Jordan celebrated social media day yesterday in some café in Jabal Amman, I was reluctant to go for many reasons, one of them is the high blood pressure condition I developed recently associated with the words "twitter, #jo, and #reformjo", not to mention that "Social Media" has became a trend, and I just don't like anything trendy, in the sense of everyone wants to do it for the sake of becoming one esteemed member of the herd. Nevertheless, when I found coworkers heading to Rainbow St. anyway, and found out that some friends are attending and one of them is speaking (@alidahmash), I thought why not, I'll go see my friends and hopefully meet some of the few interesting people in the Jordanian blog and twit spheres. But let's discuss something 1st shall we?
Social Media as far as I'm concerned, is by definition, social, not it's not called Private media, or vip media, or limited media, or elite media, it's social medial no? So my 1st question is: why on Earth did you choose a limited-seating place to celebrate at? And why didn't you even mention it in your facebook event and tweets, why didn't you make sure everyone who was invited (personally) was allowed in (even if arrived late?), and why isn't "I'm attending" on a facebook event page enough to REALLY RSVP a social media event? I really enjoyed waiting for 45 minutes to get in, the stories and drama at the door was the best thing that event had to offer, to me.
Now to the core of my problem with all that, it's the bullshit and pretentiousness of the social media scene in Jordan which is getting worse and worse by day. It's a matter of personal taste and convictions, but I just dislike such settings with big tables and big chairs and plates of mini burgers and one-spoon-of-hummos-mini-sandwiches served, add to it the limited seating and the feeling you get from everyone that they're the most important person in the world because they got a Tarboosh with a name tag on it starts with "@". I really wish to understand why are people so distant when they're only 5 feet away from you, and I don't wish for multiple copies of @Alichubby sweetness, one is enough for all of us :D (no pun intended Ali :D) but get down to Earth Jordan tweeps, really! You didn't reinvent the wheel, you're just using the platform, and speaking of which, if you don't have anything valuable to say, please keep to yourself! Just retweet or something, you don't have to add everytime! The decrease in substance in content streamed through twitter in the last 3-4 months in Jordan is depressing. Everyone goes to every tweetup now, because it's cool, tweetups are getting ridiculous when you think about it, starting with the locations (it has to be super duper uber cool and pretentious) to the subjects discussed (nothing meaningful, kinda matches the subjects of 80% of the tweets you read everyday!).
Anyway, I just wanna say, being on twitter or having a blog changes nothing about you, if you're cool then your tweets and your blogposts will be cool, if you're intelligent it'll show and if you're not it'll also show. So take it easy and 5effo 3alaina shway.
PS: A message to people I like and respect who I got to know online, like Roba Assi, Foad Jeryes, Ali Dahmash, Ammar Ibrahim etc… , please choose the platforms and events on which you'll be speaking carefully and don't over do it, and if you insist, think of new jokes to start with ;) don't get sucked into somewhere not cool.
Happy social bullshit day.
Happy social bullshit day.
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