Cloud961- April 2014

CLOUD #9 - APRIL 2014

REIGN OF TECHNOLOGY

www.cloud961.com

Gino Raidy

Zadi Hobeika

Anonymous

The Self proclaimed Lebanese Online Community Never Really Liked Me and I Never Got Paid for a Post P10

SEER DIGITAL’S MD Zadi Hobeika Takes Full Transparency Approach with Clients

first saw the light around the year 2003 on the image board website “4chan”...

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SM & Lebanese Films

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Virgin Radio:

Urgent Intervention Needed

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Blog of the Month

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Which Editor-in-Chief is Going Wild on Twitter?

Lebanese Memes Anniversary Event The Lebanese Memes second anniversary took place at Crepaway, Sodeco on February 16.

The main aim of the event was to honor Lebanese who are adding value to the community with the “Lebanese Hero Award”, as well as thank the fans and administrators for making the page the success it is today.

PARTNERS:

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EDITORIAL

CLOUD #9 April 2014

EDITORIAL

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Publisher: Cornerstone Public Relations SAL

Leave The Bloggers Alone

Chairman Bassam Karam / bassam@cloud961.com

By Mohammad Hijazi, Editor in Chief @mhijazi

none of their damn business.

Bloggers are known to receive products from brands to test and review or invitations to VIP events among other things. It is then up to the blogger’s own judgment to accept or reject the terms of such agreements and it is up to him/her to reveal the parts of the agreement that he/she wishes.

It seems that everyone is getting their noses up the bloggers’ business these days, with no regards to their feelings; as if they are not living breathing human beings, but rather products that they can exploit or manipulate as they see fit.

(If you are not good with sarcasm, I suggest that you do not go through reading).

First, there are the agencies who proudly announce to their clients that they are so close to the blogging community in Lebanon that they practically “own” them. They brainwash their clients that they can push any content they want to these bloggers and the bloggers would gladly oblige because “bloggers crave content” and they would “do anything to please the agency” or get the opportunity to test the latest smartphone model or car.

Second, there are those washedup-advertisers-turned-bloggers who try to impose rules on other bloggers for the purpose of getting more hits to their blogs and seem authoritarian and influentialw to their clients. They make demands like full disclosure of a blogger’s agreements with brands to their readers, something they are not entitled to ask for because it is

Take if from a traditional marketing point of view: when a campaign by a brand is held on television (such as a TV commercial or a giveaway or a competition), is the public entitled to know how much the brand or its agency paid the TV station? Are they entitled to poke around the station’s business and demand that they reveal the full details of agreement between the advertiser and the station? No? I didn’t think so.

Third, there are those brands or companies who think that they can do whatever they want without any consequences. If a blogger (or a journalist) tries to expose their deceits, they threaten them with lawsuits or Cyber-security Bureau investigations without even having a solid case. They use their connections in the government to intimidate bloggers and stress them out until they meet their demands.

Take the Rita Kamel v. Web Awards case as an example. The Pan Arab Web Awards Academy is a private company that is engaging in public deception. They are selling their awards to anyone who would buy them and then convincing the public that these awards were well earned (with no credible criteria of winning like a panel of judges or public voting…). Public deception is a crime that is highly punishable by the Lebanese law. On the other hand, Rita Kamel, a blogger, exposes this scam when she receives an email asking her to pay for her award or it will be given to someone else.

Obviously, the owners of the Web Awards did not approve and used their connections to summon her for investigation while toying with her on a continuous basis about a lawsuit without any official court Subpoena in over a year. Kamel, who is not a law professional, does not know that they don’t have a case (partly because the Lebanese print law does not apply to online publications, and partly because she can easily file a counter lawsuit on the grounds of a baseless trial and public deception). She has been worried and stressed out for almost a year which can potentially affect her life and health.

Where am I going with this, you ask?

I want to make it clear for everyone that bloggers are not under their disposal, to manipulate whenever they need to. They are not a product they can sell to their clients.

"Bloggers have their own freedom and integrity and they will fight back against anyone who tries to rob them from their rights."

I ask the bloggers in Lebanon once again to unite and put all their differences and jealousies aside, especially when it comes to battling injustice and unfairness. As I have said on several occasions, they should establish an official union or syndicate with lawyers and legal support to defend their rights and form a sustainable ecosystem for them to flourish in.

Cloud961 is the bloggers magazine, before anyone else, and our team is prepared to assist in any case were bloggers are not treated right. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line if you feel that any of your rights as a blogger are being violated.

Managing Director Hagop Manisajian/ Hagop@cloud961.com Editor in Chief: Mohammad Hijazi / mhijazi@cloud961.com Assistant Editor: Selim Njeim / selim@cloud961.com News Editor: Joelle Hajji / joelle@cloud961.com Staff Writers: Darine Sabbagh, Lynn Bizri, Paul Gadallah Contributors: Aline Chirinian, Dahlia Hage, Dalia Ramadan Dr. Cloud, Maurice Rustom, Nuhad Hamdan Trending Bytes Marketing & PR Relations Michelle Nabhane / michelle@cloud961.com Sales Manager Hala El Jack / hala@cloud961.com Outreach Manager Vicky Ghanem / outreach@cloud961.com Community Events Manager Mia Saab / events@cloud961.com Web & Application Development Mindfield Solutions Branding & Layout Behold The Agency / keep@beholdin.com Financial Administration Tony Bakhos Consulting Partner The Online Collaborative ngo@onlinecollaborative.org Printing Byblos Printing Cornerstone Holding Building, 2nd Floor, Main Street, Beit Mery T + 961 4 401 870 F + 961 4 531 499 M + 961 71 008 645 www.cloud961.com Management: info@cloud961.com Advertising & PR: sales@cloud961.com

@ramz_eh

Our sincere condolences go to Ramzi Ayash's family and friends.

Subscriptions: subscribe@cloud961.com

“Ramzi, you were an exceptional person, blogger and tech geek. We will not forget you.”

Editorial: editor@cloud961.com Exclusively available at all Maliks Branches

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OPPINION

CLOUD #9 April 2014

CONTENTS

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Newsfeed

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April 2014

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-Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion -Video Game for Peace, Inspired by Lebanon -Twitter Trends Now in 50 More Locations Including Lebanon

Feature -What You Need to Know about Anonymous -The Life of a Hacker: Two anonymous hackers give us insight into what they do, why they do it, and more -In Social Media, You are the Product: Your personal information is your most valuable digital asset, and it’s being sold for advertising -5 Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself Online -What could get your website blocked in Lebanon?

-Cyber Wars: Episode I -Rita Kamel: Yet Another Blogger to Visit the Cyber Crime Bureau -One-on-One with Jean Assy

On the Cloud -Spotlight on Social Media Marketing in the Lebanese Film Industry -Virgin Radio: Urgent Intervention Needed -#SMLaughs: When was the Last Time You Unplugged?

-No more Twitter and YouTube for Turkey -5 “Very Lebanese” Instagram Accounts to Follow

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CLOUD #9

Blogging -Gino Raidy: The Self-proclaimed Lebanese Online Community Never Really Liked Me and I Never Got Paid for a Post -Blog of the Month: Pretty Capricieuse -One Last Hoorah: 2famous.tv migrates back to Norway

Social Media Changing Lives -United Under the Same Cause: Saving Tripoli Library

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Business -Agency of the Month: SEER DIGITAL’S MD Zadi Hobeika Takes Full Transparency Approach with Clients4 Signs You May Need to Hire a New Social Media Manager -5 Minutes with the Community Managers Tarek Bekdache and Bilal Houssami: It is a round-the-clock job. It never stops, not on weekends, holidays, or even late at night -Black Box Your Events: Because Traditional Coverage is Too Mainstream -5 Businesses doing Social Media Right

Money -Tweets are the New Dollars: Marc Jacobs Online Currency -Don’t pay by cash, checks or cards: Join the revolution and pay with HEY!

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Campaigns -America’s Reaction to Coca-Cola’s “It’s Beautiful” Ad -Customers Show Loyalty to Zaatar W Zeit through a Series of Challenges

Tech -Rapid Manufactory: Cutting-edge 3D Printing Service in the Heart of Beirut -5 Ways Windows 8 Adapts to Multi-screen Technology

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Dr. Cloud -Which Editor-in-Chief is Going Wild on Twitter?

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Events

-Social@Ogilvy Wants Social Strategies to Deliver Business Impact for Lebanese Marketers -TechCrunch Meet-up and Pitch-off #Beirut: A Hub for Startups -FADE IN Organizes Web-Series Development Lab at AltCity -Lebanese Memes Celebrates its Second Anniversary -Lebanon Opportunities Conference: Understanding Your Social Networks -Beirut Service Jam: Finding Solutions Today for a Better Tomorrow

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OPPINION

CLOUD #9 April 2014

LEMALL DBAYEH - BEIRUT SOUKS

NEWSFEED New Mobile Application “Najat” to Help the Lebanese Red Cross A new mobile application called “Najat” will be launched very soon to help the Lebanese Red Cross locate people who call them for emergencies. The app is named after Najat Waked, a loving mother who passed away few days ago on her way to the hospital. Her family was in a state of shock and did not guide the ambulance driver properly to their house, which made him lose his way and arrive late.

Alfa Telecom and the Telecommunications Ministry sponsored the idea and provided tablets, 3G connection, and covered all the app development and training costs.

The “Najat” mobile application will become available very soon on iOS and Android.

Video Game for Peace, Inspired by Lebanon “Search for Common Ground”, a multinational NGO in Lebanon, has been developing a new video game called “Cedaria: Blackout” that aims to promote cooperation among teenagers in order to hopefully achieve peace someday. The game is set on a fantasy island called Cedaria, a reference to one of Lebanon’s national symbols, the cedar, at the end of the 19th century. Players return to Cedaria after hearing about its wealth and power, but when they arrive, they find the island with no electricity and with a lot of destruction. The game was inspired by real happenings in Lebanon.

Lenovo Becomes #1 PC Vendor in UAE, Qatar, Lebanon & Jordan Lenovo is for the first time the number one PC vendor in the United Arab Emirates, according to latest Q4 2013 preliminary figures by the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Lenovo ended the quarter with a record 22.4 percent in total PC market share in the UAE. Lenovo UAE outperformed the market significantly with year-to-year growth of 56.4 percent, in a market that registered a decline of - 6.7 percent. Moreover, Lenovo has shipped more notebooks than any other vendor in the country and achieved a record 23.2 percent market share in portable PCs. In addition to UAE, Lenovo also secured the number one spot in Qatar (27%), Lebanon (23.4%) and Jordan (31.4%).

Twitter Trends: Now in 50 More Locations, including Lebanon Twitter trends have expanded to 50 more locations around the world. The expansion includes few Arab and Gulf countries including Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. The list extends to other countries including Latvia, Switzerland, Thailand, Ghana and Denmark.

Facebook Auto-Play Video ads may not Come out Until this Summer Facebook is taking its time rolling Auto-Play video ads out. Facebook says the launch could come as early as late March or as late as early summer. Facebook is fixing the ad product and still reviewing tests. The company is also making sure the ad unit is strong enough to handle demand and provide quality analytics about how the ads perform, according to sources.

LG unveils three L Series III Smartphones The L Series III devices, L40, L70 and L90, have similar specs and design, with the main difference being their screen size. The 4.7-inch L90 has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage memory. The L70 sports a 4.5-inch screen and the same specs except for storage memory, which is halved to 4GB. Its camera might also be a 5-megapixel or VGA one, depending on the market. Finally, the 3.5-inch L40 has only 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage memory, and a 3-megapixel camera.

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Galaxy S5 Brings Fingerprint Scanner and other Features Galaxy S5 will come with a fingerprint scanner as all the rumors have suggested, but instead of integrating it into the display itself, it will be integrated into the physical home button. The software will recognize up to 8 different fingerprints, one of which will be used for unlocking the device. The rest can be set for various tasks and shortcuts. There will be features called “Personal Folder” and “Private Mode”, allowing you to hide content, widgets, and apps behind fingerprint-protected security. You could also use a pattern or PIN lock to access this content, but fingerprint seems like the easiest way.

Galaxy S5 will also come with physical navigation keys once again.

Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion Facebook bought Whatsapp for $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash.

In addition, the app's founders and employees —55 in all— will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will devolve over four years after the deal closes. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the service "doesn't get as much attention in the U.S. as it deserves because its community started off growing in Europe, India and Latin America. But WhatsApp is a very important and valuable worldwide communication network. In fact, WhatsApp is the only widely used app which has more engagement and a higher percentage of people using it daily than Facebook itself."

Sony’s new Xperia Z2 Flaunts 5.2-Inch Screen and 4K Video Recording Sony has unveiled the Xperia Z2, months after introducing Xperia Z1 and one year after launching the first phone in the series, the Xperia Z. The design remained similar to the Z1, the Z2 has been thoroughly improved on the inside. It is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 20.7-megapixel camera with a 1/2.3-inch image sensor that can take 4K videos, 3GB of RAM and a 3,200 mAh battery. Z2's camera has gotten several new modes, including Timeshift video, which lets you shoot in 120 frames per second and then slow certain scenes to get a slow motion effect.

Multitouch Android Coffee Table

Your coffee table has just become smart, too! With Android's Multitouch coffee table, now you can enjoy your coffee while playing or browsing the Internet. They are giant Android coffee tables that run Android 4.1. Platform 46 and Platform 32 Multitouch Coffee Table combine Ideum’s design and 3M’s multitouch display.

They are smooth and responsive 1080p display that supports up to 60 touch points, a powerful 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB of hard drive. And, of course, it’s water and coffee resistant. The price starts at a whopping $6950.

Twitter is Testing a Major Profile Redesign Twitter testing profile pages that look like Facebook. Under the header photo in the test is the count for tweets, photos/videos, a new category called out on the profile, who you are following, followers, favorites and lists. The recommended header photo size in the test version is 1500 x 500 pixels, up from 1252 x 626 in the current design, so users with the new design will want to switch their picture so it doesn't look stretched.

Google Adds 'Relationships' Option to Voice Search on Android Google announced that Android users will now be able to voice-search on their smartphones by relationship terms in addition to name searches. The update, as described by Google, will bring up any contact designated as having a particular connection to you in the "Relationship" field in your contacts tool on Android. This additional functionality is meant to allow users to voice a phrase such as "call mom," or "text sister" to initiate those actions without the user needing to say the person's name as it's listed in their contacts.

In order to launch contacts on your Android handset via voice, you first need to allow the Google search app to access your contacts and the profile information attached to each person or place.

Facebook Knows When You're about to Update your Relationship Status Facebook released new findings that foresee when two people are about to change their status to "In a Relationship."

In the three months before a couple updates their status to make their relationship Facebook-official, the social network sees a steady increase in the number of timeline posts shared between the two. In fact, posting to each other's pages will peak (1.67 posts) at 12 days before the relationship begins and when the update is officially made, posts typically start to decline.

Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is Ultra-Thin and Waterproof Sony has launched the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet, packing some serious power into an ultra-thin, waterproof case. The Xperia Z2 Tablet is very thin, especially for a tablet: only 6.4mm. For comparison, that is thinner than the company's own Xperia Z1, which is 8.5mm thick, as well as the 7.6mm iPhone 5S and the 7.4mm iPad Air. It's also very light, 426g for the Wi-Fi model and 439g for the LTE/3G model. The specs include a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Adreno 330 GPU, and 3GB of RAM.

Facebook Adds new Gender Identity Option Facebook now allows users to select a "Custom Gender" for their profiles, meaning users who do not identify as male or female can select a neutral gender identity.

When a male user celebrates a birthday, friends may be alerted with a message that reads, "Write on Matt’s wall for his birthday.” If a user elects to identify as genderneutral, the Facebook message would change to, “Write on Matt’s wall for their birthday.”

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COVER FEATURE

CLOUD #9 April 2014

What You Need to Know about Anonymous Maurice Rustom

We clearly cannot talk about cyber privacy without mentioning its devious counterpart, cyber piracy, thus the most mysteriously organized and brilliantly engaged secret cyber community: Anonymous. To start with a brief definition: the so-called “Anons” are a group of

We clearly cannot talk about cyber privacy without mentioning its devious counterpart, cyber piracy, thus the most mysteriously organized and brilliantly engaged secret cyber community: Anonymous. To start with a brief definition: the so-called “Anons” are a group of activist hackers— or “hacktivists”— that operate using a decentralized command structure. This lets them fight according to ideas rather than directives, which helps them launch a multitude of attacks against governmental, religious and corporate websites.

“Anonymous” first saw the light around the year 2003 on the image board website “4chan”, in which a tag of ‘Anonymous’ was assigned to visitors who left comments without identifying themselves. Users of image boards sometimes joked about Anonymous being an individual.

The concept of the Anonymous grew in 2004 when an administrator for the 4chan image board activated a “Forced_Anon” procedure that signed all posts as ‘Anonymous’.

@MauriceRustom

activist hackers— or “hacktivists”—that operate using a decentralized command structure. This lets them fight according to ideas rather than directives, which helps them launch a multitude of attacks against governmental, religious and corporate websites.

alliance, an anti-piracy group, and posted the name of the operation: “Payback is a Bitch”. They also issued a press release stating: “Anonymous is tired of corporate interests controlling the internet and silencing the people’s rights to spread information, but more importantly, the right to SHARE with one another. The RIAA and the MPAA feign to aid the artists and their cause; yet they do no such thing. In their eyes is not hope, only dollar signs. Anonymous will not stand this any longer.”

Anonymous also took political stands that pressured the cyber community. In 2011, with the release of hundreds of thousands leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, the WikiLeaks group faced legal threats by the U.S. government. “Amazon.com” booted WikiLeaks from its servers, and Paypal,

Anons, also interested in information and product sharing, became aware in 2010 of “Aiplex Software”, an Indian software company that contracted with film studios to launch DDoS attacks on websites providing pirated content, such as “The Pirate Bay”.

