Praja.in is there with a specific purpose in mind, that is to make citizens know, care and participate. In order to keep the focus and sanity, we have some guidelines on how and what to blog about on Praja.
Content, Style etc:
- Content: Write on matters that need public attention or are of relevance to citizens of an area. No personal propaganda, promoting businesses, movie reviews, pop culture or general sermons. There are tons of people writing on those.
- Be Local: Don't always write on larger issues and projects (BMIC, Metro etc). Every 2nd or 3rd post or image should be ultra-local, about the area you live or work in.
- Style: Don't sound very geeky. Use a few acronyms (FAR, JNNURM) and new readers may lose interest. Idea here is to write in such a way that you generate public interest. So explain things well, split your post into two if explanations make it lengthy, but dont assume all readers will have all the background information.
- Credits: Don't steal from other websites, just quote them. Don't just copy newspaper articles, either add your spin to it, or explain something the newspapers may not have described well. If some stats and opinions are your own creation, say so.
- PrajaByte (aka microblog): Use this feature to speak your mind, for one liners or quick takes. Opinions, hints rumours, reactions or whatever, but remember to be local, and stay civil!
Other guidelines:
- Images/Video: Try posting large files on flickr or youtube. Here are how-tos: image, video (TBD).
- Cross posting: Not recommended, but if you want to post on your personal blog as well, you must put "cross posted on Praja" right on top with links to the Praja post.
Some more general pointers on content and style:
Your opinions, but with credits to the source of inspiration: Don't just repeat what someone else is saying. Your opinions matter. Write something only if you have something to say about it. Always link to the original article. If you are quoting numbers, they better be backed up with references. Similarly, all pictures from elsewhere need to be credited too. Never ever rip another article from elsewhere. Its OK to quote a few lines (with due credits of course).
Be nice: Be gentle and use responsible language. If you have to criticise something, dont get personal. You have right to criticise the ideas, not the person behind them. Also, it is easy to pick a fight behind the anonymity of web. Never pick a fight. As they say, dont argue with a fool. People wont know the difference.
Think: Before you commit anything in writing, be sure you have evidence to back up what you are saying. Your personal reputation is at stake as well as the site's. Its not nice to delete blogs after they are published and they will always be available on google cache and haunt you for ever.
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