We had guests at home since a few days and so, I hardly got
time with my laptop. Today, when I sat snug in my usual place and thought of
writing something on a word starting with the alphabet C for the A to Z challenge, I happened to check Indiblogger.
And guess what, results for this contest were announced and
I won the first prize for THIS post! Surprisingly I was not so thrilled because
I got that satisfaction when I was trying to gather funds for a good cause. Also, I was sad to see that not many people had written for the same and the
contributions made were really less.
A rather blurred screen shot of the contest page |
I’ve done a lot of thinking and I fail to understand why
this happened. Normally, when we have contests on the same website we get
anywhere from 150 to 400 entries. The prizes for this one were as awesome as
any blogging activity for shampoo/oil/social application. For this particular
contest we had to inspire our readers to give loan to the needy. You could give
as little as Rs. 500 (for Indians) or 25$(for foreign nationals). They were not
asking us to donate, nor did they tell the bloggers to contribute; they just
asked us to write! And most did not. Yes, I will make you feel guilty about it! If you can write a eulogy on a particular oil without even using it, why can't you write a post on small borrowers? *Hint: You can still write about them. The contest might be over, but life goes on.*
Coming to the lenders, when I was talking to them about the firm that sponsored this contest, I faced three problems – One, people thought it could be a scam
i.e. the loan will not reach the right people. Two, people pledged to
contribute but conveniently forgot. Third and the only genuine reason for not
lending was that people had already given loans to their house help/employees
and so, they were already doing their bit.
I was obviously ok with the third. But the fact that people
thought it could be sort of a ponzi scheme was ok to start with but frustrating when they did not contribute even after explaining a lot! I mean, there are hundreds of microfinance firms in this world. How come we do not know anything about their
operations? The sponsor, which is a 4-year old firm, has all its facts mentioned clearly in black and white. Normally, they connect with NGOs that choose genuine borrowers. The
borrowers usually form groups. If one fails to pay back, the whole group
suffers. Therefore, in almost all cases, the loan has been repaid. It is as
simple as that.
Secondly, either you don’t commit or you don’t forget! I had
to send umpteen reminders to various people. A lot responded well in time and I
am really grateful to them for their help. I understand that life can sometimes be very busy and I'm really, really glad that they did take out time to do this. But the ones who did not, hmm, I don’t
have anything to say to them. *Hint: You can still contribute whenever you want.*
I am very happy for Blogwati G who, I think, was able to
inspire a lot of people from blogosphere. Her post has reaffirmed my faith in this
community. Otherwise, seeing the number of entries, my faith was somewhat
dwindling.
By far, as a participant, this was the most satisfying marketing activity I have done through this blog. It actually feels useful. Although I wish everyone was as enthusiastic about it as any other challenge. This cause is
close to my heart and so the quest doesn’t end here. I would try to keep
encouraging people to Loan a Little and Change a Lot. You will too, won’t you?
Congratz ! It's even more satisfying because indirectly you have brought smiles to those faces :) Your post was indeed Informative and and and what is that word..Effective..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Enchantress! I want to encourage people to participate in this. I hope it was truly effective.
DeleteFirst of all congrats on winning! And secondly, way to go on taking up responsibility for issues like this...not many people go out of their way to do so! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThankyou, Danny. Writing about it here is the least I can do.
DeleteIt is commendable that you raised that much amount of money! And babe it is even better than you did it straight from the heart for a really good cause. I did not even know about the contest. And yes you did make me feel guilty.
ReplyDeleteSee, some people don't participate in all contests. Like you don't. I am angry with those who write 10 posts to win a Malaysia ticket and yet find it hard to write for something like this. My blog is not even that famous. The ones who have a bigger reach could have made such a difference.
DeleteWow you won an ipad Air that was truly deserved !!! Congratulations! Proud of u !
ReplyDeleteThankyou, Anita! I'm proud of this win too :)
DeleteMany many congratulations! You make all of us who did not write for this cause sound guilty.
ReplyDeleteIshithaa
#AtoZChallenge
Thankyou! You can still write and publicize such causes whenever you feel like!
DeleteIt's good that you did it...! I feel bad that I couldn't ...No amount of reasons seem valid...However, Congrats!
ReplyDeleteRandom Thoughts Naba
This time I could see IndiChange happening right in front of my eyes. The amount raised was precise and so it encouraged me more than any other topic. Hope we can have something like this again with many more entries.
DeleteNisha well done mainly on feeling strongly n doing something for this cause and also for winning.
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age, everyone feels strongly about something or the other. But we are so busy in our lives that we don't do the needful. I hope things like this inspire us and we can do our bit.
DeleteYay you won!! Congrats darling, the effort you put in was commendable. :)
ReplyDeleteThankyou! I'm glad I could put this blog to good use.
DeleteCongrats and keep winning more :)
ReplyDeleteThankyou!! I love winning! Haha :)
DeleteCongrats. And it is a great thing to own up to the cause and talk about it responsibly.
ReplyDeleteWhile posting this I was a little hesitant. After all who am I to tell people what to post on their blog? But then I just pressed the publish button and let it be! Even if this motivates one person I would be very happy.
DeleteCongratulations Nisha. Wish I'd done it too but I'm so not clued into to indiblogger.. yeah I missed out the shampoos and oils too, but that hardly matters - this does. Will make it up soon. I think Corinne has something planned.
ReplyDeleteI took part in a lot of contests last year and so was keen for this one as well. But we did not see the same enthusiasm. I think Corinne is quite an inspiration for fellow bloggers; it would be great if she does come up with something like this.
DeleteCongratulations on winning. And like Tulika said above, I am not clued into many contests on Indiblogger/ Blog Adda. Perhaps I should keep an eye out in the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shailaja. These contests are actually a lot of fun. You sort of go out of your comfort zone and write on random stuff. Do participate sometime.
DeleteCongratulations! You did your bit to raise awareness and you should be proud that you were able to contribute. ♥
ReplyDeleteI am, I am. And seeing so many people feeling happy for the same, I am further motivated :)
DeleteCongratulations Nisha, for not only participating in such a good cause but also doing great at it :). Milaap is a great - transparent organisation to get involved with. Superb job done.
ReplyDeleteThankyou! You are doing a great job as well... for freelancing for them. More power to us :)
Delete