Pearl as a Guest Speaker at SkillPills

Last Wednesday, I had the chance to talk about my food blogging 6 years experience on Skillpills to a group of people who want to set up a new blog!

SkillPills is a series of workshop, taking place in Altcity in Hamra /Beirut,  where one can learn a new skill in three hours or less!

Last week's SkillPill Event : How to Set Up a BLOG for your business:

The workshop started with  Ziad Alameh, a techpreneur with a love for tech startups. CTO and Co-founder of Pikaside ,  x-Zoomaalian and a computer scientist.

Ziad gave the first the "technical part" of setting up a blog and preparing the template:
His talk mainly covered:

• Setting up a blog from zero
• Customizing the blog to your business
• Putting it online
• Analytics: number of visitors and viewers
• How to draw more traffic to your blog
  

Five years of Blogging on Pearl's Powder!

On this day exactly November 29, 2008, I started my official blogging!
My story of blogging started because I simply wanted to share my thoughts, and sprinkle these powder of thoughts to the world around me. (Read more About my story of blogging)

While social media back in 2008 was still taking its baby steps especially in our region (MENA), I was trying all efforts to reach as much as I can in terms of readership and promotion..

Yes, I do admit that perhaps my number of frequent readers was and still a little number. But these readers, friends, and online supports, are the ones who supported me all through my 5 years blogging experience, they are the ones who "commented, shared, retweeted, liked" my posts. And for this number, I owe all my humble reach and perhaps success.

Featured in " Culinary Blogosphere of Lebanon"

In  its October Issue, Cloud961 interviewed 3 bloggers from the culinary blogosphere in Lebanon on why  they started a food blog, how blogging about food can make an impact, and everything in between. The bloggers were Strawberryblu ( Cynthia Bu Jawdeh), No Garlic No Onion (Anthony Rahayel), and Pearl's Powder ( Loulwa Kalache).. Yep that's me!

Read full interview here

Pearl's Powder Turns 4!

Happy Birthday to my Blog! 

Happy Pearl's Powder Day! 

Pearl's Powder turns 4 now!

I admit I promised that i'd do major graphical design changes to the blog and logo, and I haven't been loyal to this promise. I am putting it on hold.
Time moves so fast indeed!
I cant believe that I started this blog when I was in USA, to write about my Ithaca, NY experience. And then I wrote about the normal things : love, science, famine,peace, war, and music...

Later in 2010,  I  focused my blog mainly on food.
Pearl's Powder was not just  a recipe sharing blog but it was more about experimenting and experiencing food in a different perspective combining memory, psychology(sensory) , and science!

It was a blog to unveil the hottest trends and events in the food and beverage industry, the latest scientific discoveries in the field of food science and technology, as well to untangle all the myths that people think about food , safety, nutrition and eating. 

When people ask me why Pearl's Powder,  I tell them I want to create a culture that appreciates and values food, not just as a necessity but also as a blessing we often disregard and take for granted.
" Appreciate, Moderate, Eat with love. Then thank God and the cook" is my mantra.

Now back to the cliche speech I want to share :P
" Thanks for all my friends, family, fellow bloggers, social media experts, and visitors of this blog for reading, commenting, sharing about Pearl's Powder.  And believe me I really want your opinion to change. Change is what makes us move on and improve!

I want to thank the F&B syndicate and industry in Lebanon for having inviting me for  food events, conferences, restaurants...etc and for trusting me in being part of their valuable events!"
And if there is only one great advise that I would give for all the newbie bloggers out there : "Never Postpone a Blogpost!" Like never! Seriously. Dont put it drafts. Post it.

Even if it werent perfected, didn't have the improved quality pictures, or the better resources to back your ideas up, just write and post it.

If you prepared it, hesitated and kept it in draft, like I do most of the times, it will stay in drafts FOREVER! I have 30 posts in draft!! :S
Now back to celebrating my blog's birthday!
Gifts and Cakes are welcome.
You can also like my Facebook Page or just comment down below!
Or you can welcome my new 6 month old baby blog  ( spirituality) : The Guarded Pearl !

Happy Pearl's Powder Day! 

Statistics on Pearl's Powder:
Number of Unique Visitors: 97,000
Number of Posts: 173
Top Visited Post: Red Velvet Cake Dilemma (3000)
Top Country: USA ( 32,000)

Social Media Changing Lives Conference

Social Media Changing Lives

Check out the rest of the posters!

After the success of “Blogging Lebanon” last December, Online Collaborative at the American University of Beirut proudly announces its annual conference for this year “Social Media Changing Lives”.

There is no doubt that social media is expanding drastically in the world, and especially in the Middle East, yet this change is not only related to technology and the internet. Social Media is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives. The aim of this conference is to discuss how social media is changing fields such as education, culture, business, media and journalism, music and art, NGOs, politics, religion, human rights, science, the environment and the personal lives of everyone who is using them.

This conference will be taking place on December 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM at Issam Fares Hall at the American University of Beirut.

Check the schedule and speakers list below and don't forget to join our event on Facebook.

The First Annual Lebanese Bloggers Convention at AUB

" In coordination with Outlook, AUB's official newspaper, Mind Soup is hosting the first Lebanese Bloggers Convention at AUB on Wednesday May 19th, 2010 at 5:00 PM in AUB West Hall Auditorium A.

During the convention/workshop, Lebanese guest bloggers will introduce the world of blogging to students and encourage them to express their ideas and opinions using personal blogs.

Also on the agenda is discussing the impact of blogging on the freedom of speech in Lebanon and the effect of blogging on the Lebanese society and culture.

Bloggers from all over Lebanon will be sharing their experiences with each other and the audience. We are expecting a variety of bloggers to attend. These include journalists, comic-artists, poets, and students who write in both Arabic and English language.

Everyone is welcome to attend, so invite your friends (even if they are not bloggers). If you are a non-AUB student and would like to attend, please send an email to moudz.mindsoup@gmail.com so that your access to AUB's closed campus can be facilitated!

If you are a blogger and would like to be featured in this convention, please fill in this form: http://www.jotform.com/form/1200341481 after reading the rules below.

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Rules for applying (as guest speaker):
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- You should be a Lebanese blogger or an Arab blogger operating in Lebanon and can attend the blogger convention in AUB (Beirut)
- You should be 18 years of age or older.
- You should own a self-operated blog.
- Your blog should be at least 6-month old (updated on a weekly basis) or 1 year old (updated on a monthly basis).
- The convention is probably going to be in the English language, so you should understand English. However, you can speak in Arabic for your part if you like.