Anons launched a DDoS attack that shut down Aiplex’s website for a day. The group then targeted the “Recording Industry Association of America” (RIAA) and the “Motion Picture Association of America” (MPAA), successfully bringing down both sites. Anons also hacked the website of copyright

Stepping away from politics and moving on to markets, Anonymous expanded their attacks to include international software companies. Anons launched a series of attacks against Sony in response to the company’s attempt to stop hacks of the Playstation 3 game console. More than 100 million Sony accounts were compromised, and Sony services including “Playstation Network” were taken down for a month.

Being dedicated advocates against all acts of persecution, “Anonymous” didn’t leave any stone unturned: they also defended gay rights. In August 2012, they hacked the website of Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi following the parliament’s consideration of an anti-homosexuality law permitting capital punishment. The death penalty was dropped in December 2013 in favor of life in prison.

As the popularity of image boards increased, the idea of “Anonymous” as a group of unnamed individuals started to take shape.

More engagingly, “4chan” users would occasionally converge their efforts to execute mass pranks, also called raids, for satirical reasons, which led to the creation of the trolling culture. From attacking small local networking sites by “4chan” raids from 2003 to 2007, to organizing well-planned cyber operations, “Anonymous” persisted for a long decade resulting in major online breakthroughs.

One of the first hits was Project Chanology in 2008. “Anonymous” attacked the Church of Scientology over copyright issues concerning a video in which Tom Cruise praises the church. 4chan users responded by organizing a raid against the church, prank-calling its hotline, sending black faxes designed to waste ink cartridges, and launching Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against its websites. Thousands of “Anonymous” members joined simultaneous protests at Church of Scientology facilities around the world. Many protesters wore the stylized Guy Fawkes masks popularized by the graphic novel and movie “V for Vendetta”, in which an anarchist revolutionary battles a totalitarian government. The masks soon became a popular symbol for “Anonymous”.

assault” against Israel in April 2013 in retaliation for the country’s actions in Gaza, promising to “wipe Israel off the map of the Internet”. They also made a contribution to the Arab Spring by exercising pure cyber pressure on governmental organizations, thus launching DDoS attack on Tunisian governmental websites, taking them offline. Similar actions were witnessed in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Jordan and Zimbabwe.

We can go on and on about the group’s accomplishments in different fields, going from politics to religion, human rights, consumerism and LGBT movements, among others. I have always known they existed, but never really noticed their global impact on and involvement in the war against totalitarianism and oppression, until I did thorough research.

What I have touched on herein does not encompass all the achievements of “Anonymous”, but rather only the most impressive, pivotal ones. Cyber piracy, whose influence should not be underestimated, is not such a bad idea if it is put to good use, serving a significant cause.

MasterCard and Visa cut off their services to the organization. Operation Payback then expanded to include “Operation Avenge Assange”, and Anons issued a press release declaring PayPal a target.

Then, launching DDoS attacks, Anons quickly brought down PayPal websites and some other related payment and banking online services.

Carrying on with political activism, in response to “Operation Pillar of Defense”, a November 2012 Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Anons took down hundreds of Israeli websites through DDoS attacks. They pledged another “massive cyber

Hacking has become a powerful weapon nowadays since a lot of activities depend heavily on the Internet. That said, whoever keeps online power in their grip can influence and control the world. At the end of the day, Time Magazine didn’t call “Anonymous” one of the “100 most influential people of 2012” for nothing!

Some information included in this article has been taken from the “Anonymous” Wikipedia page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_ (group)]

COVER FEATURE

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Two anonymous hackers give us insight into what they do, why they do it, and more

By Maurice Rustom and Dalia Ramadan @MauriceRustom @dalia813

Interview with Hacker 001

Interview with Hacker 002

How did you get involved in hacking and piracy, and from whom did you learn all those complicated skills?

I got interested in the idea of hacking at the age of 14; this was when I started to learn about coding and programming. I learnt it entirely by myself through online video tutorials, articles and forums “evilzone.org” and “hackers.org”. But every week there are new fields and new security protocols adopted by websites. You never stop learning.

Why did you choose to learn how to hack? Does it give you a rush to outsmart a system or is it simply a topic of interest to you?

For what purposes and goals do you use your hacking skills? Is it only for fun and pride or there is a deeper cause to it?

It’s mostly for fun. I see it as a big challenge for myself, because it requires a lot of patience and persistence. Though we cannot generalize this, some hackers do it for political causes or to obtain power over websites, even there are terrorist hackers between countries that work on fetching classified information for governments.

I don’t do this.

What do you consider one of your greatest hacks and how much time and work did it require from you?

One of my greatest hacks is being able to hack into Apple’s Game Center to post any score I wish. This took me around a week of work. Also I was able to hack into WhereLeb (Lebanese mobile application), which had a weak security, and made them send a push notification to all their users containing gibberish text. This hack was relatively easy; it took me just around two hours. Although since then their security was taken care of and their servers can no longer be easily breeched.

Don’t you ever feel that what you are doing is harmful, thus nothing but fraud?

And do you think that a day will come when you might face charges for your “cyber crimes”?

No, I don’t feel this way at all, I like to think of hacking as a motive for companies to continuously keep on searching for better and more advanced ways to keep their system and data secured. Anyway, other hackers will try to really harm them by doing the same thing I do just for fun. If someday I become a way too powerful hacker, there’s no guarantee that I won’t use this power to really harm companies, or possibly governments, which would definitely lead me to courts. But for now, I’m still far from it!

I never learned everything I know about computers for the purpose of hacking, but the knowledge just made getting around computers easier, so yeah you could say it just interests me.

Do you think hacking is something that should be taught more commonly or be of knowledge to more people? Why or why not?

Yeah I definitely agree that it should be general knowledge. Hacking doesn't necessarily mean you're doing something wrong or immoral. Many people are white-hat hackers who actually find vulnerabilities and report them to developers before they can be exploited for wrongdoing. The more secure everything is, the more technology can be trusted.

Have you ever been caught hacking? If yes, what were the consequences and did it affect future intentions of hacking? If not, do you have a fear of being caught and suffering the consequences?

I was caught once after getting access to the exam center's computers back at school and it really changed my perspective on breaking trust. Most of the time, security is based on obscurity (which is terrible), meaning that it’s probably easy to get past the safe guards if you know what to look for. The IT department never expected an attack and discovered it relatively quickly (even though I had already got what I wanted). However, it was their trust that I lost, which made me regret doing it as I didn't really care about the exams; it was just the idea that sounded cool at the time. These days I try to limit what I do to gray areas so I'm not technically breaking any rules, especially that I'm older now and getting caught could really mess up my life.

Hacking is an invasion of privacy. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

I don't target individuals unless they need help recovering something they've been locked out of because I respect people's privacy. On the other hand, if a database is stolen and personal information is leaked, then it's the responsibility of the organization which was trusted to find a solution. Usually this is the only way to raise awareness about online risks to prevent even bigger leaks, but I try censoring really private information in those cases.

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COVER FEATURE

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

In Social Media, You are the Product Your personal information is your most valuable digital asset, and it’s being sold for advertising Dalia Ramadan

@dalia813

Did you know that as of 2013, 73 percent of adults around the world were on at least one social media platform? Did you also know that almost all of them have their words and identities being used to sell a product? In recent years, privacy has been a challenging issue for social networking sites, most of which sell the astronomical amounts of information they process every day to advertisers. Social media targeting is a customized advertising technique that uses profile data to direct advertisements to specific users. Here’s how it works: anyone who uses some form of social media automatically has information about themselves–such as age, gender, interests, photos, and location–stored. This information allows advertisers to create specific target groups and thereby individualize their advertisements.

With the sheer volume of big data processed daily by social sites, it is no surprise that there are marketing businesses built solely on the idea that third parties can gain access to it. These third parties believe that consumers place value on product endorsements coming from family or friends, creating a powerful lure to those products, and in a way replicating word-of-mouth on a broader level.

However, many users are skeptical about their private information and endorsements being sold to companies for later use in adverts– especially because it happens without their explicit permission.

Social services defend these systematic advertising methods by arguing that they are actually working

for the benefit of their users, offering more comprehensive and personalized services that can help them make better choices.

Who’s been accused? Well, everyone.

Every social network has its own share of privacy issues. From the famous pool of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, the former is most notable. As the world’s largest social network, Facebook is a treasure trove of personal information. Since 2012, Facebook has used your information in what they call “sponsored ads,” whereby, if you engage with a brand in any way, that brand can pay Facebook to ensure that it shows up in your friends’ feed. This operates on the belief that, if you like a brand, there is a good chance your friends may feel the same way. Facebook does not allow users to opt out of such ads.

"Social networks are free for a reason; it is not because Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey love you, but because their sites make money off of your reams of data."

It was only a matter of time before Instagram went all Facebook on us, too. In January 2012, Instagram updated their privacy policy with the right to sell your username, likes, and photos to advertisers or even feature you in an ad without a notification or compensation. No opt-out option was provided.

But, the new policy quickly triggered a backlash among its users and, after just one day, Instagram

apologized and removed the new terms.

Like Facebook before it, Twitter built a dedicated user base before starting to sell its users’ information. In 2012, Twitter sold two years’ worth of tweets to a UK-based company to be used for marketing campaigns and targeting influential users.

Google’s move in 2011 to combine user data under one profile (Google+) inevitably meant that it was also preparing to use usernames, photos, and implied endorsements in display ads across all of its services, be it Google Play, Google Search, YouTube, or Gmail. Unlike Facebook, however, Google provides users with an opt-out toggle to protect itself against the legal action that its competitor was dragged into.

Even LinkedIn, the 21st century directory favored by every corporate recruiter, fell into a privacy scandal. In 2012, LinkedIn was accused of selling clicks and page views matched to your LinkedIn profile, violating their own user agreement.

Social networks are free for a reason; it is not because Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey love you, but because their sites make money off of your reams of data. While it is comforting to believe that social sites exist solely to promote global conversation and unity, they are businesses at the end of the day–and they’re selling you to the highest bidder.

COVER FEATURE

CLOUD #9 April 2014

5 Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself Online

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

We are in an age of over-sharing and as adults, we think that nothing can hurt us from within our online circle of “friends”. Yet, this term has become so loose that many a “friend” has been known to stalk, rob, terrorize, assault or put a friend in danger. Here are a few survival tips for the ones venturing out in the digital jungle. After all, only the paranoid survive!

1- Adjust Your Privacy Settings You may want the whole world to see what you are doing; after all, we all have that narcissistic streak.

Yet don’t forget that you still want to be in control of what gets out. Check your privacy settings across your accounts on social media and decide

how private you want to go in general or on a caseby-case basis. We want you to be in the know of how exposed you are.

- Compose complicated ones with capital letters, numbers and symbols, even when you are not requested to do so by the online host;

2- Never Post Pictures of Your Personal Documents and Other Sensitive Data Got a new driver’s license? Just got a new car, or moved into your fancy new apartment? If you are really itching to share those happenings with the world, use the blur function to cover any sensitive details. Or better yet, just keep it to yourself. Do not even consider Snapchat-ting or whatsapp-ing it a shot of your I.D. card or vehicle registration plate.

Remember, the more paranoid you are, the safer.

- Change them every few months;

3- Avoid Posting Revealing or Provocative Images Unless you fancy a nice stalker sending you provocative tweets and tailgating you from pub to another, better keep those pictures duly secured, or just share them in private.

4- Control Your Passwords There are probably a million passwords you need to commit to memory, for your e-mail, your blog, your Facebook account, and the list goes on and on. While that’s a tedious task, keep in mind that your digital reputation and even your hard-earned cash are at risk every day. There are 3 key things you need to make sure to bear in mind when choosing passwords:

10 Things not to Share on Facebook

By Lynn Bizri

@lnlne

While you can freely tailor your privacy settings on Facebook, fact is, you cannot weed out the possibility that if you post something, it has the potential to be seen by someone who has no business seeing it. Since social networking is all about sharing, information you think is safe can be shared several times over across platforms, and eventually end up being accessed by someone you have never even met. “When in doubt, leave it out” is a good motto to follow in such a situation. That said, we thought we would help you out by giving you a list of 10 things you should not share on Facebook

your job, or worse. But not everyone knows that even deleted photos can come back and haunt you, knowing that Facebook’s servers can store deleted photos for an unspecified amount of time.

6- Confessions:

Do hesitate before hating on your job, boss or fellow employees.

While you may think your rant will stay amongst friends, word spreads quickly and you may just end up finding yourself under fire.

1- Full Birth Date:

7- Company Information:

2- Password Hints:

8-Phone Numbers:

Think twice before posting your full birthday on Facebook. By revealing your exact birthday and place of birth, you are granting thieves easier access to your financial security.

Password hints and answers to security questions—such as your mother’s maiden name—are frequently used to protect your personal information and should not be revealed on your timeline or in status updates.

3- Home Address:

By publicizing your home address, you are letting everyone see where you live. This includes stalkers, potential burglars as well as anyone who may have something against you.

4- Check-ins:

While Foursquare check-ins can only be viewed by those you are friends with on the app, “Facebook Places” check-ins can be seen by a much larger audience, including people you barely see, family members, and even people you are not even friends with.

5- Inappropriate Photos:

By now, everyone should know that certain photos can cost you

Information about your company whether it is details about a big project or anything related to your workplace should be kept private and does not belong on social media, with no exceptions.

Watch where you post your personal phone number. Include it in your profile, and depending on your privacy settings, even your most distant Facebook “friends” can access it and give you a ring. It can even be used to find your personal home address through reverse lookup services.

9- Personal Conversations:

Never share personal or private matters on your timeline. If it is not something you would feel comfortable sharing in person with extended family, acquaintances, colleagues or strangers, then you should not be sharing it with the world.

10- Your passwords:

While this may be the most obvious, Facebook lists it as the number one thing on its list of things you should not share.

Regardless of how much you trust the person you share it with, your password is something you should always keep to yourself.

- Don’t share them with anyone, including your browser history.

5- Your Devices Are “You” – Protect Yourself You phone knows more about you than your best friend does. Do not allow it fall at the mercy of the wrong fingers. Do not leave your unguarded laptop sitting in a café while you use the restroom.

Lock it or even better: take it with you! Do not forget to run a frequent virus check across all your devices and protect them with face and/ or fingerprint recognition as to make sure no one but you can access your personal data. You should also remember to wipe out any history or cookies when loaning the device to someone or after you are finished using someone else’s device. The minute a device is stolen or misplaced, change all your passwords and retrieve all device permissions.

You can also install certain apps that will wipe the device clean at your command or even lead you to where your device is.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

What could get your website blocked in Lebanon?

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

regulation of the Internet in Lebanon, so it is very easy for a concerned party to take action against you. Major businesses and politicians can easily file a case against you to have your website blocked, and for arbitrary reasons. So you should know what could drown you in troubled waters.

Religious/Sectarian Slander It is actually punishable under the Lebanese Penal Code to slander religion or another person’s religious beliefs. Case in point is the Ali Itawi picture depicting the man kissing the statue of the Virgin Mary. Technically, this counts as religious slander and will now be investigated. If your website carries such images or messages you are actually breaking the law and someone can press charges. Problem is, what is considered religious slander is very much a gray area.

People here often brag about the relative open-mindedness of Lebanon. This holds true compared to some other countries in the region. Lebanon is rather lax in its censorship and Lebanon ranks high in terms of freedom of expression.

What people do not realize, though, is that there is a number of laws and agencies that could have your website or mobile app blocked.

Lebanon’s laws are archaic and need to be updated. Do not forget that there are very little modern laws governing

Defamation/Libel This is an issue that has been making headlines recently.

Defamation and libel are also punishable under Lebanese law. Any company or party can file a lawsuit against you if they believe what you put on your website is defamatory, and they won’t have to prove that it carried negative consequences. The obvious problem is that there is a blur between criticism and what is considered libel, making it easy for big companies to prosecute you.

Having an Israeli website This is a no-brainer. Since Lebanon is technically at a permanent state of war with its southern neighbor, having a website registered there will get your website banned.

Hosting a Gambling Website Yup, do not try having an online gambling website. Casino du Liban has a monopoly on gambling in the country and managed to get the Ministry of Telecom to block all other initiatives.

Be on the Blacklist of a Major Businessman, Politician or Government Entity If anyone lobbies the Ministry of Justice to get a decree to block your website or app, your website can be blocked although there are no clear laws stating this act as legal. Also, it seems the Ministry of Telecom has done a lot to stop free calls, most recently blocking Viber. And let us not forget the bill proposed in 2010 to ban all Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, like Skype and magicJack, much to the wrath of at-home users. Finally, any website or service seen as a direct threat to a company in any way could be blocked.

The ABCs of Cyber security for Kids

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

These days it seems kids get a mobile device as soon as they are born. I can assure you this is a fact, being a mother myself.

So if you have a little baby, or maybe a niece or nephew, it is never too early to have the talk… about Cyber security, that is.

Don’t forget: the best way to teach them is to lead by example.

Know about Privacy Settings Many kids do not know privacy settings even exist. I remember my sister being completely unaware of the fact of being able to block people. So it is better that an adult sits with the child and goes through all the settings with them on each social network.

What is sensitive information?

Here’s where you should start. You should give as many examples as you can of what information is sensitive and why and how people may misuse it to hurt them. But be careful not to scare them too much.

- Photo - Phone Number

- Address - Where you are - Others

Never add people you don’t know

they feel something is off. Dangers include: - Identity Theft - Cyber Bullies - More Dangerous Things such as kidnapping, sexual assault.

That may be obvious to us adults, but kids may fall into the trap of adding a friend of a friend. So just keep the rule simple of never adding people you have not met in person or answering their requests to meet, chat, etc. Teach your kids how to spot danger online.

Know the danger of a click

Protect your password

Spread the knowledge

Tell your child why their password is so important and teach them good practices at a young age.

