If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email alerts. Thanks for visiting!
The reasons are not fancy and the ones I listed on DesiPundit are basically it. I resumed my doctoral studies last year and things have been getting busier with each passing day. Frankly, it was a choice between pursuing my academic and professional interests that seem to demand more of my time nowadays and digging up interesting posts to share on DesiPundit. For many, the choice would have been easy.
The need to share links with readers and not disappointing them when they visited the site was overwhelming. DesiPundit is not something you set up and let it run on its own. Unlike many of the web 2.0 sites out there, DesiPundit is powered by the human labor of its contributors who also hold full-time jobs. I have never imposed any minimum post limitation on contributors or have ever hauled up anyone for not posting enough because I assume it is purely a voluntary effort and is done with the intention of sharing interesting links. But I always felt personally responsible for bringing the ‘best of the blogosphere’ to DesiPundit readers and at times, the need to link posts rather than enjoying them myself somewhat blurred my blogging experience, as also mentioned by Ash. The contributors have been absolutely wonderful and this might be the best team I have ever worked with - online or in the real world. I couldn’t think of asking more. With a team this large, the fact that we never had any conflicts still amazes me.
At the risk of sounding corny and cliched, DesiPundit was always a labor of love. Apart from once requesting link love couple of months after we launched, we never advertised DesiPundit. Initially relying on trackbacks, I guess the news got out mainly through word of mouth. Of course, IIPM, Blog Quake Day, and more recently the Blogspot Ban proved to be watershed moments. To credit DesiPundit with acting as a rallying force would be to accord it too much credit. The blog-movements are always powered by individual bloggers acting toward a common goal. DesiPundit simply happened to be a gathering spot. If it wasn’t for DesiPundit, it would have been any other blog.
My post saying farewell on DesiPundit got tons of comments and I am deeply touched by how much DesiPundit meant to so many. There are many questions and suggestions voiced by bloggers; one comment even exhorting me to respond mere hours after the announcement went public. I’ll try to answer to them one by one.
Why don’t you simply hand it over to someone else to carry on?
At this point, I’ll act protective and sentimental. I started DesiPundit initially with the sole intention of listing the posts that I liked. Adding contributors, even asking Ash to join in was an afterthought. Even then, I invited people whom I thought shared the same wavelength and probably explains the lack of internal conflict. It is difficult to let go of an identity and see it transform into something different from what I envisioned. That said, the concept of DesiPundit is no rocket science and it can be easily duplicated by anyone who is willing to invest a good part of his or her waking hours. Names are forgotten and if the concept is that loved and respected, anyone can easily recreate the sense of community that everyone talks about regardless of its name. Also, I might return to DesiPundit in the distant future (and probably in a different form) so I would like to keep that option open.
Why such a hasty decision?
Well, on the contrary it isn’t hasty at all; you were just told the news now. Actually Ash and I deliberated over the past month; some of you even saw it coming. As I mentioned above, the moment it stopped being a passionate task that I loved doing and assumed the form of something that I had to do, I realized that it was time to stop. Everyone agrees that you shouldn’t blog for the sake of it and should continue only if you feel like it. So why is DesiPundit any different? I thought of all possible options and this seemed like the best one. It is like I believe any separation or farewell should be - quick and painful.
Why not reduce the number of links or even make it a weekly/monthly thing?
The linking part is the easy part. Looking for, reading, judging and choosing posts takes bulk of the time. Would you visit DesiPundit if the quality drops or it changes its structure? Probably not. It is better to quit when you are at the top (or at least near it) rather than slowly fade away like some struggling Bollywood actor who refuses to believe he is past his prime and continues to prance around with women half his age.
Why delete the blog and not maintain the archives elsewhere?
For one, it costs to host any content on the web. Free hosting services exist but we know how reliable they can be. DesiPundit already has the hosting curse (kidding). Secondly, we don’t generate content apart from invited essays (those were cross-posted on the author’s blog anyway); we just link to posts written elsewhere. All links are anyway dated. How many readers browse through the archives? Our stats show that none or hardly any. Most of the content we have linked too still exists on the original blogs so the information is still out there. We’ll maintain a customary front page; so you won’t get the ugly “Page Not Found” message.
Why not commercialize it and assume a supervisory role?
