Tiffinbox opens to a black background with orange text. And no, it does not bring Halloween to mind, just in case you were wondering. There is a puzzling graphic of a man who looks like a short order cook leaning on a contraption that reminds me of a device my mother had for putting food in at picnics. I have no idea what a tiffinbox is and I went in search of the answer.
Our author has been writing here since November of 2003, and this is the stated purpose of his blog:
“Tiffinbox is a blog (for now) that is interested in exploring the cultural fabric of the South Asian diaspora through photography, writing, art and design.”
While that sounds like a VERY specific target audience, the entries encompass a much broader spectrum. He writes on an impressive array of subjects in a clear style. Photojournalism, art, writing, book reviews, photography, both still and film and he also keeps his readers abreast of current trends in Journalism and all things Artsy.
This site was submitted as a personal blog, but I would really have to say it is much more like a trade journal. He regularly posts links to photo contests and other art projects open to the public, but surprisingly I did not find much of his own work posted.
There is no About Me page here at Tiffinbox. I know many of you find it annoying that we here at Weblog Review care so much about them. But just think for a moment, if someone comes across your blog by accident one day, do you want to introduce yourself and invite them to stay a while? Or do you expect them to spend an hour or so trying to find out from your posts who you are and what motivates you, where in the world you live and whether or not you hate it or love it and why? Blogs after all are a way to put yourself “out there”. If you want people to come visit you, it makes sense to be friendly by opening up a little bit. You don’t have to tell your life’s story and give us your social security number, but I would like to have a little context for the things I am about to read in your blog.
In all my reading at Tiffinbox, I did not find out what that word means. Although the answer MAY be there somewhere. I was not fortunate enough to find it.
This blog would be a very good resource for photographers and journalists to check in for the latest news in those professions. And my suggestions are to please tell us what that little man is leaning on at the top of the page, and add an About Me link for the serendipitous reader.