being social

totally irrelevant photograph

The power of social media and its prevalence in our lives today scares me and soothes me all in one go. I am the generation that has grown up on Facebook, has lived out moments in 150 characters or less on Twitter and has Instagrammed every day life, holidays and mealtimes. I am the generation that thinks it's normal to share status updates regularly and create boards on Pinterest for houses we don't even own yet.

I remember the first computer we got. Me and my brother nagged my dad for so long until he cracked and when the computer came home it was the most excited day of my 11 year old life. Looking back I don't even know how we fit it on the tiny desk in the dinning room it was so chunky; none of those flat screens back then. 

And now laptops, phones and social media are part of my everyday life. I wake up and check my emails, check any whatsapp messages that came in the night (the boyfriend, friends and family are all in different time zones) and usually have a morning snoop at facebook before I leave the house. 

I have two views on the whole social media phenomenon. Part of me feels like our generation has got way too caught up with sharing our lives' we no longer live in the moments but instead want to capture them to share around the world. But being an expat, I am also so grateful that the world wide web allows me to share my life in another country with my family and friends back home in London. I can keep in touch with friends around the world and have a sense of instant contact.

And then you have to factor in the power of social media in business. I use social media for my blog. I use social media at work to connect with clients and promote the company I work for. Social media has changed the way people live life and how people do business. And one company doing more than the rest is ASOS. I stumbled across a great article (via Linkedin by the way) about social media being at the core of their operations. Go check it out here. 

let's talk about the 1st October

Today is Cyprus Independence Day - the day that Cyprus became independent from the British in 1960. And a day that I should maybe not shout about being a Brit living in Cyprus. A public holiday here, the day is usually marked with a huge military parade, including military vehicles and aircraft, that  happens to go right past my apartment. 

source

Except this year, it was deemed not financially feasible (and quite rightly) to put on such a show.

Cyprus is in the grips of recession and to blow a whole lot of state money on such a celebration would have been totally ridiculous to the outside world. There are many things I find easy to comment about when it comes to Cyprus; I know every country has it's flaws and I am in no position to judge considering this is not "my country". But it is my home. I pay my contributions like any other resident. And as such sometimes I can't help but voice my opinions. 

But instead of going on a rant today, I would direct you to a pretty wonderful article published today by the Cyprus Mail. The writing captures very honestly the way Cyprus has worked for the last 53 years of it's independence. 

"After half a century, a ruling elite of corrupt politicians, greedy trade unionists, dishonest businessmen and self-serving lawyers has sucked the state dry...This, regrettably, is what the Cyprus Republic has been about in its 53-year history. We cannot even boast that after 53 years, we built a State in which there is rule of law, let alone equality before the law."

This article paints a rather bad picture of the island, but ask many people and they would agree with the fundamental truths behind the writing. 

Maybe the next years will see some radical reforms and allow the island to really embrace it's independence. Only time will tell.