Blah Blah from The TeaBreak Team.

Though I am not a big fan of this genre of blogging, but few months ago I came across a blog that I found pretty cool, it has a ‘good’ blog following and when I say good, I mean ‘GOOD’. But what impressed me most was the style of writing of this young blogger; it’s a combination of humor, awesomeness and above all its full of life. So I give this month’s;  “Blogger of the Month”.

Name:             Unknown

Alias:                Miss Specs

Blog:                  http://misspecs.wordpress.com/

City:                  Islamabad, Pakistan

1. Tell us something about yourself and how did you indulge yourself in the habit of blogging?

I’ve been reading blogs for quite a long time. The bloggers I read used to encourage me to make my own blog, so it just happened. Truthfully, there wasn’t a lot of planning put into it but once I started, I found it an awesome platform for airing my views, letting out some steam and at times sharing the better things in life with my blogging friends.

2. Your blog revolves you and your life, what makes you chose this blogging style?

I started off as most bloggers do: writing about social issues, but I soon discovered this was something other bloggers were doing a better job with. For some time, I was pretty confused what to write about.

The impression foreign people have of Pakistan, and especially Pakistani women were something that always amazed me. Comments like ‘Where did you learn to speak English because most Pakistanis cannot’/‘Women are not allowed to drive in Pakistan’/’you people have DSL? Like REAL internet? Oh wow’/’God, you’re in Finance? Are women in Pakistan even allowed to study it?’ left me flabbergasted because people really had no idea what the Pakistan of today was like. I started writing about my life and everyday happenings just to share my life and its events with them. I guess you could say I was trying to bridge the cross cultural gap.

With time, we all became more involved with people asking about how my brother did on his exam or when my sister is getting married! My blog is like my diary, except that it has a mind of its own; people will tell me off, encourage me, or just help me put things in a new perspective. Some people find this style of blogging as too revealing as far as one’s private life is concerned, but for me, this is a one-on-one conversation with my friends.

3. Most unfortunately even at this age of technological advancement and media awareness women are mistreated, abused and harassed in every part of the world including our very own country. How different is the medium of blogging from the real world in this sense? 

As much as I would love to say its utopia, the truth stands somewhat different. Blogging is worse than real life at times because there are no rules, no law enforcement agency, and people think they can let their worst sides out because of the privacy the internet affords them. I imagine these people would be just bad in real life but on the internet, they are downright nasty. Although it’s a minority who acts like this, but yes, I have had more than my fair share of abusive comments and mails which were specifically gender oriented.

I think it’s EXTREMELY important to point out that while this shadier side of the internet exists, majority of people I have had an interaction which are very nice and not discriminatory.

4. If you can tell us one attribute that makes your blog different or special from others?

‘The view from behind my specs’ is a one-on-one conversation style blog. I dislike talking at people instead of to them, so I try to keep my writing style as something that personally addresses everyone. I’m very much of a ‘people person’ and I like knowing lots of people and communicating with them.  Plus, I address issues that I personally face, so not only can I write from the heart about them, I can sympathize with other people who are going through a similar situation.

I have a humorous take on everyday life and I’d like to think, lets people see the better side of things. That life is hard enough itself; we don’t have to make it harder by moping around and being bitter.

5.     What positive role Pakistani bloggers can play to improve the image of the country?

I cannot stress enough how very important it is. It always amazes me when I hear well educated foreign born Pakistanis say stuff like ‘Women are allowed to drive in Pakistan? Are you kidding?’ Most people abroad base their image of Pakistan and its people on the footage of Balochistan shown on MSNBC or Fox News where as that’s just one part of what we are. It’s misrepresenting the common man on the street. A person like me or you might not be able to make a Palme d’Or winning documentary film or write a book, but blogging is a medium with tremendous outreach; it can change a lot of perceptions and build cross nation, cross cultural links.

6. Do bloggers help in creating awareness in our society?

Of course! Generally, since blogging is an uncensored (for the most part) medium, it does help create awareness about important issue that may be side stepped by the print or electronic media. That’s why I read a very diverse range of blogs; they help me stay better informed.

On the writing level, I write about my personal life and my blog is a pretty important awareness tool too. As a Pakistani Blogger, I’ve had this experience times out of mind: people who are regular readers of my blog are somewhat surprised to know I’m a Pakistani and a Muslim because they had a fixed image of what we are like. At some point you realize that we all share the basic things in life: studies, worries about jobs, marriages, and children. Writing and publishing via blogs helps create awareness. No doubt about that.

7. Your favorite blogs and why?

Most of the blogs I read are so unique in themselves, it’s hard for me to narrow down and choose only a few! Some of the most interesting ones would be Shahrzaad who is an Iranian blogger; she writes very comprehensive and varied articles about the events that surround her. Sadaat’s blog UltaSeedha always has something unique and humorous on it (like a post in Morse code!). Achelois writes very incisively and objectively about the issues that surround Muslims. Awais Aftab is a fellow Pakistani blogger who writes about philosophy in a way that even a dedicated philosophy hater like me reads every word :)…he’s extremely creative and there’s a lot of variety on his blog.

For more, check my blog-roll. They’re all terrific; that’s why they’re there.

8. We have observed that blogging has this effect on personal life of the bloggers both negative and positive. What’s your experience?

When I started blogging, I made the mistake of letting it take over my life. I couldn’t look at things or hear someone without thinking how good a blog entry can this make. But I soon snapped out of it! I think it was just the initial excitement so I got a bit carried away.

On the positive side, blogging has helped me sort out many issues. Since I write a personal blog, when I write about something that frustrates me or confuses me, every blog commentator comes up with their point of view about the issue. They are supportive and understanding when I need it but sometimes, a good blogging friend would also deliver the proverbial slap-on-the-wrist to let me see where I am going wrong (all in a very good sense, of course).

9. Your message to fellow bloggers and youth of the country?

At the risk of sounding preachy, I’d like to remind all fellow Pakistani bloggers that we are representing our country out there. While its important to tell the situation like it is (and frankly its not very good), it’s equally important to highlight the better things too. You have a tool with tremendous outreach in your hands; use it wisely.

To the youth…I mean fellow youth:  don’t be afraid of following your dreams.

We are not what we are, nor do we treat or esteem each other for such, but for what we are capable of being.

Henry David Thoreau

10. Good ‘one to one’ communication with blog readers is an important aspect of blogging which is quite evident from your blog. What made you adapt this style?

It wasn’t something I did consciously. I’m a very friendly person by nature. Even outside the cyber world, I’m one of those people who know everyone’s names and I always remember to ask about their family’s wellbeing or whatever is of concern to them at the moment. It’s just the way I am, so I found it very difficult to write about events or life in a clinical manner. The friendly communication manner is the only one I know, I guess! It’s not something I began consciously.

11. Your opinion about Teabreak.pk?

The idea behind TeaBreak is very creative and it’s a site that would go down as one of the pioneers of RSS crawling services as far as Pakistan’s up and coming internet presence is concerned. It’s invaluable in terms of the exposure it’s providing to Pakistani bloggers.

This is one of the first sites I visit everyday to get on top of what’s new in the Pakistani blogosphere. The diversity of the content is one of the things I like best about Teabreak. It must take a tremendous amount of time and energy to maintain this standard. I wish TeaBreak the best for the future…keep rocking, guys!