Rahul Roushan is from IIM-A and was an anchor with a popular news channel before he started FakingNews.com. For more fun and insights of  ‘Pagal Patrakar‘,  read on…

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: If you are talking about my personal blog, I created one in 2005, but it was more like a collection of articles that I wrote on various issues. I used to update it once in a few months, so I’m not sure if I could really call it ‘blogging’ per se. Regular blogging happened to me only through Faking News, which I started on 15^th September 2008.

When I created my first blog, I did it because I love writing and I nurse a dream of authoring a book someday. I hoped to hone my writing skills through blogging, but it didn’t work out as I was very irregular at writing new posts.

When I started Faking News, it was more out of my desire to write about current affairs (maybe due to my journalistic background). I could have started a serious journalistic blog as well, but I chose news-satire style as I had gained notoriety at my B-school for digging up weird news stories and posting them on the intranet. I thought maybe I had developed some skill to spot the oddity (how flattering of myself)! So I decided to mix the two – to create odd stories from the current events.

Q: What topics do you generally blog about?

A: Mostly current affairs, things that the mainstream media is talking about at that time. If not writing on a ‘newsy’ thing, I blog about our daily lives in our society, in our offices, on the campuses, on the television etc. anything that catches my fancy, with a satirical touch.

Q: Do you ever get stuck when writing an entry? What do you do then?

A: Most of the times I have a plot clear and ready in my mind, so I finish it without much difficulty, but yeah, there are occasion when I get stuck. I take a break in such cases to think through the topic and the plot. If I get stuck again, I dump the story! Call me unfaithful, but I have dumped more than a couple of them.

Q: ‘India TV bats for cows’ was probably your first post ever. Was ‘India TV’ the inspiration behind starting Faking news and sensational headlines? If not, what prompted you to start Faking News?

A: Haha, well, in a sense, yeah. Faking News surely was a reaction to the sensational headlines by the mainstream media. The About Us section at the original blog reads “It is also an attempt to be satirical about Indian news media, especially television news media, which has brought down journalism to ridiculous levels”, which was later toned down when I redesigned the site in August 2009.

Q: Faking News is India No. 1 Satirical site. How do you define Satire? When you compose a post, how do you differentiate between Satire and Sarcasm?

A: For me, Satire is an attempt to point out shortcomings or oddities in our society, ideally with a message and intent for betterment, in a non-hostile manner and without sounding overtly accusative or pontificating.

Sarcasm is an important part of satire, but a purely sarcastic write-up may not be satirical as well. Sarcasm bites, Satire tickles.

Q: As a mass communications graduate in broadcast journalism, what are the five headlines that the ‘Pagal Patrakar’ would like to see currently and why?

“XYZ news channel comes clean, declare themselves as Tabloid channel”

If the Entertainment genre for television could be broken down (for the purpose of business and analysis) into Movies, Reality, Music, etc., Sports genre into All-sports, Cricket, etc. and these channels were categorized along those lines, it’s high time that News genre was also broken down into Tabloid, News, Infotainment, etc. and the news channels were categorized accordingly, so that there was no unfair competition and comparison between players. Why should a serious news channel be taunted that its TRP was low by a tabloid channel? Let it be like comparing oranges and apples.

“Research proves that advertising on XYZ news channel had negative effect on consumer behaviour”

I sincerely believe that eye-balls (which translate into the TRP’s) are not all that matter in the world of advertising. What platforms are you advertising upon, also has an effect on the consumer behaviour. I wish management institutes came up with some recent and relevant research on this.

“Mass amnesia grips India. People forget what community they belonged to”

I hope it is self-explanatory why I want this headline.

“Bribery to be regularized. MPs and bureaucrats can officially take 10% success fee from corporates”

Let’s face it, politics and bureaucracy is not for social service and the expectation that our leaders and bureaucrats will serve the society selflessly has failed all of us. Let these guys serve themselves and get rich, but only after undertaking and implementing successful projects in their constituencies. Let them create jobs by bringing industries and let them officially pocket the money, which currently they anyway pocket after awarding tenders to bribe-givers; at least the tenders would be awarded to competent people if the process was transparent.

“Sachin Tendulkar scores a triple century in ODI”

Just like that

Q: Who are the most popular faces who have graced Faking News? Why according to you are their appearances so frequent?

A: Most of the newsmakers have made appearance on Faking News as well – from politicians, to actors, to Rakhi Sawant. They are very satire friendly souls. God keep them safe and happy.

Q: Two of your exclusive reports were mistaken to be true by the mainstream/web media and published. What was your reaction to that? Did they realise what they did and removed them? Do share with us any such really funny incidents.

A: First time when it happened (frustrated man uses Axe), I couldn’t believe it as I never considered that news report as one of my best articles. But it went crazily viral with local radio stations in the UAE, Australia and the USA talking about it! Even a reputed and respected news source like The Australian published it, but they later removed it when they realized it.

I was most amused when a journalist friend of mine, working in a reputed international news agency, called me to inform that his boss from London had asked him to file a report on this Axe lawsuit story! He laughed and told his boss that it was a work of fiction written by an Indian news satire website. It was crazy.

One of the mails that I got from a journalist working for some German news website, asked me if Unilever or some ad-agency had paid me to write this news, as Axe got free publicity worth millions of dollars thanks to the Faking News article! How I wish it was true! Alas, I don’t earn my livelihood through Faking News.

Many people still believe stories to be true and get hyper over the content!

Q: We are sure not many of our readers know that you are also the brains behind CricStock.com, which combined cricket and elements of stock trading. Stock Market and Cricket is such a unique combination. What went right and wrong for CricStock? It will be great if you can share some lessons/experiences from that for the startup community.

A: Well, the first thing that went wrong was the horrible performance of both Indian and Pakistani cricket teams in the world cup (CricStock was launched for the 2007 ODI cricket world cup and both Indian and Pakistani teams were kicked out in the first round itself). This meant that the interest in Cricket (and hence traffic to our site) nosedived in the country, until we won the T20 World Cup more than six months later.

