Well, well, well, we have finally met one of the few writers on planet earth who is not a procrastinator. His daily mantra is do it now. Dickson Otieno is our blogger of the week. Lets get to know him better,
- Give us a brief profile of yourself.
I write a lot – in my head at least I think I do. I read a lot of stories, this is a fact. I watch lots of movies, this is a problem. I listen to lots of music, this is my life. And I spend so much time watching different creators on YouTube and imagining scenarios of things that will never happen. In my free time, I run tech-ish.com, alone. But on LinkedIn, I lie that I work there full time when I mostly just sit and listen to music.
- Share something interesting about yourself
I have lots of unfinished plans. I guess everyone does. So that’s not interesting. Mmmh… I think these could be interesting: I enjoy writing. I enjoy cycling.
- What attracted/inspired you into blogging?
After finishing high school in 2011, it felt like the natural thing to do, I guess. I started off with Blogger.com sharing anything I felt like. From then on, I slowly built an audience and focused on tech thanks to inspiration from lots of sites online, but mainly from @echenze’s tech blog at the time.
- What is the name of your platform and what is it about?
Tech-ish.com is a tech news and reviews website. It is tech-ish because you may find many other things that are not so tech. Please note I started tech-ish before something called Black-ish existed, so it was an original idea. I must say that ever since my sister pointed it out, hahaha.
- You could have concentrated on anything else why did you take this specific route?
Are you asking me why choose the boring genre that’s tech, eh? LOL! I don’t know honestly. I remember writing a phone review on my first blog, and wondering if it was a good idea to mix my stories with tech articles. So I decided I will have two blogs: one for tech articles, and the other for other noise. The other died, the tech blog is still here.
- What accomplishments are you proud of most?
Many, but none worthy of sharing in public. I think right now the main accomplishment is that I’ve forced a lot of people to get vaccinated. Are you vaccinated? Why not!?
- If you could sit down with your 13-year-old self, what would you tell him?
At 13, I was in Form 1…. Mmmh. I think if time travel was invented, I’d probably just want to look at my 13yr old self and leave him. Not just because telling him anything would cause a whole lot of chaos in the world, but also because everything in life has turned out alright. So it’s fine.
- If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
This is hard aki. Impatient, sometimes. Loud, sometimes. Boring, mostly.
- If you could time travel, where would you go?
To the future. To a time when Kenyans vote with their brains, and not their tribes. (That’s a great answer, can’t lie!)
- What is the weirdest food combination you have ever tried?
I am not adventurous with food. So my answer is not about a weird combination; Some time back I found myself in some west African country and those people have pepper in literally every meal. I had to survive on dessert, juice, and water. Every other food burnt my tongue.
- If you were not a blogger, what would you be instead? Do you have a day job?
On LinkedIn my day job is tech-ish.com. It has been since 2014 while still in Uni. And I don’t know when it’ll stop. I didn’t have any dreams of what I wanted to do post uni. So I don’t think I have an idea of what I would be doing instead. However, I remember wanting to study law while growing up. That dream died when I realised the amount of time I needed to be in school. See… impatience!
- Of all the posts you have ever written, which one is your favourite? Why?
Let me be boring and send you over to tech-ish.com to read everything under the REVIEWS, INTERESTING READS, and OPINIONS categories. Yep. Discover the boring stuff I write about.
- What is the most difficult thing you ever had to do?
To be honest, waking up at 4.40am every day in High School. Eh! And the way in Form 1 and Form 2, we were forced to wear shorts in a very cold environment!
- Anything new we should expect?
To be honest, a lot! Like so much more! Just you wait…
- 15. Who is the most influential person in your life and why?
I can’t point out one person to be honest. I am influenced by many different people at different points in my life. This happens either when I read their works, or meet them, or watch a movie. Or anything. For example, LinusTechTips makes me want to build a tech media house like his.
Diamond Platnumz makes me want to be as hardworking as he is. Tim Urban makes me want to write as nicely and as “importantly” as he does. Elon Musk makes me want to build discipline and commitment the way he has for himself.
Erik Voss makes me want to know so much about comic books like he does. Tom van Der Linden makes me want to appreciate film and storytelling in cinema and fuse it with philosophy, and appreciate the beauty of art in a way I can’t explain!
So many different people influence so many different aspects of my life. And they’re all very important.
- What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Start now. Do it now. I don’t know how many people have said it, but I’m sure you’ve heard it. It’s good advice.
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I honestly don’t know. I have some hopes though. These are; I want to be in a better Kenya, with better governance. In a better city, with good planning. In a place where the brilliant ideas many Kenyans have can be realised.
- Is there a quote/mantra you live by?
“Start now. Do it now.”
Also, ‘You have bills to pay!” Helps me get out of bed.
- If you would be a superhero, who would you be and why?
For someone who is a self-proclaimed number 1 MCU fan, I am sorry, I have no proper answer. First of all, all these superheroes come from different settings with their writers basing them on their different experiences. While I may love their stories, and their character arcs, and may scream, laugh and cry when I watch them on the big screen, I honestly can’t relate.
Secondly, with most superhero stories, it isn’t just the hero themselves that makes the story worth it, it is all the small characters they meet, conversations they have, and challenges they face that build or break them.
I guess if a superhero story covered things I could relate to, I’d choose them… But then again, every good person is in a way someone’s superhero. It’s complicated. I also don’t like my answer LOL.
- What are some of the changes in the blogsphere between now and when you started out?
Creating a site is much much easier now. And so is building an audience. There are many more avenues to reach people, to share your dreams and ideas, and to learn how to go about challenges. Please, if you want to start, start now.
- Advice to the budding blogger?
Enjoy what you do. And do it in your own way. Don’t copy, don’t compete. Just give it your own look, taste, or approach. Your unique take is all that’s needed.