As any top Indian blogger (well, except Amit Agarwal) will tell you, blogging currently is not financially viable, more so if you live in the United States. Sure, you get some revenue through Adsense and Text Link Ads but you need another full-time job to pay your rent. Thankfully, financially at least DesiPundit managed to sustain itself within a short time. So it was never a question of money or hosting space. We are donating our surplus revenue to charity anyway. DesiPundit wasn’t started to earn money. If we wanted to, we could have put links that attracted maximum traffic; a link to a desi babes blog I put last October as a joke still gets us hits. We didn’t want to become a TOI of the blog world even if it meant getting lesser hits. Regarding ‘passing the baton’, supervising a bunch of bloggers who are opinionated in their own way is easier said than done, so handing it over to some unknowns would be more mentally taxing.
Why not go the Digg-clone way?
And join the dozen other Digg-clones that exist in the desi blogosphere? I thought you liked us because we were different. We had thought about the Digg-model long before any of the current sites popped up and we chose not to. DesiPundit was never meant to be democratic. It always reflected the preferences of the contributors. Occassionally, we succumbed to the temptation of variety but largely, we linked to posts we liked. Some of you may not have agreed with our opinions but that didn’t stop you from visiting us, did it?
Please don’t go, I love starting my day with DesiPundit; you’ll reconsider, won’t you?
Trust me, if I was on the outside, I would say the same. I remember saying it when Jivha the great quit and got a brief response from him saying, I didn’t expect him to blog forever, did I? I was disappointed but I couldn’t refuse to see the truth in that. Let us not get overly sentimental here. I can understand being emotionally attached but I’m sure within a month, this will be a non-issue and most of you would have found other spots to hang out. Heck, Technorati will forget us within six months.
What now?
There are plenty of Digg-clone sites out there that direct you to other blogs (I haven’t found any that I like; IndianPad maybe). Some of you have even thought about setting up a similar site. Yay! Good for you. I might even support you and put up a link to your site if I like what I see or at least know you well enough. But a gentle reminder; be mindful of the amount of work it involves otherwise you might be where I am right now in no time. Saket, also a DesiPundit contributor is rumored to have given this some thought. Neha, an active and much-loved DesiPundit contributor is already doing a great job at Global Voices and regularly links to desi posts [her response].
Are you sure about this?
Considering my decision to concentrate on my academic and professional pursuits for now, yes I am. For those who have pets, you might understand, you cannot go anywhere without worrying about it and each time it falls ill (downtime or server crash), you have to drop everything and make sure it is feeling alright again. I’ll be still blogging here but you may choose not to read my inane rants. I look forward to renewing my blog-friendships with the people I used to visit and comment on regularly. If someone has a truly path-breaking idea of giving me my life back as well as keeping DesiPundit alive, I am all ears.
by Patrix | on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 3:35 pm | 
Weblogs . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
October 16th, 2006 at 3:49 pm reply
[...] DesiPundit, a popular editor-run filter blog linking to blogs run by Indians or on India decides to shut down. Two of the contributors, Patrix and Ash explain why. [...]
October 16th, 2006 at 4:03 pm reply
Well, seems like a final decision. Understand where you are coming from.
So long to DP and thanks for all the
fishlinksWe will just have to keep bugging you here, I guess.
(does this mean ‘linkin’ park’ will resume ?)
October 16th, 2006 at 4:05 pm reply
I guess you have explained the reasons behind the shutdown quite well and I personally honor it. Anyways it was quite a pleasant journey with all you guys at desipundit. I hope it was time well spent for you guys as well.
Good luck to you with your doctoral pursuits.
October 16th, 2006 at 4:25 pm reply
We should toast to the DP one last time before closing it :)
October 16th, 2006 at 4:37 pm reply
You spread yourself too thin. Nice to know the offline world is claiming you and I say that in a nice way. Normalcy shall resume.
October 16th, 2006 at 4:49 pm reply
Good Luck with the Doctorate
October 16th, 2006 at 5:07 pm reply
Patrix (founder of DesiPundit) discusses its shutdown…
Patrix (founder of DesiPundit) discusses its shutdown posted at IndianPad.com…
October 16th, 2006 at 5:24 pm reply
Yeah. Chalo, thanks for the links man.
Now, we will have some more fun here, and you have no excuse to blog less.
(on a side note, since DP is gone and you are no longer useful, you shall be removed from the blogsphere bosses on the blogroll. :P )
Cheers
October 16th, 2006 at 5:41 pm reply
Congratulations on a job very well done.
October 16th, 2006 at 6:07 pm reply
Oh crap. Well, what can I say… you more than anyone helped up in the UK to be tapped into the global desi blogosphere and be part of a bigger project. So that was always nice - to find a way to connect with desis all over the world through blogs. I’ll be really sad to see DP go :’(
October 16th, 2006 at 6:28 pm reply
Thanks for the clarifications, patrix. y’all did a great job, and i can’t help agree with everything you said on there. except, i insist on being sentimental about it.
