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We blog, therefore we are

Photo By arrangement

Come together Participants at the IndiBlogger blog meet in Hyderabad

Blogito, ergo sum might be one of the most-used clichés in the blog world right now, but it does have a ring to it. ‘I blog, therefore I am': and Hyderabad proved a point in that regard last Sunday when the lines between the virtual and the actual started to blur.

The second instalment of the UniverCell IndiBlogger meet saw people coming together in defiance of age, profession and interests to discuss what they love: the art of blogging. IndiBlogger is one of the largest national blog communities in the country, and using its email and alert system, over 150 people waded their way through the cloying heat to Hotel Fortune Select Manohar in Begumpet for conversation and camaraderie.

“We talked about pretty much everything,” says Balaganesh, one of the core committee members of IndiBlogger, which is based in Chennai. “At our last meet in Chennai, we had a theme ‘blogging versus mainstream media' but that limits participants in getting to know each other. Our main agenda this time was interaction, and sharing likes, beliefs and visions to get socially and personally connected.”

According to him, several participants turned up with their own causes. “One person wanted to spread the love for Telugu, and was encouraging bloggers to blog sometimes in Telugu,” he says.

“Another guy spoke about his achievements through photography, while a third spoke about responsible journalism.” Ice-breaker sessions ensured that everyone got a chance to chip in and talk about what they loved best, whether it was blogging about cooking, finance, politics or sports.

In the midst of these eclectic discussions, a twenty-minute quiz was conducted by Riyaz from Infosys, with winners receiving gift vouchers and coupons from meeting headliner UniverCell. This was a part of UniverCell's ongoing competition to find the official UniverCell blogger, who will be paid to blog on technology and gadgets on UniverCellBlog.in.

The success of the meet is evident from the responses popping up on IndiBlogger. Days after the meet concluded, over 19 reviews came up on blogs by people who attended, with photos, quotable quotes and feedback.

There might not have been any tangible output, but sometimes that isn't always necessary. When the internet connects bloggers across countries and continents, it's good to get a glimpse of those who are right next door.

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