Mind Soup

Bayan Bibi: After a getting hit by a stray bullet and punctured lung, I am starting a social media campaign to promote positivity. This article was originally published in Cloud 961's November issue . Bayan Bibi is showing the world that she is still very strong despite all that she has gone through. She engraved the bullet that shot her and punctured her lungs just a few weeks ago while walking in Hamra and wears it proudly around her neck: A true act of courage and bravery. Instead of blaming her shooter or his political party, she is urging everyone to be positive and not hate. She has planned out a social media campaign and a web-series to spread her message. Here is her story as told by her! 31/9/2013 Lebanon – Beirut While people were celebrating some political thing, a stray bullet fell on my back while I was walking with a friend in Hamra Street. It cut through my lung and it jammed itself between my 3rd and 4th ribs. I was rushed to the emergency room...

Below is a guest post by my favorite politician in Lebanon, HMA Tom Fletcher , the British Ambassador to Lebanon. In Lebanon's Hands Lebanon tends to be high on our August watchlist. This year there was no major single crisis, but five developments raised anxiety. Israel accused Hizballah of involvement in the Bourgas terrorist attack. A pro-Assad former Minister was arrested. Kidnappings returned in a dangerous 48 hours. Some Gulf countries told their nationals to leave. The Tripoli powder keg re-ignited. Throughout, the media were quick to accentuate the negative. Lebanon has learnt to live with a certain level of instability. Periodically, for millennia, it has gone through phases of fragility, as regional tectonic plates and delicate demographics shift. The result is often conflict and political realignment. Are we in such a phase? Not yet. But I think there is an increasing realisation among Lebanese that Assad’s ability to directly influence political life in Lebanon is...

I’m gonna say it once and for all: Blogs are not a medium for free advertising or pushing press releases. If this is what your sell to your clients as community management or blogger relations, you have to reconsider, and this is why. If you send a press release to a blogger every day, they have most likely spammed you by the third day. On the occasion that they haven’t, you would have probably just pissed them off. Shall I demonstrate? (I have been taking screenshots about this topic for a while to build up for this post). Let's start with this PR Agency in Dubai. Every quarter, they send bloggers an email as below: complete with very annoying follow up emails: Not only are they spamming bloggers with their advertising, they don't have the decency to find the blogger's contact information themselves but keep harassing bloggers to send it to them. It's as if someone is asking you to shoot yourself in the face. And if you don't reply to...

Photo of me featured on MTV last night part of Save Aya campaign ( www.saveaya.org ). They also mentioned that I am a blogger. So proud! You can watch it on the MTV website (around minute 10) Thanks to @ SalvadorRudy who brought it to my attention :)

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.

December is proving to be a very busy month for me, as well as social media enthusiasts and Arab intellectuals. Below are four conferences/forums/conventions To kick December off, AUB's Online Collaborative will be hosting its first Blogging Lebanon convention on December 3 where Lebanese bloggers and Arab and International bloggers in Lebanon in the area will be joining to share their experience and give valuable insight about the blogging scene in the Arab World. Click here for the latest information about this event . The Arab Thought Foundation is holding its annual conference " Fikr 9 " which will take place this year in Beirut on December 8 & 9 with a special workshop for youth on December 7. This year's conference has the theme of "Building the Future." The conference will address the major issues facing the Arab World. During my meeting with the organizers last week, they have expressed their great enthusiasm about welcoming bloggers who...

ONLINE COLLABORATIVE : 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 (exact venue will be announced later.) 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... Currently, the convention organizers are calling for guest speakers who are willing to give short presentations about their area of expertise. The event will als...

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 ...

MIND SOUP : For weeks now, a minute church by the name of "Dove World Outreach Center" in Gainesville, Florida, has been advertising for an event it calls "International Burn a Qur'an Day". Pastor Terry Jones is insisting to hold this "event" on September the 11th "to honor those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington." He says the burning of the Qur'an will "send a message to violent Islamic extremists like al-Qaida, which carried out the attacks against the United States." The second day of Eid el-Fitr falls this year on the same day. As many world leaders and institutions, including the Vatican, US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and  others , have denounced this act, this pastor is insisting on carrying out this event. This is as much facts as I am willing to give about this issue. Below in ten points is my opinionated response. First of all, as a Muslim, I don...

Poster for Cirque Du Liban Below is a message from the AUB Music Club who will be participating in the Hamra Street Festival which will take place on 10, 11, 12 September.  The festival will include two major events: September 10: - Inauguration of the Festival under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Beirut Deputies and the Hamra Committee. - The Big Hamra Parade  September 11 and 12: - Stands Activities, Street animations, Music concerts, Dance, Plays, Kids Arena, Fireworks etc... The AUB Music Club would like to invite you in participating in this festival through: Big Hamra Parade (September 10)  - The AUB music club will provide you with comfortable/funky costumes and percussions. You just need to wear the costumes, show up on time, improvise on your percussions (IF you want) and have fun! The parade will take place at 5.30 p.m and will last for two hours tops. - The AUB Music Club will provide you with a two-meter banner, printed with the logo of the AUB Music Clu...

The following is a repost of Fisk's article from The Independent  on Sunday. He is talking about the incidents of CNN senior editor Octavia Nasr and the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Frances Guy . I might have guessed it. CNN has fired one of its senior Middle East editors, Octavia Nasr, for publishing a twitter – or twatter in this case, I suppose – extolling Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon, calling him "one of Hizbollah's giants whom I respect a lot". Well, he wasn't Hizbollah's man, but no matter. He was definitely a giant. A man of immense learning and jurisprudence, a believer in women's rights, a hater of "honour crimes", a critic of the theocratic system of government in Iran, a ... Well, I'd better be careful because I might get a phone call from Parisa Khosravi, who goes by the title of CNN's "senior vice president" – what these boss types do or what they get paid for their gutless deci...

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. ...

MIND SOUP : I am very sure that a lot of you agree with me that the most annoying thing on Lebanese television is these stupid little commercial programs where a supposedly modernized "doctor" is trying to sell the viewers a bunch of herbs that can mysteriously get rid of most diseases, weight loss or whatever disorder the audience might be interested in. What's more annoying is that you not only find them on one television channel, but on several (such as Aljadid - previously "New TV", NBN or what I like to call "Nabih Berri Network", Manar TV, and even Tele Liban, among others) Well, guess what? According to the Daily Star , the Lebanese government (more specifically the General Directorate of General Security) has declared on Monday that advertisements for such medical herbs are now prohibited by law. The directorate based its decision on Law number 90 of June 3, 2010, which prohibited media outlets from advertising for medical herbs and othe...

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 ...

I was checking google buzz this morning and I found a post by Joseph Alam about Lebanese blogs being featured in the blogosphere section of Communicate paper-back magazine. I was surprised to find that Mind Soup was featured in the June 2010 issue for the Lebanese Bloggers Convention at AUB post. Too bad that this event was cancelled due to "special circumstances". Anyway, I will still be working for this event to happen and updates will be posted soon. Anyway, I would like to thank Communicate Magazine for featuring Mind Soup in their blogosphere; it came as a unexpected surprise. Here's the page where Mind Soup was featured. (click photo to enlarge) Here's a list of fellow Lebanese bloggers who weer also featured: Plus961 : See Through ads   Bazella w Riz : Dark Days Have Come Beirut/NTSC : Marie France Free Advertising Through Hearsay Maya Zankoul: Smile Like You Mean It  Joe's Box: COPYCHICKEN - Part 2