1.
Can you tell us a little about yourself ,your blog(s)/website(s),and your
aspirations and your hobbies!!
Born and brought up just
everywhere, my early days of childhood are fond memories of me travelling
in the Railways. All my life, I believed this is how my life would be
going further until reality happened and I had to stand on my two little feet.
Little did my Dad and Mom knew that I would be then crossing borders travelling
to 13 countries and 24 States in a short span of 2.5 years of Blogging,
Travelling and doing Adventure sports. I am a fun person to be with, I love
taking risks in life and I am very passionate about what I do. At the same
time, I am very real person .I love balancing my life with more love, more
people, more travel, more friends and more adventures. I believe life is
beautiful and what you love is what you must do, always .I love inspiring
people or people who inspire me.
I write for this crazy
fun-filled Travel and Adventure blog called Ankionthemove.com
which is about my stories on Travel and Adventure Sports in India and Abroad.
My blog contains travel videos which I myself edit and make, stories about
people behind Adventure Sports and their experiences, my own Travel and
Adventure stories and experiences, Travel meet ups, Style when you Travel, Travelling
in a budget, and various other topics out of my personal life. I have been
awarded as the best Travel Writer by GCC, best Sports Writer by Indi blogger
and have also been featured on Fox Traveler and have many more such
achievements in my kitty which my parents now feel proud of.
Being a true Piscean, I am
very creative person. So as long as my mind is free and I am willing to do what
I would want to, I love Painting, Sewing, Writing, Swimming, Shopping and
that’s pretty much it. I no longer get time to pursue all, but time and again
when I feel like it, I do those. That defines me.
Blogging came by chance. It
so happened that I got so fed up of my daily grind of 9 to 5 in an IT company
where I worked for 5 years, went for An All India Road Trip with my brother and
then I quit a month after and decided to start a blog. You can’t call me
imaginative person because not many things were fore thought, may be more impulsive.
When I started, I had a purpose. I didn’t just want people to read because I
myself aren’t a great reader, but visualize on what they want to see in a place
through photos or videos which are self-explanatory and of course a
comprehensive write-up .I am still figuring myself out - tried many jobs on and
off - worked for an Adventure firm - now working for Skyriders and Blogging for
me is an expression, not a job.
3.
What do you find most challenging about blogging/writing about your topic?
Blogging needs patience, a
lot. A lot of my friends and family members do not understand the grind even
blogging has .From monitoring the number of hits, to wishing that I might get a
sponsor, to work around unusual salaries, is what Blogging is about. It’s more
about finding yourself in the process and trying to learn to come up with new
and innovative things so that people read with much enthusiasm. Many a times,
when I blog at home, my husband or my parents would think I am doing nothing,
which is irritating because Blogging at the end is work on its own terms. Also
there’s nothing called Free Travel which many people these days write in the
hope for, each travel is about listening to history, geography, and every
possible detail and come up with topics to write back which is not like a
carefree vacation which many think it is.
For me, my greatest challenge
is editing and shooting the video and of course, the writer’s block. Standing
in front of camera and speaking is a challenge when I have no crew. Since I
love interacting with people on the go, things become easier but still. I stand
with a tripod in a place where thousands stare, and I talk about place which
not many realize is a tough task in itself, and I do it solo or with help of
people who are around and then editing frame by frame is difficult. Another is
writers block, when you start with a topic ,you have full force and enthusiasm
behind it. Over the years, you question yourself - what and who are you writing
for ,is it worth the time, and sometimes you do not find a topic to write
.Travel has evolved and finding the new in the industry is also a challenge in
itself.
4.
Tell me about some of the people you have met while working on your blog?
The general people are real
celebrities aren’t they? The most soul-touching and interesting people I have
met are in train, on the way, on the border etc. The stories that interest me
is the life of people who randomly start adventure sports, and swear by it even
if they have nothing they are putting into initially. For example ,Avi and
Anita from Temple pilots or Satish and Rani from High Fly Adventures, they I
believe are real heroes. Because High Fly is about training kids on active
lifestyle through Bootcamps,and Temple pilots is about Paragliding and when
they started, they just had a dream. Working on my blog has made me meet many
famous Bloggers who inspire and have been Blogging for as long as 10 years.
