A list of blogs I read has been published in the Mint Lounge newspaper on 13-Dec-2008 Saturday. Read it online on the Mint website or in the epaper section.

Thanks to Sidin for asking me to write this and publishing it in Mint.

Unfortunately, as typical of newspapers, my words were modified to something that is newspaper-y which is really not my style, and the article was printed before I got a chance to review. And no, that short bio was not written by me

Here is the full content of the article:

I am a utility reader and writer. If it doesn’t make you think, I don’t read or write it. If I need entertainment, I go for movies or listen to music. It follows that I have an interest in personal improvement and productivity. Hence I tend to visit websites and blogs of that nature. Some of my favourites: ## Personal Finance ### [www.thesimpledollar.com](http://www.thesimpledollar.com) On his website, Trent Hamm talks about improving your personal finances. Hamm also writes detailed reviews of books related to both personal finance and entrepreneurship/self-improvement. The site hosts a number of downloadable books such as 31 Days To Fix Your Finances and quirky tips to save money by making your own bread and detergent! A must-read. ### [www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com](http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com) Ramit Sethi’s blog is US-centric but there are a lot of tips and discussions on how to be prudent with money and personal finance planning. In addition to blogposts, the Stanford graduate and start-up entrepreneur has newsletters and video interviews that will help budding entrepreneurs and those looking to save a little extra. ## Productivity ### [www.lifehacker.com](http://www.lifehacker.com) Technology should help you lead a better life rather than make you use more technology. And this is the website that shows how to use technology. Part of the popular Gawker blog network, Lifehacker has advice and tips on saving time. Look for links to great Windows, Mac and Linux applications that help you do just that. It’s all about the blog’s official motto: Don’t live to geek; geek to live. ### [www.calnewport.com/blog/](http://www.calnewport.com/blog/) Called the “Study Hacks” blog Newport writes about the productivity hacks he uses and how to become a better student. Although meant for students, we can all use the advice here because today’s jobs require us to continuously learn and improve our skills. ## Design ### [www.yankodesign.com](http://www.yankodesign.com) A website which highlights fresh and new ideas from all over the world. Very inspiring. Shows that the world is not limited in ideas but in people who can bring these ideas to life. Great for industrial design buffs, geeks and fans of great photography. ## Marketing ### [sethgodin.typepad.com](http://sethgodin.typepad.com) Seth Godin is now an Internet phenomenon. His insightful blog, among the most popular on the Web, focuses on many aspects of running a business and creating products and how they affect the brand and marketing.
_Swaroop C.H. is the author of two open source textbooks on Python and Vim 7. He is also co-founder of Ionlab_ (www.ionlab.in), _a geeky product design and marketing firm. He blogs at http://www.swaroopch.com/posts._ Write to lounge@livemint.com

The idea by Pradeep to have it in the open area outside the cafeteria just after lunch was a brilliant marketing ploy, because people would just walk out of the cafeteria and then they would see all the cycles and then out of curiosity, they would come closer and end up chatting with the cyclists. It was nice to see people hopping on and going for rides just to check out the cycles.

The stars of the show were undoubtedly Vikram and Varun because of their cycling clothes and their advanced bikes which have features such as special shoes that lock into the pedals as well as ability to unhook the wheels for easy transportation.

We had a lot of fun talking to people and answering many questions from curious Barcampers and turned out to be a successful session. Among the curious people, there was also a reporter from the Bangalore Mirror. It turns out that we ended up in an article in their Sunday edition yesterday:

BANGALORE MIRROR, SEPTEMBER 21, 2008, Page 9 : Rising fuel costs, never-ending traffic jams, have made travelling quite a problem in Bangalore. So it came as no surprise that young techies, who cycle to work, created a stir at Barcamp 7 in IIM last Saturday – Renuka Phadnis

The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore was full of activity last weekend. The auditorium was the venue for an interactive session of Headstart, a group that supports entrepreneurship in the technology sector. In the corridors and break-out spaces of the management school, there were parallel discussion sessions going on of Barcamp 7. But the one group that attracted the most attention here was the one that pedals their way to work. Varun, Vikram and Swaroop, the three directors of Ion Lab, cycle to their workplace.

And when they are stuck in any of Bangalore’s infamous traffic jams, the trio simply lift the bikes and walk out of the jam. Vikram used to cycle to his office in Bosch earlier and is still cycling to his new workplace. He cycles up to 50 km a day and has even pedaled to Mysore. The cycle he uses is a ‘Giant’ that has as an accessory shoes that swivel into the pedals of the cycle.

Varun has been cycling in Bangalore for six months after he got hooked on to it in the US.”A lot of people complain about the traffic but I like it,” he says. Once in a jam, he lifted the cycle and a guy in a car told him, “Dude, I am here stuck in this traffic and you are getting away?” He likes the fact that cycling keeps him fit too.

When you ask Swaroop if he does not find cycling a challenge in Bangalore, he says, -”Cycling isn’t, but driving a car is!” He says it is a lot safer and easier in the city. He has been cycling from Jayanagar to Domlur for the past two years.

… (see the picture for the full article)

Factual errors aside, it is a good article and really encourages non-cyclist skeptics to consider cycling. The other upshot is that the red bicycle you see on the top of the page is mine, so if I ever want to sell it, I just have to say “As featured in the Bangalore Mirror”, heh. And also, this is the first time ‘Ion Lab’ has been mentioned in the press.

Let’s reiterate over the benefits of cycling to work:

1. You do not need a separate time to exercise, because you’re cycling to work. You save one hour everyday.
2. Save on fuel costs, and in turn make the world less reliant on oil fuels.
3. Reach your workplace faster. It’s a myth that cycling is hard and slow and you’ll be late. On an average, I used to motorbike to my (ex-) Yahoo! office in Domlur in 45 minutes, but used to take 30 minutes on cycle.
4. Don’t get stuck in traffic jams. Just lift your cycle and push it along on the sidewalk. (Please do not cycle on the sidewalk, you’ll be annoying pedestrians)
5. A good exercise before you reach your workplace will really pump up the endorphins and put you in a positive mood to get lot of work done throughout the day.
6. And you’ll be a lot healthier!

Convinced yet?

More photos from the event:

First, there was the Mint financial newspaper’s article on “casualpreneurs” in the July 8th, 2007 edition which featured ion. FYI, Mint is a joint collaboration between the Hindustan Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Then, there was an article in the BTW magazine’s 10th September 2007 edition on “netpreneurs” which featured ion.

And yesterday, there was a huge half-page article on ion in the Economic Times! (Bangalore edition)

I can’t help but think on how much hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing and forehead-slapping happens behind the scenes. But to see all the response from customers as well as an article in the Economic Times dedicated exclusively to us just six months after launch makes it seem all worthwhile.

So, thank you to all our dear customers for making ion so successful! And some of you actually like it so much that you spread the word around for us!

P.S. Yeah, we know we don’t look great in that big photo, but hey, our excuse is that we were too busy working on ion