Fan interviews: Ovi presents Sergejs (part 1)

When Sergejs told me he wanted to be interviewed for the Blog, I didn’t expect he was going to share so much about his life that I had to take some action to make this post readable. Because shortening his interview was not an option, I decided to split it ...

When Sergejs told me he wanted to be interviewed for the Blog, I didn’t expect he was going to share so much about his life that I had to take some action to make this post readable.
Because shortening his interview was not an option, I decided to split it in 3 parts What you are going to read here is the first one in which Sergejs is introducing himself.
Have fun reading and remember to send me or @OvibyNokia a tweet to get featured on the Blog too!

-Pino (@haikus)

Who are you and what do you do? Tell us the story of your life! Hello there! My name is Sergejs Cuhrajs and I’m 24. Originally I’m from Latvia, but currently I’m studying Journalism and English in UK. Aside from my personal blog, PhoneSpot.net, I’ve also written reviews and features for various Nokia smartphone focused blogs, including Symbian-freak, MyNokiablog and AllAboutMeego.
It all started with Symbian-freak forums, where I’ve happily spent almost 5 years, closely following and discussing amongst like minded people the latest trends in the world of Symbian. It was, in fact, like growing up in a large and very friendly family, and with some long time forum members I stay in touch via Twitter to this very day.
Spending so much time in forums I think has helped me not only develop my interest towards the whole mobile phone industry, but it also taught me to assess problems from different angles, that is especially crucial for writing objective reviews, for example.
Other than that, I’m just a regular guy, except maybe crazy enough to try to combine my passion for phones with work as a writer. And really, why not? We only get one shot at our lives, so there’s simply no sense in doing something boring, no matter how safe and comfortable that might be.

What makes you passionate about what you do? In many ways, smartphones complete me. I’m quite bad at remembering things or organizing my time properly, so a smartphone, the one thing that always stays with me, naturally fills the gaps. This bond only grew stronger as smartphones became more sophisticated with what they can do. Now I start my day by readings news sites, follow my friends on social networks, watch the latest episode of my favourite Tv series and look up places to visit using Maps – all that, using my Nokia N900. Smartphones are the big things that come in small packages.
Along the way, I made some very interesting friends. Some of them I’ve actually met in person, and they turned out to be just like myself, and even cooler. Looking at it now, I think it really was the community that encouraged me to get into mobile industry more seriously, more thoroughly. And sharing my thoughts about smartphones via blogs and other social media added a whole new dimension to my passion. It has effectively become a lifestyle.

What do you like to do on your spare time? Do you have any hobbies, pets etc.? I’m constantly on a lookout for ways to improve my writing by reading other tech portals and blogs, so more often than not it takes a lot of my spare time to complete an article just the way I had intended. But even then I know how important it is to sometimes turn away and simply relax. I immensely enjoy listening to my favorite tracks and podcasts while doing workouts at the gym or driving laps with my mountain bike, and I also like swimming. Even for a short while, these activities give me an opportunity to isolate myself from the surrounding turmoil. And sometimes that really does help me get past the more difficult moments.
During my sport activities, my inseparable companion – you guessed it – is my smartphone. It not only provides entertainment along the way while ensuring I’ll be easily reachable wherever I am, but it also records my performance and accurately shows my favorite biking routes on a map. I then upload the relevant data online so I can review how I did on my PC later. For that, I’ve always used Sports Tracker, starting from my earliest Symbian smartphones, and I’ve also found a great alternative for my Nokia N900, called eCoach.
And finally, there’s one noteworthy hobby I’ve taken over from phones, and that is photography. There’s something truly special in trying to produce good photos using just a phone camera, and the challenge aspect is what got me so interested in photography in the first place. You can check out the best examples of my work here and here.

Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2010/11/22/fan-interviews-ovi-...