In these six months, we (me and my business partner) had started management consultancy company to feed ourselves, while we wondered how to rejuvenate the site among a couple of other projects. Ultimately, we had to sell off the site.

In my personal opinion, the greatest mistake was lack of focus on one project and absence of a plan in case the worst or even the unimaginable happened (which happened as hardly anyone had imagined such a poor performance of India in the 2007 world cup; we were the favourites actually!).

Q: How was the experience as the anchor at Sahara Samay? Today, there are so many changes within the mainstream media. Do you think that sensationalism is what makes the channel run? Is the investigative and the Indian Express style reporting dead?

A: My days at journalism were really good. It was my first job and I enjoyed every bit of it as I got to learn in my early days. In fact, even now I feel like a journalist at heart. But things got boring and even depressing after a couple of years, and I surely missed the ‘mission’ of journalism (what you seemingly are referring as the Indian Express style reporting). I won’t blame any particular channel for it, not even India TV, as it’s a very complex issue. I had written a post on the same on my personal blog -

Q: ‘I enjoy treading the pathway called life, not necessarily heading towards a destination…’. Has Rahul Roushan found his destination as yet? What has been the most interesting experiences on this pathway?

A: I’m still treading, sometimes even meandering, and no sight of the destination yet! A lot of interesting experiences have come my way, good and bad, and I don’t think I can pin-point at any one of them. Growing up in Bihar, coming to Delhi for studying journalism, working as a journalist, studying at IIM Ahmedabad, having been of my own in the past few years and seeing ups and downs– all these have been quite interesting and have helped me grow as a person. The journey continues.

Q: What do you find to be the most gratifying aspect of blogging?

A: Reaching out to people, whom otherwise you might never had crossed paths with. Some six months back, I received a mail from Anand Ramachandran (of Son of Bosey fame and one of the earliest web-based satirists of India) where he had some words of appreciation and encouragement for me. I was really happy. Similarly, I feel so happy when people write to me or chat with me saying that my posts help them kill the tensions and boredom of office-life. I don’t lament that Unilever could have paid me for writing that Axe story when I receive such messages.

Q: Do you promote your blog? What promotional techniques work best for you and why?

A: I don’t have the money or I’d have asked IPL cheerleaders to wear Faking News t-shirts for promotion. In absence of that, I have to rely upon my readers to share the links on the web, and that’s what has worked the best for me. God bless Facebook and Twitter, and of course, the visitors to my blog.

Q: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?

A: It’s vital, almost necessary, for a blogger to interact with the readers and get the feedback, but responding to all the comments may not be the best approach or even feasible at times. I receive a bulk of comments and feedback on the Facebook page of Faking News which has around 14,000 members, and I can’t respond to each of them on every occasion, though I have responded a few times.

I have a chat widget on my website where I interact with the readers whenever I am online and free. Similarly, if someone mails me to share a thought, I respond to them. And I must admit that the interactions have helped me a lot; I have learnt new things thanks to a couple of unknown visitors who chatted with me.

Q: How, in general, would you rate the quality of Indian blogs? Share your favourite five blogs.

A: Honestly, I’m no one to rate the quality of Indian blogs; I’m a newbie as compared to many veterans who have carved out a name and niche for themselves. I follow many Indian blogs and they are absolutely fantastic. Five of my favourite blogs, in random order and the ones that are on the top of my mind right now, are:

• Anand Ramachandran – Son of Bosey
  (Latest Post - Political correctness activists want to replace the term ‘politically incorrect’ with ‘politically differently correct’. )
  
• Arnab Dey – GreatBong
  (Read his interview with us)
• Ramesh Srivats - Let’s Put Da
  (Latest Post – PUB – The Progressive Union of Bloggers)
  
• Sahil Rizwan – The Vigil Idiot
  (Latest post: Teen Patti)
  
• Saad Akhtar – Fly you Fools
  (Read his interview with us)
  

Q: What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog?

A: If you really feel the urge for writing and sharing some thoughts, do it. Don’t do it if you think blogging (or some particular style of blogging) is cool, there are thousands of cooler stuffs to do. All the best.

Q: Do you earn revenue through your blog? How does one go about it?

A: As I had put earlier I don’t earn my livelihood through it, but I have put Google Ads on my blog and they give me enough returns to pay my webhosting, internet and mobile bills. There are other internet ad-agencies that promise you better pay-out than Google. One said that my traffic could translate into at least one lakh rupees per month, I tried them and found their claim like some political promise, and now I’m not willing to give another agency a second chance. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I couldn’t care. If money has to come, it will come, currently I’m enjoying writing.

Q: Let’s conclude off with a few favorites.

Color: Blue

Movie: I’m not a movie freak (and I rue it) but I like comedies, be it classic like Angoor, or unintentionally (?) funny like Gunda (I sincerely apologize to all Prabhuji fans if have hurt them, I didn’t mean it and blame the BlogAdda guys for misquoting me).

TV Show: South Park or India TV if you insist on Indian choices

Book: Raag Darbaari by Shrilal Shukla

Time of Day: When I’m sleeping, and it could be anytime

Your Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

For all the fans of Indian Faking News, hope you enjoyed knowing more about the ‘The Real Pagal Patrakar’, Rahul Roushan. Visit FakingNews.comC for your humour dose of the day and if you want to ask Rahul anything, a comment will do the trick.

Connect: Blog, BlogAdda, Twitter, Facebook

Related posts:

1. Interview with Ashok Banker – Part 2 of 2
2. Interview with Ashok Banker – Part 1 of 2
3. Interview with Brajeshwar Oinam of oCricket

• Who : Rachana Shakyawar
  What : Mom and Me – Born Bond
  Tangy : Whatay post to start with. A beautifully written post by Rachana where she chronicles the bond she shares with her mom at every stage of her life. An emotion filled post which is direct from the heart. A super tribute to a great relationship!