Know the dangers and how you might put yourself and your family in danger Take your time to explain all the threats that can come to haunt your child from the online world and how to avoid them, always mentioning that they should come to someone—we all know kids outgrow trusting their parents very quickly—if

Because your child is part of a community, make sure your child is passionate enough about the cause to tell their friends, while you take care of educating the adults around you.

Be it a pornography website or a virus. Make sure your child knows that clicking weird links or notifications can lead to any of the things mentioned above. Most importantly, tell them that there is no free cheese!

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Cyber Wars: Episode I

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

As if bombs weren’t enough! Now we also have another type of warfare to worry about: cyber warfare. I know it is hard to imagine that with sluggish Internet speeds, our Internet problems could get worse. The cyber world is a fierce one, though. In the last decade there have been a number of attacks on Lebanon’s Internet that have been aimed to spy, from accessing our bank accounts to infiltrating our personal messages.

Since the year 2000, Israel has been engaged in a series of cyber attacks against Lebanon, particularly against Hezbollah, which saw it as the main threat to its northern border. Since their withdrawal from Lebanese land in 2000, Israel has been engaged in trying to destroy Hezbollah’s online presence. In 2000, Israel began hacking Hezbollah websites and taking them down. Hezbollah were quick to set up mirror websites and even managed to take down several Israeli websites in retaliation. During the 2006 July war, both Hezbollah and Israel sparred again in cyberspace, according to a report done

by Université St. Joseph (USJ). Israel attempted to take down Al Manar’s website while Hezbollah attempted to hack Israeli military websites and their Foreign Affairs Ministry’s website.

Both failed in their objectives.

The Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications has released a report detailing how Israel has managed to penetrate the Lebanese telecom sector. The report mentions numerous spying devices along the southern border. These devices are apparently able to tap into the Lebanese Internet, phone lines, foreign embassies, and UNIFIL troops. Effectively, this means Israel has the capability of spying on every institution in Lebanon. The most Lebanon has done so far to combat this is make a complaint to the UN.

"our bank accounts are still not safe until the Lebanese government can better secure the Internet infrastructure of the country."

Also, according to a study by USJ, Lebanese banks are an easy target for cyber warfare. In 2012, Lebanese banks were under attack by a vicious cyber surveillance virus called “Gauss”, which managed to spy on thousands of Lebanese bank accounts. According to “Wired Magazine”, “Gauss” is similar to the viruses used to attack Iran by the U.S. government.

Many believe “Gauss” targeting Lebanese banks was a way for the U.S. to collect data on possible Syrian and Iranian accounts, and monitor Lebanese accounts for possible

funding of “terrorist” operations. According to sources, the following banks were attacked: Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, FransaBank and Credit Libanais.

There has also been the issue of Lebanese government websites being hacked. A number of government websites last year were hacked by a group called “Raise Your Voice”, exposing how poorly protected our governmental websites are. A large number of Lebanese companies are having their websites hosted abroad in order to better protect themselves.

How can you help protect yourself? A number of people are also switching to BBM, which is harder to break through, or Telegram. Whatsapp automatically deletes your message off its server once the message is sent. Skype calls are also encrypted, provided calls are made between Skype accounts but not to regular lines.

Unfortunately, though, our bank accounts are still not safe until the Lebanese government can better secure the Internet infrastructure of the country.

Rita Kamel: Yet Another Blogger to Visit the Cyber Crime Bureau Interview by Lynn Bizri

@lnlne How were you first approached by the Cyber Crime Bureau and were you expecting such a reaction to your article?

On a beautiful summer day in August 2013, while I was going about my regular chores, the phone rang. A person introduced himself saying he was calling from the Cyber Crime Bureau, gave his name and rank and started double checking my identity, location, etc.

By the end of the Q&A, he informed me that I was required to go to the Bureau on the 26th for interrogation. When I asked what the matter was about, he said that he could not give me any information at that point. When I replied that I did not understand how I was supposed to go without knowing any details, he said that this was the procedure and investigations are kept secret.

On January 28 2013, Lebanese blogger Rita Kamel wrote a blog post titled ‘Congrats! You are an idiot! Pan Arab Web Awards Academy Scam.” Although she was simply expressing her opinion and criticizing something she believed was wrong, a few months later Rita was called into the Cyber Crime Bureau for an investigation and interrogation. In this interview, Rita tells us about her experience.

For a few seconds, I thought it was a prank. I then sat down and started thinking why I was being summoned by the Cyber Crime Bureau.

On August 26, while on the Bureau's premises, I get informed that a person representing a company has filed a libel and slander lawsuit for an article I wrote 6 months ago. My jaw literally dropped.

In the said article, I was describing a process and critiquing some facts that we, in Lebanon, have taken for granted and have abused to make almost anything happen: the absence of regulations. Well, that's just a personal opinion and I can discuss this any time.

What can you tell us about the interrogation itself?

I was asked several questions and signed a deposition. The officers were extremely polite and took the time to listen to what I had to say. They also explained the situation from a legal standpoint.

What is your stand or opinion about the actions being taken by the Cyber Crime Bureau against bloggers in general, from a blogger's point of view?

I do not know of cases whereby the Cyber Crime Bureau initiated action against bloggers, but I've been seeing several situations where representatives of companies or people file a libel and slander lawsuit for articles that bloggers write.

Whatever one writes, some people will get upset. On ritakml. info, many reply and explain their own POV. Others will file a legal lawsuit.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

One-on-One with Jean Assy Interview By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

Many of us have come to know Jean Assy as an outspoken Twitter personality. His political commentary on the timeline has turned heads and he is not afraid to voice his opinion.

Over the past year he has gotten in trouble for cursing the president and is now facing jail time for an alleged hacking case. He tells us how the investigation process works and how you can be tracked.

say anything about the date of the hacking. She was telling me that they have proof that I’m a member of RYV (Raise Your Voice) hackers group that adopted the operation of hacking governmental websites. She also asked me about my links with “Anonymous”. I was still in shock mode, and when I asked about the evidence, she mentioned that I follow RYV on Twitter.

Why were you called into the Cyber Crimes Unit?

I was called for investigation at the Cyber Crimes Unit twice, the first time in June 2013 following my tweets bashing the president and 2 months later for the case of hacking governmental websites (March 2012).

Also, back then I had the “Anonymous” logo as background on my Twitter page, so maybe that’s why they thought I have connections with the group. She kept on insisting they have proof against me, and that “I better confess and not waste time.”

How did they track down your Twitter?

The investigators looked for name by doing a Google search and found a domain name: jeanassy.com. Back then I was building a website for a client and I put the files on jeanassy. com so the client can access and check it to see if everything is as he requested.

At that point I still didn’t have any idea about the hacking case they were talking about. I was later dismissed and taken to an office where investigators started asking me questions.

The first thing they asked was if I know someone called Edgard Chammas. I knew the guy since 2007; we were in the moderation team of a forum called vcoderz, but hadn’t talk to him for ages. Then they asked about the “websites I hacked” in 2012. They mentioned the NNA website. I informed them that I built the new NNA website (in 2012) after the site faced technical difficulties.

Later they told me that Edgard and I are the RYV, and that he’s arrested. Edgard was in the same room, but I didn’t recognize him. I had never seen the guy at all.

Then the investigators accessed the “Contact Us” page in the website and got the contact information of the client.

They called the client for investigation and asked him about me. The thing is, the client didn’t give me the site in person, but it was through a third party. The latter was called for investigation, too, until they got my phone number then called me for investigation.

As for Twitter, they had screenshots of my offensive tweets sent to the presidential office by unknown people. When they called me for investigation, they didn’t state the reason at all.

"The investigation into the president bashing tweets was illegal and I wasn't allowed to have a lawyer at the beginning in both cases."

What is the interrogation process like?

I was asked to be in their office at 9 am and when I went there, a sergeant asked me if I’m the one who owns the Twitter account that bashed the president, so I admitted, of course.

Then they asked about the reasons.

They kept me in their office until 2 pm; they were writing the minutes of the investigation when the electricity went off. Then they gave me two choices: either I leave and come back in 2 days, or I wait until the electricity comes back, then I sign and leave.

I just sat there and did nothing, waiting for the next step. Two hours later, they took me to Major Suzanne El Hajj’s office in the same building, where she started attacking me verbally— saying that I talk like thugs and my mother didn’t raise me well—, and started to put pressure on me. Later when I left her office, I had to wait another two hours until they made me sign a paper that I won’t bash the president again.

So I left and came back 2 days later. They wanted to ask me more questions, so one of the investigators had a paper with a list of IP addresses and sites accessed by the IPs. They began asking what I knew about some software.

I answered that I use it to scan websites for vulnerabilities.

It’s just a legal application I use as a web developer to scan the websites I build, or other websites to check if they contain vulnerabilities.

As for the second time I went there, for the hacking allegations, I got a call from them just like the first time asking me to go to their office, but again they didn’t state the reason.

My lawyer went there and met Major Suzanne El Hajj who refused to tell my lawyer about the reason, and just said they want me “to have coffee” at their office.

I went there, and this time they immediately took me to El Hajj’s office, where she started shouting at me and telling me things like “I’m down, and I can’t do anything about it, they have enough proof”. I was confused, I didn’t know what she was talking about, and then she mentioned the hacking of government websites.

So I said of course I have nothing to do with it. I only remember it happened 2-3 months before the investigation, thinking it was relating to the hacking of parliament website in protest of extending the parliament’s term.

El Hajj kept insisting I was behind the hacking, and she didn’t

Then finally the investigator told me that I’m accused of hacking the ISF website, because I scanned it using that software few hours after it got hacked. I told them that after the hacking of government websites, I started to scan some of them and send reports to the ministries. For NNA, I had done the same, and I contacted the company that was managing the site, and this company asked me to develop a new website.

I also did the same with the Ministry of Labor and sent them a report about the condition of the website (but they hired someone else). I also informed the

investigators that I know about proxy, in case I want to do something illegal. They probably don’t know about proxies.

Then I was told that the general prosecutor decided to call an expert to review what I said.

A month later I got a call from them telling me the case is over and I should sign off on a document to end the investigation.

Also note that Edgard Chammas was released, and the funny thing is that he was helping the same office in the investigation (Suzzane El Hajj wasn’t there back then) after the hacking.

Is what happened to you actually legal?

The investigation into the president bashing tweets was illegal, of course. They were not the right people to investigate such cases. As for the hacking case, it was legal, I guess.

Were you allowed a lawyer?

I wasn’t allowed to have a lawyer at the beginning in both cases, but later in the hacking case, when they read my rights, they asked me if I need a lawyer.

What kind of implications do you think this has regarding Internet safety in Lebanon?

It’s good to know that ISF is actually working, but the investigation into the hacking case was a real joke. They interrogated all the wrong people. Someone there told me he got called up for investigation just because he accessed the sites after seeing on Facebook that they had got hacked. ISF should be more professional.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Spotlight on Social Media Marketing in the Lebanese Film Industry

By Dahlia Hage

@dahliahage

The importance of social media is not to be questioned.

It is obvious that having a presence on social media platforms is useful for all different forms of art, especially a new movie in the Lebanese market. However, it is tempting to wonder what type of marketing methods the Lebanese population responds to best. What is the best way to market movies in the blooming film industry?

The Lebanese film industry is steadily growing and has attracted a lot of attention over the past five years. As a result, all business functions related to the Lebanese film industry are required to advance as well. The marketing function is not only becoming more developed in this domain, but it is constantly evolving as a discipline.

"Considering the growing nature of the Lebanese film industry, Lebanese films should first be exposed to their audiences primarily through traditional channels, then start utilizing social media marketing competitively to increase exposure."

There are different ways to go about marketing a Lebanese film. A popular process is to approach one of the top film distributors (ECS Films, SR and Co, Georges Haddad and Sons, Joseph Chacra and Sons, Italia Films, Eagle Films, 4 Star Films, Jaguar Films and Gulf Films). These companies handle the distribution of the movie as well as the implementation of marketing campaigns. There are a few options whereby a producer approaches one of these distribution companies. George Asmar of ECS Films walked us through the key elements of how a Lebanese movie is marketed and advertised in Lebanon.

Asmar represents ECS Films which is managed by Nabil Saba, the General Director of Cinemall and ECS Films. ECS Films is a distribution and PR company based in Lebanon, with operations throughout the Middle East. There are two common ways distribution companies tackle a marketing campaign: they can be asked to execute a campaign, or create one.

The fact that the Lebanese film industry is growing is the key differentiating factor when deciding whether to take the traditional or the online route. In a mature industry, the audience will seek information about the “brand” online. Furthermore, in this rising industry, it is essential to make the audience aware that the film and the industry behind it exist in the first place.

There is a need to show your audience through social media, but more importantly, to keep reminding them through traditional channels. On social media platforms, it is necessary for the audience to engage with the film and make the effort to find out more information. On TVCs or radio, the audience will instead have to make the effort not to find out more, by switching the channel. Asmar, an expert in the industry, advises that recently in Lebanon, a film can be successful without online marketing, but it cannot be successful without traditional marketing.

He went on to express that “clients have never complained that [ECS Films] should have allocated more budget to social media marketing.” There have been cases where movies invested more in social media than traditional marketing and as a result—despite the commendable quality of the film—the number of admissions was below the speculations by industry professionals. However, in order to be competitive, it is optimal to invest in both online and traditional channels.

Online marketing generally exposes the audience to the film for the first time. In this generation, a target group can be reached very quickly online, at all times of the day through the region’s most popular platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. This exposure can mean posting about the name, the actors, the logo, or simply the theme of the film.

Consequently, the target audience would be exposed to the film “brand.” When online marketing is followed up with traditional marketing, the image of the film previously exposed through social media will be reinforced. It can be reinforced countless times either on billboards, radio, TV or indoor advertisements.

Traditional channels are especially appealing in a growing film industry that is not already studded by international stars. International films naturally have more marketing power and flexibility than local Lebanese movies. When Lebanese movies are marketed through TV and radio, they are in control and do not require as much audience action or consent as social media marketing does; they do not put their success in the hands of their target audience. Traditional marketing has an edge over social media marketing in Lebanon because of the characteristics of the country’s infrastructure.

It is clear that Lebanese films should have social media presence when planning marketing campaigns. In this specific industry, though, the investment will be more valuable if it is strategically supported by traditional marketing.

After considering the base idea that the Lebanese film industry is still growing, Asmar warned that it is just as crucial to keep in mind the current level of competition and target audience of the film. The audience will further determine how to construct the film’s marketing campaign and allocate budgets.

“Halla’ La Wein?” [Where do we go now?] (2011), directed

by Nadine Labaki, is an example of a Lebanese movie that came out near the same time of the rise of social media marketing. The film only invested lightly in traditional marketing and had a light presence online. Nadine Labaki’s status and the film’s exclusivity as the only Lebanese film being released at the time, gave the film the upper hand. The film exceeded 800,000 recorded admission tickets worldwide, which broke Lebanese records at the time.

“Bébé” (2013), directed by Elie F. Habib, is a recent Lebanese movie that appeals to both children and their parents. This led the marketing team to successfully allocate budget according to the movie’s target audience, which meant investing more in traditional advertising than social media. Young children and their parents are generally not very active on social platforms.

” When online marketing is followed up with traditional marketing, the image of the film previously exposed through social media will be reinforced."

Contrary to Bébé is Neswen (2014), directed by Sam Andraos and released in February 2014. This film tackles issues regarding the balance of power between males and females. Asmar described that, considering the theme, Neswen was most targeted at an audience starting 14 years old and above, who would appreciate and understand the topic. This led its distributors, ECS Films, to tackle social platforms as well as traditional platforms.

Marketing through social media allowed them to effectively reach out to and engage with the younger portion of their target audience. Meanwhile, marketers were using traditional channels to keep the older generation engaged.

Considering the growing nature of the Lebanese film industry, Lebanese films should first be exposed to their audiences primarily through traditional channels, then start utilizing social media marketing competitively to increase exposure.

ON THE CLOUD Virgin Radio Lebanon Social Media: Urgent Intervention Needed

By Nuhad Hamdan

@nuhadhamdan

Virgin Radio Lebanon’s Facebook page was launched in March 2013. The page grew quickly, grabbed the Lebanese audience’s attention and gained their “Likes” thanks to the fresh posts and good music the radio station plays.

Their posts first revolved around their shows, contests, events and “10 Hits in a Row” feature that gives them an edge over other stations. The brand was following a more or less consistent, fun strategy and sharing posts that any Lebanese could relate to from traffic to music and even funny, tiny details we all fail to spot sometimes. Unfortunately, Virgin Radio Lebanon’s entertaining posts became spam-like posts. Every time you check your Facebook, three VRL posts hit you straight in the face. And no matter how fun the content is, you will get sick of it eventually.

Reach—especially organic—, interaction and engagement levels are definitely every community manager’s obsession and concern. One must admit: VRL is getting extremely good numbers: 2,981,815 ‘People Talking About [Them]’, which is 15.22 times more their fan base, is a dream to every digital specialist.

However, and despite the numbers and results, Virgin Radio Lebanon is not providing the audience with any meaningful or special content. They became the Lebanese version of 9Gag and many other and pages accounts people seek for fun.

No creativity, no added value. Nothing but humor, lame jokes and absolutely ridiculous text to stuff the page and bombard our newsfeeds. Add to that the punctuation mistakes every once in a while.

It is true that we, as Lebanese citizens, long for fun and comicality in our daily lives due to the current circumstances, but there is a huge difference between smart, fun posts to cheer up the audience and cheesy ones that are sometimes offensive.

Many posts are random, irrelevant, and nothing but page fillers.

Others are not even taking an important segment of the audience into consideration. Many children use Facebook nowadays and are much affected by what the media offers.

