The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
The site, originally called The Daily Drivel and now Pundit Country, is very new. In fact it’s a month old today the 23rd. The goal for the site is to open a space for people to come talk about domestic political issues, social media, and pop culture. Currently, I’m the sole writer, but as site traffic grows, I’d like to start adding more staff and more social networking functionality to the site. Really have it be a one-stop shop for political discourse.

This all grows out my 2 passions in life; writing and politics. I generally bore my friends with both topics, so the idea hit me recently to start writing about it in hopes that I can find others who, like me, are fascinated by the systematic way people organize around ideas.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
Yes, absolutely. It’s like any skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it. It also helps that I read great writers on a regular basis. Many of the diarists over at Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, and Talking Points Memo (3 political blogging sites) have superb commentary and analysis and I tend to find myself emulating their style as much as possible. To put it simply, words are vital. They are key to getting a point or a persuasive argument across. Since there are millions of bloggers out there, I’ve always felt that the better you are at communicating your thoughts, the more likely you’ll be in finding more readers.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
I was recently schooled by one of my readers on a critique I wrote about what I perceived as cowboy diplomacy on the part of the author. It turns out I misread the authors intent, so we had a good conversation, even though we disagreed on the larger point. It was the kind of dialogue that I really want to have rather than screeching insults back and forth. You can always get that on TV.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
Well that’s still a challenge. For now, I try to keep commenting on sites that receive a higher volume of traffic and attempt to engage those readers, hoping some of them might make their way over to my little place. In the future, I’m going to try and attend a few conferences and meetups in the area with bloggers and make connections on that level as well.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
It’s ability to effective utilize social networking to its advantage. Clearly, the Obama campaign really made a strong leap forward in that regard, but credit also goes to Howard Dean, who ran the Democratic National Committee until recently, and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of Daily Kos, who took advantage of what the web 2.0 technologies allowed him to do, which was to create an interactive space first to start organizing people online and then get them to start talking to each other.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
Both of these people understood that by providing a space for people to communicate constructively, they could accomplish some incredible things; not only in their ability to fundraise, but in their ability to create buzz and attention around a candidate or an idea. I believe that the platforms that were created have permitted them the ability to take over some of the functions that were once reserved for traditional media and the pundit class of this country. Unlike previous generations of the web, it allowed savvy creators to really have a 2-way dialogue with their readers. Those who prospered participated in the conversation and listened to thoughtful critiques and took action. Those who treated it like another avenue to avenue to put out PR pieces haven’t met with the same level of success.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?
I hope it will become a place for people who would not ordinarily talk to one other to engage in similar interests (i.e. social media experts and politicos who know of the work of the other, but don’t necessarily collaborate despite having similar goals of citizen and consumer engagement).

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
My desire to learn more. I love reading and the process of intellectual discovery

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
The happiest professionally was working on a small grassroots campaign against two very funded candidates and winning. The most challenging is probably financial. This type of work doesn’t pay as well as other professions, so it can be a struggle at times.

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?
Rome, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. I love big cities.

What is your favorite book and why?
The Hunchback of Norte Dame. It’s probably the most emotionally involved I’ve ever been with a book. It’s just such an incredible story. It’s a shame that there has been no movie that has even approached it’s excellence.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
physically, it’s the eyes and personally, it’s how comfortable they seem to be in their own skin.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
No. I’ve received quite a bit of praise and/or constructive advice from people about my writing. I think those who think I’m not good at it, don’t say so.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
I’m not sure they can. There is a debate going on in the political blogosphere on both the left and right concerning how the larger political organizations do not contribute much financially to the bloggers who help promote their ideas. Both sides tend to think that the other is well funded when in reality they are not. There is a concern that many feel that the bloggers are the intellectual soul of the future and that funding them is essential for future development.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Probably not. Many of the bloggers I know do it our of a passion to write or communicate. They’ll fit it into their busy lives rather devote their lives to it.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
Keep the pressure on leaders who tend to want to isolate themselves from public scrutiny. Often times, people will not speak up if they think they are the only one who feel a particular way. Knowing the others share your passion or opinion and be galvanizing and empowering.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
Josh Marshall, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, David Sirota, Ana Marie Cox, and digby.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
usually the ones that address issues that are already in the public sphere. I received a number of comments about the April 15 Tea Party protests.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
Much of my impression comes from mainstream media, so its coverage has been angled towards its relationship with the rest of the world community, most specifically between the U.S. and India. Sadly, I haven’t seen much coverage of regional issues. My impression of Pakistan is one of a country in transition, struggling between strongly held beliefs toward self-governance and fidelity towards having religion play a large role in how the government is run. In America (at least among liberal-progressives), Musharraf was never seen as an honest broker in either domestically or internationally. He served a means to an end. It wasn’t a surprise when he attempted to overthrow the legitimate government in ‘07. It was a surprise that he was forced to abdicate the position due to political pressure. It gave me a lot of hope in the people there and a lesson on how democracy can really work when people want it badly enough. I wish more people here got that message.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
Probably Cox. She has some amazing insights that she often covers in a think level of humor, which has caused her to stand out from the crowd.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
Off the top of my head I would say civic infrastructure. The ability for people to openly and honestly communicate with those who are in positions of power and their ability to affect necessary change free of appraisals.

What is the future of blogging?
I’m not sure I have an answer for that. I believe that it depend entirely on people’s willingness to go and participate in the medium, since it’s so geared to engagement. It’s growth potential is fairly flexible. With the decline of print media in the U.S., I could see an rise in journalists turning to blogging in order to cover stories that need to be in the public realm, but again it goes back to the question of how do you monetize content in this medium. It’s still an open question without a satisfactory answer.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
It has pretty much taken over both. In between working on political campaigns, writing becomes my full-time job. While it’s very satisfying, it is also very time consuming. I’m very blessed to have supportive friends and family. My personal and professional life are very interconnected and I like that. I don’t want a job that I have to retire from when I’m 65. I want to be engaged in a profession where I feel I’m making a positive contribution to society and one that I can do for the remainder of my life.

What are your future plans?
To continue developing the site into something that people can engage in, return to school for finish my graduate degree, and push for local candidates to enter public life.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Do whatever you can to support independent journalism. In the end it’s the only thing that can keep power in check. It also provides people here an example to point to when as we have our own issues with speaking truth to power. I wasn’t aware of your site until you contacted me, but I will be reading it now that I know you’re there.