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• Who : Vinod Sharma
  What : Twitter wars: old media vs new
  Tangy : Vinod Sharma has this awesome post where he talks about the Old Media vs New Media War which has started in Twitter and will spread elsewhere soon. The known names from the old media are using twitter and how – Read this post to find out. 

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• Who : Smitzy
  What : To my mum…
  Tangy : After Rachana’s post, it is Smitzy’s turn to write a wonderful poem for her mom. Again an awesome poem filled with emotions and the use of the right words to describe what she feels for her mom. She claims this is her first attempt, but let us tell you Smitzy, you’ve done very good!

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• Who : Kanagu
  What : IPL – 3 Review
  Tangy : India is watching IPL and every TV in most of the household would be watching IPL for atleast 5 minutes. Kanagu has a very interesting review on IPL 3 where he has reviewed each and every team with their strong points and weaknesses. What are your views? (Ed.: Check out IPL Dashboard with the best IPL blogs)

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• Who : Meena
  What : A letter to self!
  Tangy : How many of you have written a letter to yourself? Meena has written this letter to her younger self which makes it an enjoyable read. How many of us enjoy criticizing ourselves? Meena has done it in this post that tracks her life timeline.

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• Who : Rani
  What : Why the reservation bill doesn’t excite the feminist in me
  Tangy : Rani has this very interesting take on the “women’s reservation bill’. She has listed her opinion on why the bill doesn’t excite her. How many of you share the same sentiments? Do let Rani know.

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• Who : Nimmy
  What : Pragmatics between moral police and one’s freedom of expression
  Tangy : Are we losing our freedom of expression? Are we being guarded by Moral Police who are dictating their terms on us? Nimmy has this eye opener post which is a must read for everyone.

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• Who : Anish Thomas
  What : Lift
  Tangy : This is Anish’s first attempt at writing a short story and we have to appreciate the fact that it is very well written. Read it and you will know why. Thank you Pearl for this tip.

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• Who : Saikat
  What : The business of Banking Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
  Tangy : How many of you fret over going to a bank to complete transactions? How many of you curse the Indian Banking system and the way it functions? Saikat has this excellent series on his experiences and tells us the business behind the banking. Looking forward for more of your experiences.

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Are you a fan of Indian Webcomics or just want to have some fun viewing some comics, then you must read the interview with Saad Akthar of Fly You Fools.

Send in your suggestions for our Tangy Tuesday & Spicy Saturday picks on Twitter @blogadda or using our contact form. If selected, you’ll be credited for it.

Related posts:

1. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Feb. 02, ‘10
2. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Nov. 17, ‘09
3. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Jun. 23, ‘09

@cubicile_blues
The rain has brought me some solace. My boss today has come to office on his motorcycle.

@mojorojo
The Annual Cricketers For The Cause of Money Tournament begins today. Woo hoo!

@mokkai_mak
Rahul Mahajan deserved to marry an ‘Indian Airlines’ air hostess.  …………………………

@radha_
I am worried that I will spend a good part of my life in meetings.. Wait, I’ve already done that

@Chupchap
WTF. Arg just scored 3 goals in 3 mins looks like Ind hockey team is watching IPL opening ceremony =/ #hockey

@silv3rglee
OMG pickup lines: I’m feeling a little off today. Would you like to turn me on? #perkytweets.

@tam007
A journey of thousand miles begins with takeoff. #perkytweets  ………………………..

@subhadeep
Honestly, if god had really wanted you to just watch life go by, he would have made you a statue. #perkytweets

@zoooni
Y do most women spend much time on improving their LOOKZ & not their MINDS?? A: Bcoz they knw dat men r STUPID, but not BLIND.#perkytweets

@brainstuck
I was on diet for two weeks… And all i lost was…. two weeks…   ………………………..

@arjunvj
My Touch-screen computer accused me of sexual harassment #LMAO #perkytweets

@abhi_nahi
#IPL…. Whoz supporting preity’s “Team”? Two count as a team ? Inn’it? #perkytweets

@RockIshtaar
The Next Big Book Here :- “HOW TO KILL A TWITTER BIRD”! #perkytweets

@ruchasharma
I am 300 Tweets old now!!!! ;P #perkytweets  ……………………….. ………………………..

@nkitg
I asked an Afghan Soilder what’s your favourite part of a meal ? ……. “The desert” was his quick answer #perkytweets

@gunducci
Terrorists are tourists, who come to our country to play diwali. #perkytweets  ………………………..

@ManiKarthik
How do you make your girlfriend scream while having sex? – Call and tell her. #perkytweets #sexhumor

@rjshrikant
My auto narrowly missed running over a woman – she must’ve thot the 33% quota applies to roads as well.. #perkytweets

@crucifire
It’s not good to have pre-conceived motions about an upset stomach. #perkytweets #fb

@YosemiteSam_VJ
Life Insurance: You gimme 500k, I’ll give it back when you die. #PerkyTweets  ………………………..

@prateekgupta
They say there is no I when you are Married but then doesn’t it become Marred? #Pun #PerkyTweets

@milind_thanki
After KCK : Telephone models with voice remindr function shud nw come with instruction – keep out of d reach of schizophrenics. #perkytweets

@gopinathmm
I find believing in the existence of bad cholesterol as difficult as believing in the existence of good Taliban! #perkytweets

@chin80
#overheard At one point of time, #nityanand was following @harisadu thinking he’s some ’sadhu’ and could collaborate with him. #perkytweets

@KhushiKiDuniya
#perkytweets @partywithneha There ws a time wen blackberry n apple were just fruits…

@leprincz
Be friends with stupid people..they would worship you!! #perkytweets  ………………………..

