I was honored to be part of Twitter’s panel discussion on the second day of the Global Women’s Forum with Iman Ben Chaibah, Editor in Chief for Sail Magazine and Fida Chaaban, Editor-in-Chief, Entrepreneur Middle East ..
I strongly believe that Twitter has developed into a powerful platform for showcasing the talents and achievements of Arab women for a wider international audience and as a big fan of Twitter I salute them for all what they are doing to keeping Twitter as powerful as it is.
Here is what I highlighted in the panel.
Question: Describe journey on Twitter
Answer: My journey on twitter started back on 12 Jan. 2o09 when I was sitting in my cubicle sipping my coffee. I literally stumbled on a website called “twitter.com” and was greeted by a question “What are you doing” Twitter was my window to light.
Question: Is Twitter catering to a conservative society in the Arab World?
Answer: Society has changed from 2009. There was no constraint back then. It isn’t a society thing then, it was our families accepting or not. I was afraid of what my family would say.
Question: What holds women back on making inroads on Twitter
Answer: What holds a woman back is herself. Don’t make excuses. You are not taking steps then you are making excuses. I reply to everyone. Don’t know if this healthy. Everyone who speaks to you deserves your reply.
Question: How do you advocate change on Twitter?
Answer: Just be yourself. I tweet what’s in my head, what I would say in public. You will amazed by the amount of engagement.
Question: How can people pave the way?
Answer: Be yourself, don’t be afraid to tweet. Don’t be afraid to expose yourself. Don’t think of followers, retweets. Just engage. Influencer annoys me. Stop looking for them. Look for advocates.
Check out the live tweets …
“I would not be where I am without Twitter today” @HebaAlSamt @Womens_Forum #PositionOfStrength panel at #GWFDubai pic.twitter.com/572F9bU6fV
— Twitter Ads MENA (@TwitterAdsMENA) February 24, 2016
“What stops a woman from free expression on Twitter is herself” @HebaAlSamt
— M. (@Myr_Naj) February 24, 2016
Don’t be afraid to Tweet! Twitter gives opportunity to reach anyone! Says @HebaAlSamt #PositionOfStrength #GWFDubai pic.twitter.com/ZxYbITqgZf
— Kira O’Connor (@KiraOConnor) February 24, 2016
“We shouldn’t look for influencers we should look for advocates” 🙌🏼 wise words by @HebaAlSamt 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— Hessa Banafsaj (@HessaAlBanafsaj) February 24, 2016
A packed inspiring #PositionOfStrength panel at #GWFDubai with @kindaibrahim @ImanBenChaibah @fida @HebaAlSamt pic.twitter.com/myQBPUPuYi
— Twitter Ads MENA (@TwitterAdsMENA) February 24, 2016