In numbers, 158,000 people are Lebanese citizens interested in VRL out of which 30,000 are kids aged between 13 and 17 who are being exposed to “dirty humor”—as VRL likes to call it—in addition to gender-based posts reinforcing any existing prejudices. Some of their fans started complaining as well and many are un-liking the page because it’s just become too much!

Virgin Radio Lebanon, we love you, but sharing smart and funny posts twice a day would not make us love you any less. Set a clear strategy, add some variety, and please lose the “period” posts!

CLOUD #9 April 2014

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

#SMLaughs: When was the Last Time You Unplugged?

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

Social Media and tech gizmos have seeped into every aspect of our lives. In this column Darine curates the curious and funny anecdotes on how these new media have transformed day-to-day interactions. Share your own stories with her on Twitter: @sdarine, #SMLaughs or email: sdarine@cloud961.com JOMO, or the Joys of Missing Out, was coined as one of the top trends in 2013 by JWT and has continued into their 2014 report. And isn’t it just logical that the more our lives grow intertwined with the web the more we would value a disconnect from the matrix? Well, it seems not. As soon as my Whatsapp stopped working, even before I read the status updates on Facebook, I felt a certain bond has been severed and I thought to myself, “Heck! Shall I start tweeting again?”

I had a friend who had to carry an ancient Nokia device for a couple of days. Her app detox resulted in her sending endless SMSs. It seems our brains have now reached a stage where thumb typing, scrolling, and visual coma now belong to our natural instincts. I have heard of teenagers being caught in bed, fast asleep, with their phones in their hands, prepared to start scrolling again upon waking up because we can’t allow any spare minute of our conscious existence to go without reading or posting an update.

“Oh I am just checking Tumblr!” The Beirut bar Belvedere, which became famous at some point for asking its guests to leave their phones outside, has decided to go back on its words and run a “post-and-get-a-discount” sort of competition.

So has JOMO been transformed from total digital detox to a migration from network to network? Or maybe a change of activity, from reading to posting or vice versa? When was the last time you fully enjoyed absence of Wi-Fi and a dead cellphone battery? When was the last time you have purposely left your phone at home just to enjoy a night out?

My sister has courageously deleted ask.fm off her phone for the exam period, and yet I still often find her in a “scroll/ giggle” mood. When I ask her if she re-installed it, she says,

No more Twitter and YouTube for Turkey

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

Most people know Turkey as that fun place you do not need a visa to travel to, easily recognizable in Instagram shots of Istanbul. Recently, this country that many looked up to as an example for democracy in the Middle East has done the least democratic thing that a country could do: ban Twitter! So how exactly did Turkey, a growing power in the region that is trying to become part of the EU, go as far as banning one of the most popular social media forums in the world?

Let us rewind to last spring, to the infamous Gezi protests.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political party, the AKP, was hailed to have put the country on the map and strengthened its economy. Last summer, though, they allowed for a popular Gezi park in Istanbul to be destroyed to make way for a mall, sparking nationwide protests revealing that his party was not as popular or democratic as people once thought.

Many youth took to the streets to protest what they felt as Erodgan’s grip on power increased. Police used tear gas and

water hoses to disperse crowds. Eventually, the Istanbul Municipality backed down about the construction of the mall and protests subsided, but tensions between the people and their government remained.

Fast-forward to this year and Erdogan and his party being implicated in a gigantic corruption scandal that involved sons of prominent ministers. Erdogan, instead of denying charges, went ahead and sacked several top judges and policemen in an attempt to silence the opposition. This only galvanized protestors to return to the streets and onto social media forums.

People began circulating leaked audio recordings accusing Erdogan of almost-undeniable corruption. The prime minister hit back by getting a judicial order to block Twitter in Turkey, effective March 20.

On March 27, Erdogan went one step further by banning YouTube, the world’s top video streaming site in hopes to

squash the growing dissent against his government. People are now speculating that Facebook might be next in line.

How could people in Turkey get around both bans? Twitter offered an alternative method. Users could text START to 2444 for Vodafone users and 2555 for Turkcell users. If one does not want to use their phones to tweet, another option is using VPN (virtual private networks) which replaces an Internet user’s personal IP address with one from their own servers—which are often hosted abroad—, thus masking the computer’s location and ultimately allowing them to get around the ban.

A third option is a program called “Tor”, which hides a device’s location by redirecting its traffic to servers around the world before reaching its destination.

To date, VPN app “Hotspot Shield” has been downloaded 1.1 million times since the Twitter and Youtube bans went into effect. It does not look like our Turkish tweeps are likely to disappear anytime soon.

This article was last updated on March 20, 2014.

ON THE CLOUD

CLOUD #9 April 2014

5 “Very Lebanese” Instagram Accounts to Follow

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

If you want some reassurance as to why you are still living in Lebanon, forget about scrolling through depressing Facebook updates and tweets and check out these Instagram accounts instead

Live Love Beirut @livelovebeirut One of the first and most known accounts aiming to bring the people of Beirut together and make them a bit happier.

Pro Lebanon @prolebanon This account is actually sponsored by Medco, but has zero mention of the brand in its posts. It aims to promote and propel Lebanon using feel-good images to spread positivity.

We Are Lebanon @wearelebanon If you want to look at gorgeous photos from all around the country, you have reached the best visual depository. Just follow this account and do some couch tourism.

The Lebanese Foodies @ thelebanesefoodies In case you are wondering where to eat and @nogarlicnoonions’ updates are just not enough, get hooked to this account.

Beirut by Bite @beirutbybite Are you wondering how many calories your #foodporn meal contains?

Just hashtag #beirutbybite and the awesome people behind this account will repost it, with some amazing dietary recommendations.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

BLOGGING

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Blogs Newsfeed Selections by Joelle Hajji, News Editor

@joellehajji

Lords of Lebanon co-opt the #NotAMartyr Campaign

Honest Slogans: What People Really Think

Lebanese Ads in the 60s: “Mutribat Al Sex” and Vibrators.

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/diasporadiaries/534811lords-of-lebanon-co-opt-the-notamartyr-campaign

http://www.joesbox.com/2014/02/honest-sloganswhat-people-really-think.html

Anthony Elghossain lives in London and is an attorney at a global law firm. He wrote this blog post showing the messages Lebanese politicians would have sent out had they participated in the #NotaMartyr campaign.

On their Facebook page “I am not a Martyr”, the following quote was written about the matter: ”Not quite the reaction we hoped for from our politicians, but this is pretty hilarious.” They thought that the #NotAMartyr campaign could draw attention to the politicians’ bad performance, but I think whatever they do, people should stop believing in them, because they are the ones who led us to this miserable situation.

This is a fun blog post by “Joe’s Box” with altered slogans of popular brands. This devious maneuver was carried out by graphic designer Clif Dickens, who rewrote the catchphrases so that they reflect how a lot people perceive them. Some slogans are absolutely hilarious and frankly, some make more sense than the original ones. Visit to check all visuals http://honestslogans.com/

http://ginosblog. org/2014/02/12/lebanese-adsin-the-60s-mutribat-al-sexand-vibrators/ This is an interesting blog post by Gino taking us back to Lebanon’s blooming sex business back in the 60s. We do not know where he got those ads from, but while people dealt with the aftermath of a Lebanese lady practicing one of her basic rights—referring to Jackie Chamoun—those ads, which were circulating 50 years ago, were published on Gino’s blog for those interested in a blatant comparison between Beirut 2014 and its 1960’s counterpart.

Lebanese Artist Roy Dib Wins Teddy Award At International Film Festival http://blogbaladi.com/ lebanese-artist-roydib-wins-teddy-awardfor-best-short-film-atberlinale/ Here is a person to be proud of, Lebanese Roy Dib, whose work “Mondial 2010” won the Teddy Award for Best Short Film at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Germany. “Blog Baladi” wrote about it via “Stop Cultural Terrorism.” His movie is about “a Lebanese gay couple who decides to take a road trip to Ramallah. The film is recorded with their camera as they chronicle their journey.

The protagonists and the viewers are invited through the couple’s conversations into the universe of a fading city.”

Let’s see if the movie will be shown in Lebanon.

Civil Marriage for Lebanese Citizens: DIY or via Travel Agency? http://ritakml.info/2014/02/06/civil-marriage-forlebanese-citizens-diy-or-via-travel-agency/ In this blog post, Rita Kamel outlined in detail all the instructions to get married overseas while waiting for civil marriage to pass in Lebanon. You can either do it yourself by following a few steps found on her blog, or if you wish, through a travel agency.

#StripForJackie and #SayNoToViolenceAgainstWomen http://blogbaladi.com/stripforjackie-andsaynotoviolenceagainstwomen/ I totally agree with Najib’s words in his blog post. Though the #StripForJackie campaign was a really good one for freedom of expression, this ad does more when it comes to reminding us of the gravity of the violence against women problem in Lebanon. MARCH has given well-deserved attention to victims of domestic violence and ran a campaign in collaboration with ad agency M&C Saatchi under the now-popular slogan “Nudity is a personal choice NUDITY IS A PERSONAL CHOICE … GETTING BEATEN UP IS NOT.” This cause is worthy of getting full support from all Lebanese people as well as local and international brands. Check the “MARCH” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ marchlebanon. The campaign is by

Kafana Samtan Campaign to Restore Al-Saeh Library a Success http://hummusforthought.com/2014/02/15/kafanasamtan-campaign-to-restore-al-saeh-library-meets success/ After the tragic burning of his library back in January, a campaign was started to help Father Ibrahim Sarrouj in restoring his literary treasure trove. The campaign proved successful, raising more than $35,000 in just a month’s time. Joey Ayoub documented the happening on his blog, “Hummus for Thought”, mentioning how crowd funding platform Zoomal launched “Kafana Samtan” (Enough Silence) just a few days after the unfortunate happening.

The initiative was immediately backed with overwhelming support from well-established companies and average citizens. We salute all the donors and we thank them for their help in this matter.

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Gino Raidy: The Self-proclaimed Lebanese Online Community Never Really Liked Me and I Never Got Paid for a Post Inspiring People from the Lebanese Online Community Interview by Mohammad Hijazi, Editor in Chief @mhijazi In an attempt to promote inspiring stories about people from the Lebanese Online Community, we, at Cloud961, have decided to dedicate a monthly column to interview an inspiring figure that has left a mark in the Lebanese online sphere. For your suggestions for this column, feel free to email me on mhijazi@cloud961.com.

If you ask anyone in Lebanon about blogging, Gino’s blog is bound to get mentioned eventually. This 4-year-old blog, which is run by Gino Raidy has been read __ times and won the Best Personal Blog Award at Beirut’s Social Media Awards 2013. It is both the most praised and most criticized blog in Lebanon. In this interview, I will be addressing some of the rumors about this blog as well as some insights from Gino’s experience.

Gino is a 23 year old blogger who currently works as a freelance journalist and fixer for several foreign press agencies in Lebanon.

Tell us the story of why you started your blog and how it became so quickly one of the most read blogs in Lebanon?

The blog started out as an extra credit assignment in a creative writing course at AUB in January 2010. The first post I wrote was about scouts and how important it was in my life, and why I think it helped so many people growing up. It got somewhere like 2000 hits in the first month, and I was like “wow, people are actually reading something I wrote!” So, I bought the domain name (which isn’t that creative, I know) and started experimenting. I kept what worked, omitted what didn›t. And its popularity slowly started growing.

practice what I preach and never censor or delete anything.

How do you keep your blog credible? How can your readers be sure that what you say is true, especially when reviewing brands? And how would you respond to people who say that brands bribe you with invites, gifts or money get the best treatment on your blog and when they upset you, you put them on your black list?

Simple. People can try for themselves. When I review a place or product, anyone can go and see for themselves that my kind, or harsh, review was fair and accurate. As for the “bribes” that have many people worried, there are two important things to remember here. The first, is always tell your readers what›s happening. If I get an invite or product to try out, I make it public and share the news, so that if I ever do end up writing about it, people know how I got the chance to. Second, make sure the brands and companies know you owe them nothing. Even if they offer me my weight in gold (which is a LOT btw), if their product sucks, I’ll say it or just never bother reviewing it because it’s that lame.

As for money, I have never, and will never get paid for a post. It just feels wrong, and I can’t write something I’m not wholeheartedly convinced of, or feel is being “imposed” on me by some gift or invite. The popularity of the blog has

It actually took over a year to really pick up. The rise wasn’t as meteoric as some people might think, and there is no secret to how it got there. Just write original content, share it on social media and if it’s good, it’ll get around on its own.

How did you spread awareness about your blog online and offline?

Facebook. I owe a lot to this social network. I share it there, it is seen by my friends. If someone likes it, they share, their friends see it, and that’s how you get the word out and get your blog recognized. Not ads, not hashtags, not asking people to check it out. Just try your best to write good stuff and share it, hoping it might help others, entertain them or just give them a chance to vent and know that they’re not the only ones thinking or feeling a certain way about an issue or event.

You said, “The self-proclaimed Lebanese online community never really liked me.” Can you elaborate on who are these “self-proclaimed” people and why do they not like you?

I started out as somewhat of an outsider to the Lebanese online community. I had never read a blog before starting my own, and I’m ashamed to say I rarely read other blogs today unless it’s super interesting and I stumble upon it on LebaneseBlogs.com.

I guess when you’re not in the online “social media guru” business, the love doesn’t go around as much and is usually portrayed on Twitter, or in the comments on the blog (which I never, ever delete, no matter how inappropriate or insulting.

Freedom of Speech #FTW). I don’t mind, though, as long as it’s starting a conversation, I favorite and RT these insults and attacks, because I have nothing to hide, and as a staunch advocate of freedom of speech and anti-censorship, I should

made reviewing spots objectively harder, so, as you may have noticed, the reviews are much, much less. When I get a call to try out a new restaurant for free, I usually don’t go, and if I do, I don’t write about it. But, if I really want to review it, I apologize, call again and book under another person’s name to get the real feel of the place, so folks won’t be “they paid him” if it’s a good review, or “he has a personal issue with them” if it’s a bad one.

So, I guess the answer to your question about credibility is, people can try for themselves, and I am confident they’ll see my input and feedback was honest. Also, be honest about who you are and what you think. There’s no shame in having a strong opinion about an issue or a product or a company.

Tell us about the times that you got in trouble because you voiced your opinion on your blog and about any updates with latest incident with BONOFA. Some people even said that you “fled the country” because of this I utterly despise the “slander and libel” laws in Lebanon and how people and companies misuse them to intimidate. I’ve had a handful of lawsuits, but don’t publicize that as much. I hate being “the victim” or “the martyr” like other online folks might market themselves as. Only two lawsuits ever became public, and that was because I was genuinely worried for my well-being, and got it out enough to make sure my rights

are safeguarded, and then tried to quiet it down and move on quickly, cause again, I hate the “persecuted activist” vibe.

I’d much rather handle the cases properly, by proving my point and pressuring the legal apparatus to punish the perpetrators of a crime, not someone who reported on it.

Personally, I hate the fact people try to shut me up, so I do everything within my power (peacefully and legally, of course) to try and get the “dirt” on them to the right hands and get their operations closed down. I’m also planning a couple of “3otl w darar” (damages) lawsuits against the wouldbe silencers to hopefully set an example that you can’t use money and corruption to shut innocent people up, and that there is a price to doing that (so, police and judiciary, fail me not, or I go public!). I’d love to go into more details, but my lawyers are already going to scold me for saying this much before the cases have been closed.

As for me fleeing the country, that’s silly. It’ll take a lot more than a slander and libel case to get rid of me. I make regular extended trips to the U.S., this is nothing new. I’ll be back before the summer season kicks off to cover all the cool parties going down, don’t worry!

How do you keep your content fresh? And what do you respond to people who say that you write provocative posts just to get more hits on your blog and claim that your readership has decreased I’m past the hits phase. If they get low, it does bother me of course and motivates me to find something cool to share and write about. However, the posts I write are always because I am genuinely interested in them or feel the need to shed light on them. Sometimes, a post I’d never expect to, goes viral, and others which I expect to hit, tank big time.

I believe you are referring to controversial posts like the ones criticizing the brutal crackdown on pot smokers in Lebanon. This has been a theme I’ve covered for the past 3 years, and I doubt the blog has been decreasing in popularity all throughout. It’s also something I am actively working for offline: curbing police brutality and reforming the judiciary.

Sometimes, I just post less cause I’m too busy or need a break or underwent site maintenance. The hits are as solid as ever, and I’m expecting them to go back to the levels they were before my latest trip to the U.S. the minute I land and start pounding the pavement for new stories.

Advertising on your blog has increased over the years. Can you explain why you decided to monetize your blog and how did people react to it?

Yes, it has, and honestly, it’s nowhere near what I think the blog deserves. The time and effort I put into the blog, and the costs of operating it (whether it’s the cost of data consumption or hosting, etc.) are rising now that it’s independently hosted and mobile apps are in the works. I’m not rich, though, so being able to raise revenue from allotted and clearly marked ad space is not much of a problem. Till now, though, the market hasn’t been that booming when it comes to online ads on blogs, but, it’s getting there, and I see no problem with it as long as it doesn’t affect content in any possible way (which is made clear to advertisers from the start).

BLOGGING How did your blog contribute positively to your life? And what is some advice you give to people who are on the fence about creating their own blogs?

It’s changed my life. I started out as a Biology pre-med student at AUB, and since then, I’ve been through many jobs and projects I would have never imagined myself in. My love for neuroscience is still there, but at this moment in my life, I’m trying to pursue a career in journalism that’ll hopefully be able to finance my dream of a behavioral neuroscience research lab in Lebanon, which I proposed last year on the blog and got amazing feedback on.

As for someone thinking of starting a blog, I say stop thinking and do it, now. Choose a name and write your first post.

The more people who blog, the better. Never try to start a “successful” blog, just write what you care about and love, and if it’s good, it’ll pick up on its own. Don’t do it just to add it to your resumes and get free stuff. That’s peanuts compared to the impact a viral post might have on the folks who read

your content. Plus, you’re fooling no one. Don’t blog just to blog, blog if you have something to say.

