The Pakistani Spectator

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

My name is Jacob Gest, I’m 24 year old from Denver Colorado. My “day job”, so to speak, is at a small bakery in town, although as of yet I am more of a cashier than a baker. I have a variety of intrests that often conflict with eachother, but right now I am trying to prepare to go back to school for a degree in music.
My site is a personal blog (http://jakegest.wordpress.com), mostly about what’s going on in my life and things that I find interesting.

I also just recently started a new blog about music and my own personally growth as a musician (http://gestclarinetist.wordpress.com) . I am taking this blog a bit more seriously than my personal blog and am hoping to build a much larger and active readership.

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

Sure I do, but I doubt that is experience anyone would find unique unto themselves. I believe that people grow in whatever they do the more the do it. Who would want to continue to write, or perform, or do much of anything creative if they didn’t grow and change?

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

I don’t find blogging to be an experience that is overly memorable as of yet. It is more like writing a diary for me, or just talking about something your interested in. I think if people responded more to what I had to say I would find it more memorable. Interactions are memorable, ramblings are not and I have to say I specialize more in the latter of the two.

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

I don’t really have a lot of communication with other bloggers. I do read other peoples blogs, and even comment when I feel it’s appropriate, but personally I have not found the blogging I do to be very community oriented. You know, anyone can blog, about anything, and I tend to blog about well me… who is not very noteworthy. Most of my readers are friends and family, so when I go try and chat up someone from treehugger, or whomever, I do tend to get a response, but I am really just considered another reader in the swarming mass.

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

I can’t say I am very excited about the use of technology in politics. Personally I think it is being used to make people feel like they are participating on a direct level with politicians, but from what I’ve seen, politicians are not really prepared, nor inclined to respond to people in that way.

Not really, I think they have the potential to do so, but currently, politicians and people in power are able to be very selective of who they respond to.

Heh, well it is the only site that is mostly about me and what I am interested in. I can’t really compete with other political bloggers or, well any other bloggers for that matter so I really don’t try to.

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

That really depends on what one defines as success. I am a 24 year old college dropout and am mostly a financial wreck, then again I’ve had amazing experiences in my life that most people can’t claim to have had. So I suppose sheer courage to do things that most might consider unwise or too risky. So yes, lack of sensibility, tact, and caution has really worked out quite well for me in life so far.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

Wow, what a question. I don’t know if I could really pick one of each (ok I guess I can). Falling in love with my wife ranks up there pretty high on the happy moments in my life, so does the year I spent living in a commune. I was pretty gloomy after my wife and I left the commune, I was quite broke and unhappy to be living in the city again. I’m sure I’ll have moments that outrank those (hopefully more happy than gloomy)

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?

I really want to travel outside of my country. I’ve always wanted to visit Italy, so I would definitely go there. I think India would be amazing to visit as well, especially Calcutta. I would probably choose somewhere remote and very wild for the last location, maybe Alaska (yes I do know Alaska is in the U.S.).

I am really no good at picking favorites, so I’m totally going to cheat and not answer you question correctly. Sidhartha by Herman Hesse was a wonderful book, it really makes you think about life. I really enjoyed “Reading Lolita in Tehran”, it makes one appreciate literature. I was a big Harry Potter fan, simply because it was a great story.

You know, I have no idea. Yeah, no idea.

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

Probably. Obviously I didn’t really listen to them very much, because I write anyway. I’m sure plenty of people would be more than happy to tell me I still can’t write.

How can bloggers benefit from blogs financially?

Well, I certainly don’t benefit from my blog in any financial way. It doesn’t cost me anything, but I have never earned a dime from my blogging. I don’t blog so I can make money, I would probably have to write about something interesting if I wanted to make money doing this. My advice is, don’t quit your day job.

Is it true that one who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Again it really depends on what you define as success. If you mean financial, I really have no experience to answer such a question. I consider my blog successful enough for what I want it to be, and no, I have very little free time. I work 40 hours a week and am trying work towards going back to school for music.

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

Depends on the blog really. I think news oriented blogs could do more to write about positive things and cover stories about the wonderful and exciting things that happen in the world. Outside of that group though, I think just being more friendly could only do positive things. The world could use more positive and and inspiring things and less things about how much so and so hates this or that.

Who are your top five favorite bloggers?
Lets see, besides myself:

• Warren Ellis - http://www.warrenellis.com/

• Joeseph Lambert (Submarine Submarine) - http://submarinesubmarine.blogspot.com/

• Jarred Flood (Brooklyn Tweed) - http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/

• Tree Hugger - http://www.treehugger.com/

• Penny Arcade - http://www.penny-arcade.com/

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

From my own blog I presume? I personally don’t often write about word events or anything like that. The most response I got from readers was probably when I posted about learning another language. Apparently people are really interested in that right now.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

You know, I am very uniformed about Pakistan. My perception is that they are like any other group of people, they have things that are wonderful and fantastic about them, and they have things that are not. It’s really hard for me to generalize such a large group of people as being one way or the other. Pakistan is bound to have as much diversity as any other culture.

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

Nope, never…. Heh, of course I have. On of my favorite bloggers, and a good friend of mine, Joeseph lambert (http://submarinesubmarine.blogspot.com/) blogs about his work at the center for cartoon studies. I am always impressed at how imaginative, creative, and wonderful his artwork is, and how willing he is to share it with people.

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

I don’t know. I’ve never been to a “developing country”.

What is the future of blogging?

I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that one. I’m sure it will change and evolve, in ways we haven’t really imagined.

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

Well I blog about my personal life mostly. I think my life affects my blog much more than my blog affects my life.

What are your future plans?

In blogging or my personal life? In blogging, as I eluded to before. I am trying to build a readership for a new blog It’s called Gest Clarinetist (http://gestclarinetist.wordpress.com) and is about music and my studies in it, I started it about a month ago and am enjoying it so far. Surprisingly my plans for life are in the same area. I am working to go back to school for music and eventually plan to have a carrier as a musician, either in performing or teaching (or both).

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