Interview with Blogger Mathew B Hills | The Pakistani Spectator

Interview with Blogger Civilizer

By The Pakistani Spectator • Jul 10th, 2008 • Category: Interviews • No Responses

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

I am a blogger in my late twenties living in Ohio, in the Midwestern United States. I work in the commercial banking industry. My site is primarily a politically-oriented blog, providing commentary on both U.S. and international politics, but I do like to work in some lighter content like music, movies, video games, etc. The opinions you’ll get on All Things In Their Place are kind of a mixed bag - fiscally I’m fairly conservative, and tend to lean somewhat rightward when it comes to international affairs. But a lot of my social positions and environmental positions are a little more left of center.

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

I definitely feel that I grow more as I write. One positive thing that having a blog forces you to do is research. No one really takes most blogs seriously or as a reliable source of information, but I want mine to be different. My opinion is my opinion, of course, and you can disregard it if you like. But I am very careful to back up my positions with researched and verifiable facts, which I link to within my entries. Finding and reading those sources has really contributed to my growth as a commentator and my command of the various subjects that I address. That’s extremely important to me, because bloggers who just fire off hotheaded opinions as an outlet for their own emotions, which are by definition subjective, are a dime-a-dozen. I doubt I’ll ever be famous for this, but I want my contribution to the blogosphere to be erudite and informed nevertheless.

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

My most memorable experience blogging, I think, has been the reaction to my post on a hypothetical fight between two video game characters - Link, from the Legend of Zelda series, and Cloud Strife, from Final Fantasy VII. As I said above, I devote most of my time to political and environmental topics. Video games are just something I occasionally throw in for the sheer fun of it, and they probably make up about 3% of my content. Well, despite that, this post has by far garnered some of the most attention and prompted the most discussion. If you look at a lot of my posts, I’m only getting maybe 1 or 2 comments, if that - and I get almost 300 hits per day, on average. This one has grabbed almost 20 comments. I just find that very amusing and it’s been one of my more memorable posts. My other most memorable was being personally contacted by Dr. Cliff Goudey, a professor at MIT. I wrote a very complimentary post about an invention of his (a more ecologically defensible scallop dredge), and a friend of his saw it and forwarded it to him. He was kind enough to drop me a line. That was really neat and I was thrilled to hear from him.

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

I really don’t communicate with other bloggers a lot. I make occasional comments on other blogs, but I don’t really have a network of “blogging friends.” This is just a hobby that doesn’t creep into my “real life” very much.

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

I think the most innovative use of technology right now has to be this phenomenon of what I call “instant video pollination.” Before the advent of Internet video, YouTube, and other sites, voters really only saw video of political candidates via the mainstream media - evening news, CNN cameras, etc. Now, with the advent of camera phones and higher-end digital video, the minute a politician says or does something, the footage can be uploaded and shot to billions of people within minutes, and voters and constituents can watch it for themselves, unedited. This has irrevocably changed the political landscape, and really raised the bar for public behavior. What was a minor faux pas that would have passed without comment 10 years ago is now the dreaded “gaffe.” 24-hour cable news has really co-opted this technology, as these caught-on-tape gaffes provide fodder for several days worth of analysis and discussion. It can obscure a candidate’s message and dig a hole he or she can’t get out of. A lot of people call this “gotcha politics,” and I think they’re right. But right or wrong, it has changed the way campaigns do business forever.

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

I think new technology like the “gotcha videos” and the Internet has the potential to make people more responsive. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t live up to this potential. What usually happens is a political campaign just uses the Internet as another advertising outlet - a good example of this is the way the Romney campaign made a lot of “home movies” to put up on their web page. Ostensibly, this is a way for the campaign to let voters “get to know Mitt” better, but let’s be honest - it was just stagecraft, and in my opinion a rather cloying attempt to get people to vote for Romney because he had a nice, big, telegenic family. It didn’t really contribute in a substantive way to the political discourse of the Republican primary. And the news usually just uses campaign footage as a way to fill time. I’ve never been impressed with the American broadcast media as a class…they consistently fail to talk about important issues, and will instead waste time talking about whether or not Barack Obama wears a flag pin.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

I think my writing style sets my site apart. I realize I am about to make a flood of statements that are wholly lacking in humility, so I apologize in advance. But I have always been a skilled writer from a technical standpoint - I am good with sentence structure, word choice, etc. I have been able to take this technical ability and apply it in a fairly creative way on my site. I use it to, I hope, make fairly mundane, esoteric, or technical topics accessible and entertaining to read. I think that no matter what you’re writing about, you need to make it interesting as well as educational. To achieve that end, you’ll find that I usually establish a conversational or colloquial voice, even when writing about a more highbrow topic like the Israeli-Hamas truce. I think it makes for a more enjoyable experience for the reader.

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

I believe that my communication skills have brought me whatever modest success I have achieved in life. When you can write clearly and effectively, and communicate verbally with others in a friendly and intelligent way, you’ll find that opportunities may present themselves. There’s really nothing special about me at all, but human society is all about how we interact with each other. I learned early on that doing that well opens doors.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

Don’t have a very good answer for this one right now.

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?

My first choice would be England - I have always enjoyed reading British history, plus they speak something close to American English over there, so I wouldn’t be the clueless foreigner when trying to find things. My second choice would be Africa - that continent has some of the most captivating wildlife and I’d love to see a lion outside of a zoo. My third choice would be Alaska.

What is your favorite book and why?

My favorite book is “The Stand” by Stephen King. I have always been attracted to epic-scale storytelling, and that book is so effective both in story and characterization that King succeeded in creating an alternate reality all his own. I mostly read nonfiction, but when I read fiction I like to be able to dissolve entirely into another world with its own population, geography, rules, etc. “The Stand” is a book that delivers that experience more than any other I have read.