People like Milind Soman or Mayor of Lebrija,Spain are an inspiration because
even though they are two different personalities, they are passionate about
their field of work .And of course, a random Soldier in Drass,or a Teetotaler
in Train or a Farmer in Bihar, yes those people are the mass and the best of
all because they have lived the life you can never imagine yours to be.
5.
How would (someone) describe your blogging/writing style?
I love conversations so when
you look at my blog, its very conversational .It isn’t polished English which
general people do not understand but hey, was sup? Type of daily lingo which is
more what I use in day to day life. Plus my writing style is about me being
first person who is experiencing it,so it has more personal touch to it.
6.
What do you do when you are not working on your blog?
When I am not working on my
blog, I do things which when people do not blog do. My life neither starts nor
end on a blog - I have a whole lot of people in my sphere who I love talking
to, being around with. So outside the blogosphere, I am just a girl next door
who loves doing her own stuff - be it cooking - or taking a walk - or dressing
up nicely - or going to a pub. Small little things give me pleasure.
7
.Where do you see yourself blogging/writing wise in the next 6 months, and 5
years down the road?
The time will tell where life
takes me. I do not plan so much, and most of what I do is rather impulsive.6
months down the line I see myself more comfortable with the idea of Blogging
since it’s going to be 3 years of Blogging in 6 months. I plan to expand it
more to people, to sports, to style, and I am working on the improvisation of
my blog template wise.5 Years definitely is a long time to plan, but I see
myself comfortably settled with writing, and travelling more as part of a
travel job with a fixed income, and continuing Blogging as a hobby side by
side, and also of course by that time I might have travelled a lot lot more
countries than now, so I might have a lot more than usual stories to share.
I also see myself doing more
on volunteering and work for the society. Even though I am not finding enough
time now ,I still have that as part of my plan which keeps changing.
8.
What networking do you do that you feel helps your blogging/writing business?
I believe the choice is
personal. I think I am more of a Facebook person than a Twitter person but I am
expanding my network more on Twitter because it helps to connect people
randomly or Tag your posts in to people who are in your field and that
definitely is a boost. Indiblogger I believe is the best platform for networking
because when all bloggers are together, they spread word, they comment, they
are more friends than the virtual bloggers in the internet world. So
Facebook.Twitter and Indiblogger
9.
How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog? Many people
struggle with coming up with different articles/posts and they only have one
blog.
When you travel 4 countries
in 6 months, you would never run out of a story for sure. It’ll be there,
always. But the lack of interest is what creates a barrier in not getting out
in the world open. I believe that you must choose a topic which you are
comfortable writing than choosing a topic which is a trend. Because trends
might go and come, but if you are passionate about what you write ,except from
occasional writers-block, there’s not much that comes in between.
10.
Whats your strategy with your blog in general?
I do not follow any
particular strategy. If I feel like writing I write, which comes out to be
twice a week on most occasions. Most of my time goes in video editing, or
processing information about a country in more detail. I write not to write
daily, but I write so that people come and find a whole repository of things to
help them with. I do not write for headcount, I write for a purpose, so my
strategy would be to help people with places, not intimidate them tons of
photos.
11.
Any specific tips you have for newbie bloggers who want to make it in the
blogosphere?
Carve your niche. Mine is
Adventure Travel, Travel Videos, Budget Travel, Style while Travel, international
Travel ,Indian Travel what’s yours? For all newbies, I would say choose your
topic of blog and then expand .You never know what you will like along the way.
Be open to new possibilities and most important stay connected to the world
through Social Media. Do not dream of high money because unless you work for
2-3 years dedicatedly on a blog, you can’t survive on a blog alone. Blogging is
all about it.
12.
What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?
Content and Readers for me.
When people like what you write, the more people come to your blog. So that’s
where SEO and Traffic automatically increase.
13.
Whats the best thing a blogger can give to his readers?
The First Hand Experience and
Genuineness which many online sites lack. Apart from that a chance to Socialize
and share ideas. As they say there’s much to a blog than just a template.
14.
A lot of people are interested in blogging/writing for the money earning
potential. What are some tips for people interesting in making money from blogging/writing?
What are some realistic expectations in regards to what can be made?
To the people who look at
blog for the money earning potential, there’s a whole lot of world out there.
However, I would suggest not to dilute a content for the greed of money.
Because often it happens we end up recommending a product which we would rarely
use, so that is more of an endorsement than our own personal liking.
