Roundtable
The Roundtable Open Forum: Round Five
EDITOR
The Rules of the forum are posted here on the right, and need to be followed strictly by all participants.
The following is this week's (Dec 2 - 9, 2009) topic for discussion, which should focus on the questions posed therein:
SIKHCHIC.COM - WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
THE FACTS
1 This month, sikhchic.com completes three years of sewa. Each year, it has grown with almost geometric progression; during the last 12 months alone, for example, it has doubled its readership statistics, as it also did in the preceding years. With incredible nurture from readers and contributors from around the globe, it continues to flourish. It is now, thanks to all of you, the premiere Sikh site in the world.
2 It continues its mandate of serving ALL Sikhs, and presenting Sikhi and Sikhs in their true form, without caving in or catering to the frolics of any fringe groups or vested interests. It continues to avoid full-frontal politics and religion.
3 It continues to resist pressure to move to one extreme or the other of the spectrum. It believes that Sikhi is a simple, uncomplicated, straightforward way of life and strives to peel off the onion layers which passage of time and the vagaries of human nature tend to bring to any religion.
4 In trying to achieve all of the above, sikhchic.com has grown into a unique format: an online, illustrated magazine with daily postings from the corners of the globe.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
- Where should sikhchic.com go from here?
- What in our pages specifically appeals to you? [This is not a disguised plea for compliments - we already know you like some things about the site because you keep on coming back. What we are looking for, however, is not compliments but constructive analysis of what you like and what you like about it; that is, what works for you.]
- What are the things about sikhchic.com that you DON'T like?
- What would you like changed? What would you like added? Removed? Modified? Magnified or expanded?
- Please be free with your criticisms. We can handle them. And we need them to be able to improve the site, help it grow and serve the community better?
- Please feel free to express your disagreements with what we do, or what we don't do. If, for example, your view of sikhchic.com is not quite so rosy, please feel free to say so and share it with us. We might edit the length to accommodate constraints of space but will not dilute or change your message.
- Finally, how can YOU help to increase the readership of sikhchic.com? Will you please help?
December 2, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Balwinder Singh (New Delhi, India), December 02, 2009, 9:05 AM.
It is time to turn sikhchic.com into a Daily journal - online, of course. It has all the right ingredients.
2: Manmohan Luthra (Chandigarh, Punjab), December 02, 2009, 9:17 AM.
It's good, but the name 'sikhchic' does not look good.
3: Amitoj (U.S.A.), December 02, 2009, 9:25 AM.
You should continue to do what you are doing, i.e., publishing thought-provoking articles and essays. You should add an audio/video section. I know it will probably take a lot more bandwidth/servers but I think it will be worth it. Nothing like seeing a Sikh in action. In a way, this can be an attempt to counter the negative images projected by Bollywood. There is a dire need of positive images of Sikhs in motion on screen, i.e. video. It would be great to have a separate section on the military history of the Sikhs relating to their participation in the defense forces around the world. And, I really like the idea of the Roundtable Open Forum.
4: Bikramjit Singh Khalsa (London, England), December 02, 2009, 10:55 AM.
I see that you often post items on the importance of the "sabat surat" discpline of the Khalsa. Yet, I also see that you give a place of honour to high-achieving Sikhs who do follow the rehat. I simply don't understand your agenda.
5: Amardeep Kaur (Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.), December 02, 2009, 11:25 AM.
A simple rejection e-mail can be helpful, stating that your article was reviewed but did not 'fit our goals', etc.
6: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, U.S.A.), December 02, 2009, 11:49 AM.
I do not have criticism per say but I do have some suggestions in terms of extended functionality and features: 1) A search feature on the homepage to be able to search an article by keyword or author would be a great additional feature. I oftentimes want to go back and read previously published pieces but find it hard to locate them within your defined categories. This will become a bigger issue as the repository of essays/ articles grows over time. 2) I like Amitoj's suggestion of an audio/ video section. Actually, a digital library of the films featured in The Spinning Wheel Film Festival would be great. There could be a nominal fee for viewing or downloading these films, of course depending upon what the film owner allows. 3) Annually publishing a hard copy book of all the pieces that appeared on sikhchic.com in a given year would be great. For example, "sikhchic 2009" would have all the pieces from 2009. This will help readers in developing their own personal libraries. This could be available for purchase from sikhchic.com. 4) Finally, I endorse Amardeep's suggestion re an email response if the article and/ or comments to an already published article does not get accepted for publication.
