- Chaka Sichangi, author of Neo-Cicero & Poetry Philharmonic…
Chaka Sichangi (also known as the Great Elephant) is a law student currently pursuing his degree in the United Kingdom…
If you aren’t reading Neo-Cicero & Poetry Philharmonic, you’re missing out on some great insights!
The 411…: Can you give us a picture of yourself?
Chaka Sichangi: I can, and I’ll paint you motion pictures too. Read my poetry.
The 411…: When did you start blogging?
Chaka Sichangi: ‘The Advent of Neo-Cicero’, which was my first blog post, went up at 2.00 p.m., on the 14th of August 2010.
The 411…: Did you have any specific goal in mind when you began blogging?
Chaka Sichangi: I believe in bold and compelling ideas and I like sharing those ideas, almost as much as I like learning them. I also love poetry and short stories; reading and writing them. So the intention was to share a broad spectrum of ideas, as well as my poetry, for the illumination – however slight – and enjoyment of others, whilst keeping my mind active and making a lab rat of whatever little talent I may have.
Initially I had one blog site; which was an amalgam of all my blog posts. A few months later however, I decided to separate the articles from the literature so as to cater better to my audiences, and just to be more organized really.
The 411…: What was the first blog you ever read?
Chaka Sichangi: I’m quite the curious character; I do a fair amount of reading through various mediums, so to be quite honest, I’m pretty certain I read a few blogs before I even knew what a blog was, I must admit, I’ve always been slow in catching on to tech-terms.
It might have been the blogs by ‘The Economist’, reason being, I would find solace in the internet editions when my dad forgot to bring home the latest publications and my pocket money wasn’t enough to afford any.
The 411…: How much time per day do you spend on blog-related activities (i.e. writing, promotion, design etc)?
Chaka Sichangi: I wouldn’t suggest there is any consistency, and if I dared, the frequency of my posts would betray me. It depends on how much re-creation time I have, and more importantly, whether I have any ideas or poetry worth sharing as I’m disinclined to posting material for postings sake.
The 411…: How do you attract traffic to your blog?
Chaka Sichangi: Chema cha jiuza, kibaya chajitembeza, (A good thing sells itself, a bad thing advertises itself) so firstly and primarily, by the quality of my work.
That said, I have a face-book page where I post all my latest material, and all else that relates to it. On occasion I will tweet the short-links to my latest posts. My blogs are also inter-linked, in addition to having the links on an internet profile page. (http://about.me/ChakaSichangi)
The 411…: What do you think sets your site apart from others?
Chaka Sichangi: I’m a sly linguist with the soul of a dead poet. Like Muki Garang, my logic is ahead of my time. I spew knowledge even if it is unacknowledged.
Nasir Jones once said; ‘There is nothing new under the sun, so it is not what you do but how it is done’, that is what makes all the difference. In that regard, I subscribe to multiple schools of thoughts, and what I present is a splendid concoction… whilst breaking a few rules.
The 411…: On your blog, is there a post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
Chaka Sichangi: On my Poetry Philharmonic blog; I invited three poets to collaborate with me on a piece that we would later title, ‘Four Portraits of Robert Gabriel Mugabe’.
An article was written about it by the Poetry Foundation which, in a word, distinguished the piece. The same piece has the highest feedback in terms of ratings and feedback, including a comment by my dad saying he was proud of me… which is more powerful than any review I have or would have gotten.
On My Neo-Cicero blog; it would have to be a piece I did after the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution. The feed-back on that was also quite encouraging considering it was my second blog post.
The 411…: In your most creative words, finish this sentence: “To blog means…”
Chaka Sichangi: To blog means, putting on Superman’s cape, and sitting at a key-board to salvage the credibility and-or sanity of the metropolis that is your mind. Who indulge you tune in for the epic adventures.
The 411…: If you weren’t blogging now, what would you be doing?
Chaka Sichangi: Being Chaka Sichangi… it’s a life-style. 🙂
Quickfire Round:
1) Your favorite browser?
~ Chrome.
2) Your favorite search engine?
~ Bing is not touching Google.
3) Best thing about the Net?
~ I’m an information junkie, the net is my dealer.
4) Worst thing about the Net?
~ My fix is not guaranteed.
5) What is your favorite instant messaging software?
~ Black Berry Messenger.
The 411... 