Collaborate with companies which you believe in - like for example for me it
would be if in future Kiehls for Skincare, Splash and Zara for Clothing ,Puma
and Reebok for shoes, Wildcraft for Backpacks,etc .And never ever divert your
blog’s main topic for the money providers - it annoys the readers.
15.
What motivates you most in life?
The Change and My Ability to
See beyond Negatives. Many of us fall, and never get up. While I fall,I ask,
now what! So that’s me, these things have driven me to do things which I have
never imagined in such short span of time.
16.
What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your blog?
As I said there’s no strategy
but I do update my blog twice every week and I do update it on Indiblogger and
other Social Networking sites. I make it a point to interact with
readers/comments and that spreads the word. Apart from that I have travelled
with Tourism Boards of various countries and sometimes they help promote the
blog. And plus collaborations with brands such as Tanishq, Splash, Four Seasons
and plus awards and being mentioned in newspapers or magazines or Top 10
bloggers to visit in 2014 etc helps gain visibility
17
What was the most challenging moment in your blog content development process
and why?
The most challenging moment
in my blog content development process is coming up with topics which engage
people more. Every time , every three days. So suppose I do not like history,
but I am writing history, so I must write it as a story so that people do not
view it as information. That’s a task!
18.
Everyone has a favorite/least favorite post. Name yours and why?
The favorite post on my blog
which is close to my heart is my blogpost on Bihar and then followed by
Maldives.Bihar is closest to my heart because I believe it’s the most neglected
state and when I interacted with people in the villages, made a video, crossed
fields, I realised its a hype of sadness created by the world which has to be
spoken of positively. And since it was a village of my late Grandma,It had a
personal purpose to it, and I completely love the post. Another is my
backpacking trip to Maldives which has the best video and writeup for me. Worst
is, its difficult to figure out, may be my readers would know more about it.
19.
Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why?
I really like Shivya’s way of
writing in The Shooting Star because when I met her I thought she’s a very
introverted person, but her way of writing is very open, very personal and I
like the boldness she has when she writes ,and of course, her writing style is
very crisp and clean .I like BigHairLoudMouth and StylishByNature because
standing in front of camera and posing is a real big deal. I like Sonia
Nazareth and Inder Raj who are writers, they both are extremely fun to be with
and at the same time, extremely gifted people.I like Mridula’s Blog for her
daily updates,its like my daily dairy,I get up and read her first.I like Vikram
Karve and his sense of Military Humour, I like Arvind Passey for his stories at
his age. There are many people I like in the Blogosphere, like I look up to you
now, because you are interviewing me :)
20.
What is the story behind the name of the blog?
Ankionthemove is pretty much
self-explanatory isn’t it.A bugger named “Anki” who is “Always on the move” is
what it is!..And the story is of a girl who is travelling all her life, and thought
why not just help people travel more. The End.
21.
Your connection with any Blogger Network like Indi blogger or Writeupcafe or
any other and the experience?
I
have been very dedicated to Indiblogger,Its I believe the best platform for
networking of Indians blogs. And the contests, the meet ups, everything
is very very well organized, even their ranking system is unto
the mark.So no grudges on this one.
22.
Which genre do you feel gets the raw deal?
I think the field which is
currently hot is lifestyle basically Food and Fashion which people do check
every day. Picture speaks a thousand words in both the genre and there’s not
much to read either except recipes or latest trends .And then comes Travel,
Reviews, Humour.
23.
Which one plug-in would you suggest all bloggers to have?
I think “Search” must and
must be installed. It makes life so much easier when you are not pondering over
where to find a topic.
24.
Five adjectives that describe you.
Crazy, Adventurous, Traveler,
Creative, Extrovert
25.
What book would you say has made the biggest impact good or bad on you?
I have grown up on Lonely
Planet,Sidney Sheldon,Mills and Boons,and Femina. Rest is secondary. Nowadays I
do not read books, but I think the worst impact books had on me was my Algebra
and History books. I hated it then, I hate it now.
26.
Do you get easily provoked by positive/negative comments??
Not really. Of course,
initially it did make me upset specially if there was negative comment. But
now,I take it in my stride. If people talk Negative, let them be. I do my work
100% and that’s about me. If there’s a positive comment, it makes my day :)
27.
Do you plan to write a book, as every bloggers dream it is?
I do plan to write a book,
not on my travel stories but on my personal life when I get old. Because then,
I wouldn’t be accountable to anyone but me. Otherwise, I do not see writing a
book in the near future, not now to speak of any I have in my mind. I am living
and loving my life ,and I am still young,so..