7: Kamaljit Singh (New Delhi, India), December 02, 2009, 1:07 PM.
This is a Sikh site. Why do you cover stories about those who, though born in Sikh families, have spurned the Sikh identity and have very little of Sikhi in them?
8: Amardeep Kaur (U.S.A.), December 02, 2009, 4:40 PM.
How about posting instructions for authors? May be more people want to contribute good articles.
9: Parveen Kaur Dhatt (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), December 02, 2009, 9:05 PM.
The idea of the videos is great. How about focusing on regular everyday people going about their daily lives and routines. It is fabulous to see accomplished Sikhs but let's hear and see more of those who have helped them get there!
10: Tejwant Singh (Nevada, U.S.A.), December 02, 2009, 10:38 PM.
I agree with Amardeep Kaur and Chintan Singh regarding the absence of a simple email response giving the reasons why the post or the article is not being published.
11: Baldev Singh (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), December 03, 2009, 12:44 PM.
Your site seems to have a bias in favour of turbanned Sikhs. Surely, there's more to Sikhi than the form. I like your site but sometimes I wonder about this. sikhchic.com should be open to all. Is it?
12: Nirvair Kaur (New Delhi, India), December 03, 2009, 12:47 PM.
I do hope you're going to publish all of your "1984 & I" articles as a single book. Any plans to do so? When?
13: Ikjot Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 03, 2009, 5:09 PM.
This site is great, and I do not have any complaints against it. However, I would suggest that you have a Guru Granth Sahib translator online, where you just have to type the GGS page number in, and you can read the bani on that specific page. It is better to read the holy Guru Granth Sahib in person. However, many people around the world cannot get access to the Guru Granth and it would be neat if you could accomplish such a thing.
14: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, U.S.A.), December 03, 2009, 6:34 PM.
Ikjot Singh: This service is already available at www.sikhitothemax.com. Its a great sewa they have done. I have one more suggestion for sikhchic.com, though. In the "Qoute of the Day" section on the bottom, it would be nice if you could also include the original quote in Gurmukhi from the Guru Granth Sahib along with English translation. And, of course, in my earlier comments, I forgot to answer the last question in the open forum - How can you help sikhchic.com? I am of course happy to help in any way I can. I don't think you need help in recommending the site to others since your readership is already doubling if not tripling! Anything else I can do to help? [EDITOR: Yes, Thank you. But we still need help in increasing our readership. We don't not have a commercial or economic interest. Yet, the more Sikhs we connect with in the diaspora, the more we'll all benefit from this vehicle of communicating with each other across borders. So, we ask all of you to please send a link to this site to all you connections and introduce us to them. The rest will follow!]
15: Gurjender Singh (Maryland, U.S.A.), December 05, 2009, 9:32 AM.
sikhchic.com is doing wonderful job. As you mentioned that your readership is increased, but when I talked to few Sikhs, they have not known about this. Most of the Sikh sites provide Shabad Kirtan in audio. It will be nice if your site can provide kirtan in good quality video.
16: Ravnder Singh Taneja (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), December 05, 2009, 10:48 AM.
First, congratulations on a great site, both in terms of content and aesthetics. My suggestion: how about adding a Gurbani Vichaar column - "Reflections on the Word of the Guru"; it could run bi-weekly or monthly. We desperately need a more contemporary interpretation expressed in idiom that is based on our current environment.
17: R.P. Dixit (New York, U.S.A.), December 05, 2009, 12:53 PM.
Who is this T. Sher Singh fellow? Get him off your site and I'll read it regularly.
18: Amardeep Kaur (Sydney, Australia), December 06, 2009, 6:07 AM.
One of the appeals of sikhchic.com lie in its ability to allow multiple viewpoints to be presented and to generate discussion of many issues relating to Sikhs, non-Sikhs and humanity alike.
19: Preet Kaur (Paris, France), December 06, 2009, 4:06 PM.
I think the format and approach of sikhchic.com makes it a perfect vehicle to educate and entertain our children in things Sikh. Any chance you would consider adding a Children's Section? It would make a great new wing, and also help to introduce the overall site to our growing children.
20: Karamjit Kaur (New Jersey, U.S.A.), December 07, 2009, 1:41 PM.
I too wish that sikhchic.com would become a daily journal. It already gives me daily sustenance - I turn to it several times a day. But I want it to become a full-fledged institution, because it can cater to so many of our needs. We in the diaspora have no real line of communication within the community across the board. Since sikhchic.com is gradually taking on that role, I wish it would hurry up and grow and subsume that role.
