BlogCamp vs Marriage

Three months back I had decided to be in Madurai for a wedding on Sep 9 & 10. But on 6th I decided to drop the Madurai trip and attend the BlogCamp instead. After spending two days at the BlogCamp, I have realized that very little differentiates BlogCamp from a marriage.

Goodies for visitors: Had I gone to the marriage in Madurai, I would have got a coconut, a betel leaf, a lemon, some acre nut in a polyethylene bag. At the BlogCamp I got a black bag (with Yahoo written all over it), a Zoho writing pad, a Sulekha India Smiles book, a blue Fuente Systems mug, and a black Fashion IQ T-shirt. Had I known, I would have not booked my tickets at all.

Free Food: The single biggest reason why all marriage halls are crowded is because that`s the time everybody is taking revenge. “Wasn`t he the guy who ate all the rice in my marriage? Let me do the same in his son`s marriage!” Same happened with me at the BlogCamp. I hogged well on both days…which was one of the reasons why I didn`t participate much.

The old and the young: At the un-conference the oldies were congregated at the auditorium discussing strategies, vision and concepts while the young ones were closeted in the conference hall upstairs engaging in hands on experiences. Don`t the marriages also have a set of old relatives who try to match pairs and a set of young cousins who have all the fun?

Gifts: While a few like me walk into a marriage without gifts, most walk into marriages with a gift wrapped in shiny paper. If I were to get a comparison…almost everybody who walked into the un-conference had something or the other on hand which they thought was their gift to the blogging community – a brand to promote, a url to popularize or a presentation to deliver.

Relief: After most marriages the daughter`s father and mother is a relieved couple. No issues. Everything went on smoothly…and I am sure Kiruba and his tea of volunteers would have felt the same at 7 p.m. on Sunday.