Mind Soup

My name as it appeared in the event brochure I was invited earlier this week to talk at Hadeer Conference about how NGOs can use social media to benefit their organizations and campaigns. I gave a general lecture and discussion about the basic tools that they can use and some tips. These include: a brief introduction of Social Media and its importance, objective, target audience, monitoring, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, blogging, Facebook advertising, crisis management, content calendars and integrated campaigns In the presentation, there are also two local case studies of Be7ke and Donner Sang Compter . Check out the slides from the presentation below. If you have any questions or would like more details about my presentation, feel free to email me mhijazi [at] onlinecollaborative [dot] org. Social Media for NGOs مواقع التواصل الإجتماعي للجمعيات from Mohammad Hijazi

Who's gonna get me a cupcake? This week, Mind Soup turns three, though it seems that I have been blogging for a much longer time. It has been a great year for the blog; featured several times in print and on Al Jazeera as well as cited in several studies and MBA thesis projects so I'm proud :') I'd love to thank all my readers especially my friends who have always shown great support in my blog and kept it going even when I had absolutely no time to update it. At the beginning of this year, I was thinking that this would be the last year for the blog but with all this encouragement and exposure, I just couldn't retire it. Yesterday, Mind Soup's facebook page  received its 1000th like, and that is possibly the best birthday present :) So here's to many years to come and may you always come back and find fresh posts!

Mind Soup was featured again in this month's Communicate Magazine for the " What Lebanese brands need to know about social media " post. The magazine says: Just in case Lebanese brands might forget (and they usually need reminders in that matter), Mohammad again goes through the basic rules of how to smartly use social media. "Whenever the Lebanese get their hands on a new toy, they become very 'creative' and try to abuse that tool until it cannot breathe any more," he says. Too true. Thanks to @ FunkyOzzi  for the photo :)

Save the date: May 17th - The International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) Lebanon might not have a flashy gay parade with rainbow flags waving above our heads just yet. But many of us Lebanese, gay, straight or anywhere in between, are already actively engaged in a collective effort trying to raise awareness and fight homophobia. More often than not, homophobia is just another by-product of ignorance. People remaining stuck with their pre-conceived ideas, their limited knowledge about how homosexuality plays out in real life. That's where your stories, your personal experiences and your opinions can help a great deal. Sharing some of your thoughts with the rest of us will help spread awareness within, as well as outside the community. So here's the deal: As Lebanon's LGBT blogosphere, we are asking everyone, gay or straight, to take a minute to think: How does homophobia affect you or someone you love? Write 150 words or less and email to raynbow.org@gmail.com You will be ...

I don't know if you already heard about the incident with what I'm gonna call an "excuse of a blogger" and perhaps an "excuse of an educated human being". A person by the name of Ribal Abi Raad revived his blog after he got "inspired" by my post " Breakdown of AUB students " in an attempt to bash my blog post or entire blog or me as a person. He claims that he knows who I really am and bases his criticism on this assumption. It is ironic how someone thinks they know all about you if they met you once in your life (four years ago). I will refrain from defaming this scumbag even though he might deserve it. It is unfortunate how some people can be so tight-minded and cannot appreciate a piece of humor. But what seems the most evident is how he chose perhaps the most popular post on this blog to revive his blog. I never thought that some people in the Lebanese blogosphere could swoop so low. Personally, I do not consider him part of this bl...

Most of you might have noticed how the whole world is tending to become more fake: from fake noses and boobs to fake personalities to fake brands and products. Sadly, very little is being done to promote originality and uniqueness, especially those relating to human traits and physical appearance -- however, this is not our topic for today. The purpose of this post is to shed light on a very successful campaign that is currently taking place in Lebanon. BPG ( Brand protection group ) is an international organization that protects brands and consumers from fake products by creating awareness campaigns & seminars. The objective of this campaign is to create as much awareness as possible about the fact that there are fake products in the market and to promote a number that consumers can dial to report those imitated products. What I loved the most about this campaign is that its everywhere. Leo Burnett have outdone themselves this time. They have created a very interactive camp...

