Blogging at Anna University

The Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai is hosting a national conference on Blogging.

Focus is on identifying new application areas, and use of blogs in knowledge management.

Bloggers, tool-vendors, and media-persons are invited.

Date: Saturday 29th March
Time: 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Venue: Vivekananda Auditorium, Anna University, Guindy, Chennai
Details at http://www.geocities.com/mdeii/event.html 

When a young student Kaushal Sen sent me the invitation for the blogging conference above, my mind fondly recalled a conference I'd attended in the same location, once upon a time.

Once upon a time, (when I was 19) I presented a paper at Anna University. It was about making Unix  user-friendly (aha! the work is still unfinished, did you say?!). It was a great experience for me, having traveled from Mysore to Madras just to present the paper. We were given free food and accommodation meant for (I think) visiting scholars and professors. It was wonderful. There I met another engineering student, Anand Sampath who was working on robotics at that time. Anand was also great nature enthusiast and a wonderful photographer, and we went on to become life-long friends. After all these years and distances, we still meet for hiking nature trails, parasailing, or just hanging out.

I write this to encourage students in Indian universities to go beyond what is covered in textbooks and examinations. It is very important to build a network of peers and mentors for professional and personal success. Having a personal blog can help you in that endeavor.