How much time do you spend on average on your blog (creating content & promoting it)?

Some days it’s endless hours, others it’s barely any. Depends on what’s happening really and how much research and analysis a post needs. Sometimes, I can post from my phone, other times, it takes weeks and months to finalize an article.

But, it’s safe to say that it’s an inseparable part of my life, and I check my WordPress app many times a day to make sure all comments passed through the spam filter (pro tip: don’t put too many links in your comments, the anti-spam bots think it’s spam) and when the idea becomes clear, I just need a laptop, and it’ll be written and published in less than 30 minutes (hence the embarrassing spelling mistakes sometimes).

There has been a debate recently about bloggers’ agreement with brands. Do you think that a blogger should completely reveal all the details of such agreements? Why or why not?

Blog of the Month: Pretty Capricieuse

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut themselves. Some people have this dream, but they don't do anything about it; they just wait. That's wrong. Another reason why I think it would be hard for people to establish themselves in fashion or in just any field is because they all think the same and they all want to do the same things. When you get out of your comfort zone, think out of the box, try new things, and work towards a clear and defined objective with a coherent strategy, I am sure that nothing can come in your way.

What do you think food and fashion bloggers could do differently?

I have a lot of ideas, but I'm keeping them for myself! I can say just one thing: studying business marketing and giving little thought to my future career has given me a lot of answers.

With time, I plan to unleash myself more.

What are some style tips you could share with our readers?

Seek your style if you don't have one yet. What inspires you the most? Most probably, your style is fully compatible with your personality. So dig deeper in your personality. What are the things you like? Where do you hang out the most? And who do you look up to?

With a lot of blogs focusing on the current situation in the region, “Pretty Capricieuse” is a nice break from the mainstream amongst the new crop of Lebanese blogs.

Nineteen-year-old Elsa Abi Khalil brings us a couple of our favorite things: fashion, lifestyle and food. Her posts have shown us new restaurants, yummy recipes and what to wear.

“Cloud961” picks her brain about what got her into blogging and all what inspires her to write such a wide variety of posts.

What is behind your blog’s name?

My blog defines my personality. At first I thought about choosing a name for the website that will define me as well. People who know me know how unpredictable and spontaneous I am. I wanted to send this message through my website’s name. I knew from the start that I was going to write the blog in English. The reason why I chose the French word "capricieuse" instead of "capricious” is because the English word has a negative connotation to it. I don't regard my mood swings or my countless whims as a bad thing.

What got you interested in pursuing a career in fashion, especially in a country where it is very hard for people to establish themselves?

I started being really keen on fashion around the age of fifteen, a few years before I started my blog. At that time I didn't really know how hard it was to work in this industry. With time, I understood how dreamy I was. Now I understand that career opportunities in fashion are hard to grab, but not just here— anywhere in the world. Yet, it is true that Lebanon can make it even harder for the young enthusiasts to establish themselves easily. Regardless, I still think that anyone can succeed in a career in fashion if they work hard enough for it and educate

Embrace your shape. You don't always have to follow the trends if they are not working for you. And don't worry— most of the times, the biggest trends work for just anybody; designers want to make money after all.

Stay in good shape. If you don't have time to work out, eat less.

Look for twists on classic. You want a functional wardrobe, but not a boring one. Some of your wardrobe essentials for spring/summer: a leather jacket, a denim jacket, nude flats, a white see-through silk blouse, a slang or graphic t-shirt, printed denim shorts, a dressy overall, colorful sneakers, and a sexy cut-out one-piece swimsuit.

What’s your favorite new recipe and favorite new restaurant?

My favorite new recipe is always the last one on my blog.

But more recently, I want to try a different recipe of the rice pudding. I thought of adding coconut milk and accompanying it with mango mousse. Most of my favorite restaurants are on Mar Mikhael Street—there's Sud, Bar Tartine, Secteur 75.

You’ve also written some pretty personal posts, even some touching on religion. Are you comfortable being that open on the internet?

Sharing my interests and experiences has never been a problem to me. I have always been more than a 100% myself and I have never cheated my readers for something that I'm not. It is true that I expose myself to the public eye and I share my opinions, but I have always been respectful to everyone.

I’ve taken the liberty of changing the question from “What got you inspired to pursue a career in fashion” to its current wording, as she has not started pursuing a career in fashion.

It is rather her dream.

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Absolutely. I’d advise against it, though, personally. Brands need you, you don’t need them, so why sell yourself or bind yourself to their corporate stuff? Keep your distance I’d recommend, and if you decide to embark on such an agreement, make it public, so your “bias” is made clear to the readers who can make their own judgments on your content better. A good example of declaring your bias from the start in what I write, is my very outspoken atheism. When covering religious occasions or issues, the reader has a right to know that I fundamentally disagree with the religions in question, before he or she continues on to read my case against them (or for them), and if they feel the same way about that particular issue (such as civil marriage, women’s rights and other unfortunately divisive topics in Lebanon today).

So, try not to be biased, but if you do decide to cozy up to a brand, make sure you let people know.

One Last Hoorah: 2famous.tv migrates back to Norway

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

Usually, one tends to think of expats residing in Lebanon as people who study Arabic at the American University in Beirut or in the city just to become the next big war journalist with a million and one misconceptions about the country. Rarely do some of them dare to do something completely different, such as initiate a project like 2famous.tv, for instance.

Matias and Jørgen are two Norwegian travelers who landed in Beirut and ended up liking Lebanon so much they decided to scour every part of the country trying to become famous by documenting their often eccentric encounters with Lebanese society. They blogged, vlogged, and tweeted every crazy thing they did, including walking across the country. Sadly, though, all good things must come to an end. Jørgen had already left months before, and now, it was time for remaining members Matias and Adrian to fly the coop and return to Norway.

So what better way to end an era than go out in style?

2famous.tv had one last big show at Radio Beirut, where their weekly online radio show takes place. Local talents Bilad El Sham and Sandmoon took the stage to bid the team farewell. Double A The Preacherman was the guest of honor, and gave them one of the first interviews on the circumstances surrounding his arrest.

“I wanted to be famous. I thought if we could become famous we could make an impact. And we could help more local artists,” said Matias when asked about the work he has done for 2famous.tv. Judging by the packed venue that night, it seems they did just that.

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BUSINESS

CLOUD #9 April 2014

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BUSINESS

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SOCIAL MEDIA SAVING LIVES

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Social Media Changing Lives United Under the Same Cause: Saving Tripoli Library Interview by Lynn Bizri

@lnlne

On January 3, extremist assailants torched the historic AlSaeh Library in Tripoli, activating a countrywide response to the horrendous act. Owned by Greek Orthodox Priest Ibrahim Srouj, the library, Lebanon’s second largest, is a national treasure and was once home to some 80,000 books and manuscripts, many of which are very rare and first editions.

The attack on the library came after false accusations that Father Srouj wrote a pamphlet found in one of the books in his library that insulted both Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. While Srouj met with Islamic community leaders and persuaded them that he had nothing to do with it, the arsonists were not convinced. An investigation later proved that the pamphlet was written by an atheist dubbed Ahmad al-Kadi.

The response by the offline and online Lebanese community following the attack was both tremendous and overwhelming. The day after the burning, hundreds of people gathered in Tripoli and participated in a sit-in in solidarity with Srouj, while others helped by cleaning the library and trying to salvage what books were remaining (only one third of the 80,000 books survived the blaze).

Money and books were also collected and donated for the library’s renovation.

As for the online community, activist and engineer Ziad Abs was among the first to post calls to donate books on social media, through his non-profit organization “LOGOS”. Since monetary donations were also needed, a few days after the attack, a crowd-funding project was also launched on “Zoomaal” by “Kafana Samtan” to raise

the target sum of $35,000 to cover the cost of rebuilding and restoring the library.

The campaign was carried out in partnership with the Global Shapers Community Beirut who actively worked on promoting the campaign and Aramex, who offered free shipping for all books sent from around the world to the library. By the end of the campaign on Feb. 9, the money raised had exceeded the initial goal, thanks to 298 donors.

The funds will be spent to repair the library, buy back rare books and install security equipment.

Another extremely active and successful online campaign that is worth mentioning is the “Al Saeh Book Drive”, which was actually launched by a Lebanese living abroad.

Michelle Makhoul, a resident of Detroit, Michigan felt she needed to help and decided to start the book donating campaign as an initiative for Lebanese expats, setting up drop-off points across the United States. Soon enough, local drop-off points were established, and universities, organizations and businesses began to accept donations at their premises. Although the campaign has now ended, several local collaborators may still very well be accepting donations.

While the campaigns born for Al Saeh Library were very successful in collecting both money and books, their true success lies in their ability to gather Lebanese of all backgrounds together to support a non-sectarian cause, and in turn reveal the important role of social media in bringing about change be it through raising money, signing petitions, exchanging ideas, or simply saving a library.

CLOUD #9 April 2014

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Agency of the Month: SEER DIGITAL’S MD Zadi Hobeika Takes Full Transparency Approach with Clients

The lack of online understanding proves to be a serious incentive to taking online advertising to the next level Interview by Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

After working in business development at Hewlett-Packard, Nestlé and Google European HQ, Zadi Hobeika decided to move back to Beirut and launch Seer Digital, a digital agency specializing in online media buying. Within a few months the market is already abuzz with Zadi’s successes. “Cloud961” spoke with Zadi and asked him a few questions.

Tell us a bit about how you decided to move back to Lebanon and start an agency.

Google is widely recognized as being a unique company in terms of working environment. It is also the leading actor in online advertising technologies. A major part of the experience is to be exposed to trends, numbers, and to acknowledge the importance of online in the overall business strategy. Having spent the last tier of my stay working on developing several countries in the MENA region, I had the opportunity to oversee the activity and growth in demand of top agencies and customers in the region: this came as a selfevident opening to my entrepreneurial eagerness.

Do you feel competition is tough in your field?

Considering the early stage at which Lebanon and the region stand at the time being in the online industry, competition appears more as a driving force rather than a drawback.

Having an increasing number of providers proposing their services in the field acts towards raising the decision makers' awareness—their savviness being a key proponent to the ongoing development of online servicing.

What makes your approach to media buying special?

We built our approach on three main principles: expertise, cost-efficiency and transparency. We are driven by the digital—with a solid experience—and believe that our product knowledge and general understanding of the online environment are key to the performance of any advertising project. Our servicing fees are based on a simple regressive markup linked to the budget spent, hence positioning us at a very competitive level compared to the market's average.

Finally, we operate in a fully transparent manner: our clients are billed directly by the advertising platforms (Google, Facebook) and have full access to their respective accounts and the various metrics. We do our best for them to have global understanding of each step we embark on.

What types of clients do you enjoy working with the most?

Each and every client has their own expectations. The scenarios we are confronted with vary from a company to another, which makes the experience an ongoing challenge.

The most interesting projects remain the ones in which the client is a firm believer in the power of the Online from the very start. This opens doors to wider and more ambitious collaboration. It is our role to drive interest in online advertising and it is even more pleasant when the interest is already there!

What are your plans for growth and expansion?

We have been preparing the official launching of the agency for the past 6 months in Lebanon, steadily building our portfolio and meeting with different actors from the traditional as well as start-up environment. Our objective is to gain a significant local market share as to establish ourselves as a reference in the field. Next step would be to expand geographically to the most prominent promising countries in the region (UAE and KSA).

What are the biggest challenges when it comes to online advertising in Lebanon?

The lack of online understanding—as previously noted— shows to be a serious break to taking online advertising to the next level. The limited market size and the quality of the Internet infrastructure when it comes to specific products do also stand as obstacles. The existing challenges will, however, and in their vast majority be naturally overcome with time.

Could you give companies that are looking to advertise online your top tip?

Set clear objectives: going online doesn't mean virtual results.

Take the time to align offline and online strategies. Last but not least, invest more!

Online advertising is still a mystery to most advertisers; what are you doing to bridge the gap?

It is totally understandable that advertisers might refrain from further investigating the online world before getting a clear overall perception of what it offers and how it can be used. Apart from working hand-in-hand with our current clients, we offer private trainings to companies and will be shortly duplicating the format to general audiences. The objective here is once again to fairly expose the pros and cons and explain the dynamics behind a proper digital strategy.

How are you working on advertising your services?

Do the shoemaker’s children go barefoot?

I have been lucky enough to spend the last two years in a company whose brand image stands as a valuable asset when engaging in such a venture. I also had the chance to quickly get in touch with well-connected digital professionals that supported this initiative. The market size also boosts the importance of networking and referrals. We're also planning to showcase our online expertise in the weeks to come to further increase our reach.

For more information check out more at seerdigital.com or contact Zadi@seerdigital.com

BUSINESS

CLOUD #9 April 2014

5 Minutes with the Community Manager

It is a round-the-clock job. It never stops, not on weekends, holidays, or even late at night Interview by Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

Interview with Tarek Beckdache and Bilal Houssami Community managers are the super heroes left in the shade who maintain brand pages and Twitter accounts, embodying those brands and speaking to us in their voices. They are the ones who create amazing content that makes us like and share and ultimately welcome the brand into our daily offline lives.

If you have been curious to know who those superheroes are, you are in luck. Every month, we will be interviewing a community manager, to not only showcase their talents and wits, but also let you know the real people behind the brands.

This month, Darine Sabbagh has interviewed Tarek Bekdache & Bilal Houssami who both work as social media managers at BEYOND Production, a multidisciplinary creative agency transgressing traditional boundaries of advertising and design.

It is not an easy task to be co-managing several accounts without running out of ideas, so let us see how the guys deal with some of the challenges.

Tell us a bit about the accounts you manage and the approach you have for each of them Together we manage more than 5 accounts. Each account is very different from the other, for example a health club (Fitness Zone), a restaurant (M Gourmet), and a fashion page (Retail Group).

Obviously we use a different approach for each page: a motivational and informative approach for Fitness Zone. M Gourmet is a restaurant with an unusual concept crossing pop art and mouth-watering sushi. Retail Group has 14 fashion brands under its umbrella, and our approach for this page revolves mainly around lifestyle and trends.

How did you get into social media and community management?

T: I come from a business background, but I wanted to change my path and that’s when a friend of mine persuaded me to apply to BEYOND. B: I got this position after an internship here. It was very coincidental.

What is your favorite thing about working in social media?

Mostly, it’s all the connections and people you meet on

different social media channels, especially when we get to meet them in person after a long period of online interaction.

Also, we enjoy researching for new ideas and concepts.

What is your least favorite thing about it?

The fact that it’s a round-the-clock thing. It never stops, not on weekends, holidays, or even late at night.

What is the funniest thing that happened when you were on “social media watch”?

This has happened to both of us: we’ve posted personal photos, thinking that we’re logged into our own Instagrams, only to find out later that we are posting as one of our clients.

Tell us about one of the most recent things you learned Food. It’s all about food. Post a photo of a dress or fitness advice, and you’ll get limited likes and comments. Post a photo about food, say M Gourmet’s Maki Nutella, and people will go Ga-Ga over it!

Do you have favorite fans/followers? Give them a shoutout and tell us about them Yara Khraby who follows us on Retail Group channels and Chadi Bejjani on Fitness Zone Channels.

How has working in social media affected your personal social media presence?

We were active on our own social media channels even before we started working professionally in this field, but we’ve definitely made more online connections since then. Needless to say that we do give more importance to our own pages now, though. Two posts for M Gourmet, 2 posts for Retail Group, 2 posts for Tarek Bekdache and 2 posts for Bilal Houssami. Well, not really, but we feel the obligation!

Which social networks are your favorite at the moment?

T: Instagram, definitely!

B: Twitter & Tumblr.

If you can give one advice to community managers out there, what would it be?

Always keep it fresh! Make sure to change your approach every few months by having brainstorming sessions with your

colleagues or friends, or by researching for new ideas.

How do you find ideas for your posts and how do you overcome creativity block?

Constant research and non-stop brainstorming sessions together. We try to keep track of what others are doing and think about how we can take it to the next level. Creativity block strikes all the time, especially when you have several pages to manage. That’s why we try to plan long-term, by setting guidelines such as colors, fonts, and a general tone to guide us and to make it easier for us to come up with post ideas.

Is there a recent post or campaign you are particularly proud of? Tell us more about it The Fitness Zone motivational, yet funny/sarcastic posts we have been generating lately. For instance, “How low can you go?” (referring to squats) or “Spin it like you stole it” (referring to the biking/spinning classes). We are also very proud of the latest photo shoot we had at M Gourmet, where we set full tables and took shots from above.

Is there any interesting crisis that happened on your SM accounts which you would like to share? We would love to hear how you resolved it.

When one of us runs out of 3G, the one who does calls the other, asking him to take care of the pages.

What do you tell your bosses to make them see the value of what you do?

Our boss is very much aware of the importance and power of social media and we’re lucky to have such a supportive and creative mind backing us up.

Is there a post you worked so hard on making and then it didn’t perform as well as expected?

No, not yet at least.

You can follow Tarek on Instagram (@tarekbekdache) Bilal on Twitter (@BilalWH)

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BUSINESS

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Black Box Your Events: Because Traditional Coverage is Too Mainstream

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

With the degree of reliance upon our smartphone cameras becoming more felt, we have grown into the habit of creating instant memories by taking pictures and spreading them across the World Wide Web. Photos have proved more effective than any brand—no matter the strength of their social media presence—in capturing the real mood of the night.

Christine Dwairi and George Eid have introduced BlackBox, a unique brand to incentivize fans to create more lasting memories. In essence, BlackBox is an Instagram photobooth, so to say, that prints out physical photos upon the request of Instagram users. The service is hashtagbased: all it takes is using a certain hashtag or set of hashtags to send a command to the booth, where tagged pictures are automatically printed and dispensed. Dwairi assures that the process from snap to print takes no longer than a minute and the final result is a high quality, Polaroid-style photo, branded and signed with the caption of your choosing.

