Now everyone knows why we like Facebook more

I found this article by Faisal Abbas in the Huffington Post quite accurate about the reasons why Facebook is much more popular in Lebanon, and why it wasn’t until lately that people here started to heavily subscribe to Twitter.

Now, Twitter was never known for photo-sharing, a feature which was significant in bringing the gossip-lovers of Lebanon to Facebook. Most probably, Mark Zuckerberg never anticipated that his free social network would serve as the new Layalina (a premium-priced Lebanese ‘society magazine’ which along with its sister publication Mondanite, is known for publishing pictures of people out and about). Evidently, the Lebanese didn’t mind the waiting time when it meant they could flick through images of Beirut’s best parties and social events. Even with the Arab Spring effect, the total number of Lebanese users on Twitter is estimated to have gone up to only 80,000. Despite the significant increase, the figure remains dwarfed by the fact that roughly one in every four Lebanese are now using Facebook in some capacity.

We just love gossip, and Facebook does great at delivering it!

You can read the full article here.

Thanks @FunkyOzzi

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Is Beirut Segway friendly?

I just read on Lindsay’s blog that she spotted a group of people on Segways in Hamra, so I Googled it a little and was surprised to find that we already have a Segway dealer here in Beirut, in addition to two companies offering Segway tours in Beirut and Byblos.

But before we get excited about it, how good are the roads in Beirut for a Segway? I personally can’t think of another good place to drive it except in the downtown, I mean some potholes around here are large enough to make a Segway easily disappear!

Out of subject: Wazawiz will definitely figure out a way to do a wheelie with this thing!

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1,000L.L DVDs in Beirut

I though I should share with you guys where I get my DVDs from after someone commented on the previous post that he never found them for less than 3,000L.L.

The place I go to is called “Serge” in Bourj Hammoud. Going from Achrafieh to Bouchrieh using the Yerevan bridge, you take the first exit on the bride, and you’ll find that DVD shop in a very narrow street to your right, situated just before the end of that exit. Serge’s collection is always up to date with a back room dedicated for old movies, and the best thing is that he’s always honest about the audio/video quality of any movie you’re buying.

I also heard there’s another place in Bourj Hammoud called “Rony” but I never knew where that one is…

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Beirut contradictions

The same city that ridiculously blacked out the name of Steven Spielberg on The Adventure of Tintin’s movie posters because of his support for Israel, is also the place that hosted the filming of a new controversial Iranian movie called “Circumstance” about 2 Iranian Lesbian teenagers struggling against the religious and cultural restrictions of their society in Tehran.

The first feature by the young Iranian-American filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz, “Circumstance’’ was filmed in Beirut with a largely expatriate cast, and while it’s not explicit, the sensuality is outrageous enough to get the leading actresses stoned if they wandered into the wrong neighborhoods in Tehran. Source

“Circumstance” will definitely be banned in Iran, and I guess there might be talks about banning it in Lebanon as well, but rest assured it’ll be available shortly after on DVD for 1,000L.L everywhere in the country! (Remember Persepolis?)

Gotta love Beirut!

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The cheapest wine ever

Selling at 2,995L.L (~$2) that’s probably the cheapest bottle of wine you’ll ever find in Lebanon no?!

Seen at Fahd Supermarket Furn El-Shebbak.

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Beirut Hotel (بيروت بالليل)

2011 might have started with lousy movies like Sorry Mom, but I guess it’s ending with promising ones. We previously got Nadine Labaki’s “Where do we go now?” late in September, and below is the trailer of a new movie called “Beirut Hotel” or “بيروت بالليل” by Danielle Arbid that I just saw on YouTube. Anyone has an idea if it’ll make it to the Lebanese theaters anytime soon?

One evening, a married young singer Zoha meets the French lawyer Mathieu in a night club in Beirut. Mathieu will become suspected of spying, while Zoha is trying to flee from her husband. Despite these problems, the two will witness a love story for few days mixed with violence and fear.

Via Wikipedia.

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And the Vote for Jeita ad is a copycat!

After all the talk doubting the credibility of the organization behind the New 7 Wonders campaign, here comes Tarek to show us that Vote for Jeita ad is nothing but a copycat! Way to go ImpactBBDO!


Update:
Under the video description on YouTube, ImpactBBDO indicated the format is inspired by “5 friends”.

Although the concept is based on a pure Lebanese insight, the format was inspired by “5 friends” renown film produced in 2008 by Steven Spielberg.”

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What we might be missing about the new 7 wonders

Everyone and their mother is now calling to vote for Jeita to make it among the new 7 wonders of the world, and even celebrities and politicians are getting involved in the voting campaigns.

But we might be missing something here. Let me assume we did manage to secure the needed votes and made a new wonder out of Jeita Grotto, will people around the globe be aware of the new list? And most importantly, will they find it credible enough coming from an organization who has been accused of running scam campaigns (you can just Google it), and having no affiliation with the UNESCO?

And again, assuming we won, the news will make it to the culture page of several international newspapers, but people are most probably going to perceive that article the same way they perceive any other travel and tourism article. And the most genuine list will forever remain the list of  7 wonders of the ancient world, at least to me!

And in case you didn’t know it, we’re currently competing to make it into the list of 7 wonders of nature. Another 7 wonders were elected back in 2007, were you aware of it? (Regardless of the popularity of the chosen places)

So what do you think? Are we overrating that competition?

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