*sniff*
good luck with the school work! :-)
October 16th, 2006 at 9:04 pm reply
Well, well, well…all good things seem to come to the inevitable end, I guess. Sorry to see DP go. I’ll miss it for sure! Cheers and all the best with the doctorate!
October 16th, 2006 at 9:25 pm reply
Yeah, can understand the part about you not wanting to let others run (ruin?) DP, it is your brainchild after all. Glad to hear you say “Also, I might return to DesiPundit in the distant future” Will wait :)
Good luck, and looking forward to more posts on your personal blogs.
October 16th, 2006 at 10:32 pm reply
We all will cherish the memories :)
Good luck in your pursuits.
- Nag .B @ Startups.in/India
October 16th, 2006 at 11:20 pm reply
I’m still in denial, but thank you Patrix. Thanks for everything…grr…stiill..can’t..accept..it..
October 16th, 2006 at 11:59 pm reply
[...] Patrix explains why [...]
October 17th, 2006 at 12:46 am reply
[...] DesiPundit, a popular Indian blog content aggregator is shutting shop because Patrix, the founder, doesn’t have time. DesiPundit shot to fame when it tracked the spread of news coverage of an Indian blogger who was sued by an Indian College over his comments on the colleges advertising practices. Since then it has received financial support via donations, features ads and has a handpicked selection of fifteen contributors. So why doesn’t Patrix let others take over? He writes: It is difficult to let go of an identity and see it transform into something different from what I envisioned. […] Also, I might return to DesiPundit in the distant future (and probably in a different form) so I would like to keep that option open. [...]
October 17th, 2006 at 1:00 am reply
Thank you for a job well done.
October 17th, 2006 at 1:33 am reply
…and don’t come back.
October 17th, 2006 at 2:15 am reply
Every good thing has an end! And there you have too.. But with the hope of you coming back in the form of New DP, we are waiting here..!!
October 17th, 2006 at 3:16 am reply
i am shocked
October 17th, 2006 at 3:24 am reply
Came here from the commentspace on DP. I may hate to admit this, but you’re right. Having been a grad student in the US, I know that its not easy. And irrespective of whether its easy or not, as you say, if it has become something you HAVE to do (as opposed to enjoy doing), then by all means, do not do it anymore.
Just a couple of suggestions for closing posts - details on how your traffic has grown since you started the site, other Indian digg-type options for people to go look at, etc. Apart from that, once again, thanks for everything!
October 17th, 2006 at 3:55 am reply
Hi P,
I came as a shock and I kept denying it until you people confirmed it. I must say I empathize with you, I had a similar experience with Nirantar, we had to suspend publication only after six issues in Aug last year because bringing a new issue out every month was taking its tool. Even then the question before me was, should I close it down or hand-it-over to someone, but I preferred to close it because I though no one else would be able to do it the way I wanted. I think it is the same question before you.
But frankly such decisions are painful. Nirantar always used to call me and I had to eventually start it again this August. Having learnt lessons I do not put publication pressures blog me down, the frequency is now bi-monthly and I have decided that any issue will be up when I am prepared. Deadlines need to be honored elsewhere. My blogging has been down, though I still read so many blogs to maintain the balance.
I think the Digg advice is bulls**t. DP was successful because of the “human ability” of separating the wheat from the chaff. I think you should follow the way “Chittha charcha” works in Hindi blogdom, distribute responsibility so that you do not have to participate every day, increase the number of contributors. As for the archives, deleting them, as Jivha did, is no sane decision, Google will forget DP in matter of days. Moreover, I am sure the contents are more than “links”, if you find the hosting costs too much, export the content to a mirror blog at Wordpress.org.
I hope DP that lives.
Debashish
October 17th, 2006 at 4:04 am reply
Hi P,
It came as a shock and I kept denying it until you people confirmed it. I must say I empathize with you, I had a similar experience with Nirantar, we had to suspend publication in Aug last year,only after publishing six issues, because bringing a new issue out every month was taking its toll. Even for me the question was, should I close it down or hand-it-over to someone. But I preferred to close it because I thought no one else would be able to do it the way I wanted. I think it is almost the same question before you.
But frankly such decisions are painful. Nirantar always used to beckon me and I had to eventually start it again this August. Having learnt the lessons, I do not put publication pressures bog me down, the frequency is now bi-monthly and I have decided that any issue will be up only when “I am” prepared. Deadlines could be honored elsewhere. My blogging has been down to maintain the balance, though I still read so many blogs .
I think the Digg advice is bulls**t. DP was successful because of the “human ability” of separating the wheat from the chaff. I think you should follow the way “Chittha charcha” works in Hindi blogdom, distribute responsibility so that you do not have to participate every day, increase the number of contributors.
