Last weekend was extra special for one special lesson – it taught me that, “knowledge is gained not for us to keep for ourselves but to share with other since nature has its way to refill us with new ones to keep the flow going”.
First, I had the session for new and aspiring bloggers, sharing to them some basic tips and procedures which I also learned during the last 17 months of doing it. It was a good experience with different nationalities especially giving them answers which weren’t readily available for me back then.
The “MEET, GREET and LEARN EVENT” was an initiative by @bestlifeqatar to provide a venue for knowledge sharing as well as platform for collaborations with fellow bloggers and social media influencers in Qatar. Still on its formative stage, the first session was already an indication of a real demand for more trainings and seminars in the future.
I headed off to Al Riwaq Exhibition Hall of MIA immediately after to attend the one of the biggest gathering of social media influencers and content creators in Qatar – QATAR SOCIAL.
It was organized by Mr. Q and @iloveqatar aimed to put the social back in social media and has gathered representatives of local communities and media outlets under one roof to discussed some pressing issues and the role of social media. Official hashtags #QatarSocial was the second trending topic in Qatar that night along with other event hashtags including #QatarSpeaksOut.
It was particularly amazing to hear out questions and answers which were almost similar to what was discussed during our Meet, Greet and Learn session. It was like an echo… reaffirming our uniform stand on the need for constant improvement of our blog content instead of simply looking for ways to monetize our blogs, and also by providing opportunities for new ones.
The night saw a full packed program including panel discussions; preview of the Qatar-made sci-fi television series ‘Medinah’; introduction of several startup businesses by young Qatari businessmen; raffle draw from big-time sponsors; and networking time where participants had a chance to socialize with each other, write a message on the signature board and take photos at the booth.
It was really impressive that such a massive event was organized for social media people in Qatar. Last 2016, Zomato organized a bloggers conference which gave us, aspiring bloggers, an “informal” training on how to go about and position our brand as content creators. This year’s #QatarSocial event further strengthened our role in the society, especially during the height of the ongoing crisis in the GCC area.
“Now more than ever, we need to unite as a community and use our collective voice through the power of social media to uplift and remind one another that we are stronger together.” – Khalifa Saleh Al Haroon/Mr Q of ILQ – iloveqatar.net (excerpt from Gulf Times 22.07.2017 issue)