Every day you spend without a smile, is a lost day. Make someone smile with your #perkytweets. And a big thanks to all those who mark their tweets as #perkytweets – each one of you is simply superb!

For more laughs, read the interview of Saad Akthar, the brains behind Fly You Fools and the Chetan Bhagat, #chetanblocks controversy.

Related posts:

1. Perky Tweets – Mar. 8, ‘10
2. Perky Tweets – Oct. 5, ‘09
3. Perky Tweets – Sep. 14, ‘09

For the benefit of the community, we have all the best blogs talking about IPL on our Dashboard created specially for this. Have a look, bookmark it, share with your friends and read the best Indian blog posts from the Indian Blogging Community over here.

• Who : Mansi Bhatia
  What : A record of our life, our times, our vanity
  Spicy : Mansi Bhatia makes an appearance in our weekly picks second week in a row. ‘What is Blog? Isn’t your blog like a monologue that you stage for your audience? Craving recognition, applause, critique, and fame?’ asks Mansi. A brilliant post to say the least. What is a blog for you? Let her know.

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• Who : Smita
  What : Gazab Raj Ki Ajab Maya!!!!
  Spicy : Two politicians who have got the media’s attention for their antics, be it the immigrant issue or erecting statues of themselves using the public money. This is what Smita means when she says ‘Gazab Raj ki Ajab Maya’. Doesn’t the issue deserve support?

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• Who : Ananya Gambhir
  What : You say alpha, i say omega.
  Spicy : A beautifully written blog post by Ananya Gambhir where he narrates his conversation with God. A lot of questions asked and lots answered in a beautiful and simple manner. A must read post and the community needs to encourage him to come out with more such gems.
  

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• Who : Americanising Desi
  What : Every woman should …
  Spicy : AD has compiled a list of things which a Woman should HAVE and should KNOW! A very interesting and frank list which we wish every woman can attain and know. A post you will enjoy reading.

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• Who : Neo Indian
  What : The sign outside Neo’s office cube
  Spicy : This post is creating waves as this post is one of the best from Neo Indian’s stable. This post contains the list of signs which Neo would like to put up outside his office cube and after reading the post you may want too. People are adding their thoughts to the post and you can too to make this the best.

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• Who : Sudatta M
  What : A NO to All Types of Reservation Including Women’s
  Spicy : Here is a woman’s point of view on the Reservation bill passed recently by the Rajya Sabha for Women. A very interesting post as she has a mix of her personal opinions and the facts. What are your views on the Reservation Bill? Do let her know.

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• Who : Parth Dave
  What : An Interview With A Politician!
  Spicy : Parth Dave has posted this interview with Bhanwarsinghji who is a veteran in Indian Politics. This interview has a lot of answers from the Politicians viewpoint. A post where you can question and answer as well.

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• Who : Nalini Hebbar
  What : A Legacy of Hate
  Spicy : A beautifully written poem by Nalini Hebbar and tipped to us by Suranga is the last pick by us today. Indian Blogging Community has some wonderful poets who post poems regularly. ‘A Legacy of Hate History makes man or Did man make history?’ is how the poem starts. A must read.

Thank you IHM for tipping us Smita’s and AD’s post. You would love to read IHM’s interview too.

Do you like reading comics? We have the author of one of India’s finest Webcomics Fly You Fools, Saad Akthar interviewed for you.  Do read it!

If you come across any interesting post or tweet and want to share, you can tip us on Twitter or contact us here and we will credit you for the selected pick.

Related posts:

1. International Women’s day – Blog posts about Women and relevant issues
2. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – Jun. 06, ‘09
3. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – Jun. 19, ‘09

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: I had been blogging since 2004, but like most blogs it wasn’t going anywhere and not getting many visitors. Eventually, I decided to close my previous blogs and focus on making a webcomic, which worked out quite well! Most blogs are rant fests anyway, and my comic maintains that tradition.

Q: What topics do you generally blog about?

A: Most of my comics are about the small (or big) irritations of life in India. Everything from half baked security checks outside malls, to credit card calls to moral policing and finally the best-hated institution of this country: TV Serials.

When I started the comic I was experimenting with different topics, and comics on petty whines won! So now I keep noting down such things and try to come up with a story.

Q: Do you ever get stuck when writing an entry? What do you do then?

A: Watch Japanese Porn. Haha, kidding, since you know watching porn degrades our culture etc. But anyway, getting stuck with ideas is not a big problem with me, because I have a long LONG list of ideas for future comics. The biggest problem is getting down to making a new comic.

Since I’m not doing this full time, I get very little time to make new comics. Maybe on weekends, maybe a few nights after work.

But sometimes there’ll be a flash, an idea, and I’ll make the comic in a few hours. It’s quite unpredictable. Earlier the regular readers used to complain, but now either they’re used to the irregularity, or they just don’t care (I’m hoping it’s the first one).

To overcome this problem: Maintain an idea list. Use tools like Evernote (or any other note taking app) on your phone to note down the idea as soon as you get it. There’s an urgency about this. You’ll forget the idea within seconds or minutes. Once it’s written down, you can expand on it later.

Q: Do you promote your blog? What promotional techniques work best for you and why?

A: Yes, I promote my comic. But through the social media. I experimented with paid Google ads, but the returns aren’t worth the cause (for my site). Social media is free, and it’s huge. People recommending my comics to their frands (yes frands) sells more than me selling it to them.

Having a social-networking-friendly site is important. Provide (big visible) buttons/links to share your blog on Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Email. Pay attention to comments. Comment on other people’s blogs.

I also allow my comics to be embedded in other people’s blogs. I give a html code at the end of every comic to make it easier to paste the image/link. These things help bring a lot of traffic and new readers.

Also the site has to be search-engine friendly. Specially a webcomic where there is no text, only images. Pay attention to tags, put your comic’s dialogues in alt text fields. Get a SEO plugin if you’re hosting on Wordpress. These things also help.