Blackbox is perfect for festivals, concerts, even weddings and corporate events. Since its launch in September 2013, we have already seen BlackBox in action here in Beirut during ArabNet’s Feast of Beirut, Sound Clash and other events. Having a BlackBox has proven to be an excellent addition to an event, promoting the latter and enhancing its coverage.

While pricing is dependent on the size of the event and its duration, Christine said that for Lebanon, rates start at $1,000.

The BlackBox team is currently dispersed across Qatar, Lebanon, UAE and USA, but they are eager to cover events around the world. If you are intrigued by BlackBox and would like to use it at your next event, check out for more information and quotas www.theblackbox.me.

CLOUD #9 April 2014

BUSINESS

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5 Businesses doing Social Media Right

By Lynn Bizri

@lnlne

Almaza Beer @almazaleb Whether you are a drinker of beer or not, you cannot but be a fan of Almaza’s creative ads, catchy slogans, online campaigns and fun competitions. From #StripForJackie, to responding to local issues, Almaza always have something to say and an unexpected way of saying it. After all, #haydajawnaheydanehna.

Mukhi Sisters @mukhisisters Follow these three sisters of LebaneseIndian heritage on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to catch daily glimpses of the beautiful jewelry they design. Share your favorite pieces with them and participate in their competitions. Don’t forget to download their latest app “Love Translator” as well.

VeroModa @veromodame From their fashion and beauty tips, to their conversation starters and daily shares, VeroModa is one fashion brand that truly knows how to engage and interact with the online community.

Just hit them up with any fashionrelated question, and they will have an answer for you in a matter of minutes.

Zaatar w Zeit @zaatarwzeit They know what your favorite meal is and will mention it in their tweets to you, offer free desserts just because, reward you for your loyalty, respond to online feedback and criticism in a professional and timely manner, and offer online delivery services. Can’t get much better than that, right?

Virgin Megastore Lebanon @virgin_lb With their regular competitions and giveaways, informative tweets and posts, and a fun online persona, it is hard not to notice Virgin Megastore’s Twitter activity. Add to that their speedy responses to any inquiry, impressive interactions with the online community, and recent collaboration with the Al Saeh Book Drive, and you have the recipe for one successful business.

MONEY

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Tweets are the New Dollars: Marc Jacobs Online Currency

By Aline Chirinian

@nouchaline

Who knew you could pay for things with just a tweet or an Instagram pic? Well, at least you could at the “Daisy Marc Jacobs Pop-Up Tweet Shop” which opened up exclusively during this year’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW) where the currency of the day was a Twitter picture or an Instagram post.

Now, you might be wondering how exactly did transactions utilizing social media go down. Unlike the “X amount of tweets for this product” price tags which I had imagined when I first heard of Marc Jacobs Twitter currency, the process was actually much simpler. All visitors of the pop-up store had to do was snap a picture while there and upload it on to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #MJDAISYCHAIN to receive gifts.

The interior of the pop-up store brought the whimsical essence of the Daisy perfume to life, with forest-inspired decoration and oversized Daisy perfume bottles. It included a nail salon station for guests to enjoy a complimentary manicure and a counter full of the latest collection of beauty products by Marc Jacobs, the perfect setting which inspired over 4,000 Instagram photos and tweets.

A winner was selected for “Best Picture” and received a gorgeous handbag by the designer. During the two-day PopUp Tweet Shop Operation, the fashion Twitesphere went into a frenzy over the social media currency and the concept of the #MJDAISYCHAIN, with fashion influencers and NYFW attendees snapping the day away on their smart phones to receive their Daisy collection gifts.

Over the years, Marc Jacobs has been able to seamlessly integrate their brand with social media and have managed to grasp the important role that social media can play in the ever-changing, fast paced world of fashion.

Don’t pay by cash, checks or cards: Join the revolution and pay with HEY!

BLC Bank is focused on its vision of becoming a Bank of reference and is actively involved in financing productive economic sectors which have a lasting effect on national growth and sustainable development in Lebanon. To this effect, the Bank received local and international awards for its commitment to developing SMEs, fostering women’s economic empowerment and contributing in promoting CSR initiatives.

BLC Bank has introduced HEY! the fastest, simplest, safest and most cost-effective way to pay and get paid.

HEY! Is a revolutionary mobile payment solution that has both the merchant and the consumer in mind. It is a

With this unique concept, the brand was able to stand out during a hectic week of fashion events, and to motivate its customers to engage on several social media channels, all of while reinforcing the Marc Jacobs

free app that can be downloaded onto all smartphones, allowing users to settle their purchases at points of sale, pay for a delivery order from any location and enjoy the convenience of paying anyone instantly through their mobile phones.

HEY! Is the ideal payment solution for merchants as well, offering them the advantage of instantly receiving funds in their bank account, avoiding the risk of carrying cash, immediately reversing incorrect clients’ purchases with no hassle and at a low cost. Through a tablet installed by the cash register, clients will settle their purchases in just a few seconds with the simple gesture of holding their mobile phones over the tablet.

With HEY! users may also create supplementary accounts for family members to cover daily allowances and emergency funds anytime, anywhere.

This innovative mobile payment solution was launched on February 27 in a press conference at the Phoenicia Hotel in the presence of BLC Bank Chairman General Manager Mr. Maurice Sehnaoui, Vice Chairman General Manager Mr. Nadim Kassar, General Manager Mr. Raoul Nehme, as well as BLC Bank’s merchant partners, and

name as a fashion powerhouse. Now if only this NYFW activation would become a real life thing and companies would begin to accept tweets as payment… Wouldn’t that be a dream?

representatives from the local media and employees.

“Within our vision of being an industry pioneer in innovation, service excellence and technology, to bring revolutionary products and services to our clients, we are proud to launch HEY! a unique service designed to facilitate payment, not only at points of sale, but also for money transfers with a simple tap”, said Mr. Sehnaoui.

During the press conference, a live demonstration was performed by Mr. Sehnaoui showcasing how easy, fast and secure it is to pay and transfer money with “HEY!”.

CAMPAIGNS

The #AbouShawarma Instagram Fan Competition Be a part of Abou Shawarma’s ongoing SHAWARMAGRAM competition by simply following @aboushawarma and hashtagging #shawarmagram or #aboushawarma. Photos must be related to Abou Shawarma in any way. A winner of “Best Photo” and chosen by Abou Shawarma and is announced weekly, and “Most Liked” post, once a month.

Weekly winners receive 1 free Combo meal of their choice, and the lucky monthly winner receives a $100 voucher for Abou Shawarma. Here’s how it works: 1. Take a good, creative photo of anything related to Abou Shawarma 2. Follow @aboushawarma on Instagram and hashtag your photo #shawarmagram or #aboushawarma (photos will be denied or approved by the Abou Shawarma team) 3. Weekly and monthly winners and will appear at the top of the SHAWARMAGRAM Facebook Application

Crepaway’s Draw and a Trip to Portugal to see Beyoncé’s Live Crepaway has launched a new campaign via their Facebook page in order to promote their new “Halo Burger”. The competition gives a chance for 2 people to win a trip to Portugal and see Beyoncé live in concert.

Here are the steps to enter the draw: •Enter your details and submit the special code handed with your order of the Halo Burger •Click "Submit my Entry” •Repeat until February 28 to increase your chances of winning •Double your chances if you are a Good Card holder by inputting your card number

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Head & Shoulders Freestyle Championship Competition The competition invited people to submit videos of freestyle football (performing various tricks using a football).

Nine countries are participating in the competition. Only eighteen participants will make it to the final stages out of whom the first will be chosen by the judges while the second will be chosen through people’s votes. The winner will get the chance to participate in the Freestyle Football World Championship. Go to the app on the Head & Shoulders Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hnsarabia, like, share and enter to win a PS4.

Picon’s “Mashrou3 el Jil el Jdid” This year the Happiness Heroes program has been working with kids from different regions in Lebanon, listening to their ideas on how to best improve the country. Kids all over Lebanon have been coming up with creative ideas.

The winning ideas were chosen through a voting process which started and ended on February 20. One idea was chosen to come to life.

Pril’s Valentine Campaign for Women The campaign was launched in order to help women with their household chores The steps were easy: •Like the page •Upload a picture of your loved one performing a household task.

The first prize is jewelry and the 2nd and 3rd prizes are a spa day for two.

Soup for Syria “Soup for Syria” is a cookbook project dedicated to help Syrian refugees. Proceeds will help to build a communal kitchen in the Bekaa town of Zahle to help refugees cook nutritious food for their families. Barbara Abdeni Massaad, who owns a farmers market in Hamra where she runs the Slow Food Foundation, was the one behind the idea. “It was very cold that week. I thought: what about the people in the Syrian camps? I couldn’t sleep. I had to do something— Everyone has to do something,” said Massaad. Massaad sells her cookbooks every Tuesday morning in Hamra and also collects clothing donations which she distributes to Syrian refugees. She believes selling the bookcould raise the thousands of dollars needed to build the kitchen. For more information and to know more about the project, you can visit the “Soup for Syria” Facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/pages/Soup-for-Syria/257405764424766

La Folie Rouge Campaign with Nakhal "La Folie Rouge" is a yearly winter show created by “Francofolie” in 2010 and featuring top quality international artistic performances. Here is what you needed to do if you wanted to spend your vacation this year in Turkey: •Like the Facebook page •Tag 10 of your friends in a comment under the photo •Ask them to “Like” the page •Enter a draw to win a tip to Turkey

Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon Celebrating Hope Campaign For 12 days, numerous brands and stores donated a certain percentage from the total value of their bills to CCCL. The list of partners included Grand Cinemas, Visique Optometrists, Moka and More, Pace e Luce, Chicco, C&F, Techno Blue, Anthony Bonja, Izzat Daouk & Sons, Toys “R” Us, E-view Optic, Farra, Le Rouge, and Loft 21.

Moka and More’s campaign was launched on February 4 and it went on till February 15. 5 percent of every bill was donated to CCCL.

Bank of Beirut Check-in & Win Competition This competition offered instant prices (&50, &75, and $100) to people who between January 22 till 2014. The competition was available both on Android and iPhone.

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CAMPAIGNS America’s Reaction to Coca-Cola’s “It’s Beautiful” Ad

By Joelle Hajji @joellehajji During the Super Bowl this year, Coca-Cola aired a commercial named “It’s Beautiful,” with a patriotic song called “America the Beautiful.” The commercial depicted a compilation of faces: young and old, colored and white, straight and gay, in cowboy hats and hijabs, playing, eating, and engaging in all-American activities. The point of the campaign was to show the diversity of cultures in America.

Coca-Cola could have never expected such a storm of criticism on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

Viewers objected to "America the Beautiful" being sung in different languages, which aimed to represent the multitude of tongues in the country rather than to dishonor English. Some people supported English as the country's sole language. The firestorm was set off on Twitter by users who were live-tweeting the event. Some thought that the song should have been performed only in English, while others even took it further by calling CocaCola terrorists.

This backlash says a lot about what Americans really think and how they are biased and judgmental. It showed their ugly side and how they are not open to anything.

But amidst all the controversy, Coca-Cola scored big, ranking at the top of the charts for “Effectiveness”.

CLOUD #9 April 2014

CAMPAIGNS

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Celebrate Valentine’s with your Loved Ones and Roadster Diner Even before the Oscars selfie hit the mighty WWW, Roadster diner decided to engage its audience in a selfie-taking spree. Before Valentine’s, the popular diner urged its guests to capture a moment with their special someone instead of #foodporn, for a change. The special person could be their friend, partner, relative, or even the burger they are so lovingly clutching.

Over 350 participants shared their photos across all networks out of passion for engagement and loyalty to the brand, including the hashtag #TogetherForever.

The campaign ultimately had a prize reserved for the most creative selfie: an astounding experience for two including hotel, dinner at your favorite restaurant, bowling, movies and even a camera, for some more selfie action.

LG Electronics Announces “Oh My Gold” Campaign Winners

Understand Women Better: Mukhi Sisters Introduce “Love Translator” App

By Joelle Hajji, News Editor

LG Electronics has brought with its winter campaign the most valuable gifts you can dream of: gold giveaways. In this line, the “Oh My Gold” campaign has recently announced a long list of lucky winners.

The promotional campaign was kicked off in winter 2013, and a great number of winners of gold gifts were unveiled, with Abdel Kader Khalil and George Helmi awarded each 250-gram bars of pure gold.

Fifteen lucky winners went home with 21k gold ounces. LG also gave away 21 gold coins to its loyal clients.

The results of the campaign were announced following a raffle draw held at Sealco-LG brandshop on Thursday February 20 in the presence of Mr. Sean Lee, General Manager of LG Lebanon and of Mr. Ibrahim Abdul Ghani, CFO of Sealco.

Praising the campaign’s impact, Mr. Sean Lee stated, “Our winter campaigns have achieved their goals in providing customers with rewarding experiences with the cooperation of our partner Sealco. With every purchase made, we promise an added value to our loyal customers, and gold was chosen as a gift to show our customers how much we care.”

@joellehajji

It is known that men and women do not usually understand each other. To men, most of what a woman says is actually coded: she always means something else. Well, the answer is with the “Love Translator App” by the Mukhi Sister. The Sisters design wearable collections of fine jewelry. Using gold, diamonds, as well as other precious and semiprecious stones, they draw on their personalities, interests and obsessions to create high-end pieces.

It is impossible to get lost with this app; it helps men understand the difference between what a woman says and what she really means. It is simple to use: a man types the encrypted sentence uttered by his partner or friend, and the real meaning (from “Female” to “English”) is shown. If the answer is not what he expected, there’s an option to click on “Break the language barrier” which results in the app suggesting a jewelry gift for the woman.

I think all women should download this app onto their partners’ phones, if they are in for getting tons of beautiful gifts.

CAMPAIGNS

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Customers Show Loyalty to Zaatar W Zeit Through a Series of Challenges

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

Regular customers are known to go out of their way to share a succulent #foodporn shot, comment and retweet their favorite brand’s posts, and create something in tribute to their favorite brand. ZWZ decided to reward this loyalty and take it to the next level through a set of online challenges that created more interactions between the brand and the fans.

Darine Sabbagh has intereviewed Zaatar w Zeit’s Marketing Manager Manuel Wazen to discuss the campaign and how it went.

Can you tell us why you decided to hold an online loyalty challenge as the last part of the Loyalty Campaign?

The game was online/offline but mostly via the Facebook application. It’s because our target market consists basically of the young generation (especially loyalty cardholders) that is mainly online. So we wanted to increase the engagement level and boost traffic in stores as well.

What were the campaign results you can share with us: number of entries, engagement, funniest comments, lessons learned, things you would love to brag about?

The campaign overall was a very successful one. Our loyal guests were very engaged from the beginning and were very eager to get to the last round. We got just the right amount of entries to keep us going for 8 consecutive challenges without losing focus. The results of challenges 6 & 7 were beyond our expectations. Plus, and since online is almost like Live TV, many unexpected events could pop up. We always try to have a back-up plan to “save the day”.

What was the hardest part about managing the campaign?

April 2014

-Challenge 4: Spot the Zaatar W Zeit Delivery guy & upload your Photo -Challenge 5: Take a Picture with the Waiter Wearing a "You Won" tag & Upload your Photo -Challenge 6: Draw or Recreate the Zaatar W Zeit Logo and Upload your Photo -Challenge 7: Prove your loyalty to Zaatar W Zeit The hardest part in this campaign was selecting the winners after -Challenge 8: 3 Rounds game every challenge, in particular the ones relying on creativity. We had to choose the best ones out of many great submissions. How does this campaign compare to other campaigns you However, we relied on our experience and we believe that it was have organized? efficient since none of the contestants questioned the fairness This campaign is different from the others we held, but of the game. As a side note, and to emphasize on how hard this it was one of the best so far because we were directly engaging with our top fans, our “loyalists”, to whom we was for us, we chose 12 finalists instead of 10! owe our success.

How was the campaign implemented in the branches?

The loyalty campaign was mainly held online, but it was backed Are you planning to hold something similar in the future? up in store with explanatory table tents. Plus, some challenges Online campaigns are one of the things that we do best at required the physical presence of participants in our branches Zaatar W Zeit and we can say that we have lots of surprises awaiting our guests in general, and the loyalty cardholders and thus creating online-offline integration. in particular.

Were you surprised by the lengths your super fans went to What is the most interesting aspect of Zaatar W Zeit’s complete the challenges?

A lot, actually! All participants deployed enormous efforts and online presence to you? their excitement was overwhelming for us. That was our main The most interesting aspect is basically the high engagement level with our guests and fans via our wide goal after all: a fun and highly engaging game! online presence (covering all channels). We communicate with them on one-on-one, hear their thoughts and reward Which challenge was your favorite?

All challenges were fun, but the last challenge was organized them at every chance we get. in-store via an event, where all 12 finalists competed in the final game, and the top 3 winners were chosen as the night Any other thoughts you would like to share? culminated. We got the chance to meet them all in person, and Rewarding our guests is our top priority whether via online seeing them having a blast was, by far, the most rewarding or offline campaigns. Stay tuned to our upcoming events, keep using your loyalty cards and as we keep on saying, experience for us.

“Let us pay tribute to your loyalty.”

Can you give me a list of the challenges?

-Challenge 1: What is the Hidden Word? (Subliminal word in our How does it feel to know who your most loyal fans are?

It feels great, but it is also challenging at the same time loyalty video). because we want to constantly meet and exceed their -Challenge 2: What Does the Zaatar W Zeit Logo Hide? expectations!

-Challenge 3: What is the Missing Menu Item? (riddle)

#StripForJackie: Social Support or Trend Marketing?

