My Virtual World - II

Well! As if it wasn't enough to have published being a total saddo once, I am doing it again. There is a method in the madness though, I had written about the web widgets that I adore and think as either useful or nice thing to have. It's been a few months now and I see the list has grown, so this is an attempt to talk about the add-ons to my original list. 

Instagram - Perhaps the best portal I have seen to store and share pictures, the hitch being that this app can be used to load pictures from a mobile device and not from your computer. Even better as I see it. In this age when we carry phones which can do a lot more, we end up clicking loads of pictures of things, places, events and what better way to keep them in one place other than instagram! You can also jazz this up a bit by applying one of the many design templates given, add tags and share them with friends. It's the best place I can think of for pics on the go, you don't need to have put in thought or used a great camera to capture this moment.  I was a fool to have ruled this off initially as not good. 

Quora - This is what I call a newspaper with a personal touch to it. A portal where questions can be asked about anything and everything and the common (hu)man replies - it could be you, it could be me...though I am more of a reader on this portal than a contributer. There is a way to vote up an answer that you agree to or follow a topic or a specific question that you are interested to know more. I now spend a little time reading through this and there is always something good to pick up from the conversations. 

Magzter - Who doesn't like magazines? This is really a one stop online shop to find, browse and subscribe to any magazine (of some reputation) anywhere in the world. Having had a habit of picking magazines every week from the local library, I had missed flipping through them for a quick read. This fulfills the gap. The subscription options are really inexpensive and there is a free magazine section too. 

What's App - Who doesn't know about this one! Perhaps the best thing that has happened to technology in a long long time. Feel blessed with this that I can catch close family and friends with a note. No hassle of email, being available, being expensive, a simple way to communicate and it even tells you if the person has seen it or not, is online or not. 

Nike+ Running/Endomondo - Well, I wouldn't say that this gets you running, but sure helps to keep you motivated. While Nike is meant for tracking your runs, it does have a system of collecting miles, adding friends, creating challenges and giving you awards on your profile to offer those cheap thrills. Endomondo is brilliant to capture any outdoor activity/sport you would do. I love to use it for cycling and walking. The best part is how you can give kudos to friends you have on your profile. 

Emotionally Bound

Relationships are so fragile. In this day when more often than not families are getting smaller, friends are getting farther and staying in touch is mainly on a social networking site, my heart still yearns for that contact, for the togetherness which is becoming such a rarity.

Many relationships don't stay, don't sustain the test of time. It is so easy in the current lifestyle to see the most simple way of not staying in touch - 'out of sight is out of mind'. It is quite saddening to see that 'we have moved on in our lives so much and there isn't a lot in common that one may have with that old friend. So caught up are we in the routine that it's too hard to remember that someone....it makes me remember what a relative of mine living in the US once told me, 'I always remember to call people in India, now that you live in the UK I forget it.' Probably shows how important I am to that person.

Circumstances takes the better of you. Not in the right place, at the right time, being drowned in work or just that phase of life when something else takes over our time and mind that there isn't a lot one can do about staying in touch and keeping the relationship.

Mis-understandings, perhaps the other beast to ruin the harmony. A relationship that's shared by two individuals can only be understood by those two people. Whether its that of a husband-wife, mother-daughter, two friends, two colleagues, teacher-student, uncle-niece, it's definitely not possible for a third person to know what the relationship holds. 

Sometimes, I can't help but show my worst side to the person I like the most. I'd do anything to know why I go through such mood swings or a low feeling (for the lack of a better word) that I bring it on on someone I shouldn't. This in particular does not help sustain a relationship....there is only so much the other individual can take.

Expectations are deadly. You expect a certain something when you meet that old friend after many years. That not going your way calls for alarm bells to say it ain't worth it. Pre conceived notions on what to say, what to hear can only lead to the feeling a bit more.

For someone who values relationships and would not want to lose people in my life...family, cousins, friends who I meet during the course of life the reality is far from it. 

Whether its due to circumstances or my own fault, I don't have all the people I'd love to have with me. I often think that I should forget it and let go and carry on, easier said than done. It's an emotional bonding...staying & holding onto it becomes as painful as letting go and forgetting about it.

My Virtual World

I have been putting off writing about this for a while now, just coz I didn't feel like publishing how big a saddo I am!In this day and age a lot of the human population stay connected in various ways to the online world, similarly, I saw myself doing the same. I was considering the list of applications that I use for various purposes and thought of writing about it....


It is such a boring topic, but as one can see I have lost my flow again!!! My virtual world (as of now) consists of the following:

Gmail/Gtalk - I have been using gmail ever since it's conception and have totally loved it! Gtalk - comes within and is great to have a quick chat (if someone wants to!)