One third of my site’s traffic comes from Google searches (and some really risqué keywords, I might add). One third comes from direct links and the rest comes from Twitter.

Promotion on Twitter has worked out best for me.

Q: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?

A: Obviously it’s very important. If you are a beginner then you can respond to every comment. In fact, you MUST. Eventually there will be a point where it’s just impossible to do that. But at least take feedback from your readers. Observe which post is popular, and why.

Twitter is a great medium to interact with your readers. People don’t comment that often, but they’ll let you know their views on Twitter. Also link your Twitter profile to your blog so your readers can follow you.

Another important point are the hate comments. They’ll come eventually. This is the Internet after all. Hate comments are like the foundations of the social networking world. Those and frandship requests. Both are inevitable. The important part is to take them in your stride. The Internet’s anonymity and audience brings out the animal in people. Let it be.

Q: The name of your first blog ‘The China Diaries’ was about your experience in China with a lot of photographs. Can you share some of your interesting adventures in China with our readers alongwith some photographs?

A: Ah! Where did you dig that up from? I had taken it out of circulation. I was working in Microsoft Research for 6 months in Beijing and didn’t have too many people to talk to. Eventually my friends got sick of my daily mails with mundane details of my life, and they asked me to start a blog. This was a good strategy, because now they could ignore me. But it got me started on blogging.

Adventures… Well most adventures in China begin with “You wouldn’t believe it, but I ate a…..” and end with “… and the next morning I woke up in a pool of my own filth, next to a…”.

I have had my own share, and they’re not share-worthy.

Q: Let’s move over to your next blog ‘Non Creative Fiction’. It started with photographs from saddi Dilli and slowly moved over to Webcomics. Why the transition to Webcomics? Did any incident or person inspire you?

A: Yes. The 2nd blog never got off the ground much, but transitioned into Fly You Fools somehow. I had a bunch of strange/quirky/funny photos and I started using text captions on photos along with blog text. That was fun, so eventually I killed it, and started a webcomic full time.

If I had to nail down one photo/incident that triggered this, it would be the Toe Nail Guy. If you’re a regular reader of my comic then you’ll know the Toe Nail Guy.

There’s a long post detailing the history of the Toe Nail Guy on my comic’s blog.

Q: You are an Interaction designer which is not very common. Can you tell us more details about Interaction design? Were Webcomics a natural extension to what you were doing as a Interaction designer?

A: Interaction Designers work with any digital medium that requires human-machine interaction and create user experiences. This is a fancy way of saying we make websites look good, and work well. Obviously, it could be mobile interfaces, your TV menu, your car, or the space shuttle. But who are we kidding…

Q: #chetanblocks is one hashtag you will never forget in your life. Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that it’ll grow up so big and with so much media coverage? What were the positives and the negatives for you from the incident?

A: Oh yes, the obligatory #chetanblocks question! Well, no obviously I didn’t expect it to get popular. It was a huge misunderstanding to begin with. I gave him the popular “All you base are belong to us” internet-meme-line, and he didn’t get it. He thought I’m promoting piracy etc etc and anyway, Twitter took care of the rest.

Then as usual, the media realized something more interesting than lost cats is happening on Twitter, and since anything on Twitter is newsworthy now, they did their bit of reporting.

Fact is, stuff like this happens daily on Twitter. Just because a celebrity was involved, they went nuts.

Q: You are married to your college mate, Archana who is also a new media designer. We would love to have a exclusive comic from your stable on how you fell in love and eventually getting married. Can you?

A: One of our marriage vows was never to do a comic on her. (Ed.: Saad, we will accept this!)

Q: We know that Saad is a very reserved person and let the comics do the talking. Which is one comic of yours you think got the maximum publicity either for good/bad reasons?

A: The comic on the Slow Internet Speeds in India! That was something that most people could relate to. Everyone poured their heart out. Some were sympathizing. Some (EVIL PEOPLE) were gloating on their fast connections. Damn you!!

Q: You have been voted by Mid Day as the Indian Twitterer of the year ahead of Shashi Tharoor and many more. What do you have to say about using twitter as a medium for building communities? What kind of trends do you see in the coming years created by the Indian Twitter users?

A: Twitter is great! I don’t know about much of a community builder it is, because the community features didn’t really work out (Lists etc). But it’s great for connecting with other people.

And hashtags really bring people together on a mission. I think in the future brands/companies will be paying more attention to twitter as a feedback platform and complaints inbox. E.g. Recently a café chain was being twitter-flogged because a manager at one outlet was (allegedly) asking for a cover charge. They got on Twitter and cleared the controversy, and apologized. This, I think will increase.

Q: What do you find to be the most gratifying aspect of blogging?

A: The fact that no matter what you’re into, there are similar people out there. And they can find you, and you can find them. This is more of an internet phenomenon, not just restricted to blogs/twitter.

Q: How, in general, would you rate the quality of Indian blogs? Share your favourite five blogs.

A: I think Indian blogs are at a good point right now. Contrary to what Vir Sanghvi says, there is no Indian Blogging Elite. Most blogs don’t take themselves too seriously, which is a good thing. Lot of healthy personal opinion, a good mix of general/targeted topics. Great humour, good mix of politics… It’s great!

A few blogs/comics I like are:

• The Vigil Idiot – For saving money by showing the movie review comics to my wife and saying “See, we don’t need to watch this movie anymore”.
  (Latest post: Teen Patti)
• Brainstuck – A new comic every few days!?!? That’s not a stuck brain, that’s brain on lube.
  (Latest post: Filter)
• The Secret Journal of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – Because he’s so awesome, and he invented Twitter. But I prefer his Twitter avatar to his blog.
  (Latest post: INDIA’S Top 10 Greatest Assholes : An India Today Exclusive)
• The Oatmeal – Incredible comics/stuff. And this guy got popular real quick. Has a book coming up… an inspiration to us poor webcomic makers.
  (Latest post: Free Hugs)
• Desipundit – So I don’t have to trawl the whole Indian blogosphere.
  (Latest post: Fallacy of Using Identity as an Ideological Label)

Q: What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog?