Yesterday, Mind Soup has turned two years old. I can't really believe it. It still seems like yesterday when I spontaneously decided to start a blog and worried about design layouts and content. Now, after two full years I stand proud of my commitment to my blog and it subsidiaries. This year has brought a lot of accomplishments which include: having the great Daisy join in and continuously post about her experiences and opinions being featured in several newspaper and magazine articles both online and offline. being the first google search for several articles. 300,000 hits on several pages integrating with several social media sites such as facebook and twitter recently creating a supplementary tumblr page giving me the inspiration to establish Online Collaborative and enriching my interest in social marketing. being known as a relevant source of news and opinion articles and a place where freedom of speech is exercised Even though this year has also...

Screenshot of " A Separate State of Mind " MIND SOUP :  A Separate State of Mind  is a new blog on the Lebanese blogosphere which discusses life, music, politics, movies and thoughts of a Lebanese youth, Elie, who is one of my best friends. I have been trying to get Elie to start a blog since I created Mind Soup two years ago (2nd birthday coming up on Feb 21 :D) but his laziness and procrastination delayed it. He has had some guest posts here on Mind Soup but now he took the plunge and after some quick trial with tumblr, he started his full wordpress.com blog:  http://stateofmind13.wordpress.com . A few things you might want to know about Elie: He's a huge Carrie Underwood fan that I started calling him a Carrieoholic.So you should definitely expect to see some posts about her. He likes country music and pop (Britney Spears anyone?) He likes to watch movies, and I mean a lot of movies, so he will be posting some movie reviews. His taste in mo...

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...

We have been asked several times this week if non-AUB people can attend the " Blogging Lebanon " event which is taking place on December 3 in the American University of Beirut. And the answer is  Of Course. However due to AUB's strict security policy, non-AUB guest will have to bring with them an official form of identification. These include an official Lebanese ID (hawiye), Ikhraj Qayd or Passport. This will definitely facilitate your entrance to campus. AUBOC will try its best to minimize these security measures as best as possible, but please make sure you have one of the above forms of identification. For AUB alumni, it is recommended that they bring you Almuni ID, yet, any other form of identification would be fine. If for some reason you face any problems with having access to campus, please call AUBOC's president Mohammad Hijazi at this number 70-920 641.

MIND SOUP : Everyone knows that blogging has exploded recently in Lebanon. There's even a Blogging Convention in a mere couple of weeks where our very own Moudz will be in attendance! With that said, as blogging in general is becoming more and more popular in Lebanon, so are Lebanese LGBT blogs. The blogs are very new, less than a year old and two new ones popped up just this month. The themes of the blog are as diverse as the Lebanese LGBT community itself. Posts include favorite music, coming out stories, bad dates, and complaining about Lebanon (the hallmark of a Lebanese blog). Most of the blogs are anonymous (due to privacy concerns and the rampant homophobia still present in Lebanon). Beirut Boy : The author is a young, Lebanese businessman in his 20s. He posts about dating, music, fashion, and is an activist for gay rights in Lebanon. He (as well as many other bloggers) has joined the Save Aya campaign. Gay in Beirut : This blog mainly has humorous and light-hearted pos...

After its unfortunate cancellation last May due to student protests at the American University of Beirut, AUB's Online Collaborative is announcing the relaunch of AUB's First Lebanese Bloggers Convention, now renamed to Blogging Lebanon. This event that attracted many bloggers from the Arab and international scene is rescheduled to Friday December 3, 2010 at the American University of Beirut. The aim of this convention is to gather bloggers from around the region under one roof. The event will include several guest speaker from different backgrounds who will share their experiences and discuss different topics related to blogging and social media, such cultural aspects, privacy issues, importance of blogs, political implications, and dangers etc... Below is the list of guest speakers we have so far: (Her Majesty) Frances Guy,  British Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon,  http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/guy/ Imad Bazzi,  Executive Director of CyberAct and Journa...

Mind Soup was featured in TimeOut Beirut 's student magazine Trashed in its pilot issue. Even though I have been very lately and not posting regularly, I'm very glad that the blog is still getting a lot hits and publicity. Im very excited that we will reach 100,000 visitors this month. A snapshot from the magazine The text reads: Mohammad Hijazi, 21, Biology and Business Administration, AUB [ moudz.blogspot.com ] Mind Soup is a cultural blog about Lebanon and the Middle East. It contains posts about various topics including music videos, fun news, entertainment, politics, science, sports, poetry, fails, technology and much more. The blog has several contributers, mainly Moudz and Daisy who maintain the blog. Recurrent topics include student life, Lebanon, Beirut, Middle East, and AUB.