21: Bikramjit Singh (Delhi, India), December 08, 2009, 9:30 AM.
Some suggestions: 1) Please write a sikhchic.com mission statement. 2) Have noticed that most of the content here is chosen by and targeted at the older generation. If you want to increase viewership, target the youth and their interests. That way, the old will also learn and grow with the times. 3) Have seen gurmat.com doing a great seva for a lot many years. They don't charge fees and are not after fame, so it would be most appropriate for sikhchic.com to write about the people behind this great community service. 4) Don't know whether you have a tie-up with sikhtoons to display the art work and caption contests which are very interesting. 5) Some websites will let you advertize and post a link if you do the same for them. In addition, sikhchic.com should post a link of new updates on sites like Facebook, Orkut, etc., in the Sikh communities. This will attract a great number of readers from across the globe. 6) Offline promotion is also important, so sikhchic.com should post their articles in the Sikh diaspora newspapers and magazines. Nowadays, you can also make use of the Sikh TV Channels for publicity and coverage of events. You can give pocket calendars and stationary at selective locations and events. 7) Laughter is the best medicine. A Daily Joke category can help acheive that. ... If you want more ideas and help, then your organization will have to name me 'ChicSikh' of the year! :- )
22: I.J. Singh (New York, U.S.A.), December 08, 2009, 6:27 PM.
WRAP-UP - A wonderful dialogue has ensued on the goals and direction of sikhchic.com. Readers have spoken and that demands heeding. At the ripe old age of three years, it is time to re-engineer what we do. But we need to separate the ideal from the practical. Our major constraint is staff and resources. They are limited in the extreme. So it becomes impossible to even think of sending rejection notes to those who submit pieces. Many of these contain kernels that we admire very much but the task of editing and rewriting is more than we can manage. Please keep in mind that there is no professional salaried staff and the volume of submissions is quite mind-bogglingly large, albeit most welcome. A one-line note of rejection would seem harsh and uncaring but perhaps it would be less cruel than icy dismissal that is implied in silent non-responsiveness by the Editor. Some readers find us giving space to those who may seem to be only peripherally connected to Sikhi and its practices; others think we have a bias for those who are recognizably Sikh and appear to follow the full discpline of the faith. That tells us that we are creating a forum that is available and open to all who consider themselves Sikhs, and even to those who are not Sikhs but comment on Sikhi and related matters. That is exactly our goal: to capture the Sikh reality in all of its multisplendored glory and hues. Comments on the editing of Readers' Responses are well taken. We do edit them in the interest of brevity but hope to not alter the emphasis or the meaning. It is not always possible to post such comments in full; they can be extremely long. We promise to try our best to expand coverage and act on your recommendations. Keep them coming; keep them brief and forgive us when our management of matters falters. Even though it is not possible to be all things to all people, it is your site; it will become what you make of it.
23: Amarjit Singh (Sydney, Australia), January 13, 2010, 11:12 PM.
Apologies for being a little late to this forum but I have just recently been introduced to you and am now a regular visitor to this wonderful site. Apparently, most of the enhancements I could think of are already suggested by others but there is one more I would like to put forward - I think it would be useful to collect more information about the person who is posting a comment. Statistics such as age, profession and marital status will provide several benefits. One being the analysis of which age groups are attracted by this site and what percentage of the overall user-group do they form. This will allow you to target the users from age-groups that are missing out, e.g. teenagers. This could also lead into the extension of sikhchic.com to include targeted forums for working professionals to help each other in their day-to-day work challenges and/or also share opportunities that are available in their company so others can benefit from it. Somewhat similar to an online support group, this will make Sikhs feel privileged by being part of this community.
24: Nirmal Singh Nilvi (Dallas, Texas, U.S.A..), January 15, 2010, 12:23 AM.
The Roundtable dated January 6-12, 2010 on 'Who is a Sikh?' drew the most responses among all the topics discussed under this category so far. When the response from the members is overwhelming, should we stick to the cutoff date? Why not extend the date by another week? The limit is arbitrary and can be changed based upon the interest in the issue. The criteria should be the interest and response. To make the process well understood, the criteria can be - 'if the response exceeds, say, 25 responses, the discussion will be automatically extended by another week. Just a suggestion to provide adequate time for the discussion.