a Google search with it and you will find that SouthAsiaBiz has got better ranking than many sporting websites.

This is the best thing in blogging. Here, you can have quick results if you are ready to work hard.

Main problem of Blogging

I have been blogging for quite some time now and I have achieved some decent amount of success in the world of blogging. I am perhaps the only full time professional blogger from my country Bangladesh. My blogs have been visited by ore than 500,000 visitors in the last 11 months and this is not a bad achievement for a completely newbie blogger. My blogs have been linked from prestigious websites and blogs on numerous occasions. After 11 months of continuous blogging the main problem that I can think of now is that I give too much time for browsing Internet. I guess that it is a common problem for many bloggers. Most of my time is spent in reading different newspapers and websites. I love to read about the world and that is why every day for many hours I just keep on reading the newspapers in Internet. That takes away a lot of time from daily routine. Today, I was thinking that if I could cut back on that and give more time on writing blog entries then surely I can improve my bloggong career both in terms of quality and quantity. I can give more time for doing research on my blog entries and I can also write more entries on my blogs.

The best solution to this problem is to keep on typing and trying to make typing a habit. I mean that it is better to set targets daily that I would just type for certain number of hours. Yes, it is reality that at first the writings will not be that bad but at the same time it is important to remember that if I want to improve my blogging career then I have to bring iron discipline inside me. So, this blog is a great place to carry out my tests. I would try to write about various things that I know and post in this blog. Especially, when I cam free that time instead of browsing Internet or checking sitemeter, I would try to post new entries. Fortunately, I have good typing speed and I can type a lot.

SouthAsiaBiz: World Cup Cricket 2007 Blog

OK! I admit that I am the blogger for SouthAsiaBiz and it is like blowing my own trumpet. However, I know that during World Cup Cricket 2007, very few of you would bother to visit this blog and read about Bangla Literature. So, if you are really looking for good coverage of World Cup Cricket 2007 then why not visit SouthAsiaBiz.com. Really, there you can see a lot of news and opinions.

If you are looking to find the World Cup Cricket 2007 schedule the visit the blog and if you are looking for the list of all players participating for the 16 countries in World Cup 2007 then go there too. Yes, you can find the names of all 240 players there.

So, do not forget to visit the blog regularly during World Cup Cricket 2007.

Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2007 and Children Literature

In the west, Children literature is a big business. Just think of Harry Potter. This book is immensely popular among old and young around the world. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, children’s literature is still largely neglected. Hardly anyone cares about children literature in Bangladesh. So, I am not surprised or shocked at all to see that very few books for children came in Bangla Academy Book Fair 2007.

This is not going to change as long as there is not a strong demand for children’s book in Bangladesh. Many parents in Bangladesh think that their children should only read text books and do not waste time after outside books. Unfortunately, these parents did not study extra curricular books when they were children and that is why they do not realize the value of reading these books. So, there is no strong demand for children book and publishers are not interested to invest.

This surely has to change. The best way is that the government encourages school children to read books, newspapers and comics. Teachers should be motivated to encourage students in this regard. Of course, it will not happen right away but still we have to do it for our own future.

Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2007 and Lack of Original Books

I would not say that there was lack of original books in Bangla Academy Fair 2007 but surely there was a severe lack of well researched and good quality books. In various newspaper and TV reports, we have seen this problem in the last 3 weeks. This time, we did not see too many translated books. We also did not see many books on the historical language movement. It is a pity that Language Movement is neglected in the Bangla Academy book fair. On the other hand, we have to acknowledge the reality. Most readers in Dhaka do not want to spend their money for “serious” types of books. They want something light and that is why they love to buy novels of different writers in the book fair.

Naturally, the publishers want to invest their money more on novels than original research works. I do not see any hope of changing this condition in the near future. The only way this problem can be solved is that large companies have to come forward and donate more money on research works. Well, this kind of corporate culture is yet to become popular in Bangladesh. So, for the time being, we will have to wait and pray.

Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2007

Book Fair 2007 has a different flavor. First of all, because of significant improvement in the law and order situation, thousands of people are visiting this year’s Boi Mela. Secondly, Bangla Academy authority has tried a lot to make the fair a quality fair in terms of rules and regulations. It’s not that they have seen total success but still they could do better than the last few years. Finally, this Book Fair 2007 received a huge amount of media coverage in Bangladeshi TV channels. Some channels are broadcasting live programs from the book fair premise at Bangla Academy. TV viewers can see information about many new books and writers.

I am happy to see that writers in Bangladesh are getting more and more recognition in the media. When I was a child in the 1980s, most people were crazy for Indian writers. Now, things have changed a lot and Bangladeshi writers are flourishing thanks to Bangla Academy book fair. Of course, the time has not come yet in Bangladesh that many writers can earn their livelihood just by writing alone but I am sure that that day will come very soon.

Blog Becoming Alive Again

This Blog has already passed one year. At first, I posted many entries but then after one month, I got a work of professional blogging and could not find time to write here. Of course, it is a sad matter as I really loved this blog. I have been blogging professionally for the last 11 months and have written in a number of blogs in professional and personal capacity but I love this blog most as it is related to Bangla literature and Bangladesh. Today is 21 February, International Mother Language Day. It is perhaps the most important day in the history of Bangla language and literature. It has defined the position of Bangla language in the world stage.

I would love to post entries in this blog again on a regular basis. I know that it is impossible for me to write on a daily basis as I am too busy with professional blogging but I would surely love to post on a weekly basis. So, if you really love to read some nice entries about Bangla literature then you can subscribe to the feed of this blog.

Happy reading.