Back to Our Man in Beirut

Mr. Nasri Atallah graced us with his 6 ft 3 inch (my unscientific guess) frame during our social media class to discuss his book,blog, and general experience with life. Humorous and quite down to earth, he is obviously well read with a love of books. I was disappointed that his wit doesn't translate so obviously when addressing a live public but then again how random is it to talk about your inner monologue.

 What started this renowned blog was his cynicism and unhappiness with his career. Now that his success has brought him so much happiness, hes worried that he has nothing to write about.

Social Media-Changing Lives Conference....and a Pink Wig

      I was happy to attend this the Social Media-Changing lives conference that took place in AUB in Issam Fares Hall from 12 p.m till 9 p.m.
The significance of this conference was to address how social media is altering fields such as education, culture, economics, music and art, NGO's and the environment.Many left the conference feeling the need to start a new blog or enhance what was already there.
      I happened to arrive during a panel that features five very renowned bloggers that have been influenced by social media. Whether it was about shoes, graphic design, restaurants, black lists, each blogger gave their side of the story about how social media was basically a wonderful phenomenon. What was most intriguing about the conference was the screen that displayed a constant array of tweets. Hysterically amusing, it drew my attention away from the speakers.
But by far the most amusing image was that of a panelist who arrived with a shockingly bright pink wig. Distraction galore.

Meeting Mr. Nasri Attallah, the man behind "Our Man in Beirut"

I must say I was a tad bit excited to meet Mr. Atallah. After hearing  how wonderfully innovative he is as well as "charmingly handsome with some wolfish tendencies" (i wont quote the girl) I was curious to see for myself. After having read some of his blog posts, my general impression of this man ranged from cynical, wickedly smart and overall highly witty and disenchanted and above all, a writer. Im happy to have his blog posts available in hard copy. The internet is a disaster in this country.

Sector 75 located in Gemayzeh proved to be somewhat difficult to find. The statement "girls cant read maps" is in fact true and we ended up circling the area a little less then three times, till at last we found it. A door, hardly noticeable leading us into a very loud, smoking and cheerful commotion. I estimated about 50 people in this room all standing in line to get Mr. Atallah's book autographed by none other than Our Man in Beirut, Mr. Atallah himself.

I asked him how he felt about this huge and unique success. He replied, "I've never experienced anything like it. This is definitely one of the greatest moments of my life, if not the best."

The widest grin I've ever seen and this silent need to bounce about. He greeted everyone like a long lost friend. Very polite and highly sincere, he asked me to please enjoy and thanked me for coming.

Live Chat with Mr. Stephen Gillett, CIO & EVP, Digital Ventures at Starbucks

On October 26, the Topics in Current Affairs class has the good fortune of chatting with Mr. Gillet about the different facets of success, team-work, and technology. This isn't my first public chat but it was by far my most baffling one. So many technical terms that raised an eyebrow. Sometime two.

Here are some favorite questions I selected. (quotes not complete)
1. My question is about QR codes, Do you think this technology will have staying power?

 Mr. Gillet:  I expect NFC will give QR codes a good challenge in the near-future. 

2. What do you think about cloud computing. Is it the future?

Mr. Gillet: We use a lot of cloud-based technology for our stores. I think more and more services will go to the cloud. 

Safe to say, I need to brush up on technical term dictionary. 

Mr. Gillet

Skyping with Phil

       There’s something about being told that you shouldn’t go to class because you have an important Skype meeting that’s quite amusing.

       On Tuesday, while I was rushing to my Topics in Current Affairs class, or as I’d like to call it Social Media 101: how to use it without looking like an idiot, we had an important conference with a man named Phil. On Skype nonetheless.

       When I asked to be briefed, I was told that apparently journalism majors were being granted the opportunity to pitch their stories to Phil, who is a highly distinguished journalist with some 50 documentaries to his name. I was fascinated. Especially when his face appeared on a large screen.

        One by one the students pitched their stories and I must say I was impressed with some of them. They revolved around playgrounds, polluted water, sexist lyrics, and Lebanese tourism. I found it highly successful, and Phil's words were quite reassuring and enthusiastic. But all that came to startling halt when his face froze for an amount of time that seemed to elongate with every passing second. Safe to say we were able to rectify this sorry state of bad internet connection that Lebanon has unfortunately been cursed with but it left me with the feeling of absolute cynicism. 

Lebanese blogs you might want to check out

Several Lebanese blogs that I stumbled over. Might want to take a look if anyone is interested.

1. The Belles of Beirut Blog is interesting in its wide range of colors and aesthetic focus. The blogger is not commercial but instead focuses on eye capturing decorations that are easy to make as well interesting to look at. Its quite homey. For example, in one post, the blogger has made mundane jars into something very appealing and something id want to see on my shelf by literally stuffing them with beautiful scarves and what-nots. The blog is simple and straightforward emphasizing all things decorative. The name of the blog captured my attention as well because it held the promise of something beautiful. 

2. The Marketing in Lebanon Blog is like a fun class in marketing that I unfortunately never took. It’s a blog with simple phrasing over the many facets of marketing and advertising with many examples (some hysterical) over the differences and especially what we see in Lebanon. I’m a journalism major, and this blog is a reporter of the many peculiarities that we see sometimes down the road in a typical day in Lebanon. There's a page titled “Only in Lebanon” where it previews some the most hysterical, odd, and sometimes downright silly lengths Lebanese people will go through to sell their product.

3. Blog Baladi can be described in one word. Vast. Although not very worldly, its vast in the matters concerning Lebanon. Within this blog you’ll find an interesting variety of posts, some that will leave you in awe and others in giggles. When it comes to taking pictures of certain places in Lebanon, immediately I start feeling like a tourist because the thought ‘oh wow, why haven’t I seen that before?’ is on the tip of my tongue. I believe this blog says more about the blogger than the actual material and perhaps that why it appeals to me. The sense of mysteriousness and ‘oh I wonder whats he going to post next?’

4. What I love about Ivy Says is that this blog is descriptive in its physical and emotional detail. When Ivy is relating an experience, she does it with flair to the point where I feel like Im there. Much like a diary I suppose. Theres also many amusing cartoon pictures that relate to her post that add a hint of honesty and sweetness. This is like the musings of a child who is quick with her opinion but gentle with her words.  However, this blog isn’t all about pink and fluff, it includes some politics and awareness of the harshness of day to day life that adds a lot of maturity to the posts.

5. I havn't been on the blog Beirut Drive-by for more then ten seconds before I started laughing. Kudos to the blogger, his/her posts truly capture the humor of driving down the road in Beirut and the many either horrifying or absolutely ridiculous images that bombard us. Beirut drive by captures and posts things that an average Joe would scarcely notice but once he/she does, you question the sanity or give credence to the creativity. Among my favorites is the Puck cheese ad where the cheese sandwich is lovingly enveloped by a bridal gown and is ready to be consumed.

Melanoma Rising, Lebanon Declining

Sara, a 42-year-old mother of three, comfortably lounges on a tanning bed while she sips chilled carrot juice and adjusts her sunglasses. No one could mistake that smile on her mouth as she inhales deeply and exhales with a contented sigh.
In her mind, she is doing her body a medical and cosmetic favor. Medically, she is soaking up as much vitamin D and hoarding it throughout the impending winter, and cosmetically, she is allowing the sun to beautify her skin color.
“I hate winter, thank God it’s delayed,” she says with a happy sigh.