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...

Earlier this month, I was invited to speak at the 3rd Arabian Social Media Forum hosted by Promedia in Kuwait about the state of e-commerce in the Middle East. My presentation from that talk was featured in the Business section and Retail section on SlideShare . Check it out below. You can also read more about the state of e-commerce in Lebanon in Cloud961 's 7th Issue ( pdf  | online ).

MIND SOUP : Yet another lawsuit launched against a middle-eastern blogger. But this time, the suing side is not a politician or an official, but a restaurant; a restaurant with very bad PR and marketing skills might I add. Mark is a Lebanese blogger who wrote a review of Benihana Kuwait on his blog 248am  after visiting the restaurant a few days after its grande  opening. I have done a huge deal of research on Benihana last summer for a course and I know well that Benihana distinguishes itself from other restaurants by two aspects: The unique layout where customers sit and watch while a chef cooks their food in front of them in a live display of culinary skills. The quality and freshness of their foods, most importantly their meats. In his review, Mark complains of the quality of the food being served, and I quote: ... [T]he Hibachi chicken which is basically grilled chicken, that was the worst. The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was und...