As for the archives, deleting them, as Jivha did, is no sane decision. Google will forget DP in matter of days. Moreover, I am sure the contents are more than “links”, if you find the hosting costs too much, export the content to a mirror blog at Wordpress.org.
I hope DP that lives.
best,
Debashish
P.S.Could you pl delete my earlier comment? I accidently hit Submit while I was still correcting my comment.
October 17th, 2006 at 6:31 am reply
if it makes you you feel any better- i never read it - so i wont miss it……….this blog- now that would be a whole other story.
October 17th, 2006 at 7:12 am reply
I think you have explained yourself fairly well, and being in your position a few months back myself, I think you took the right decision. Your offline life, and doctoral studies is way more important at this juncture in time.
Cheers to a job well done Patrix.
Suyog
PS: May I offer a suggestion? On your welcome page you intend to keep - how about keeping a another white html page with all the links you ever linked - without any text - just the links. Might be a good collage of links on 1 page. If you want to do it, that is.
October 17th, 2006 at 8:41 am reply
Maybe it is time to quit…you used the phrase “trust me” twice in the first graph and I lost count thereafter.
October 17th, 2006 at 8:49 am reply
dude.., save the crap!
if u wanna go, just f*kin go..
October 17th, 2006 at 9:05 am reply
[...] Patrix says: I may be villified for shutting down one of the desi blogosphere’s favorite destinations but trust me, the decision to do so was one of the hardest I have had to make in recent times and it gives me no joy to do so. [...]
October 17th, 2006 at 9:40 am reply
:) never thought my ‘observation’ could have such an impact..:) Glad about ur choice..I am sure u can find other people to run DP,no?
and take it easy..and good luck with ur grad program!
October 17th, 2006 at 12:40 pm reply
ah well, read this post after commenting on desi pundit. obviously, can’t disagree with any of your reasons. can only say- thank you for desi pundit, and good luck with your doctoral work. hope to see you on the web in some other desi pundit-like form some day:)
all best wishes,
October 17th, 2006 at 3:33 pm reply
Bongo, Thanks! Glad you understand. And hey, I had nearly forgotten about Linking Park. It may come back :)
Kuttan, glad that you agree.
Jinal, it was a pleasure working with you. The toasting is being done in the comments section of DesiPundit and elsewhere on other blogs.
bloghopper, I am trying to consolidate now and hopefully will be able to prioritize on more urgent tasks now.
WA, thanks.
Confused, I never belonged in that section anyway. Of course, blogging shall resume in this space and on more inane issues.
MumbaiGirl, thanks.
Sunny, you are doing a great job at Pickled Politics and DesiPundit shutting down shouldn’t deter you. The bloggers that made it successful are still around.
tgfi, I know how you feel. I share your feelings about being sentimental too. It was and is the hardest for me.
Ravi, thanks.
Shub, of course! never say never. A break would not work as I need time off for at least a year, if not more. DesiPundit would have changed course in a way I wouldn’t approve if I had chosen to stay away or hand it to someone else.
Nag, Thanks. I’ll be visiting Startups.in though.
Bombay Addict, if it helps, I’ll be still blogging here. Nope, it doesn’t? Never mind…was worth a shot.
IndianArchie, thanks.
October 17th, 2006 at 3:44 pm reply
obcvoice, LOL! you wish..
Abhijeet, thanks. And yup, if opportunity arises, it may be back.
Nixon, well, nothing is forever.
Nandu, glad you understand. I’ll try to see if I can post something about your requests.
Debashish, I am sure your Chitha-charcha experience helps you understand my plight better. By deleting the blog, I meant I would remove it from the hosting server. But only after I take a backup. Leaving it as it is would be pointless. Much like a forlorn dilapidating building slowly crumbling away. That would be sad.
M, I guess it works out better for you coz you might get to read more of me here. But I’m not sure I’ll be able to meet your expectations now. Experiencing a slight burn-out.
Suyog, differences aside, I am glad you understand why I am doing this. I’ll try to think of something regarding your suggestion. I don’t want the front page to be a link farm though.
Sirensong, probably you don’t trust me. That’s ok.
Venkat, guess you didn’t read this:
Guess English is not your forte. So you are forgiven? And why no url or email? chicken?
Sqrl, I bet you aren’t one of those who didn’t see this coming, right? I must say your words were quite prophetic.
Nikita, glad you liked to read us while we lasted. Hope to see you around.
October 17th, 2006 at 4:20 pm reply
[Patrix] Thanks for a wonderful job for such a long time… Best wishes for your studies, DP showed a lot us the light of blogging, hopefully someone can take ur cue and keep up the good work..
