Happy New Year Wishes

Each English calendar new year comes with hope and cheer and the possibilities are unlimited!

Darshan of Mahaprabhu

I remember the past celebrations when we started the year with a darshan of Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu at Puri Dham, Odisha.

Those were the days when there was no internet, smartphone or social media.

Now, we can end and start with darshan anywhere and anytime.

Heartiest Wishes for-
- New day
- New week
- New month
- New year 🎊

May this brand new year 2024 be a wonderful & eventful year 🗓 filled with lots of goodness, happiness & cheer for all by the grace of Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu 🙌

Jaya Shree Jagannatha 🙏
ଜୟ ଶ୍ରୀ ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ🙏 https://t.co/KvL5cFiTUD pic.twitter.com/ZRwiUZ4tYO

— Anita Sabat - ଡ. ଅନୀତା ସାବତ (@anitaexplorer) January 1, 2024

Now, what we want to do "darshan" and what we want to share is totally up to us!

Another Facebook Post Removed

 Another Facebook post has been removed this year.

This is any social media user/content creator's fear.

They got your post removed as it is a case of violation

You do not even know how & why that's the reason?

A To Z Twitter Rasagola #TwitterRasagola

For this year's April A2Z theme, I had been planning some topics. 

My last year's theme was #RasagolaA2Z where I had shared posts about Rasagola. 

Rasagola is a delectable dessert that originated in Odisha, India. The main ingredients are cottage-cheese and sugar-syrup. 

Also called and pronounced in several different ways viz. Rasgulla, Rasagula, Rasogolla, Rosogolla etc., Rasagola is called the 'King of Sweets'.

We have been celebrating a day for Rasagola or Rasagola Day as- "Rasagola Dibasa #RasagolaDibasa" on social media from 2015 Nabakalebara Ratha Yatra onwards. 

It helped in creating awareness about the connection of Rasagola with Odisha and also about the centuries-old ritual- Niladri Bije of Odisha. Our celebration and promotion also generated interest for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Odisha earned the GI tag for "Odisha Rasagola" on July 29, 2019.

The following image from Google Trends shows the spike in the search for Rasagola on the same dates

Social Media Management

I have been thinking of "Social Media Management" a lot these days and thus I proposed this topic for IndiSpire Edition# 351:

So, how are you managing Social Media (SM) and the myriad apps and platforms? 

Do you find time to share images, videos and what you did throughout the day? 

How about checking and attending to "mentions", commenting and writing replies? 

Time Lag

As I type my answers to the above questions, I am fully conscious that I am terribly lagging behind.

I am yet to share images and posts of the past several years! 

While today (19 November 2020) I had attended two webinars including one with a central minister, I am yet to share the photograph and learnings. Today is just like yesterday and the day before as I am yet to share about the events that had happened and which I have documented intending to share!

If we don't invest the time & care to share, how will people be aware?

Copycats And Plagiarism - Real Life Examples

I have experienced people copying my words, thoughts and ideas many times.

I can never comprehend why some people pass off what doesn't belong to them as their own.

I feel the original thinkers/idea-proponents must get their due credit.

In school, I remember two of my classmates surreptitiously copying my Hindi essay. As there was no scope to photocopy the pages in school, they were doing a quick word-for-word copy. Their strategy was- write it, learn it by rote, and reproduce it in the exam. After all, marks matter.

Then, in Class-X, some classmates wanted my Sanskrit to English translations as our Sanskrit teacher praised my answers in class. Ditto for my History answers. Thus, my note-copies became the reference point for model answers with the teachers' recommendations!

Teachers generally praise you in your absence. You can get to learn of their kind words and benevolence when you find your classmates making a beeline to your note-copies! 

You are expected to be responsible to share and contribute positively to uplift the class standards and average score! 

After all, the all-important career-deciding Board Exams are at stake!

5 Reasons Why We Must Save Photos In Online Albums

I love clicking photographs.
I feel I am capturing memories.
However, I rarely use or share such photographs. They largely remain confined to my digital device's memory and are housed in privacy.
I have used a few for posting to my blog, but the vast majority remain stored and scarcely get a double look, thereby defeating the purpose why they were clicked.

You may wonder- why don't I post my photographs online?
Like everyone else, even I can upload to photo-sharing social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or to the available online photo-albums, right?
The reality is - my profile photo has been the same over the years across Twitter, FB, Blog etc!
How private can one be in this age of social media when someone or the other is tagging you?!
Who or what is stopping me from sharing pics and tagging others? 

Over the past few months, I have been considering some reasons why we must save our photos in online albums:

Selfie Crazy Selfitis World

Have you heard about the word 'Selfitis'?
'Selfitis' is the obsession of taking selfies on smartphones.
Social Media has a selfie overdose. Studies indicate that Selfitis may be a real disorder.