Blogger - I have been on this for a while now and was introduced to this by a pal. High maintenance!!, but if I feel like penning down something it's great to do so. I also like the thought of putting up something which I can go back and look at whenever, wherever.  I enjoy reading others blogs, wish I had some good Html skills to add links to my blog page.

Evernote - I mainly started using this to maintain my diary ( of course after having tried paper diaries, notebooks, calendar style pads), this is one which has worked best for me. I also started taking random notes, made points, wrote quotes which I came across in this app.

Twitter - I have already blogged about my twitter bug. It's great as you don't need to think too much, you don't need to be correct about anything, it's a glorified scribble pad for me. Though, the app is used by many for professional and informative purposes.

Facebook - Needs no introduction. I see myself drifting away from it...but I'm back on it!

Viber/Skype - Internet calls/messages - no cost - don't have many connected on it but it works well!

Goodreads - A friend of mine introduced me to this. My first impression was that this is a place where I can read any book - wrong! It's a place where I can track what I read, add friends and get an idea about what they read. The best section is that the app recommends books based on what you have read or by genre - awesome! I can't think of a better way to look for books to read.

Dhingana - Brilliant app to listen to hindi songs - the latest & greatest included. I have found that it does not have everything that you may want, but has a pretty decent library of songs.

Needless to say, I am hooked to Google for everything I want to look up. If I need a quick info about something I go to Wikipedia. I was tempted to write iBooks, but I still struggle to read books on iPad or a device, love the fact of holding a book.

I also have a host of other sites and apps I frequent, I am sparing myself the task of penning down everything and bore myself and you to death!

Friend-UnFriend: FaceBook

OK... This Topic might go nowhere.


There has been many times when I look at the number of 'friends' on my Facebook profile and get frustrated. Firstly, I am not in touch with most of them for more than 10 years or so. We are friends on Facebook for days, months, years, but haven't written a simple Hi to each other. When you see a birthday note popping up, you end up wishing - more like a ‘Oh! I have to wish now I know it is’. I don't blame anyone or the system. These are purely my thoughts.

There was a time when I was so angered with the quality of relationships that I decided to deactivate my account for a while. 2 people out of the 350+ friends noticed that I was not to be seen on it. Never mind...no heart burns there....for sure :). It definitely showed me something.

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike Facebook. In fact, the reason why I am back on it is for the fact that I have found a few people in my life today I might never have found and I have to Thank FB as it was the platform that made it happen.

I think of it also as a great forum to post events. How would one know about all that's happening around at one given place? It is a brilliant way to advertise, market, invite the community you connect to.

On the other hand, you wish to disconnect from someone it happens with a click of a button - literally! It's a switch on or off to have a friend! How much more easier can it get!? Even better, you click a second time and you can block the person too! Wonder if your inner self could have a switch like that!

It reminds me of 'Tu-Say' that we used to do as little kids in kindergarten. 'Tu' confirming that we are not friends anymore and hence won't be talking and 'Say' bringing the friendship back, forgetting what might have happened.

There are too many things about friends and friendship and I am no genius to quote something new ....that said, I can copy something which I have liked and this quote in particular makes its place here

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”

― Elbert Hubbard

Bitten by the Twitter Bug

I don't remember when I actually created a 'Twitter' account and I am too lazy to go back and check. However, initially I wasn't the brightest to understand what the fuss about Twitter was all about. I was wondering what is there to tweet about! What is the concept of tagging! What on earth is a retweet, quote tweet, what happens when we use a '@', when to use a '#' and so on. I basically didn't get it! I thought I was completely not cut out for it.
But today I am totally changed in my view about Twitter! Yes #somethingsDOchange :)
I think it's a great platform for people who like to talk, who like to express and for some who just like to record day to day activities.

Now, I always thought a Blog is great, however, it's quite an effort to maintain it and when you have just a statement to make it isn’t so great. You wouldn't want to churn a blog for a note. I always pushed myself to maintain a diary, but I found myself not keeping up to it every day. Now everyone is not like Bigb or SrBachchan as his blog’s changed now - it's awesome how he writes every single day!

Facebook is on a slightly different scale - but I was not always comfortable about putting up everything I think.

It's connects to people on such larger scale. If I want to know about what someone or some organization I care about is doing it's a great informal way to connect - opening up a bigger audience.

More than all that what drove me towards it is that I love to talk! And in my opinion Twitter is cut out for people who love to talk but don't have a person to always talk to. It's great to capture life's little moments, day to day thoughts and just quote...sorry tweet a random note about a little something.

So I conclude saying ....... Happy Tweeting!