By Joelle Hajji, News Editor

CLOUD #9

@joellehajji

Jackie Chamoun is a Lebanese professional alpine skier. At of age 14, she started participating in professional skiing events. She participated in her second Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. A video of her at a photo-shoot for a calendar showing more skin than some could handle went viral, stirring controversy and a wave of accusations.

The athlete was criticized by Lebanese politicians and in local media. An official investigation into the photographs was requested by then Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami “to avoid harming Lebanon’s reputation,” as Karami. He also hinted at the possibility of banning Chamoun from future Olympic Games pending the decision of the Lebanese Olympic Committee.

However, Lebanese people showed their support for Jackie on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #StripForJackie and the “I Am Not Naked” campaign. Some brands also followed suit, such as Absolute Vodka Lebanon, Al Rifai, Almaza, Ragmag, Yumi, and Riachi.

Started on the February 12, the #StripForJackie campaign has gained thousands of followers and features volunteers, men and women, stripping in support.

Some people also accused politicians of being too concerned about the photos instead of worrying more about serious matters like bombs. Other hashtags like #BoobsNotBombs and #NotAScandal began trending on Twitter, too.

Chamoun issued an apology on her Facebook page on the same day, to which people responded through thousands of comments asking her not to apologize and congratulating Chamoun on her athletic achievements.

In my opinion, I think the whole issue blew out of proportion. It did not have to reach this point. The campaign to support her was thoughtful, but it was a little exaggerated, let alone the unnecessary investigations by the Lebanese Olympics Committee.

CAMPAIGNS

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TECH

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Rapid Manufactory: Cutting-edge 3D Printing Service in the Heart of Beirut

By Lynn Bizri

@lnlne 3D scanning is used to acquire the geometry of an object, edit it, reproduce it or enlarge it through 3D Printing. The size of the object can range from that of a dice to that of a couch, and the price and time depends on the size and resolution.

SLS or (rapid manufacturing) is selective laser sintering of different materials based on 3D designs in a kiln filled with nitrogen at 170 degrees Celsius producing final parts ready for direct use. 3D Printing (or rapid prototyping) is the most economical way to bring 3D models to life and has geometric constraints in order to allow for post treatment of the parts that involves impregnating them with salt or glue.

Finally, the investment casting and ceramic production allows for metal and ceramic casting of objects. The printer used to create the 3D printed objects is a ZCorp printer, which allows for rapid prototyping and manufacturing of objects directly from CAD data through hi-res SLS or selective laser sintering.

While 3D printers have been around for more than two decades, various commercial 3D printing services are recently seeing rapid growth and being made available around the world. The first of this kind of service in the Middle East and Arab World is a company called “Rapid Manufactory”, which is a 3D printing and manufacturing shop based in Beirut, Lebanon. Part of ‘The Bakery’ in Mar Mikhael, the studio was founded by French Architect Guillaume Crédoz and allows anyone who has experience with 3D modeling or even just a sketch or plan to have his or her design printed in just a matter of days.

The studio offers several services including 3D scanning, SLS (rapid manufacturing), 3D Printing (rapid prototyping), investment casting, and ceramic production. High resolution

For regular 3D printing, one can choose from a range of materials which include a concrete and polyamide mix that Crédoz developed himself. Other material choices are Precision Black, Concrete Polyamide, Ultra Precision Natural, Draft Foam, Precision White and White Plaster.

Users of Rapid Manufactory include artists, architects, designers, and even people with no design experience, such as Crédoz’s own kids. Among the many objects that have already been printed at the studio are car parts, an iPhone cover, toys, a patent-pending pasta portion-measuring device, a lamp and several architectural models.

Their latest project is #theobsessivedrafter which is an art installation by @ghouyoum and @naregkaraoghlanian that

will be featured in Design Days Dubai.

You can keep track of what is happening at the studio through their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ RapidManufactory) and get more information on their website (http://www.rapidmanufactory.com).

Great News for App Developers from Nokia X Nokia has unveiled a new family of affordable smartphones debuting on the Nokia X platform. Nokia X platform gives Android developers the chance to tap into, and profit from affordable smartphones, the industry’s fastest growing segment.

Nokia X platform is simple and straightforward, and the vast majority of Android apps can be published to Nokia Store as is. For those few that require modifications, Nokia has put in place the perfect support to help expand reach to Nokia X platform.

Thanks to Nokia Analyser Tool, it is now possible to check app compatibility in the matter of seconds . Nokia also provides guidance for developers to quickly publish their app onto the Nokia Store.

Porting apps to the Nokia Store is worth considering. With Nokia X, one can reach an untapped pool of savvy—and apphungry—new smartphone users in the biggest markets in the region and around the world. Nokia constantly offers new marketing opportunities to promote apps to new users and potential customers in fast-growing markets like Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, among others.

What is more, although Google services for maps, push notifications or in-app payments must be replaced with Nokia-specific APIs, the latter have been built to work almost identically to their predecessors. Nokia services have been designed to minimize porting effort for apps using corresponding Google services, and to allow developers to develop and distribute a single APK targeting both ecosystems.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

5 Ways Windows 8 Adapts to Multi-screen Technology

By Darine Sabbagh

@sdarine

I feel like I have been born again.

I have had a Windows Phone for a while now, and while I kept repeatedly falling in love with my Nokia, and using my Nexus tab instead of my laptop for the past year or so, my Laptop has had the sad existence of only being carried around for meetings where I needed it for presentations. All until I got the upgrade to Windows 8. The fact that “there’s an app for that” culture exists has made our “laptop” modes of work seem more tedious. Yet, we are aware that not all apps function well with desktop functionalities. Here’s how Windows 8 truly gets the problem and offers solutions 1-Glance & Be Updated It is possible to set up your home screen in a way allowing you to directly notice, upon signing in, if you have new emails, twitter mentions or any other notification of an online interaction.

2-Perfect for the Touch Screen If you are planning to get the upgrade, Windows 8 most probably will prove most useful with a touch screen. Only then would you get the best of both worlds: the apps and the desktop experience needed for efficient work.

3-Ahoy, Notifications Once you are signed into your email, Twitter and Instagram

push notifications on your devices and your laptop might become a silent prison isolating you. But not on Windows 8, where you can enjoy using your favorite apps and enable notifications for them.

4-Synch Me With SkyDrive being an intrinsic part of Windows phones and now Windows PCs, backing up and synching your data becomes a readily available feature requiring little or no effort.

5-The Best of Both Worlds We have been able to run several applications simultaneously for a long time now. However, now with the more intuitive interface, both mobile and desktop apps can coexist on the same screen. In other words, now it is possible to be looking at your ever-changing Twitter feed while typing up a blog post or checking your Facebook updates. Not to forget that with Windows 8, you are getting the same fast performance and responsiveness as your phone or tablet, but on a PC. Truth be told: numerous apps have not been made available yet and the system does sometimes have unexpected glitches. Nevertheless, patches are usually quickly released in response.

Trust me: get the update and I promise you won’t regret it.

WhereLeb App Review

By Lynn Bizri

@lnlne

Dubbed ‘The Lebanon App’, whereLeb can be considered as the Lebanese version of Yelp, an online urban guide based in San Francisco. With its variety of features, the application is extremely useful, both for those living in Lebanon as well as those planning to visit the country. The app’s services fall under eight different headings: Near Me, Go Out, Movies, TV Guide, Gas Prices, Events, News and My Places.

Near Me You can use the ‘Near Me’ feature to view a list of places nearby based on your location. The places listed do not only include only restaurants and pubs, but also cafes, gyms, clothing stores, hospitals, pharmacies and more.

Events The ‘Events’ tab conveniently lists all venues with active events happening nearby, providing ratings and contact info, descriptions, ticket prices, and dates/times for the events as well.

News Use this feature to keep up-to-date with the latest news headlines from major news sources such as NNA, Tayyar.org, Al Joumhouria, The Daily Star, NOW Lebanon, and Lebaneseforces.com. You can share articles across different social media platforms, too.

Go To If you are looking for places in a specific area, the ‘Go Out’ feature provides a listing of places in different regions across Lebanon.

My Places Refer to this section to keep the tabs on your favorite places and stay up to date with their latest reviews. If you own a business you can also use this feature to set up a page for your company and engage with your customers.

Movies This feature is one of the most useful for the avid moviegoers out there, as it gives a list of all movie theatres in the country and the movies playing at each, along with their IMDB rating, synopsis and show times.

I found whereLeb to be quite an impressive application with its numerous useful features, constantly updated information, and organized, clear design. Although some of the features could be enhanced, all in all, the application does justice to its description “The Lebanon App.”

TV Guide With its ‘Showing Now’ feature as well as a list of all shows updated daily, the ‘TV Guide’ allows you to keep track of what is running on your favorite channels. You even have the practical option of setting reminders for those shows you do want to miss.

Gas Prices This feature is a cool one. Not only does it show the latest prices, but also gives forecasts for any price decreases or increases as well as a map showing all nearby gas stations relative to your location.

Good ple Sim , clear design Well organized and useful Always upto-date lThe

lThe Bad Directory of events is lac kin g ‘N ew s’ should include more news sources ‘My Places’ currently not very useful

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

DR. CLOUD

CLOUD #9 April 2014

Jammal Trust Bank’s “We Speak Your Language” campaign is not only lame on TVs and billboards, but also online. They are trying to entice the members of the online community to become their clients, but all their ad is doing is telling them to stay far, far away.

If you were at Arabnet last month, you might have had the laugh of your life during the Sayfco interview, and for many reasons: - Sayfco CEO Chahe Yerevanian mentioned that he spent so far $3 million on Facebook ads to acquire 3 million likes. For anyone who knows anything about Facebook ads, you would know that you can get at least 15 million “Likes” using the same budget, especially that the target is not only Lebanon, but other countries whose cost/ like is much lower.

- Mr. Yerevanian stated that he manages all the content and ads himself on Sayfco’s social media.

- About the famous incident where Sayfco threatened to sue a person over a tweet about their annoying ads, Mr. Yerevanian said that he had fired the agency that was running their account because of this. However, last year, he made a private statement that this was a stunt they pulled to get the online community’s attention and that he knew all about it: any publicity is good publicity - Upon further investigation, we found the Sayfco is listed as one of the clients of XEYOX, which is an agency that sells fake likes as follows: 1,000 Lebanese likes for $150 and 1,000 Middle East and worldwide likes for $70.

Another lesson learned at Arabnet comes from EyeEM CTO Ramzi Rizk. As this Instagram-like application has been dubbed a Lebanese app, none of the other employees of this app are actually Lebanese. But that is not today’s lesson. Today’s lesson is about arrogance.

Mr. Rizk had such an inflated ego and looked down on other start-ups and Arabnet attendees and was generally disliked at the conference. During his speech, he proudly asked the audience who had heard of or used EyeEm. Only a handful of hands rose in the crowd and his over-inflated ego shattered to pieces.

Someone please tell our community manager that the word “retarded” should not be used anymore to describe anything or anyone. It is offensive to disabled people, and this is not 1954.

Speaking of “TimeOut Beirut”, it seems that their editorin-chief has passed on her social media wisdom to the intern responsible for the magazine’s online presence.

Remember when she accused Rola Nahas of plagiarism?

It sure seems that she does not even practice what she preaches and has no problem plagiarizing our managing director’s tweet.

Dear Beiruting.com: Haven’t you learned anything about fact-checking yet? First you kill off Sabah and now this? Time to hire an editor for the sole purpose of fact-checking.

Not only does Virgin Radio Lebanon’s social media suck (you can read a full article about it in this issue), but they also explicitly promote unethical behavior to students.

Who said that media has to be ethical and act as a role model for its audience?

Now onto more juicy bits. “TimeOut Beirut” editor-inchief Naomi Sargeant is giving a “social media marketing workshop” for brands through The Agenda Beirut. This is ironic knowing that she does not know a thing about social media and cannot even balance her own Twitter followers (68% followers:following ratio). She also personally insulted BestSeller’s Marketing Director on Twitter and occasionally calls her own followers “idiots”, showing all those brands out there how much of a credible reference on social media she is and how fast she can lose her magazine an advertising client.

I don’t know about you, but a magazine that tries to crowd-fund $53,000 to produce only four issues a year and then sells a copy for $12 in Lebanon is a bit ridiculous, especially when they fail to raise 40% of their initial goal.

And the award for the most important news tweet goes to Tayyar.org. With all that’s going on in Lebanon and the world, it is definitely worth reporting road-kill for all to know.

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DevAppLB Ultralight Series: An Opportunity for App Developers With a bit of improv comedy and the fastest hackathon to date, the DevAppLB program certainly takes a new approach to how to help people build light mobile apps and games, and adds a fun twist to the startup scene of Beirut.

The DevAppLB program is an initiative of Touch and their new Touch Cloud developer toolkit, working with technology provider Apstrata, and organized by AltCity, to sustain the mobile ecosystem in Lebanon and give app developers the support needed to blast off their apps. With DevAppLB and Touch Cloud, web and mobile app creators in Lebanon, aspiring and professionals, can develop their ideas, design, and code their apps better, faster, and stronger.

In 2013, the first year of the program, DevAppLB attracted 280 participants across 10 events, ranging from workshops and panels, to a hackathon and a pitch fest. This year, DevAppLB is back with even more exciting stuff.

The DevAppLB 2014 program started in March with ideation workshops across university campuses in Beirut. The first ideation workshop was held at LAU on March 22 with excellence turnout, energetic participation, and positive feedback from the participants. The ideation workshop takes a whole new perspective at idea generation, and trains participants on generating and evaluating mobile app ideas. All this is done in an extremely interactive, lively, and fun atmosphere. Upcoming ideation workshops will be held at AltCity and on other university campuses including AUB and USJ. Following the ideation workshops, DevAppLB will move on to more technical sessions, including workshops on app design, app development, game development, and music for games. Those workshops will be held at AltCity, free of charge, over the last two weeks of April.

On May 3 comes the most exciting event of all, the DevAppLB 12-hour Hackathon.

Teams will have 12 hours to execute an "ultralight" app idea picked at random. The ideas will be simple and fun, and the teams will have to focus on rapid implementation in order to beat the clock. The judges will be looking to see how close the teams got to a ready-to-use app in just 12 hours. Winning teams will share $5000 in cash prizes, plus valuable in-kind support by partners including mentorship, workspace, and technical support to help the best apps go live once the hackathon is over.

For registration or more details about any of the above workshops, please visit Touch Cloud's Facebook Page : www.fb.com/TouchCloudLB

Social@Ogilvy Wants Social Strategies to Deliver Business Impact for Lebanese Marketers As part of its mission to continuously offer clients the most advanced solutions, Memac Ogilvy Beirut conducted a series of workshops defining social media as an expertise that delivers business value to clients. Part of a regional roadshow, the workshop, led by Ema Linaker, Regional Director of Social@Ogilvy, underlined the right steps to understanding social media’s value in order to adopt a more strategic use of this new discipline. As one of the leading social and digital firms, Social@Ogilvy represents a broad range of clients, including technology, B2B, FMCG, luxury, finance and automotive brands across the MENA region.

Social media has become increasingly mainstream. The number of social media users and channels has exploded in Lebanon and the wider Middle East region in general.

However, there appears to be a disconnection between

the savviness of the digital consumer and the businesses operating here. “Social should be at the core of any strategy that involves marketing communications. Now is the time to help our clients understand how to use social media more strategically and understand how it can support business growth in terms of awareness, advocacy and when applied properly, sales,” said Linaker. “Marketers spend millions defining and communicating the brand via communications channels. We need to take a fresh look at how the brand can behave in social media.”

“Our clients are starting to realize social media is an essential component of an effective communications and marketing strategy,” said Naji Boulos, Managing Director of Memac Ogilvy Beirut. “Our clients have different levels of knowledge in this new space and their organizations are at

different points along the digital adoption wave. They need a trusted partner for try-and-learn programs, training and expert counsel. We need to help both types of clients and the myriad in-between,” he added. “Our local experience with effective strategies and our understanding of the current landscape allows us to design and execute creative social campaigns, all while speaking a language that senior executives understand.”

Social@Ogilvy has a range of services available to clients to help them activate social campaigns. These include realtime customer insights, engagement strategies, influencer programs, real time content studios, paid media all underlined with a rigorous approach to measurement.

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Arabnet Beirut Conference 2014: Digital Creativity at its Best Arabnet Beirut, the biggest digital event in the city, started out with the “Design+Code” Day on Tuesday March 4, and was followed by the Forum days on March 5 and 6. The event brought together more than 600 attendees and 70 high-profile speakers to share their different perspectives on the digital industry in the region, and focused on digital creativity.

Additionally, 16 restaurants and vendors participated in the Taste of Beirut event which took the attendees on an international journey around Lebanon’s finest dishes and flavors, while networking with fellow peers.

TechCrunch Meet-up and Pitch-off #Beirut: A Hub for Startups

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

Startup competitions are becoming more and more ubiquitous. -Feeditch, a mobile app that recommends popular dishes around Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! It means that more and more the city startups are popping up in Lebanon.

-Feeded, a shopping service TechCrunch Meetup and Pitch-off, organized by Presella and -Servme, a data analytic for restaurants Bader Young Entrepreneur Program, was held at Coworking 961’s fantastic courtyard garden. Teams had to submit a power point -Achieve, a job search app presentation and had only 3 minutes to pitch their idea to the judges. The competition featured an all-star line-up of judges, -Referd, a mobile app helping you find the right contacts with Eyeem CEO Ramzi Rizk, Walid Mansour of Middle East Venture -Hipernation, a module to help you do live streaming Partners, and Editor of TechCrunch himself, Mike Butch.

First-place winner got tickets to TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2014, one of the most anticipated technology conferences of the year, with your own table. Teams had to highlight the uniqueness of their products their plans to raise revenue, all in the format of a selling pitch that would wow the judges.