A: Just go ahead and start. No one pays attention to the early posts anyway… keep blogging and eventually they’ll come. Google ensures this. Network with other bloggers, leave comments, help around. Build up your network on Twitter, then use it to bring in traffic.

But before you go out publicizing your blog/comic make sure you have 30 mins worth of content. If it’s just 2 posts, they wont return. Also make it sharing/subscribing friendly.

Q: Do you earn revenue through your blog? How does one go about it?

A: I have Google ads on the site, but they’re mainly decoration. If ads are going to be your primary revenue source, then you need lots of traffic. Or if your site is domain specific (photography, health, movies) and you have substantial readership, then you can approach that domain’s brands directly for advertising. But first you need traffic. For that you need popular content.

First get those two, money will follow. (This is what I keep telling myself). Maybe in two years, google will send a check and you can buy a new shirt with it.

Q: Let’s conclude off with a few favorites.

Color: #ffffff

Movie: The Big Lebowski

TV Show: HBO’s Rome

Book: Guns, Germs and Steel

Time of Day: Hammer Time.

Your Zodiac Sign: Woah, really?

Thanks a lot for such a wonderful interview Saad! It was a pleasure interviewing you and getting to know a lot of things, especially your adventures in China and one of your marriage vows too . Readers here is your chance to ask Saad anything and everything about Indian Webcomics.

Connect with Saad: Blog, BlogAdda, Twitter, Facebook.

Related posts:

1. Interview with Krish Ashok of Doing Jalsa and showing Jilpa
2. Interview with Navin Kabra of PuneTech Part 1
3. Interview with Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama

mansigrover: History retweets itself.

fakeanant: To block is human, to forgive is divine.

ashumittal: One good tweet deserves another.

_logik: Too many pimps spoil the brothel.

nirvanasearch: Better tweet than buzz.

ilcapourgu: The tweet is mightier than the poke.

i_r_squared: A n00b and his money are soon parted. By Nigerians.

ilcapourgu: Once blocked, twice shy.

vinod_raman: All that twitters is not a bird.

mansigrover: He who tweets the most says the least.

i_r_squared: Brevity is the soul of tweet.

arvindkumarc: Tweet is Wealth.

mokkai_mak: barking bots seldom tweet.

silverbakc: every cloud has a big mass of servers working in the back.

palsule: A Flickr is worth a thousand Tweets.

rhwarrier: The early tweeter gets the RT.

mokkai_mak: united we RT, divided we block.

beastoftraal: A fool and his tweets are soon meme’d.

milcom_: All is well that Trends well.

anantha: Empty blogs make no noise.

notytony: Timeline and Google wave wait for no man

madversity: A flashy smartphone is only a tartphone

mojorojo: The enemy of my enemy is my frenemy

ashumittal: Trolling tweets gather all bots.

madversity: Bhala uski Tweet meri Tweet se safed kaise?

sidin:  Every dog has his blog.

amit_das: where there is a bill, there is a (credit card) PAYment

mokkai_mak: the best tweets in life are free.

Chrony: Even bloggers fart .. and tweeters.

SundeepDougal: Tweet in haste, explain (in blog) at leisure.

magikfactory: ek tweet se do shikaar.

mojorojo: Where there is a Farmville there is a hay.

Shagun3107: All work and no twitter makes Jack a loser.

avinash_y: A tweet in time saves lives

Farisky: Where there’s a Bill, there’s a Woman.

mahajankabeer: You can tell a man by his tweets.

lavsmohan: Beauty lies in the eyes of the Photoshopper

sahilriz: Show me who your followees are, and I will show you who you are.

anantha: A bad tweet does not yield good RTs.

Anita_Lobo: Early birds, catch many tweets; but snarky tweets, get more retweets!

pvijay: All is fair in love and mafia wars

dexgle: All these followers weren’t gain in a day.

priya_arun: The keyboard is mightier than the pen.

Farisky: ReTweeting is the sincerest form of flattery

blogadda: Wisdom is not an accumulation of tweets

vencat: I use GTalk, therefore IM.

fivefrancs: Send no tweets, and you’ll have no followers.

anantha: Every blog has its troll.

startonomics: The way to get started is to quit tweeting and begin doing. – Walt Twisney

Shagun3107: Better tweet than scrap.

vaniquest: Bad news travels fast, but retweets travels much faster

c_aashish: Health is better than wealth. Only some like @jhunjhunwala have both.

ideasmithy: Neki kar, Twitter pe daal.

i_r_squared: Brevity is the soul of tweet. #modernproverbs

0ptimist: Tweet and the world tweets with you, block and you block alone.

silverbakc: clothes make the man, wife and their dog

krishashok: A Lolcat has nine cheezburgers

Palsule: A friend in Facebook may not be a real friend indeed.

rhwarrier: The early tweeter gets the RT

silverbakc: an idle brain is a tweep

beastoftraal: A fool and his tweets are soon meme’d

milcom_: All is well that Trends well

mokkai_mak: You can have a cake and tweet about it too

adityar: “Work hard. Never give up. Only then shall you achieve retweetability.”

deepagarimella: Don’t wash your dirty linen in public. Call the news channels first.

vinay_s: Home is where the browser button with the home icon is.

crucifire: The best things in life are free till they find an advertising model

crucifire: First impression doesn’t really matter in a CPM deal #digitaladvertisingjoke

We will update the list regularly. Keep coming. Hope you would have liked the compilation. Do send in your feedback and follow us on twitter @blogadda, if you are not as yet.

