The Hindu Business Line : Write on the Web

Greg R. Notess, Reference Librarian, Montana State University, in a paper titled The Changing Information Cycle, says "The Web has succeeded so spectacularly as a new publishing and communication medium for many reasons — the ease with which anyone can publish, the ability to change and update content, the interconnectedness from linking, the lack of a limit to the quantity of information published, and more."While resources to write on the Web are many, two Indian portals — freshlimesoda.com and Sulekha — catch our eye with witty, serious offbeat content. Freshlimesoda.com (http://www.freshlimesoda.com/), as the site declares, is certainly a "Web site for youth expression of all types." It takes care to see that it is truly as fresh as lime any day with no stale matter. Therefore no repetition of matter. There is no registration necessary and access and posting of writing is completely free. The site is done up with a lot of green that not only suggests creativity but also represents the fresh lime in the soda. Articles on anything and everything can be posted. The various sections of the site help as pointers. There are various sections, such as Poetry, Features, Fiction, etc. The site does not deal with only the written word, there's the Art section. It features artists using conventional paints to create `Pastoral Bliss' as well as the camera to capture a ;Sunset.' Photoshop images are swirled together to make `Landscapes Within.' `Columns' is about personal space and has stuff like "Nasty little essays about the really sweet things of life", "Seven Habits of Highly Defective People" and "How to be a Human Being."

The Bulletin Board is once again meant for the posting of opinion of all shades.

Every article or written piece carries an author bio which goes something like this "Husain C, 22, lives in Bombay, India and likes literature, rock music and impressionistic art."

For good writing

Sulekha.com (www.sulekha.com) is another publishing portal where young authors may exhibit their work. Sulekha means `good writing' and good writing is what it is devoted to. The site features four new articles daily on its Expressions Section. You can type out your piece in MS Word or notepad and send it to theeditor@sulekha.com. To be columnist on the site, one requires three or more published articles on the site. The title of the column along with three articles on the same theme allows you to have your very own personal space on the Web but contributing one article a month is mandatory.

The New shopper Section is a collection of insightful and informative new stories from around the world about India and Indians. The Coffee house is divided into 18 forums of games, music, women and others with a clear invitation to spill whatever your mind brews with other like-minded caffeine regulars.

The best bit about this site is that if your contribution is not featured as an article, you can still have it published in the more informal Coffeehouse or Weblogs Section to invite discussion.

While contributors are not paid, this is certainly an opportunity to build up your portfolio. Since English is the preferred language, articles written in other languages will have to be translated. Penguin India has published Sulekha Select, a collection of the best of Sulekha. Penguin and Sulekha are now jointly hosting a global writers' contest called IndiaSmiles. Tackle writer's block Then there's http://www.forwriters.com, an all-purpose writers' site with a listing of resources on markets, agents, writers' groups, writers' conferences, and forums where writers can participate after registration.

One can also look up http://www.sff.net/People/LisaRC/into2.htm. This is not about publishing as such. It deals with an important aspect of writing - writer's block. It features advice, resources, exercises, don'ts', etc. So take up your pen online and get cracking on the good word.

Picture by Murali Kumar

paromita@thehindu.co.in

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