For six years now, T.V. Kalyanasundaram has a morning ritual that he cannot miss. The 83-year-old sips his morning coffee and sits glued to the family page >www.sowkyama.blogspot.com where he spends at least an hour checking for new updates, uploading photographs and responding to comments.
“You can loosely call me the moderator,” he says modestly.
For some, blogging might have taken a backseat following the growing fascination for social networking sites, but there are some families that are keen on keeping up the momentum in their blogs. With nuclear families where several members are in different corners of the world, these blogs not only keep them informed, but also help them connect with their second and third cousins.
As Kalyanasundaram recalls, “I have a number of second cousins who I have not seen. I could connect with one after she found her grandfather's picture on our family blog.” The blog was started in October 2005, has 34 members and receives a reasonable number of hits everyday. Although these blogs also face the challenge of only having some active members, a few families are so large that there is enough news to share even if only some are active. “My father has 12 children and there is enough happening if each family member is participating,” says P. Jayaraman, 80, who moderates the blog www.FamilyPSC.blogspot.com. From picking up “celebrities of the month” (those celebrating anniversaries and birthdays) to leaving long comments, Mr. Jayaraman admits his knowledge of computers is limited to make the site snazzier. “Occasionally I lose interest if nobody replies, but there are people who ask me to keep it going,” he says, adding that those in the 40-85 age group are regular members on the site.
According to IndiBlogger, there would be about 364 exclusive blogs on parenting and family. Vineet Rajan, director, IndiBlogger, says, “Blogs by parents will always strike a note and its readership is confirmed since family will remain family. The only reason why such a blog might fail is when one doesn't write or blog often. Parents who blog have greater trust and credibility, much to do with their age as well.”