Related posts:

1. Nithyananda controversy spills on Twitter
2. Faceoff between Pritish Nandy and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Twitter
3. Perky Tweets – Jan. 11, ‘10

• Who : Sagarika Chakraborthy
  What : Blog for International Women’s Day!
  Tangy : ‘This Women’s Day my idea of equality is my right to stand up against female foeticide – to make people aware that every healthy foetus has the equal right to live a dignified life!’ says Sagarika. Do we need to say anything more on this? Do read it!!!

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• Who : Indyeah
  What : Qatar calling
  Tangy : After a long time, Indyeah gets featured here again and it is a gem of a post. A lot of valid questions on the recent M F Hussain episode and Indyeah has her views on the freedom of speech in our country. Indyeah, we are glad to have you back here. (You would also love to read her interview)

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• Who : Poonam
  What : Interview with the Braveheart, Dr. Ritu Biyani
  Tangy : ‘Dr. Ritu was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She fought back and survived. And not only did she survive, but she travelled across the length of the country to support many other women.’  Poonam has an interview with this amazing lady which is an inspiration for many and that is the reason for it getting featured here. (You would also love to read her interview)

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• Who : Noor
  What : “Sab Maya hai…”
  Tangy : Did you know that, in most of the statues of Mayawati, she carries a handbag? Are you aware of any other accessory that has been popular through a statue? Lot of  such facts in this post by Noor (Momofrs).

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• Who : Snowleopard
  What : Lessons
  Tangy : Here are 14 lessons of life according to Snowleopard that happens in India. What do you think? Do you want to add anything more? Do let  Snowleopard know.

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• Who : Mamma Mia
  What : Thoughts for Women’s Day
  Tangy : Mamma Mia, in this post, has her thoughts on Women’s day and what inspired her to start blogging. A post you will enjoy reading.

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• Who : Cubicile_blues
  What : Nityananda comes out clean. Says, he was experimenting sex yoga
  Tangy : The  Self-styled godman Nithyananda Swami has written the following open letter in response to the trend which the hashtag created #nithyananda and conveyed it to the Indian Blogosphere through our friend Cubicile_blues! You gotta read this is all we have to say. And read it Now!

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• Who : Chrony
  What : Jalabula Janks (The movie that missed the Oscar by a whisker)
  Tangy : Have you heard of the movie called Jalabula Janks? It is directed by none other than the award winning director from Singapore called Chrony. This movie is based on the Swami and his antics! A movie which just missed getting nominated to the oscars because the swamiji was busy protecting himself

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• Who : Preeti
  What : On the women ’s day !!
  Tangy : ‘We are cute daughters, we are sweet sisters, we are lovely lovers, we are darling wives, we are adorable mothers , we are source of strength , we are women…happy women’s day ‘ was one of the many sms’es doing the rounds yesterday. Preeti has her views on some of those which are just awesome. A must read.

If you still have not read the awesomeness interview of Greatbong, do read it now. You’ll regret if you miss this one!

Send in your suggestions for our Tangy Tuesday & Spicy Saturday picks on Twitter @blogadda or using our contact form. If selected, you’ll be credited for it.

Related posts:

1. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Jul. 07, ‘09
2. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Jun. 16, ‘09
3. BlogAdda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks – Jan. 26, ‘10

@sidin
If any newspaper should have had a hole in it one morning, it should be Mint imho.

@stupidusmaximus
Hrithik was clapping along to Sallu’s dance, while thinking “Loser. My extra thumb can dance better.” #Filmfare

@jhunjhunwala
For every oscar won by Avatar this year , 10 should be given to Kamal Hassan’s Dashavatar.

@ujj
gotta admit fellas.. this chance pe dance thingy is almost as exciting as Vijay Hazare cup with Arun Lals commentary

@anaggh
Om Nithyananda Swamiye Namaha RT this NOW. u’ll get a supermodel within 1 week.. If u dont u will go 2 bed only with ur wife

@rameshsrivats
Thank God, Aamir Khan didn’t opt for a hockey match in Lagaan. We’d have still been paying tax to the British.

@amkhanji
Why did Priyanka recently go to Twitter HQ? A. To get permission for spamming about #ndtvgreenathon #ifm *ROFL*

@PolitelyPink
Grumpy buffalo on the road. Lonely and blue. Seeks no attention.  ……………………………………………………….

@Prernasiddharth
How can a guy wear barbie pink, ride a scooty pep and still pass sleazy looks at passing girls!

@twilightfairy
with such exotic “all ladies” discounts for tomorrow, lesbians r the winners! :p .…………………………………………………….

@wewakesaynoy
NO! Eating Parle-G does not make you a tiger, thereby increasing tiger numbers in India…

@madversity
The two losers will give relief party #rahulmahajan ……………………………………………………..

@gauravmanik
Where can I buy injectable common sense !!!! #perkytweets ……………………………………………………..

@cubicile_blues
Compliments for #womenday are the proof that Indian men will not leave a single chance to talk with women.

@silv3rglee
TWeekend mantra: One tequila, two tequila, three tequila,floor! #perkytweets ……………………………………………………..

@nishantways
ND Tiwary’s Team in #IPL2010 – Andhra NIGHT Riders #PerkyTweets ……………………………………………………..

@RockIshtaar
Twitter’s new ad Motto for India- “Desi Celebs” – OnlyAvailable here! #perkytweets ……………………………………………………..

@subhadeep
If Rahul M hosts the @mtvindia SELECT, the callers will be given list of gals to play not songs. #perkytweets

@nishantways
Feeling hot hot hot! ..literally (oops!).. i mean coz of the weather..#perkytweets  ……………………………………………………..

