Sharjah International Book Fair 29th Edition

My photo
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
ExpoCenter 7th - 17th November, 2012. Hours | Saturday - Thursday: 10a.m. - 10p.m.; Friday: 4p.m - 10p.m.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Octavia Nasr / Blog

Octavia Nasr / Blog

How social media changed my life? Here is a tease!

My one graph response to a Twitter friend's blog post can be broken down into these quotes:


"Social media added the social to my life and made my teenage dream of making our world a more tolerant place closer to reality."

"The diversity of amazing people I came to know and love on social media is beyond description."

"Social media, here is a place where everybody interacts with everybody else and expresses opinion without boundaries."

"I also learned that some villains can use the same social media tools that you and I use for good, to manipulate, instigate, smear, destroy and create havoc."

"The best person I met through social media lifted me up, lent me his giant wings and re-taught me how to fly!"

"In social media you have the time and place to choose your friends. When successful and true, these relationships can be solid gold."

"Having been on both the successful and perilous receiving ends of social media, I remain a committed fan."

We're hearing many discussions and reading even more commentaries these days about how social media impact our lives. Some analysis floating around are really good, stemming from committed and tested relationships with social media. However, most of the chatter remains irresponsible and in some cases flat out ignorant of the basic workings of social media.


It is important that we all speak out about our experiences with these new media. The point is that they are NEW; we're all experimenting with their moving, shifting and constantly changing parts. We're learning, and learning is a process that takes time, commitment and many trials and errors.


No one can claim today that they really dig the mechanics of social media. It will be a long time before we truly understand them, let alone master them.


At every chance you get, you should make your voice heard. That's how we will continue to learn and build a solid basis for these new media that we're already involved and invested in. By speaking out, we can debunk the myths and allow for the social media to grow and serve their better purposes of connecting, bridging, informing, socializing, sharing, making friends and creating communities.


Below is Ozzi's blog post along with many responses including mine. Feel free to share your social media experience there. Ozzi is a professional software developer and contributor to Lebanon's first Tech online magazine, GIGAlb. Most importantly, she is a serious user of social media who easily connects with others. Her bubbly personality and friendliness are what make her a natural leader in a small but very active on line community in her country.


@FunkyOzzi


New Post:How did Social Media change your life? http://bit.ly/cYQM54

Emerging Writers Festival → Festival connects with Sharjah #shjibf

We are delighted to announce that EWF Festival Director Lisa Dempster has been invited by the Sharjah International Book Fair to attend their literary festival in October this year (all expenses paid!).

Impressed with EWF’s innovative TwitterFEST and EWFonline programs of 2010, the Sharjah Book Festival has extended an invitation for Lisa to speak on the topic of literary social media and emerging writers in Sharjah. This is a testament to the growing International reputation of the Emerging Writers’ Festival as an innovative literary event, and a great opportunity for Lisa’s professional development.

This new connection with the Sharjah International Book fair is a direct result of Lisa’s attendance at the Edinburgh Book Festival which was only made possible with the support of our fantastic donors and sponsors.

This cultural exchange will not only enable EWF another opportunity to shine on the International stage but contribute to the strengthening of Melbourne’s position as a UNESCO City of Literature. Success begets success!

This visit to United Arab Emirates and her attendance at the Sharjah Book Fair will additionally enable Lisa to connect with a growing international literary community and create new and exciting opportunities for our writers and festival audience at home in Australia for 2011 and beyond.

Lisa will once again be blogging about her experience at Sharjah Book Fair and also tweeting from the @emergingwriters twitter stream – a great opportunity to get an insight into this bilingual literary event.