View of Club's Stands next to West Hall Today has been a very long day indeed, a long fruitful day. AUB's Online Collaborative had its debut today during Clubs day where cabinets and active members of clubs and societies gather around West Hall to recruit members. After struggling with the board for around an hour, we were set to go. The collage of social networking logos attracted many students who came closer to ask questions or take a flyer. Other students had surprised or even disgusted looks when they saw our stand. They don't know how important and crucial our work is. Many thought that we are a group of people addicted to facebook and trying to recruit facebook addicts into one group. Our humble board Boy, they are so wrong. What they don't know is how the whole world has its eyes fixated now on digital media, especially social media. News outlets are leaning more and more towards online media. Many politicians, organizations or event planners ...

Bahrani Blogger Ali Abdelemam GLOBAL VOICES ADVOCACY : Ali Abdulemam, a leading Bahraini blogger and Global Voices Advocacy author, was arrested earlier today by the Bahraini authorities for allegedly spreading “false news” on BahrainOnline.org portal, one of the most popular pro-democracy outlets in Bahrain, amidst the worst sectarian crackdown by the government in years, and accusations of a supposed “terror network” involving several political and human rights activists. The BahrainOnline portal is censored in Bahrain. He sent an email earlier today mentioning that he got a call from the Bahraini national security just before his arrest, then arrested him and alleged that he was trying to flee. Reportedly the Bahraini government has a long track record of using torture against dissidents http://bit.ly/9kZyJQ and their TV has been broadcasting hateful sectarian messages to justify its crackdown Ali was arrested before also for content published on his portal, and he contri...

Photos by   Color Me Katie , a very colorful and photo-filled blog.

Below are a few posts I have enjoyed reading this week. Shoot As You Walk "Plug Into E-Cycle Movement" Pictures (NourSpot) Photo by NourSpot Futurist Project (Joe's Box) After five years of hard work and research my sister made a nice final project for her diploma, a nice creative project that i personally loved and i guess we need those kind of projects as Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented boom in shopping malls. A museum of archeology and history In Byblos as the city is a tourist destination visited annually by many tourists. [...] Where are the tourists? (Blog Baladi) In June 21, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said that the number of visitors to Lebanon has increased by 26.6 percent compared to this time last year, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday. Since then, we haven’t heard any updates on the number of tourists in Lebanon and to be honest, i think the numbers are going down and drastically. [...] Why Not? (Independence ...

Below is a post from a new blog on the Lebanese scene: TnT: A Blog About Life and Everything in Between . Two of my great friends ( Tom and Tal ) are united to bring you posts about "the sports, the thriller novels, the songs, the lyrics, the village, the city, computers, the environment, chances, differences, fates, people, and everything in between." So head on over there and show them some support! (This post is obviously written by Tal and not Tom :P) Last night [Friday], I was lured into watching the elections of Miss Lebanon 2010 because there were no football matches being broadcast and no newly downloaded episodes of Glee on my laptop. But the main reason I tuned in was out of pure intrigue. The newly crowned Miss, Rahaf Abdallah, and I are both alumnae of the same high school and naturally, former classmates and teachers took their Facebook accounts to show their support and encouragement once news broke out that she would be participating in this year’s pageant. ...

Today's comic is drawn by Sareen Akharjalian, a great cartoonist and comic artist. You can check out her blog Ink on the Side for more of her comics.

I received this message today from the U.N. World Food Programme and I thought I would share it with my readers, especially those in the UK. This event will occur in London on July 2, so if you are there, make sure you give it a shot.  Hi Bloggers, On July 2, we will be hosting a one day event in London along with Reuters AlertNet to chew over how hunger is reported. Our executive director Josette Sheeran will give a keynote speech, followed by four panel discussions exploring hot issues including the challenges of operating in violent contexts like Somalia and the future of food aid. Participants will include WFP staff, prominent media commentators, senior representatives from British-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and think-tanks, and journalists who specialise in humanitarian stories. If you are in London and would like to attend, contact me on  abby.ravera@wfp.org  or  39 06 65131 (ext. 2043 ). Please feel free to pass this on to ...