@v_shakthii
Q: What will Kareena be called if she becomes Apple’s Brand Ambassador ? A: iBebo ! #perkytweets

@laapata
Retweeted for @ShaadiDotCom #corollary nobody is proven married untill caught with wife #perkytweets

@rjshrikant
..and THAT is the newest fan page on FB! #perkytweets RT @MrShri: #iWish people stop creating stupid fan pages on #facebook

@pankajahuja1011
Twitter is so unlike real life.Not once in real life has a girl thanked me for following her. They normally contact the cops.! #perkytweets

@wraith_ness
Jack and Jill went up the hill to have some hanky panky. Silly Jill forgot their pill And now there’s little Frankie #perkytweets

@tam007
You are not eligible to be on Social Networking sites if u hav failed in “Social Studies”subject in your SSLC exam #perkytweets

@pratikshadake
Thought that if Twitter was a job we would all be rich! #perkytweets  ……………………………………………………..

@dunkdaft
Time is the best teacher; unfortunately it kills all of its students. #perkytweets  ……………………………………………………..

@zoooni
girl: how much will this dress cost ? guy: just one kiss. girl ok pack it my grandmother will pay ! #perkytweets #funny

@frozenwell
you dont google ‘my wife’ when she goes missing,you tweet to celebrate #perkytweets  ……………………………………………………..

@ikaveri
I’ll be Burger King and you’ll be McDonald’s… I’ll have it my way and you’ll be loving it. ……………………………………………………..

Every day you spend without a smile, is a lost day. Make someone smile with your #perkytweets. And a big thanks to all those who mark their tweets as #perkytweets – each one of you is simply superb!

Do not forget to read the interview of one of India’s s Funniest bloggers Arnab Ray aka ‘Greatbong’.

Related posts:

1. Perky Tweets – Mar. 15, ‘10
2. Perky Tweets – Dec. 21, ‘09
3. Perky Tweets – Dec. 28, ‘09

• Who : Mansi Bhatia
  What : Gift for your baby girl: a breastfeeding doll
  

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• Who : Varsh
  What : Essence of a Woman

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• Who : Shail Raghuvanshi
  What : Remembering the Woman of the Month – Sarojini Naidu…
  

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• Who : Anju Gandhi
  What : Wake up girls—- at least on this women’ day
  

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• Who : Chandni
  What : Women’s Day Gyaan
  

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• Who : Alka Singh
  What : Empower the Woman in Me
  

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• Who : Rayna Iyer
  What : On International Woman’s Day
  

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• Who : Meetu
  What : Of dogs and bitches

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• Who : Charakan
  What : 100th International Women’s day

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• Who : Indian Homemaker
  What : What is it that makes some women stronger than others?

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• Who : Arun Raj
  What : Celebrating my most treasured Women – Part 1 – Mom & Sisters

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• Who : Sandeep Bansal
  What : My take on the Women’s Reservation Bill

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• Who : Shobhaa De
  What : I want to be my mother…..!
  

Do read these blogs and it would be great to know your feedback/comments. Have a great day ahead.

Related posts:

1. Indusladies International Women’s Day Blog Contest
2. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – Aug. 15, ‘09
3. Quotable Quotes from Blog World Expo

• Who : Anirban
  What : How to treat non-lethal bullet injuries: lessons from Bollywood movies
  Spicy : Woah! What a post to start with! Anirban has this stupendous post on how to treat non-lethal bullet injuries which we are sure no doctor would know. You gotta read this post and appreciate the efforts which Anirban has taken.

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• Who : Pitusultan
  What : The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Desi Celebtweeters
  Spicy : We have another cracker of a post by Pitusultan. It is a complete Idiot’s guide as to what kind of tweets you should expect reading a celebrity’s timeline. This is an awesome post and we don’t want to spoil the fun by disclosing it . Highly recommended.

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• Who : Priya
  What : A mesmerizing evening at the National Stadium
  Spicy : Priya has this wonderful post on her experience in watching a hockey match for the first time in her life. She has shared with us on what she felt to watch a Indo – Pak Hockey match live. A sure read.
  

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• Who : Anuja Rathi
  What : You’re my Honey Bun, Omi!
  Spicy : When a kid is born in a family, it brings the whole family together. Anuja is happy these days and the reason for this is the arrival of a new member in her family. She has expressed her feelings and takes us back to the time when we have a newborn in our family. Do read it.

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• Who : Hip Hop Grandmom
  What : On Spiritual Gurus and Swamijis….
  Spicy : We all know what #Nithyananda had on us for the past few days. This post by Hip Hop Grandmom talks about Spiritual Gurus and Swamijs and has some very valid questions raised which makes it a must read. (Ed: We have a blog post with the best one liners from #nithyananda tweets, in case you’ve missed those. It unleashed the creativity of many.)

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• Who : Prashant
  What : Love struck in Trichy – Part 1
  Spicy : There was an old movie called ‘Love in Tokyo’ and now we have the new age version called ‘Love Struck in Trichy’ directed by Prashant, we mean written. Enter the world of Prashant and join him in his pursuit of happyness.

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• Who : Suranga Date
  What : An “Educated” Illiterate lady…
  Spicy : ‘Sometimes I really wonder, am I literate, illiterate, educated, or uneducated?’ wonders Suranga at the end of the post. A truly inspiring stuff from Suranga which deserves to be in the top 10 of the Indusladies Women’s day contest. (Read her awesome two part interview, Part I and Part II)

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• Who : Starsinmyeyes
  What : Wombs for rent
  Spicy : Starsinmyeyes has this very hard hitting post which talks about ‘wombs for rent’. A post which made it to the top ten of The Indusladies Women’s day contest. A post everyone should read.

Here is one post that has been tipped by a couple of our readers. Though it is not recently dated, but it’s nicely written. Do read it. To Serve for Honor by Piper.

‘May we also hebb your attention pliss?’ as this week we have interviewed ‘The Greatbong’. Do read it!

If you come across any interesting post or tweet and want to share, you can tip us on Twitter or contact us here and we will credit you for the selected pick.

Related posts:

1. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – May. 16, ‘09
2. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – Feb. 20, ‘10
3. BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks – Mar. 13, ‘10