Dell Blogathon 2012 – The unfortunately titled event

Dell Blogathon 2012 was an interesting event, that it had nothing to do with blogs per se is a different matter altogether.

The event was hosted at The Second Sin, MGF Metropolitan Mall in Delhi and sponsored by Dell, Belkin and Yebhi.com. Fairly big names who, as was expected, spent a decent amount of time self-promoting. Dell showcased its three latest laptops including the XPS 13. Fancy machine. Representatives from Belkin and Yebhi.com talked about their latest ventures.

The parched crowd having traveled from various parts of the city (and some even from different cities) in the scorching heat heaved a sigh of relief when the drinks started flowing (free Foster’s for the win!). Once the snacks were dished out the mood improved further. The taste palette was in for a real ride with dishes like Lazy Snakes Rolls, Farmville Potatoes and Spotify Paneer, but my favorite was the Instagram Cake, probably the tastiest strawberry cheesecake I’ve had in a long time.

Once everyone had had their full, we settled down again for the ‘Amazing People Series’ and met four interesting fellas. Karan Singh, the psycho-illusionist, wowed the audience with his ready wit and extraordinary talent. This was followed by a talk by Abhishek Baxi who planned his entire wedding on Evernote. Unfortunately, I missed Gaurav Mishra, or more popularly, Gauravonomics, for I was craving a smoke. But I’m glad I returned in time to catch Andrew Hoffland or Uncle Andy as he is fondly called. ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ (his words, not mine), he is one colorful personality who infused a new enthusiasm in the crowd with his excellent mimicry skills and crackling wit.

I even got the chance to use my dormant Twitter account to tweet about the event, but since I was only doing so for the prizes, I got bored soon enough and stopped. Prizes were distributed and the event came to a close with cameras clicking away to glory.

Finally, to elaborate on the opening statement: here was an event that called itself a blogathon, but sadly, forgot an essential quality of bloggers. You may choose to disagree, but most of the bloggers I have come across are a tad socially inept (yours truly included), and take some time before opening up. Sadly, the maze-like decor of the venue, lack of open spaces and absence of a formal introduction session dampened the enthusiasm. I, for one, chose not to roam around and mingle because no matter where I went, I kept bumping into people or awkwardly placed furniture.  Another grievance many voiced was regarding the agenda of the meet. Bloggers come from all walks of life and the event saw in attendance food bloggers, photo-bloggers, writers, fashion-bloggers, social commentators, tech-bloggers and even power-point bloggers (wonder what that constitutes). It was a mixed bag of people who, at a certain level, failed to connect for myriad reasons. I reckon if the agenda was spelled out clearly in the invite, it would’ve helped attract like-minded individuals.

Nevertheless, one must applaud the organisers’ effort. For an inaugural event, it was quite successful. So, kudos to them, and here’s hoping that the next blogathon is even better.

Photographs from the event –

Yebhi.com

Demonstrating the Belkin contraption that connects to the set top box at home and lets you watch TV on the go.

Uncle Andy