Article published in Business Standard

According to the study "An Exploratory Study of Selfitis and the Development of the Selfitis Behavior Scale" published in the International Journal of Mental Health And Addiction by Janarthanan Balakrishnan of the Thiagarajar School of Management in Madura, India, and Mark D. Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, UK, the following six factors determine the 'Selfitis Behavior Scale':

• Self-confidence
• Attention seeking
• Mood modification
• Environmental enhancement 
• Social competition
• Subjective Conformity

If you love clicking selfies, then these factors govern your behaviour too.

India ranks number one, with the distinction as the country with the maximum number of selfie-related accidents that occur throughout the world.

You must have watched videos or read news reports about selfie-related deaths...

Report in the TOI, Bhubaneswar edition

Rasagola Dibasa In Social Media

Once a year, we get to find many posts, tweets and images celebrating Rasagola Dibasa #RasagolaDibasa. Our Social Media timelines get filled with information and tempting pictures of Rasagolas. This post has some FAQs about Rasagola Dibasa in Social Media.

What is Rasagola Dibasa? 

Rasagola Dibasa is a day in the honour of Rasagolas and also dedicated to the lovers of this delicious sweet/dessert. 

In Odia language, the word Dibasa means day.

#RasagolaDibasa means Rasagola Day.

#RasagolaDibasa is a day of celebration just like #PakhalaDibasa and #UtkalaDibasa; Rasagola-lovers celebrate Rasagolas on this day! 

How, when and where did Rasagola Dibasa begin?

Niladri Bije is the last day of the Ratha Jatra. On this day, devotees offer Rasagolas as 'bhoga' to Lord Jagannath. Thus, Rasagolas have been associated with Puri Jagannath's Ratha Jatra for centuries. 

Niladri Bije connection with Rasagolas

When the Gods enter the Temple after their trip to their aunt's place, Lord Jagannath is permitted to enter the Temple premises only after He placates His wife, Goddess Lakshmi by offering her Rasagolas. She is angry and asks many questions that Lord Jagannath answers during their conversation called 'Bachanika'. Sweet Rasagolas come to the rescue of the Lord of the Universe and help Him gain entrance!

In Social Media, the idea began on Twitter with the hashtag- #RasagolaDibasa with everyone's involvement starting from March 2015 onwards.

Why was Rasagola Dibasa proposed to be celebrated on Social Media?

Social Media has great power to educate people and dispel wrong notions. In Social Media, Rasagola Dibasa with the hashtag #RasagolaDibasa was proposed to celebrate Rasagolas. Social Media was the medium adopted to reach everyone and share about Odisha's Rasagola history and information that Odisha is the birthplace of the Rasagola. Many are not aware about Odisha's culture and Niladri Bije of Ratha Jatra that has the Rasagola connection for centuries now.

Rasagola has centuries-old link with Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri

Fragile Lives And Social Media

Today's world is fast-paced. Time is premium and precious. Our lives are fragile like relationships that are dictated by the limited time. These days, Social Media (SM) too jostles for space for our time. Even babies realize this!

I feel SM can be used for humanity's benefits and there have been cases where it has proved to be helpful.

Social Media has played a saviour during many cases- including saving fragile lives from Depression or Suicide.
- A 'friend' got the warning-signals from the victim's FaceBook posts and helped the minor at the right time.
- There are life-saving Apps now available in our smartphones.
- SM is being used by prospective employers or marriage-partners to 'check out' the candidate!
   Note- Uploading drunken pics is a bad idea!
- SM can be used for counselling and motivating.
- SM can be used to keep in touch with our extended family and friends around the world.

Source

Twitter, Abuse And Swachh Bharat

I love Social Media (SM).

I feel SM has tremendous power viz. the recent Elections 2014.

 

I feel SM needs to be "Swachh" (clean) of the ills plaguing it. 

In this post, I have shared my experience about Twitter (to illustrate SM)! 

Some Twitter-users like me have faced abuse. 

Fake profiles, anonymity & virtual interaction gives a cloak to people to act dirty.

- There are "trolls" that target our tweets, especially those having the trending hashtags. 

- Congratulate a winner & the losing candidate's fans question your choice & whether the result is ethical!

- Post anything against important people- X-Y-Z & their supporters hound you!

- Post appreciation about something good that's happening & haters of that person/policy attack you!

Let me take the example of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. 

Customized Social Share Buttons

Last month, I wrote a post - Blog Friendly Share with info about incorporating Social Media Share Buttons in our Blogs for easy sharing of our posts.

I recommended - How to Add social sharing media button below every Blog Post.

However, I found that it wasn't customized as per my Blog & my credentials.

Blog Friendly Share!

The other day I got a great suggestion from Richa-

"get a nice share button on your blog posts which has your Twitter handle embedded easier to share around then."

She posted her comment after reading my Post- I Can Go Far For My Love!