Blog Blood Type 3: Personal Web Journals - These blogs make up bulk of 36.1 million web logs online. The majority are personal accounts written without regard to size of readership or monetary value. Many have heralded free blogs as Internet's greatest achievement, allowing virtually anyone with an internet connection to publish literally whatever they want, and all in a matter of a few minutes. There are as many purposes for personal blogs as there are bloggers. Perhaps most common theme is chance to be heard.

I've Taken Blog Blood Test…Now What?

Which category did your blog best fit in? Did you find that you're writing one type of blog but desiring benefits of another? If you haven't already started your blog, which type do you believe would best match your writing abilities and desired outcome? Simply put, if you're not writing best type of blog for benefits you want, you'll never get them - and you'll waste a lot of time in process.

If your current blog is doing exactly what you want it to, leave it alone. If you find that some changes are necessary, consider following questions:

• Do I think I can drive actual sales from blog?
• Would I rather spend my writing time interacting with customers (both positive and negative) or writing about my product? (Remember blood test)
• Am I best person to author my blog, or is there someone else who could do a better job?
• Do I want to stage blog as a company-sponsored communication tool or would I rather it appear as a kind of third-party, objective review?
• How much time am I willing to spend writing?
• How free do I want to be with regards to frequency of posting and responding to customer comments?

Millions of others are already blogging, but don't let that stop you from starting. Give your business blog blood test and see which type works best for you.

When at vendor's place, look for:

* Capacity: (workstations and people); * Supervisory arrangements: (floor managers, project leaders, group heads); * Security: (controlled physical access and password-protected network resources).

Most importantly, meet person who will be in charge of project you are thinking of giving vendor. Is s/he articulate? Tech-savvy? Quality conscious? Deadline oriented? Easy to get along with? Is there a second line to take over if s/he is away?

You must of course also hand over a copy of your RFP and discuss each point in fine detail.

Bear in mind that most often, Indians are formal to begin with. If you invite key people to a meal, they will be very happy to relate to you on a personal level... this is better for all parties concerned.

Conclude each visit by asking for your quotation within a specified timeframe; encourage vendor to email you freely regarding any questions s/he may have.

At end of a visit, ask yourself if you have a good feeling about interaction. If answer is an overwhelming “NO!”, you had better strike vendor off hopefuls list. For any other answer, keep them in running.

Follow these steps for all hopefuls, and do extensive Internet research on final candidates from broadband connection in your hotel room.

Great, business part of your trip is over, it’s time for recreation!

There are many unusual things to see in any Indian city, and you’d best ask your mentor what these are. There’s no point seeing typical big-city sights… look for ancient or ethnic (Akbar’s tomb, Kerala waterways or Hindu temple at Madurai, for instance).

Be careful when deciding what to eat or drink. Only eat in restaurants that are clean by your country's standards; stick to bottled water from reputed companies like Kinley or Aqua Fina. And no matter how badly you may be tempted, do not eat from those small roadside carts and kiosks!

If you want to buy souvenirs to take home, ask your mentor where to shop, else you may very well end up paying twice what you should. Buy things that are not easy to come by in your home country: fine silks, carpets, and most importantly, Indian jewelry, of which only meagre selections are available outside subcontinent.

So now, replete with silk, gold and an outsourcing vendor shortlist, you're at end of a memorable journey. Get on a plane, push seat back and wonder how it all went by so fast.

Dream about how much you’re going to save in costs, quality improvements you will see, what a good thing you’ve done for your company, and how glad you were that you planned your trip carefully.

You now have valuable knowledge and experience about travelling to India, and might very well soon be recognized as an expert in subject. Fare thee well, bold traveller, and fearlessly guide all those who may follow in your footsteps…