Interview with Blogger John Lampard

By The Pakistani Spectator • Jan 29th, 2008 • Category: Interviews • No Responses

I am Sydney based web designer turned content producer, freelance writer, and general jack of all trades. I designed my first website in 1997 using NotePad and PhotoShop 3 after trying to work out how the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo! did it. Needless to say I turned elsewhere for design inspiration rather quickly. I can usually be found at disassociated.com where I talk about anything and everything, and vainly attempt to deal with an obsessive over-reliance on the Wordpress timestamp function. My another site is OnVoiceOver, which is related to profiling the work and projects of Australian creatives.

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
I’m a former web designer and put my first website (it wasn’t a blog) online in 1997. In 1998 I started an online journal which I guess was the predecessor of a blog. While I was a web designer my site was more portfolio/experimental content than writing. I guess I really got started blogging more earnestly in late 2002.

The object behind every blog is the attainment of a state of being. Do you agree with this statement?
No… I don’t think so - there are other ways to achieve this.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
Thanks to my original online journal I was able to meet up and network with other web designers locally. We went on to form the Australian INfront, a community of Australian web designers in 1999.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
In the recent Australian federal elections, much use was made of YouTube and podcasts by candidates running for parliament. While possibly innovative, whether their use of such technologies was “exciting” is another question!

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
To a degree, yes. Online communication technologies do make it easier to be involved. Perhaps to easy when it comes to spammers, flamers, and all the other sorts who make online life difficult.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?
Hard question. There are so many blogs and websites out there now that trying to be different, almost in any way, isn’t easy.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success, what would it be?
I’d say showing up. As Woody Allen once said “80 per cent of success is showing up”!

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
The gloomiest moments so far have stemmed from a looming uncertainty of some kind, and not knowing what was going to happen next, or how to go about dealing with it. As to the happiest… it’s a little hard to make just one call there, they tend to arise out of an unexpected event or happening.

Do you think [the use of Twitter and other social networking tools by politicians] is bandwagon jumping or what?
In a way, yes, but it is also an effective way to reach out to more people. In theory of course.

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?
Only three?! Time would also be a concern even if money wasn’t, but I’ve love to see China, South America, and far more of South East Asia than I have so far.

What is your favorite book and why?
“Justine” by Lawrence Durrell. I read it years ago, it’s part of a bigger work of his, “The Alexandria Quartet”, a series of four books set in Egypt in the 1930s. Having visited Egypt and Alexandria, I loved the way Durrell’s writing transported me right back into both the city and country.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Eyes, and why not, eyes are the windows of the soul after all.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
Haha! Not exactly, but there’s more than a few who think I’m definitely not on the level. They also tend to be the same people who have very little understanding of what I do either!

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
There’s no one way. I think a lot of people can benefit financially from the <em>profile</em> their blog generates for them, rather than from any monetising efforts. It all depends.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Hardly. In fact I don’t know of too many successful people who have great quantities of surplus time on their hands.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?
Corporate blogs are a great way to promote communication with a company’s customers and also their staff. They require a tight editorial policy though, as wayward posts or comments have the potential to cause all sorts of problems.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
I think by communicating. The more we know about each other, the more understanding there is in the world, the better. Half the trouble in the world today is on account of a gulf of misunderstanding between the globe’s people.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
To be honest I don’t really have any favourites - there are a lot of blogs I like reading.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
I did write a post about the then upcoming visit by George W Bush to Sydney for the APEC Conference in 2007, that resulted in some colourful reaction. It made the front page of Digg.com as well!

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
Unfortunately in the news we only really seem to hear about the political and security issues facing Pakistan at the moment. Otherwise Pakistan strikes me a very diverse country in a region with a very rich history.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
No, there’s no one blogger I especially like over the many I do like

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
You could ask one hundred different people this question and get one hundred different answers! For my part I think there are noticeable differences in the standard of living and government stability between developed, and developing, countries.

What is the future of blogging?
I think it will become more fragmented. Traditional bloggers, those writing journal type blogs, will remain, and their numbers will increase as blogging becomes ever easier to get started with. Others will embrace new blogging related technologies, until perhaps whatever they are doing is no considered blogging. Or “blogging as we know it”!

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
It’s been mostly positive. I’ve met a lot of interesting people through my blog, and blogging networks. I do sometimes run out of time to do some things though

What are your future plans?
To keep on keeping on for now. There’s nothing big or exciting in the pipeline just at the moment.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed here