The Amman Twestival was a huge success. It was certainly a learning experience for me and was very impressed by the turnout. The organizers, sponsors, speaker panel and attendees all contributed to making it enlightening event for everyone. Mohammad Khawaja did a great job at moderating the discussion effectively. We saw discussions ranging from the definition of Twitter and social media to how they have impacted entrepreneurship in Jordan and the Arab world.

Flickr Photo Set.

The speaker panel at the Amman Twestival was composed of the following reputable and charismatic personalities of the Jordanian social media field: Razan Khatib, Zeid Nasser, Laith Al Qasem, Laith Zreikat.

Here are some of my favorite quotes (many of them paraphrased & translated) that were shared at the Amman Twestival earlier this evening:

• Laith Al Qasem: Technology overcomes the barrier of entry for entrepreneurship.
• Majd Shweikeh: [Social Media] is not a threat [to companies], it is complementary to the business. Social media is adding value to the brand.
• Razan Khatib: Corporations are slow in adopting social media – it is the NGOs that are most taking advantage of this platform.
• Zeid Nasser: There is a huge audience we’re not tapping into by not using regional social networking websites…As7ab Maktoob, Watwet, Jeeran, etc…
• Zeid Nasser: The big challenge facing everybody is how to monetize social media content.
• Laith Zreikat: Power of twitter is out there, everybody is listening – take advantage of it. We need to gradually change people and influence corporations to use social media for the benefit of society.
• Razan Khatib: You are the tool for social media, Twitter is just an app for you to grow and influence your society.
• Zeid Nasser: Jordanians share their opinions as Arabs and in Arabic therefore leading the field in the Arab world.
• Laith Al-Qasem: We [Arabs] have a culture that tends to lean toward content that we can see and hear as opposed to content that we read.
• Laith Zreikat: You’ll be surprised to know that not many people Tweeting in the Arab world are influenced by their condition/situation of the region…a large portion are still Tweeting about their sick grandmothers, cats, etc…

I believe I can speak on behalf of everyone by saying that the debate regarding social media the corporate domain in Jordan was a great way of bringing light to the issue in a transparent and honest manner. It was very encouraging to see tweeps from Aramex and Orange Jo conversing how their companies are influenced by and taking advantage of social media.

Finally, a nice touch was added at the end by mingling over coffee and katayef! Congratulations to everyone who made this event possible. Just from looking at the tweets on #AmmanTwestival, I know everybody was just as impressed and proud of today’s success.

What are some of your most memorable quotes, ideas, and thoughts from the Amman Twestival?