Lebanon's Sects... Metaphorically

For the sake of delivering my point, metaphorically, let’s start with some artistic visualization of something we’re looking at; a green drape lying peacefully all over the extent of the plain (how’s that for an artistic start, God help the one who continues reading). Colored flowers, 18 colors to be exact (I hope you know what I mean by the number 18), breach the uniformity of the green landscape. Some colors are more abundant than others, but each in their appropriate place forming a brilliant mosaic (yeah yeah the cliché that should apply on those 18). Moreover, some mountains are surgically positioned to show the magnificence of the image itself. Now that’s too peaceful and artistic, so to add thrill to this post there’s a volcano (now that’s one multi-purpose metaphor) just on the edge of this landscape. 

You're free to choose the volcano's severity; a level 8 perhaps? A level 14 might suit it better? A level X?

Such a landscape needs to be taken care of. We’re too busy with our everyday lives, we delegate, let’s get someone to take "care" of it!

The person(s) we made responsible of it (the image) doesn’t lack taste neither. Since they call the SHOTS now and we’re too busy with our own lives (especially the multi-colored flowers thing, it can be so distracting), they decide to add stuff there, just to get a SHARE of the overall work. They started to shuffle the colors (damn, now we’re even more distracted with this thing), add some trees (nice touch), a bridge maybe... But something jumps out… They’re adding a lot why not start their changes by REMOVING that volcano lying there?

Now IF they were doing the adding, it would be somehow easy to forget about that volcano but knowing the sarcasm of life, instead of adding, they're removing (everything except that volcano)… They suck the life out of it! But we’re too busy with the flowers thingy so let’s just hire them again. It takes time finding replacements, it’s scary to have to change...There’s this flower colors thing we’re too busy with for now!!

Let’s just blame them and make them give us promises that they’re going to change … Yeah this would be much more suitable if we don’t want to blame ourselves!!

Now… Do you get the BIG picture?

The Rise of Social Media

First, here’s what you get when you type the query “define:geek” into Google :

Eccentric; a person with an unusual or odd personality

Ever since I was introduced to the social media world (thank you @TamaraHamdan), I have found that a Geek's actual definition is: intellectual and highly educated person, with very interesting ideas to share.

The world of Social Media (really interesting/entertaining presentation about SM) was created because of such people (hope i am not exaggerating), especially that if a person posts about something it’s more likely for people to believe them instead of any advertising campaign just because there’s a certain trust bond that have been created amongst social-networking tools that a thousand street-side banner doesn’t provide.

Blogs, are one of the things that are considered a powerful social media tool, much more powerful than industrial media. First having an online journal that just talks about whatever you like:

·        You have those that are fanatics about a specific subject

·        Those blogging just to share ideas and/or broaden their knowledge

·        Those that blog because they wanna show the world a potential in them

·        And any other blogging reason (which proves the versatility to blogging itself)

This characteristic of being able to share any idea whatsoever without having anyone looking at your blog with a prejudice (unless you intend to have a specific audience rather than another) gives u advantage over the commonly spread media (since media sources always belong to someone/thing) due to the bond that it creates with the readers. Moreover, it creates an indirect advertising tool based on a trust factor rather than the large scale corporate propagandas that sells u high expectations only. 

Another thing that makes blogs, and all other social media/networking tools, great tools is the fact that you can interact with them; in terms of social interaction. This is something you can’t do with a banner or a TV commercial!

The Social interaction in question isn't like the one that exists on some networks (I am in a relationship with X, I have been tagged in Z, etc…). An interaction regarding published opinion about a certain product/place without all the lying and deceit u get from the normal advertising campaigns (depending on the blogger of course).

Now that’s one aspect of the geek world, but there’s that whole "physical" part of this world, when cyber-interaction becomes a friendship that expands your circle of acquaintances when some gatherings are organized where those passionate about this world get to meet and discuss things face to face. Hence building further that trust factor, giving credibility to the blogger by giving him support by other bloggers on that blogger network.

Companies are increasingly using bloggers to promote their products or ideas, because of that new social level of trust they have amongst their readers (u might wanna check those stats.). But what’s really amazing is that blogging becomes personal, and it’s rare to find people that betray the trust their “followers” have invested in them to promote something in which they are not fully convinced of (at least I hope). So i guess the future (or present depending on how you look at it) is reserved for what we can call the advanced form of "word-of-mouth" advertising.

Thanks goes to @NoisyThinking for giving me the idea for this post!

Sect Lie ON!

Years pass and the formula never changes, it is the same basic recipe with the combination of salt and pepper varying every couple of years or so...it s AUB elections I’m talkin about!
Well it s true that elections there are old news, but why are they significant these days??
It s because they clearly show how low Lebanese politicians can go! Yeah low by allowing the dominance of the fraudulent sectarian political system we have over STUDENTS' elections, which are supposed to be democratic, transparent and student representing! Where is the democracy, if students vote as they r "ordered" to vote, and candidates quit bcz "higher authorities" obliged them to? Where is the transparency if u r deceived by students claiming INDEPENDENCE while they are actually supported by a political party or another?
How ashamed i feel when i c flags for political parties waving on campus and cars outside the university with pictures of political leaders mounted on them and some aggressive sectarian songs being played. And how ironical it sounds when these students whom we r depending on for a new democratic and free political regime in Lebanon and who are supposed to be open for change, and more enlightened than their ancestors turn out to be just blind followers when it comes to politics.
I mean politicians do know that whether they get 10% or 100% of the USFC seats in the university, we will remain under the under developed countries, we will still have electricity and water issues and we will never get rid of the political conflicts we have among each other!!So can anyone explain what s the point behind all that ??!
Really, I dnt know if we can still hope for a change in the new generation and wish for less bias, less sectarianism and more impartiality since students elections show the opposite of that, students elections that reflect the nature and flow of any future governmental elections. The same thing happens in university, parliamentary, municipal, syndical elections (and the list goes on). No one talked about finding a solution to the inflation of the tuition fees, the nature of life at AUB nor any humanitarian aspect of the famous AUB experience...it's just about colors, who can scream louder, and wonderful slogans that are good for nothing other than being trashed (what usually happens after any electoral process).
And in case ur still wonderin about the title, it is an anagram of elections, or what I sadly consider a synonym for all kinds of elections in Lebanon!