28.
Are you a judgmental person, do you prefer to take sides instead of standing
neutral?
No,I am not a judgmental
person. I take right sides, and I have a reason every time. I do not stand
neutral and I do not talk diplomatic .I wouldn’t judge a person on first glance
,religion, backgrounds, all those stuff. Even if people confide in me their
worst disasters, I do not sideline them. Because I know it can happen to you,to
me,to anyone.
29.
Your collaboration with other bloggers, are you much into social networking,
tell us everything about it?
I haven’t yet collaborated
with any bloggers and even though I am open to the idea, I am looking for the
potential bloggers I should collaborate with .I do attend local events in town
for example Black Dog,Four Seasons, Tanishq and that’s all where we interact or
through Twitter, Facebook and their Blog comments. And that’s all I know about
them. Most of the bloggers I have met are added in my friends list and yes,I do
interact with them mostly as friends than peers.
30.
What genre attracts you the most and which genre you avoid?
I think I am partial towards
the youth - the experiential travelers - the upcoming destinations - the Gen
X.And even though I do not avoid a Genre per se,but my blog is not about closed
mindsets. So I write with a open mind, and even if you are 8 or 80,if you are
open, you will like it.
My personal choice of Genres
would be Travel,Food,Fashion and Humour.I do not avoid any genre,if It is well
written, I read it, else I move on.
31.
Your Views on Contests and increasing plagiarism?
Aren’t we all upbeat with the
idea of Contests? It’s interesting that all of us desire that we win a lottery
someday, to some place and we travel for free. But for me, I haven’t run a
contest yet on my blog, because I am not finding the perfect giveaway to people
that makes sense to me. But otherwise Contests are great way to increase SEO
,build up traffic and give the readers a feel Good factor. Also participate in
Contests as much as you can, because sometimes you just win out of the blue, so
its interesting to try your luck and know how lucky you are. Coincidently the
more you participate the more lucky you get.
Plagiarism must be avoided at
any cost, because what may be another person’s hard earned work, it could be
just your Ctrl C-Ctrl V. And plagiarism is increasing because many people
believe that if they write a few posts from here and there, they might get a
huge earning potential or a free FAM trip which is far from reality. I think
there isn’t pretty much we can do about it,but people who do so will learn
eventually and even readers would get to know. So its their loss and must be
avoided at any cost.
32.
Words for me and my blogs Desire v/s Destiny and Blogger Interviews and my
Website www.MyMagicJobs.com
I think it’s a great
initiative to interview Bloggers because I feel we all are pretty much left out
somewhere. I mean people think hey we are bloggers so what! But there’s lot
which goes around and heads up to you for your initiative. From your blogs
Desire v/s Destiny ,it’s a great blog.For MyMagicJobs.com I think we needed a
platform like that and you fulfilled it with perfection. So applauds.
33.
On winning the Award/s , Are they Really necessary.
I remember the first time I
got an award in Class X for being the runner up topper, I liked the feeling of
holding onto the trophy. The feeling still continues to be as Childlike. When
we work hard, we do not know if we ever get an award. But when we get an award,
its a huge morale boost, we suddenly start liking our purpose in life, the
goals looks more streamlined, we have the final word that we were on the right
path. Necessary “No”. But I wouldn’t be hiding the fact that every time my name
appears in a newspaper or every time I am featured in a video or every time I
win the award I have that 180 degree smile .I am strong believer in Karma and I
believe if you do good, even if you fail once or twice, the third time would be
your Award luck, but stay persistent which many of us give up by the time we
are about to get one.
34.
So whats Next in your list?
I have Turkey and Greece both
as part of my plan for the coming 6 months. I plan to attend TBEX 2014 to
spread the good word about my work. Not many people know! And apart from that I
plan to travel North East in winters and Goa next month. I also plan to do more
on Fashion and Sports ,so more work on Blog coming up thats keeping me Busy.
35.Words
for your readers and why they should follow you?
You know Guys, when I started
the blog, it was for you.2 and a half years down the line, it is still for you
.Even though I live in virtual space of anonymous, I strive to do my best for
you to know what Travel means today and what Adventure Sports is about .I can’t
force you to follow me ,I secretly wish that you all do and hope my words carry
weight and inspiration. So do follow me,I am right here, blabbing about my
Travel Tales or listening to yours.
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