The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?

I am Ana Clara Blander, a 24 year old Brazilian that loves photography and design. I also have a strong interest for Japan and its anime, gadgets, culture, among other things, that’s why I love to write about it on my blog: Açaí Sushi. I don’t know exactly why I started it, but I have a lot of free time so I thought I could tell people about commercials, soap operas, animes, Japan, and many other things. Giving a deeper thought, I guess I write about whatever I feel like. English is not my first language, so, errors are common when I write, if you are going to visit my blog, try to remember that, so you won’t get offended by my English errors.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?

Yes, I thought that wouldn’t happen, everyone told me I would get better and I didn’t thought that was true, but now I see that they were right. Being able to grow in my writing is not really important to me, what’s really important is to tell other people about the wonders of the Japanese technology, cause not everyone get to know about it.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?

I started blogging when I was 17 years old, and the blog was about a Korean on line game called Ragnarok Online. The memorable experiences I have about it was when I got people into an argument that would take us somewhere, not just useless chat.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?

I check their blogs often, link them on my blog, comment as much as I can on their blogs, and we talk some using Skype.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?

The internet for sure. Wasn’t amazing to be able to watch the American politicians debate on YouTube, or send them a question that was answered at the same debate on CNN? Or the way that politicians use Facebook, MySpace, and Orkut to get in touch with people, it’s horrible, I know, but it’s surprising how it works!

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?

Yes, thanks to these technologies we know everything that happens around the world almost at the same time that it happens, opening people eyes and making them more interested, also making possible for more and more people to express their opinions and thoughts about the world.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

The only thing that set my blog apart from the others that talk about the same subject as mine is the dual language, most Brazilians write in Portuguese while I try to extend my readers and write in English too.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?

I don’t consider myself a successful person, but if there’s a characteristic of mine that will bring me some success one day, that would probably be my capability to read people, so I know what they want and think.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

My father always joke that the happiest moment of my life was when I opened my eyes and saw him for the first time, but that’s not so far away from the truth, I think that the happiest moment of my life was when I saw my parents and my brothers for the first time, couldn’t have asked for a better family.

The gloomiest moment, well, I can’t say that I have a particular gloomiest moment, but every time I fail I consider that a gloomiest moment, and I had many already.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?

Japan, Greece, and France. Went to France already, but I certainly would like to come back one day.

What is your favorite book and why?

I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie’s books, my favorite is “And Then There Were None”, also known by “Ten Little Indians” or “Ten Little Niggers”. I like murder mystery and crime fiction, and “And Then There Were None” has all the characteristics I like on a book, love the way Agatha Christie lead us to the wrong killer, making us always surprised in the end.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?

It’s the way they speak. I think it can tell a lot about people. Many don’t even notice but you can tell if someone is true full, lost, or afraid, just paying attention to the way they speak.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?

No, there are people that discouraged me, but none said I couldn’t.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

Bloggers can benefit thru advertisement, you can put up banners on your blog. Or even turn your blog into a corporate blog that works side by side with a company website.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?

My blog is not successful yet, hope I can achieve that in the future. I can’t say about other bloggers but, yes, that’s my case, I do have a lot of free time.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?

I have nothing against it, think that both, companies and readers can take advantage of corporate blogs.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?

Instead of mystifying things like many do, bloggers should un-mystify, deeply researching before posting, and always accepting the world differences.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?

Lisa Katayama, Kaue Lima, Yukio, known by me as Bleu, Rebecca Milner, Michael Keferl.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?

No, I avoid talking about subjects that can cause a big reaction, sometimes people get surprised with things that exist and they didn’t knew until they read about it on my blog, but they never have a really powerful reaction.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

I know that Pakistan is a developing country, with a rich culture, and hard working people. It is growing military and economically, but the politics in Pakistan are unstable.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?

No, not really, but I’m pretty sure that there are many unique bloggers, it is just that I never found their blogs.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?

I hate to generalize, but I’ll do it. In my opinion the most striking difference is their views of the world. Maybe because people from developed countries don’t have as much to worry about compared to people from developing countries, their view is more limited, they see black and white, but no grey. They tend to be more cold hearted and close their eyes to the problems of the world, while people from developing countries are forced to keep their eyes open and see what is happening everyday, dealing with these problems on a daily basis.

What is the future of blogging?

I believe that blogs are the future of journalism, but won’t supplant the other traditional kinds of journalism, they will complement each other, especially the citizen journalism, were some one witnesses something, take a quick picture with his mobile, and send it to his blog spreading the news.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?

Doesn’t affect in any way, I love my blog but my life outside it comes first, so, if I have to stop writing for months because I’m too busy with the real stuff, I will.

What are your future plans?

Paint my room, visit my boyfriend that lives far away from me, start Japanese classes again, and discover a way to make a lot of money real fast =D

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?

Since you have a blog like The Pakistani Spectator to keep you informed, read all the news you can, everyday if possibly. Be sure to have your eyes opened to the world, listen to other people, respecting their opinion, but sticking to your beliefs, and keep working hard to develop your country more and more.

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