Lorena's Epiphany

Social Media – The Magazine

January 13, 2012 at 4:22 pm 2 comments

Pleasantly surprised, I came across this dashing new magazine at Virgin (ABC Ashrafieh) the other day:

I didn’t know there was a social media magazine (in print, at least) out there and much more surprised to find it here. It was the last issue on the stand (sorry guys) but no doubt we’ll be seeing more of it soon if demand for it increases. You can also download an only version of it for $2.99 from their website if you’re extra-antsy to check it out right now.

The much-used expression “don’t judge a book by its cover” actually doesn’t apply to magazines. Had it not been for the graphic and colorful cover, I wouldn’t have spotted it out of the rest of the technology magazines there. I also liked that they feature the artist who drew the cover inside – this issue’s featured artist was Derek Yaniger (@derekart).

The content of the magazine are also interesting, covering in this issue in particular “Looking Your Best in Social Situations”, “Social Shopping Trends”, “Trending Topics for 2012″ and my personal favorite “The Five Biggest Stories in Social Media in 2011″. That article listed in #1 the rise of the Arab Spring revolution and the role social media played, even when the government tried to cut that form of communication:

“Ironically, government efforts to crack down on social media may have led to an increase in public activism in Egypt, as people who could no longer follow the unrest via social media took the streets to find out what was going on.”

Long live social media.

Having come across this magazine got me wondering: why don’t we have a Middle Eastern social media magazine too? We surely have enough activity, bloggers and twitterati (or is tweeps? I never know the right term to use) in the region. The Arab Spring also proves that we’re able to use social media to its utmost potential, so why not have something out there as a reference for future trends and social media topics here?

Hopefully someone reading this will get inspired to do so (and please make sure it has a cool cover and nice design layout).

Now although I realize that a magazine about something so largely based on online activities might seem ironic, but there’s a certain appeal to having information presented to you in printed form and in your hands to read at leisure. It transforms the medium into something more humanly accessible, especially in this day and time when we’re bombarded with emails, links and blogs all day long. Taking an online break with magazines keeps you in the loop but in a more relaxed way (also why I strongly believe magazines and books will never get extinct).

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Check out The Social Media Monthly to read the full articles on the topics I mentioned and more.

Entry filed under: Artsy Fartsy, Design Issues, One of a Kind, Social. Tags: 2011, Arab Spring, magazine, New Magazine, online, Review, Social Media, The Social Media Monthly, Trends, Use of Social Media for Revolution, Virgin.