The Pakistani Spectator

I am a 20 year old student, born in Norway and who lives in Canada. I major in Sociology at a Canadian university. I also possess a great interest in philosophy and I use it a lot in my sociological approach. I am greatly interested in power struggles, mainly between different classes in society, as well as oppressed vs oppressor, to from a societal standpoint.

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

My site reflects what interests me in my studies, mainly how information, behaviour and other things are transferred between citizens and the institutions of any country, whether it be through the government, education, or health care system. I am relatively new in blogging and my experience mostly stems from other writings that I have randomly posted here and there across the web, but my WordPress blog is thoughts accumulated elsewhere, but that I decided to gather and structure better at one place. Hence the birth of a devoted blogger.

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

One of the eternally many reasons that I write is so that I can get the feel of how to communicate thoughts and material and present them other people. Hence I feel that writing is a very hands-on practice of what I plan to be doing in my life, so from the form of writing I feel like I develop more and more skills and methods, hence naturally growing, as well as seeing my arguments neatly organized and structured and then responded to gives me the possibility to find my own flaws and improve on my existing theories.

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

I was once extremely disappointed of how shallow most sociology blogs were. Still am.

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

Keep blogging. No one goes to the movies when the same movie is playing over and over again. Active participation is the key – keep writing, keep receiving feedback, keep giving feedback, keep reading other blogs, and eventually you will have a “blog-o-life” that is easily sustainable.

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

I think politics and technology does not connect as much as people think. Many people in power have a tendency of blaming technology for the government’s flaws. For example, if jobs are being lost due to the economy the bank can blame it on money, if an area gets taken over by flood the government might say the levees were failing. In other words, technology is many times a scapegoat for the times when we really should be pointing at the people in charge.

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

N/A

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

What I am still hoping to achieve through my blog is to put forth a view that is not seen only through the lens of supporters of moderate political ideologies, but instead I hope to present a point of view taking from a larger range of underrated social commentators and broaden the horizon to many (or any) that reads my blog.

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

Haha, probably the power to be open to pretty much everything. This enables me to look at things and whether they seem  to be alien or weird to other people I can interpret things through my own rational, without the made viewpoints of my peers.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

Happiest moment was when I fell in love for the second time. Gloomiest is yet to come.

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?

Iraq – because I’ve heard that they are trying to open for tourism, and I am extremely curious about how it is over there.

Cuba – because I’m curious about how that country actually runs and the relationship between its government and its people.

Caribbean – because everybody loves a day at the beach

What is your favorite book and why?

1984 by George Orwell. It is a book that has inspired me a lot and I see so many scary similarities between the fascist totalitarianism as portrayed through the book and modern day society, when it comes to monitoring of people and the establishment of corporations as super powers in themselves.

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

Looks, as in what type of a person are they – a slacker, a student, a bookworm, etc,(without that kind of specific stereotyping). And then I see their personalities and what they are truly about.

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

My high school English teacher who made my obsess about grammar too much, whereas I should have been focusing on my general texts.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

Many bloggers are already – through incorporating their intellectual material with brands and commercial agents. Whether it be through writing about a “product” in a way that they seem to be stating things from their personal point of view – to more direct forms of advertisement.

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

Haha, I stand firm in my belief that any successful blogger has a life primarily and a blog secondarily. I believe that only through experience and substance in one’s life and general existence one can make a successful blog.

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

Only if the bloggers themselves are friendlier. The role of bloggers can be compared to those of lobbyists. But instead of directing our writings and stands towards politicians we throw ourselves out amongst each other and our opinions reach a massive amount of people. And when people find out about all the things that they have missed going on in the world today, maybe they will develop their own opinions on it and maybe even act on them.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?

Can’t say that I have any yet. I’m too much of an online nomad.

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

Not that I can think of right now.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

One of my best friends are Pakistani and I get the general impression that Pakistani’s likes cricket a lot. As well as from the media I get the impression that the economy is not exactly too grand and its president should definitely be replaced with another democratic authority who can redistribute wealth and with international support build up both infrastructure and economy, much like the relationship between the EU and Ireland.

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

Not really.

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

The economy and human rights issues naturally. Its the motherland complex, whereas a developing nation produces raw resources and processes them and then sends them for consumption to a developed nation who also funded the production process, hence the capital goes only one way.

What is the future of blogging?

Video-blogging? And unfortunately I predict that more commercial parties are going to realise how effective blogs are to reach people and exploit them more, distorting a bloggers credibility even more.

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

They mix perfectly – my blog is basically my thoughts organized, and in my studies I need the practice to write and plan out arguments and viewpoints.

What are your future plans?

Hopefully to become an author and write about ideological beliefs and how they impact the government and its relations to its people.

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

Blog on!

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