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

The first thing I notice about a person is their posture. I don’t try to do this on purpose, it’s just a cue that I try and pick up on without thinking about it. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they stand.

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

No one has ever told me that I couldn’t write. I’ve been very lucky to have supportive family, friends, and teachers.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

The only way a blogger can really make money off of his or her blog is to get a lot of hits and thereby attract an advertiser. This is really hard to do - I thought I was getting pretty good traffic after a while, but when I started to look at the kind of numbers I would need to attract to make a significant amount of money…let’s just say this, it was humbling. You shouldn’t get into blogging for the money, because you probably won’t make any. Especially if you’re going to insist on original content, like I do - I’ve noticed a disproportionate amount of blogs with advertisers that are just collections of either news written by other people, or naked girls.

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

I’d say yeah, that’s true - probably the only exception to that statement would be people who start a blog that directly relates to what they do for a living. Those people can just integrate blog posts into their working day without the blog making large demands on their time. But otherwise, blogging well takes up a lot of time, and making it successful takes marketing, which also takes time. I’m content with my blog in terms of popularity right now, but if I really wanted to make it a big deal, I couldn’t work a full time job that leaves me tired at the end of the day. I’d need to devote a lot more time to the site and to getting it in front of people. I think that the exception to this rule is that group of bloggers that blog about sex all the time. It’s a cheap and vapid way to get traffic, but it works.

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

I think bloggers can play a unique role in the world as regards making it a more cooperative and less hostile place. What blogs allow is cross-border communication of intelligent people, people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to encounter each other. Today, those of us who consume media really only hear about other counties through official news and government sources. It’s difficult to get a sense of ordinary citizens from those sources. Blogging, on the other hand, allows for conversation between average people - I’m just a guy in Ohio working in the banking industry, for example. My opinion is not necessarily that of my governments, and the news media isn’t asking me to do any press conferences to explain what people in my demographic are thinking. But anybody can go to my blog and read it, comment on it, challenge things I’ve said, or ask me any questions they want. That kind of open communication goes a long way toward establishing and upholding a civil tone.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?

My top 5 favorite blog sites are (in no particular order) 1. Deadspin; 2. Global Guerrillas; 3. Dot Earth (from the New York Times); 4. MSNBC’s First Read; 5. Cryptomundo

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

See answer to #3. I also elicited a strong reaction from one of my posts criticizing Vladimir Putin; a guy from Russia took umbrage at my post and really tried to debate me - he was pretty fired up about it, and I don’t blame him I guess. Unfortunately, all he was able to respond with was Russian government propaganda, which to a Westerner like myself was pretty laughable and transparent.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

I am utterly intrigued by Pakistan. You cannot deny the intellectual, scientific, and mercantile talents of its people, and the cultural histories of its many ethnic groups are impressive in both content and longevity. I’m sure that, growing up in a liberal Western society, I would have a lot of disagreements on specific issues with the people of Pakistan, but I nevertheless view the country as one that can contribute so much to the global community. I think that the frustrating thing for an American like me when viewing the news developments out of Pakistan is the way that the intelligence services have made their own arrangements with terrorist groups, and thereby destabilized the region. These arrangements not only complicate Pakistan’s relations with other countries, but they keep a lid on the talents of the Pakistani people, and I think that is a shame. Pakistan could be a true regional leader and power if the cloud of violence which hangs over Pakistani politics could be lifted.

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

I can’t recall ever being “stunned,” but I do think that John Robb over at Global Guerrillas does some very thought-provoking and original analysis of diplomacy and terrorism.

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

The biggest difference between a developed and a developing country is the quality-of-life sacrifices that leaders are willing and able to make on behalf of their constituents. When America was in its developing phase, our nation was plagued with many of the same problems seen today in China, Latin America, and other developing areas of the world - rapid industrial growth and attendant pollution, child labor, a reckless disregard for worker safety, and an egregiously unbalanced distribution of wealth and opportunity, to name a few. Developed countries, like modern America, have sought to rectify those and run their economies with an eye on human rights, fairness, and responsible resource management (not that we always get it right). The biggest difference, I think, is that between a developing democracy and a developing dictatorship. America was able to make the strides it did because our laws allow for freedom of expression and assembly, which made it possible for those being mistreated to organize and be heard. In countries run by more oppressive regimes like Venezuela and China, those options are not as easily available, so who knows when those governments will allow for social change.

What is the future of blogging?

I think that the future of blogging is more networking between bloggers, and you’ll see mainstream media outlets do more than they have already to work blogging into their operations. Unfortunately, like any other type of effective communication, I think you’ll have blogging split into two categories - independent bloggers who produce valuable and substantive content, and corporate-owned bloggers who work under the thumb of a major conglomerate and attain nothing more than a facade of independence.

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

I’ve been lucky in that my blogging life does not often intersect with my “real life.” My blog is completely anonymous, so no one where I work really knows about it. In my personal life, a few know about it, but not a lot. I like it that way.

What are your future plans?

My future plans are to continue blogging as an outlet for my opinions and my love of writing in general. I just had my one-year anniversary with All Things In Their Place and hope to keep it up for a long time to come. If it starts getting more attention, that’s great; if not, that’s just fine. I like working on it for my own enjoyment.

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

Continue to read and absorb information anywhere you can and at any opportunity. Examine it critically, form an opinion, and challenge that opinion you’ve made. There are many forces converging all over the world that desire to serve their own interests, not necessarily the global good. A well-informed populace is the best defense against these forces, and Pakistan is a critical nation.