Mind Soup

I was invited to speak at the 4th Arabian Social Media Forum in Kuwait last week. I spoke about some case studies that reflected the state of social media in the Middle East. In my presentation, I discussed successful campaigns from Lebanon, UAE, KSA, Jordan and Egypt. I have also included examples of bad conduct from brands and celebrities on social media, in addition to examples of really bad (ugly) examples of social media customer service from Lebanon and Kuwait. Some key takeaways from the presentation: A simple campaign can go viral for a long time if implemented properly. (# MyDubai ) Negative content spreads much faster than positive content. Campaigns that use negative content in a smart way can take advantage of this with a smaller advertising budget. (Ugliest Couch campaign) You must know and study your demographic before you launch an online campaign. (Samsung Levant's Secret Valentine) With a small budget, small businesses can hugely increase their sales wh...

Omar Christidis is the Founder and CEO of ArabNet, the leading events and media company focused on the Arab web and mobile industry. ArabNet organizes the leading conferences for the digital sector in the MENA region, including the ArabNet Digital Summit, the premier international gathering for Arab digital professionals and entrepreneurs. The Summit was held for the fourth time in Dubai in June 2013 and brought together more than 800 attendees from 35 countries and received more than 9,100 tweets and 42,800 hits on the live-steam.   In 2012, Omar was selected by GulfNews Magazine as one of its “30 under 30" list. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Co-Founder of the Yale Arab Alumni Association.   At the last ArabNet Beirut, the issue of language of the conference was raised. Why do you think it is better for the conference to be conducted in English in both Dubai and Beirut? ArabNet Beirut and the Digital Summit are held in English because of the signific...

“There is no room for mistakes, the competition is severe. The right image has to go with the right text.” Deema Saidi studied Marketing at the Lebanese American University (LAU). With a committed passion for the arts and everything glamorous, she had the chance to work for prestigious, well-established companies such as Elie Saab, Oscar De La Renta, Missoni, Diane von Furstenberg, Y3, and Furla. Armed with experience in social media for fashion and hospitality, she now resides in the UAE where she works as a luxury and PR marketer. In this interview, I discuss with Deema the state of online fashion marketing in the Middle East. What is the biggest challenge, in your opinion, when managing fashion social media accounts? Fashion social media accounts have a lot of challenges, just like any other product or service you have to make sure that you are consistent with the voice, the brand image and the quality. As you may know, fashion is a form of aesthetics and maintaining the ima...

The world's tallest building has been opened with a dramatic fireworks ceremony in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. The Burj Khalifa was revealed to be 828m (2,716ft) high, far taller than the previous record holder, Taipei 101. Known as the Burj Dubai during construction, the tower has been renamed after the leader of Dubai's oil-rich neighbour, Abu Dhabi. Last month, Abu Dhabi gave Dubai a handout of $10bn (£6.13bn) to help it pay off its debts. Construction of the Burj Dubai began in 2004, at the height of an economic boom. Clad in 28,000 glass panels, the tower has 160 floors and more than 500,000 sq m of space for offices and flats. The tower also lays claim to the highest occupied floor, the tallest service lift, and the world's highest observation deck - on the 124th floor. The world's highest mosque and swimming pool will meanwhile be located on the 158th and 76th floors. Technical challenges The opening ceremony, held 1,325 days after excavation wo...

Remember Dubai's The World ? It was just one of a number of high profile construction projects for a country that seemed to have more dollars than sense. The plan was to create a series of man-made islands in the shape of the major landmasses on the planet. Eventually, plots of land on those islands would be sold off to the highest bidders for residential and commercial zoning. At least that was the plan, but then the world's economy went into the tank, and like a number of big projects, The World fell victim to the credit crunch, and was canceled . That may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems with the man made archipelago, which sits just 4 km off Dubai's coast. The Times Online is calling it "the world's most expensive shipping hazard", and worse yet, the tons of rock and sand that have been dumped into the Arabian Sea have altered the water flow and changed the environment there, which may have a long lasting impact on the ecosystem...

Versace, the renowned fashion house, is to create the world’s first refrigerated beach so that hotel guests can walk comfortably across the sand on scorching days. The beach will be next to the the new Palazzo Versace hotel which is being built in Dubai where summer temperatures average 40C and can reach 50C. The beach will have a network of pipes beneath the sand containing a coolant that will absorb heat from the surface. The swimming pool will be refrigerated and there are also proposals to install giant blowers to waft a gentle breeze over the beach. Soheil Abedian, founder and president of Palazzo Versace, said he believed it is possible to design a refrigerated beach and make it sustainable. “We will suck the heat out of the sand to keep it cool enough to lie on,” he said. “This is the kind of luxury that top people want.” Hyder Consulting, a British construction consultancy, is overseeing the engineering on the project. The hotel will be marketed strongly in the UK where D...