BookTok: was the UAE first to catch on?

The first major change came in 1999, when the internet became a source of information and inspiration for book lovers. Booksellers had to expand their horizons and read people's blogs from different countries and cultures. Then, in 2005, Facebook took over the world and made information even more accessible and viral. Publishers and media outlets started to lose control of the narrative, and booksellers had to listen closely to their customers, not only in their own region but also internationally.

As a bookseller from the Antipodes I learned that trends typically started in the UK and US about one month before they reached my region. This gave me an advantage: I could watch these two markets and order stock ahead of time, sometimes even airfreighting from overseas because the local publishers were not ready.