-Roadia, an instrument tuner and app that keeps track of your instrument’s health

Here are the pitches: -Beepl, a networking mobile app

-OneKi, a USB stick that would have your digital signature

-Saily, a mobile app where users can share the secondhand goods they want to sell

-Guava, a mobile dating app Roadie took the first place, with ServMe, OneKi, and Sailey grabbing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

The event was very well organized, with the judges making sure to keep every team up to the 3-minute mark and asking plenty of pertinent questions. What was aggravating and almost impossible to watch was how poorly many teams pitched.

Entrepreneurs, please take note that just because you think your startup is a great idea does not mean that everyone else thinks so. Also, when you pitch, you need to think of how to sell your product to the judges rather than just how to sell it.

People want to know why they should use your app and how it can generate money. Also, many teams were unprepared to answer the judges’ questions about their products. I think the next TechCrunch event should be a crash course on how to sell your product.

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FADE IN Organizes Web-Series Development Lab at AltCity

By Lynn Bizri

@lnlne

The Web-Series Development Lab was a weeklong intensive class led by screenwriter and filmmaker Nadia Tabbara, founder of FADE IN (www. fadeinbeirut.com) at AltCity in Hamra. FADE IN, named after the first two words of every screenplay, offers monthly workshops and one-on-one sessions for those interested in screenwriting and filmmaking. FADE IN also helps artists and creative individuals express themselves through motionpicture and writing. The Web-Series Development Lab was geared towards helping the three teams of two prepare their own web-series presentation and pitch it to the well-known online distribution company cinemoz.com.

The winning team, chosen by Cinemoz, would then have their web-series developed and produced by FADE IN and exclusively distributed by Cinemoz, reaching a large audience across the Arab World.

Similar to TV series, web series consist of weekly or bi-weekly short episodes of a show. In the case of this lab, a season of 10 two-minute episodes would be produced with the help of FADE IN. Participants did not need any prior experience with filmmaking and were simply asked to just come up with a great idea. During the week, the three teams of two prepared their pilot episodes, a preliminary plan for the entire season, a character bible and their presentation pitch.

Karim Safieddine from Cinemoz, who was in charge of picking the winners, was a big fan of all three pitches, stating that their work and presentations were the best he had seen in his search for web-series so far. However, he eventually chose ‘Mshar2at’ by Khalil and Omar, due to the fact that it had strong characters that both a Lebanese and a mass Arab audience could relate to as well as a snappy, relatable dialogue. As the lucky winners, the boys will not only have access to FADE IN:’s production team and resources to develop and shoot their project, but also full distribution on cinemoz. com’s platforms, $500 as a minimum guarantee licensing deal, 25% of ad revenue share from Cinemoz platforms as well as a fully fledged marketing and advertising campaign that will allow them to reach thousands of viewers across the Arab World.

Here are the three participating teams and their web-series ideas: - Khalil Bitar and Omar Ghosn: Two roommates are trying to get through life in Beirut, except one of them is just too quirky to get by.

- Joe Soubaih and Michel Chamaa: A young Arab-American kid guides us through every pop culture reference you can think of.

- Inaam Attar and Majd Kain: Each episode is a day in the life of an old Arab man who is ordinary in his own way, but everything around him is actually nothing but ridiculous.

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Lebanese Memes Celebrates its Second Anniversary @lebanesememes

The Lebanese Memes second anniversary took place at Crepaway, Sodeco on February 16. The main aim of the event was to honor Lebanese who are adding value to the community with the “Lebanese Hero Award”, as well as thank the fans and administrators for making the page the success it is today.

The main star of the event was Nemr Abou Nassar, who made the audience burst into laughter with his smart jokes.

The honorees of the event were:

Saleh, for her hard Actress Amalia Abi ion to Lebanese work and contribut was received by ard aw The . edy com maj.

Da ih Rab .

Mr son her

h, poet Mounir Hemade

of one of the owners Mr. Mario Thoumy, social media the of rt po sup Crepaway, for his ough a nity in Lebanon thr and online commu series of events.

Mr. Nemr Abou Nassar, for the love, fun and unity he is bringing to society as well as his contributions to many events that help bring Lebanese together away from politics and sectarian conflicts.

Mr. Najy Cherabieh, CEO of Virgin Radio Lebanon, for the great work on social media and the enormous success in spreading fun in Lebanon.

Dr. Najy Sfeir, Preside nt of the “For Lebano n” NGO for his contrib ution to support tru e Lebanese talent, awa y fro unethical practices in the Leb anese art industry.

Mr. Sam Andraos, a young Lebanese talent and director of the movie “Neswan”, an invitation to support women's rights in Lebanon.

Elie Nakhle, rapper Wissam Kamal – standup comedian

Mr. Mohammad Hijazi, Editor-in-Chief for “Cloud 961 Magazine”, for bringing real value to social media in Lebanon. It is thanks to his hard work that we have The Social Media Awards and a magazine dedicated to what's happening on social media in Lebanon. His efforts to abolish hate speech and discrimination on social media is to be recognized.

Photo courtesy of Peter Chalhoub

By Lebanese Memes

Mr. Samah El Hakim, from the “Uf Chou Laziz” initiative, which consists of pulling pranks and random acts of kindness in society to spread joy just for the fun of it.

Cutting the anniv ersary

cake

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Lebanon Opportunities Conference: Understanding Your Social Networks

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

“Social media is overrated” is not a statement you expect to hear at a meeting about e-branding, but thankfully, there are still some thought-provoking speakers out there. Welcome to the Lebanon Opportunities annual conference at the Phoenicia Hotel. The conference highlighted five important sectors of the Lebanese economy: real estate, marketing, finance, green business, and branding. The conference was held over two days, each day split into two sessions, one session at 4:00 p.m. and the next at 6:00 p.m.

The conference was very well organized. You could easily register online and see the schedule of talks and speakers.

I signed up for Online Impact Metrics with Ayman Itani.

Check-in was simple and took only one minute. The talk was moderated by long-term activist and founder of Internet Society Lebanon, Gabriel Deek, and featured Ayman Itani of Think Media Labs, Abir Chami of Grand Cinemas, and Gabriel Abiad of McDonalds Lebanon. Ayman was great in opening the talk of how to grow your base of followers on social media including the importance of Facebook ads.

Next, Gabriel Abiad introduced the importance of customer service in social media. He highlighted some of the harshest comments McDonalds Lebanon ever received and how they handled each comment carefully. Abir Chammas from Grand Cinemas was quite disappointing, though. She merely read off her laptop screen and did not even face the audience. Gabriel Deek ended the session with a Q&A and he also announced plans for a protest to connect the IMEWE (India-Middle EastWestern Europe) cable to the fiber optic network in order to have absolutely nothing to do with their products and threaten increase Internet speeds across the country. people who criticize them on social media. Also memorable was Ziad Kamel, owner of Couqley and the Alleyway. His use The second day of the conference was very smooth as well. of the hashtag #Foodporn throughout his talk was hilarious I registered for a talk on managing communities online. The and kept the audience enticed. It was also a good show of how talk started with our very own Mohammad Hijazi talking important hashtags and pictures can be in building a brand about what can piss off the online community. The part and an audience. about different clans on Twitter was particularly hilarious (and unfortunately sad but true). He also gave examples of All in all, the Lebanon Opportunities conference was a good brands doing it wrong like Rymco and Sayfco who run ads that show of how events should be run. I was happy that people

Beirut Service Jam: Finding Solutions Today for a Better Tomorrow

By Paul Gadalla

@paulinbeirut

Beirut is usually synonymous with one type of jam: traffic. quickly broke into teams and began exploring different Thankfully, the Beirut Service Jam has nothing to do with options. services or jams, but could ultimately help both.

Mentors came out and spoke to participants, including What is “Service Jam”? Service Jam is a worldwide event Constantine Nicolaou who gave a great talk on building held in major cities around the globe. People have just mobile apps. Diala and Joumana also made sure to give 48 hours to break into teams and create a prototype that advice to the teams. Dunkin’ Donuts and Crepaway also helps solve a current problem. Teams also must make a kept jammers well fed throughout the event. video about what they are working on, explaining how their prototype solves the problem. Once finished, they Ultimately, four teams formed and presented their can upload it on to the Global Service Jam site and present prototypes. What did these four teams make? “LED Team” it to the rest of the jammers. In-between working on (Learning, Experiment, and Do) recreated bus seats so their prototypes, jammers can attend sessions given by students could interact together on the bus. Team “Zero guest speakers as well as Skype conversations with other Point Zero” rethought a way for taxis to get around Beirut: jammers from around the world.

Beirut would be broken into three zones and “service” (Lebanese taxis) would charge upon distance and would This year’s Beirut Service Jam was held at Berytech’s stop in central points and not just on the street. “Fina” Digihive at the Beirut Digital District and was hosted by (We Can) allows people to crowd-source a project in Mirada Madrid, with the great experts Joumanna Mattar their neighborhoods instead of waiting endlessly for the and Diala Lteif. Nearly 30 attendees came together to jam, municipality to do it. And finally, “Six Pack” who created a many out of sheer curiosity. “I was curious about the whole prototype for healthy food on-the- go. thing and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” said participant Marc Baroud.

The event had an amazing spirit and as the Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon, Hester Somsen, put it, “People This year’s theme was an unfolded box, giving the here always think they can’t have an impact but you guys impression of possibly thinking outside the box. People [Beirut Service Jam] showed if you think for yourself you can come up with anything.”

were willing just to accept my business card as a form of signing up and registering. When and where speakers were talking was easily laid out. Their registration website could definitely use a facelift, though.

All I would change is if you’re going to have people for over three hours of talk more could be done in terms of refreshments, which were just coffee and tea. Also, there should have been more opportunities for people to be able to meet and network rather than just meeting inbetween talks in the halls. Despite these minor details, I hope more conferences take a cue from them.

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EVENTS On the Lookout for the Ultimate Duke-a-holic On the occasion of World Chicken Day, Deek Duke decided to celebrate by going on a quest for The ultimate Duke-a-holic! Fans had to pre-apply by filling out a form online and in the branches in which they answered questions that prove how much of a Dukea-holic they are. On the big day, March 19, all applicants gathered at Deek Duke, Hamra to prove one more time that eating chicken is what they are good at. There was a draw for applicants to participate in several fun food competitions and “Deek Duke Knowledge” competitions. At the end there was one champion who was awarded the title “The Ultimate Duke-a-holic” and received many valuable prizes from Deek Duke. Happy World Chicken Day from Deek Duke!

Microsoft Experience 2014: A sneak peek at Latest Technology Microsoft held its biggest event of the year, Microsoft Experience 2014. Attendees were familiarized with Microsoft’s upcoming projects, discovered the newest devices, connected with regional experts, mingled with Microsoft’s partners and customers and enjoyed an exceptional magic show tailored to amaze and delight you.

Throughout the event, the attendees were taken on a journey to discover the latest Windows 8.1 devices, watched the unveiling of the most innovative apps in the region, experienced performance of scalability and security with Windows Server and witnessed productivity and mobility at its best, with Office 365.

BRICK’S Unveils New Revamped Design Located in the heart of Hamra, BRICK’S officially launched its modern refurbished look in a friendly media get-together. Beirut’s top online media and print figures enjoyed a night of unique cocktails and amazing tunes. Guests were treated to a variety of new items that are now available on the menu, from loaded nachos and pan-seared halloumi slices to ground beef filet.

With a large outdoor terrace, wireless Internet, and a wide selection of playlists, BRICK’s is one of the feel-good places in Hamra.

Join the BRICK’S conversation BricksonHamra BricksHamra BricksonHamra

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CLOUD #9 April 2014

Contest:

The first person who sends in the correct answers to the crossword puzzle below to editor@cloud961.com, will win an official FIFA World Cup ball.

Across 7. Lebanese product that is rivaling Google Glass 9. Hub for Arab digital professionals and entrepreneurs that hosts conferences in Lebanon, KSA and UAE 11. A Lebenese fashion e-commerce startup 13. Media, technology and start-up community space in Hamra 14. A million pages are needed to print this website 15. An Arab mobile application that helps users manage their financials (backwards) 20. An enabling platform for entrepreneurs in the MENA region 21. A Lebanese online medical inquiry start-up 25. A Microsoft product that recently launched on iPad for free 27. A smartphone company that recently adopted Android compatibility on one of its low-end lines 28. The leading PC vendor in Lebanon in terms of sales (backwards) 30. A Lebanese mobile application that allows users to discover and listen to music 31. Short videos that are shared using Twitter’s video service (plural) 32. A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit 34. Facebook’s way of alerting users that something involving them has happened 38. The social network launched by Forbes 39. Samsung’s Galaxy line smart-watch 40. Lebanese event coverage website 41. Lebanese mobile network operator 42. Company that bought Maktoub in 2005 43. Majority stake in this Dubai-based Lebanese agency was recently acquired by a Webedia 44. An entertainment, social networking service and news website where registered community members can submit content, such as text posts or direct links 45. Samsung’s music streaming service

Down 1. Newly appointed Managing Director of Leo Burnett Beirut 2. A Lebanese social calendar website 3. A Lebanese online restaurant reservation website 4. Lebanese Armenian Fashion Blogger 5. CEO of online news portal Naharnet 6. Lebanese technology blog run by several bloggers 8. Lebanese start-up that offers summarizing services for

articles & websites 10. Downloadable file-sharing application 12. Microsoft OS that will stop receiving support and updates this month 16. A radio station that is heavily criticized for spam posts on social media 17. A person who creates software or applications 18. A Lebanese blood donation NGO 19. A country where Twitter and Youtube were recently blocked 20. Winner of Most Creative Instagram Account at the 2013 Beirut Social Media Awards 22. A technology company recently acquired by Facebook 23. Editor in Chief of Beirut.com 24. A leading Lebanese online news portal 26. Winner of two awards at the 2013 Beirut Social Media Awards 29. A location-based dating mobile application 33. Photo-sharing application that was being used to sell drugs 35. Google+’s multiple-user video-chatting service 36. Leading technology and social media news website 37. This company has the largest network of translators in the world

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Great news for Sony! Sony Corp. has announced that it has sold 5.3 million Playstation 4 consoles as of February 8, surpassing its full-year target ahead of its release in Japan next week.

.com

Sony had said that it hoped to sell 5 million units by the end of March after releasing the Playstation 4 on November 29 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America, and subsequently rolling it out across other Asian countries.

Online journal bringing you the latest digital, web, user insights & social media news!

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THERE IS NOW A “SMARTWATCH” FOR KIDS

Tech toy company VTech introduced the KidiZoom Smart Watch — or what the company is calling the world’s first smartwatch for kids – at the 2014 International Toy Fair.

APP LETS YOU BET ON YOUR FRIENDS’ RELATIONSHIPS 3. NEW

UNVEILS THREE L SERIES III 4. LG SMARTPHONES

Is your best friend dating someone you don’t approve of? Are you keeping it all in and faking a smile? You won’t have to anymore!

LG is apparently not very good at throwing surprise parties — after launching the high-end LG G Pro 2 smartphone one week before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the company has unveiled three budget smartphones which will debut at the show.

Although it doesn’t connect to the Internet like its adult counterpart, the 1.4-inch touchscreen device allows young users to take photos, record videos and play games directly through the watch.

There’s a new way to get that criticism out of your system anonymously. Forever|NOT lets you bet on how long your friends’ relationships will last and allows you to anonymously provide the ill-fated lovers with some feedback.

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JAPAN’S RAKUTEN BUYS MESSAGING APP VIBER FOR 900$ MILLION

SONY SELLS 5.3 MILLION PLAYSTATION CONSOLES, EXCEEDS FULL-YEAR TARGET

The L Series III devices — L40, L70 and L90 — have a similar design and specs, with the main difference being their screen size. Ah well, should they step up their game to catch up with competitors?

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WINDOWS 8 SALES REACH MORE THAN 200 MILLION

FACEBOOK NOW LETS YOU SELECT A CUSTOM GENDER ON YOUR PROFILE

Windows 8 was officially released to manufacturers in August 2012 and then the public on Oct. 26, 2012.

Today, its sales have passed the 200 million mark.

Facebook announced it has given users the ability to select a custom gender on their profile, a change it has made after working closely with LGBT activist groups.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of March. Let’s hope this deal only adds to Viber’s coolness!

Back in January 2013, Microsoft announced that it had sold more than 60 million licenses for its radically updated operating system software. Then on May 7, 2013, sales reportedly topped 100 million copies.

Since then Microsoft has had little to say about Windows 8 sales, until now.

The feature will only be available to people in the US for now, but Facebook plans to expand availability “in the future.”

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Some news for the Viber addicts! Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Inc. will buy Viber Media Inc. – the company behind the free messaging and calls app Viber – for $900 million, Reuters reports.

BILL GATES QUITS AS MICROSOFT CHAIRMAN AND SATYA NADELLA IS NAMED CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Bill Gates has quit his position as Microsoft’s chairman to become the company’s technology adviser, paving the way for new chief executive Satya Nadella. “During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” Bill Gates announced in a statement. “Satya is a proven leader with hardcore engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together.

ROME ASKS CITIZENS TO TWEET AGAINST ILLEGAL PARKING

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The city of Rome has asked its citizens to tweet against illegal parking, an unlikely new way of fighting double-parked cars and vehicles obstructing sidewalks in their city.

Residents have sent more than 1,1000 tweets, often with photos, to the official Twitter account of the local police, calling out illegally parked cars and asking police to take action.

KATY PERRY SURPASSED 50 MILLION TWITTER FOLLOWERS

Katy Perry has surpassed 50 million Twitter followers, which is more than Justin Bieber (approximately 49 million), Barack Obama (approximately 41 million), Lady Gaga (approximately 41 million), and YouTube (approximately 38 million), as per twittercounter.com.

Congratulations to the pop queen for reaching the top of the social media mountain!

His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”

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BUSINESS

CLOUD #9 April 2014