October 17th, 2006 at 6:00 pm reply
To quote Bulldog, “This stinks! This is total B.S!”
Good luck w/ your doctoral studies.
Hope to see DP 2.0 soon.
October 17th, 2006 at 10:12 pm reply
Sad to read about Desi Pundit. It was a good site!
October 18th, 2006 at 2:17 am reply
Good Luck with your struggles and joy in the real world.
Take care.
October 18th, 2006 at 2:45 am reply
u cant do this to me…this is wrong.i hate you
October 18th, 2006 at 5:26 am reply
Patrix - What would help more (from my selfish pov) is to see more from you on the Bombay urban planning issue on your other blog. All the best Dr. Patrix.
Now..on to the blogathon. You guys deserve it.
October 18th, 2006 at 8:59 am reply
yaar, I understand that it is a mature decision. You did your job. Blogging means a lot for us but surely it is not everything. Your studies should not get affected at all due to it. I am grateful to you for linking to my blog 2-3 times and though I once felt hurt with a post, but all these things happen, and going to dp a couple of times every day was a habit. Over all, you have done a wonderful job. And yes tell me what will happen to the wiki….desipundit directory of blogs….will it be accessible or it will also disappear?
Adnan
October 18th, 2006 at 9:53 am reply
Patrix,
Since you asked:
Atlanta = area code 404 = page not found = shut down :))
Best wishes,
October 18th, 2006 at 11:27 am reply
Patrix, will miss DP and you guys a lot. Thanks for the superb job you all did, and made a palpable difference to the Indian blogosphere. Here’s wishing you guys many more successes.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:36 pm reply
Ujval, thanks! I’m sure someone will pick up the mantle and take it forward.
Shodan, DesiPundit 2.0? LOL! That might take a while and by that time, it might be time for 20.0
Ashu, thanks!
Sakshi, thanks!
Nixon, well, nothing lasts forever.
Bombay Addict, of course! I plan to work more on my Urban Planning Blog now. Hope to see you there.
Adnan, the wiki for the directory shall remain open. I’ll try to maintain it and everyone is free to add and take from it.
km, I would have never made that connection, pun intended.
Ano, thanks.
October 18th, 2006 at 2:11 pm reply
Good luck for your studies.
Hope & Wish to see DP back after that.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:02 pm reply
Thanks a lot for Desipundit. I will definitely miss it a lot.
Good luck with your academic pursuits and hope to see DP again some time in the future.
October 18th, 2006 at 6:02 pm reply
Siva, thanks.
Sarat, thanks.
October 18th, 2006 at 7:13 pm reply
Good job Patrix, and to all the DP team. I have followed your personal blog before the birth of DP, and I must say I was impressed with what you managed to achieve with DP in a relatively short time.
We wil miss DP of course, but best of luck with your future endeavors!
October 18th, 2006 at 10:09 pm reply
जब आप विकल्प को जीवित रखना चाहते हैं तो देसीपंडित को क्यों नहीं?
यह आपका व्यक्तिगत निर्णय हो सकता है, परंतु देसीपंडित निजी तो नहीं रह गया था!
दूसरों पर भरोसा करें पेट्रिक्स, और देखें कि देसीपंडित और निखर कर निकलेगा.
October 18th, 2006 at 10:52 pm reply
Mangesh, on the flip side, you’ll see me blogging more often on this blog.
Ravi, I understand your sentiments However I conceptualized DesiPundit with a distinct tilt and bias in selection of not only contributors but also the posts that we linked to. Like I repeatedly say, the concept is simple. Let anyone duplicate the model and do it their way. DesiPundit is just a name. Let’s leave sentiments aside for a moment and take a rational view of things.
October 19th, 2006 at 3:57 am reply
For what its worth it was worth all the while!!!!
Good luck!! :)
October 19th, 2006 at 1:10 pm reply
[...] Reactions have ranged from ‘what the hell I am supposed to do now ?’ to ‘what’s all the fuss about?’ to ‘yeah, about time- and close the door on the way out!‘. One the whole, however, most desi bloggers seem a bit upset and saddened by this decision (see the comments section of the post announcing the closure). This reaction, at least in my case, can be explained by the apparent suddenness of the decision. I have to admit I did not see it coming; DP was going in new directions having just introduced some novel features, so I was party blind-sighted. I had also hoped initially that Patrix would pass the baton to someone else, but one has to respect his decision for choosing not to do so. [...]
November 4th, 2006 at 11:08 am reply
Sad to read about this Patrix.
All the best for your future…. What will happen to the domain etc.?