If you google places like Bourj Hammoud, Hamra, or Oyyoun el Samak you’ll most definitely come across Mich Café. Voted Lebanon’s most popular lifestyle blog at this year’s Social Media Awards, Micheline Hazou’s blog has managed to pull in readers as she bounces back between life in Lebanon, the Middle East and all the small moments in between. Her posts have taken readers from the falafel shops of Hamra to the lives of Armenian Genocide survivors to roadtrips up to Akkar. Having worked in news, she knows how to craft a story and elaborate on many cultural experiences and traditions in the region that we often forget and take for granted.
So what’s behind the title, why the café?
Once upon a time, social media was very simple. On Twitter for example, we greeted each other every morning, chatted a lot and invited each other for virtual coffees… at Mich Café. And a hashtag was created for the virtual coffee shop.
At first I was reluctant to start a blog. I didn’t know what I would write. I kept putting it off, telling myself I would start it when I found a good name.
Then my friend Pascal Assaf said what better name than Mich Café for the blog and pushed me to start it. Other friends joined in. Naeema Zarif designed the header and Abir Ghattas added the Arabic calligraphy.
Also, I have always wanted — and would still like — to own a café. Maybe one day there will be a real Mich Café.
A lot of your posts bring to life the spices and aromas of the Middle East. Are you proud to be from the region?
Of course. I am proud of being Arab.
Do you think your experience in news has helped shape your blog?
It has certainly taught me to write responsibly. To always check my facts. To link sources and always give credit where it is due.
Your posts can be very compelling, and often pull the reader into your journeys. Do you think having lived in multiple countries contributed to this?
Possibly. The most important thing for me is to write from the heart. I am very passionate about Mich Café. I think of what I could write about all the time, wherever I am and whatever I see.
Sometimes your posts are very personal, even touching on personal subjects like the loss of loved ones. Do you feel bloggers should open up more?
It depends on the blog and the blogger. Blogs are personal. They reflect the views of the blogger, unlike newspapers and magazines that reflect the view of the publisher.
Personally, I can only write about something I am interested in and feel strongly about.
You’re also quite popular on Twitter, do you think your Twitter presence helped promote the blog?
I don’t know about being popular, but definitely Twitter and Facebook help promote a blog. Without Social Media it is more difficult to reach a wide audience.
