Posts tagged ‘online’
Social Media – The Magazine
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.
And why are you here?
How does one most appropriately answer such a question in the presence of successful entrepreneurs, “angel” investors and the Google team?
Simply and honestly: I was curious. Armed with a stack of business cards and a fully-charged iPhone, I entered the Hatboor conference dome not really knowing what to expect from ArabNet 2010. Would it be a conference aimed at programmers, heavy with techie jargon? Would it be a battlefield of suited businessmen competing for the most cutting-edge project?
Turned out to be a little bit of both and none at the same time. Lost ya? Let me elaborate..
There were certainly plenty of suits on the stage. Some suits came off mid-way through the conference (whether intentionally or not is debatable). The coffee was over-flowing during the breaks after every panel. Business card paper cuts from passing them around so quick. “Here’s my card. We’ll be in touch.” So many faces, so many names, so many projects, so many stories, so much advice. Over-caffeinated speakers kept one eye on the moderator and the other on the live twitter screens (my favorite aspect about the entire conference) Some panelists were nervous about what words would appear while they spoke. Others embraced the system. Others abused the system.
Bloggers, once the hidden faces unleashing their innermost thoughts and desires into a cloud of cyberspace, are now the critics, promoters and generators of online communities. Almost everyone I know now has a blog, or has attempted to start one as it currently gathers cobwebs.
The Ideathon opened the platform to emerging online projects and entrepreneurs to introduce their ideas to the audience. By the end of the 2-day conference, all of them had been contacted by interested investors. Really?! I had my fair pick of favorites, but not all had the same potential. (I was rooting for the Arabic web font pitched by Maya Zankoul. As a graphic designer, this would be an immense aid for my web projects!)
Overall, the conference was huge success and the much-needed push forward for the online Arab world. We’ve got all we need to excel (as Mr. Fadi Ghandour so passionately expressed), so what are we waiting for?
That would be a more appropriate question to be asking at such a conference then “why are you here?”
MTVMusic.com
Is MTV finally redeeming itself? More music, less trash? Well, not yet, but almost. Check out this article from “Daily Candy” talking about MTV’s all-video site:
November 7, 2008
Vids R Us
MTV Launches All-Video Site MTVMusic.com
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Minors Turning Vindictive? Mindless, Tawdry, and Vulgar? Multitasking Vaginas?
Nope. Believe it or not, MTV once stood for Music Television. And it’s finally living back up to its name with MTVMusic.com, a newly launched site where you can watch just about any video ever made on demand.
Oh, yes. They’re all there. From “Hungry Like the Wolf” to “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” from Britney to Bryan Ferry, from the Latest LCD Soundsystem to classic self-referential vanthems like “Money for Nothing” and “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Browse to your heart’s content by artist or genre. And enjoy the site’s visuals, which pay homage to the MTV of yesteryear.
It’s almost enough to Make Television Viewable again. Available online at mtvmusic.com.
Facebook deTOX
This one’s tough. As of Sunday 3 a.m. I’ve officially deactivated my Facebook account. Among other things, one of the reasons is that I’m just too addicted to it. Just like anyone. On top of checking it constantly, I have an application for it on my BlackBerry so yeah, I’m checking it on my phone when I’m the T, walking, bored…
Isn’t it amazing how much we use Facebook for social contact these days? People rarely need to use the phone or text anyone, it can all be said via Facebook. Have we just become that lazy? I don’t mean this negatively, but more to show how little effort we need to make because of it.
The other day I was having a chat with some of my co-workers about Facebook and I realized, when we’re a bunch of old farts, our entire life will have been tracked on Facebook – photos, conversations, friends,… Facebook has become an online autobiography of who we are and the circles within which we exist. That’s rather remarkable. I wonder what it’s like when someone passes away… Do they deactivate that person’s account? And what if they didn’t? Will that person continue to exist virtually through the extensive web of Facebook?
Facebook has become an extension of who we are and who would’ve thought this day would come this soon. It’s already transforming the way we live and it’s slowly becoming a time capsule of every person’s life, as they are living it right now. In a few years, I’ll be able to sign into my account and see photos I posted when I was 23 and read an archive of messages I’d received throughout my life. If that doesn’t shake you up, I don’t know what will. At least, I hope it freaks you out a little. 
For those concerned, I’ll be back on Facebook soon. I wonder how long I’ll be able to last. (I’m already fighting hard to resist opening it and it hasn’t even been 24 hours)
