This is a wonderful article by Sunanda Mehta and am glad to furnish excerpts from the article which is eminently readable, especially if you are a woman. Congratulations Ms Sunanda Mehta!
"Once upon a time there was the Dear Diary. Now it is the blog. Once it was strictly private. Now it is all about sharing and soliciting responses. From Manhattan to Mumbai, Canada to Chandigarh, everyday emotions, routines, triumphs, troubles, advice and recipes are being posted on the Net. The community has transcended all borders of caste, creed and culture. It is the online sisterhood.
From eveteasing to blind dates, a newborn baby to mid-life crisis, heartbreaks to vehicle breakdowns - it is all there on the blogs. No wonder that a recent global online survey concluded that worldwide women blog more than men. Persus Development Corporation found that 56 per cent of bloggers it polled were women. Only 44 per cent were men. While that may not be true of India, where it is still believed that women lag behind men as bloggers, the number is growing.
Stalkers are a big worry for women bloggers. "Many women do not use their real names," says Juneja, who had a tough time shaking off a stalker from Hyderabad who had even started to post her pictures on his blog. Recently, Melody ...gave a presentation at the All India Blogers Meet in Pune on how to handle stalkers.
Is this why men outnumber women in India on blogosphere? "Women are holding themselves back. I know women who are very expressive. But they don't want to attract unwanted attention," says blogger Kiruba Shankar. "Women are better at expressing their feelings. They convey subtle things better." Which is perhaps why more men than women read their blogs. It is not voyeurism either.
So be it a release, a way to de-stress, a way to solicit a view or simply to connect with like minded people, blogging sure seems to be giving the Indian woman the space that tradition may have denied. Make that blogspace." (Gratefully excerpted from The New Sunday Express: Section 4 : Classified Reader Service dated July 15, 2007)
"Once upon a time there was the Dear Diary. Now it is the blog. Once it was strictly private. Now it is all about sharing and soliciting responses. From Manhattan to Mumbai, Canada to Chandigarh, everyday emotions, routines, triumphs, troubles, advice and recipes are being posted on the Net. The community has transcended all borders of caste, creed and culture. It is the online sisterhood.
From eveteasing to blind dates, a newborn baby to mid-life crisis, heartbreaks to vehicle breakdowns - it is all there on the blogs. No wonder that a recent global online survey concluded that worldwide women blog more than men. Persus Development Corporation found that 56 per cent of bloggers it polled were women. Only 44 per cent were men. While that may not be true of India, where it is still believed that women lag behind men as bloggers, the number is growing.
Stalkers are a big worry for women bloggers. "Many women do not use their real names," says Juneja, who had a tough time shaking off a stalker from Hyderabad who had even started to post her pictures on his blog. Recently, Melody ...gave a presentation at the All India Blogers Meet in Pune on how to handle stalkers.
Is this why men outnumber women in India on blogosphere? "Women are holding themselves back. I know women who are very expressive. But they don't want to attract unwanted attention," says blogger Kiruba Shankar. "Women are better at expressing their feelings. They convey subtle things better." Which is perhaps why more men than women read their blogs. It is not voyeurism either.
So be it a release, a way to de-stress, a way to solicit a view or simply to connect with like minded people, blogging sure seems to be giving the Indian woman the space that tradition may have denied. Make that blogspace." (Gratefully excerpted from The New Sunday Express: Section 4 : Classified Reader Service dated July 15, 2007)
No comments:
Post a Comment