Two decades can have a transfigurative impact on our memories. Trivial moments morph into bittersweet nostalgia, while monumental events fade into relics of the past. Starting this blog was one of those seemingly trivial acts back in 2004, but reflecting on its origins and the occasional old posts reveals a montage of life events that now feel both incredulous and utterly random.
I first used a computer and the internet in 1998–99. As a young person in a small town in Bihar, this felt like winning the lottery. At the time, I had no idea how privileged I was or how this access would reshape my entire life. Cursed with an insatiable curiosity, I made the internet my playground of discovery — a window to a world far beyond my imagination. I immersed myself in emerging web and internet technologies and the thrilling tech-pop culture blossoming across Europe and the US.
My early days on the internet were all about personal blogs and forums. While the golden era of blogging spanned 2000–2010, the first blog was published as early as 1993. Justin Hall, who started posting on his personal website that year, is regarded as the first personal blogger. He was already known in tech circles through bulletin boards and chat forums like mIRC. By 2000, personal blogging exploded, connecting like-minded strangers worldwide. Personal blogs had a very effective discoverability mechanism: links to other blogs. Roaming around, I stumbled upon pioneering bloggers and tech influencers like Kevin Kelly (the most interesting man alive and perhaps my biggest blogging inspiration), Ben Trott (TypePad founder), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress co-founder), and later, economists like Tyler Cowen (Marginal Revolution) and Tim Ferriss. The list goes on!
By 2003–04, the Indian blogosphere was booming. My inbox buzzed with emails — friends, acquaintances, even strangers — excitedly sharing their new blogs or latest posts. It was a wave of creativity and connection, and I was swept up in it. My own blog started as a jumble of personal updates and reflections, lacking any clear purpose. Perhaps a mix of homesickness and a desire to connect with my growing online social circle (from forums and websites) fueled its creation. Soon, I added a separate blog just for sharing IIFM campus updates and became part of b-school blogging groups. Many well-known figures today were blogging from various campuses across India. This era also saw bloggers banding together to challenge figures like Arindham Chaudhuri of IIPM (Fury over a blog | Latest News India — Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/fury-over-a-blog/story-SGKxCQJzF65KdA1XwZOIjJ.html). It was a moment when bloggers like Rashmi Bansal and Gaurav Sabnis brought mainstream media attention to the Indian blogosphere.
My own blog went through many existential crises and transformations as life progressed. The private section of the blog became more active than the public posts section. Irrepressible personal opinions, reflections, and rants were relegated to drafts or the private section, while sanitized, politically correct updates were published to keep the public page alive. It was no longer a personal blog but rather a space for sharing updates about professional life and keeping track of the books I read.
Now, as this blog turns twenty, it has become a treasure trove of nostalgia, a witness to a journey that began with the insecurities of a middle-class youth figuring out his future to frustrations of a middle-aged man grappling with the future his child (and other children) will inherit in this fragile, almost post-truth world.
PS: If you are reading this, do leave a comments just like old blogging days…
