Month: November 2008

Middle East Economic Slowdown To Boost Online Advertising

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The economic slowdown in the Middle East is expected to accelerate the growth of online advertising in the region, reported The National, as companies opt for less expensive web ads over pricey traditional media.

Advertising online costs fractions of what it costs to advertise via traditional media, and makes it easier to measure the impact of advertising campaigns. 

The market now accounts for up to 20 per cent of total ad spending in developed economies, and is the driver of virtually all growth in advertising spending.

On the other hand, spending on online advertising in the Middle East is estimated to be as low as US$50 million, translating into less than 1 per cent of total advertising spending, which is one of the main factors holding back the growth of startups and web businesses around the region.

Google, which has become a giant in the area of online advertising, and which has been pushing hard into the Arab market, say they are seeing faster growth in regional demand as advertisers look for ways to increase their reach while limiting their spending.
“In an economically cautious environment, people need to continue to grow their business, making people aware of their product while also cutting costs,” said Mohammed Gawdat, the managing director of Google for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Every technology adoption follows an ‘S’ curve: it starts slow, then grows exponentially, peaks and tails off,” he said. “The Middle East is definitely in the hockey-stick part of that curve right now. Our numbers show that it is growing at a tremendous pace.”

Mazen Halawi, the corporate sales manager of Ayna, an Arabic search engine, recently said that large corporate advertisers in the region planned to put a larger percentage of their advertising budget into online media next year, with some planning for almost 10 per cent of total ad spending to go to the internet, up from just 5 per cent last year.

Globally, total advertising spending is predicted to grow by approximately 5 per cent next year, driven almost entirely by the online market, which will grow by 15 to 20 per cent according to some estimates.

# Source: The National

Jawaker, Online Multiplayer Card Games For The Arab World

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JawakerJawaker is a new online multiplayer card games website that was launched recently for the Arab world, by the same team that is behind the online career network Akhtaboot.

The service is focused on delivering an entirely browser-based version of the most popular card games in the Arab world to an Arab and international audience.

The first game that is available through the service is ‘Trix‘ (a.k.a Trex), a card game that is very popular in many Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates. More card games like ‘Tarneeb‘ and other Arab favourites are planned to be added to the website in the future.

Players can join an already existing game, or from the game lobby, set up multiplayer games with their friends or with other visitors to the site. Unfinished games can be saved for completion later. 

Jawaker screenshot

Jawaker was one of the startups at DemoCamp Dubai 3, where Mohamed Haj Hasan and Fouad Mardini presented the service, and talked about their vision for it.

 

“The model is social interaction – the web is about networking, and cards is very ingrained in Arab culture,” said Mohamed Haj Hasan. “It’s a ‘build it and they will come’ approach. Once you get the users you can monetize it however you want, advertising, sponsorships, subscriptions or selling it to another company.”

They also plan to host tournaments and ranked competitions, where users pay to enter and can win prizes. Advertisers will be able to sponsor the backs of each card, an interesting adaptation of traditional online banner advertising. 

“When we couldn’t find a single website that would let us play online together, we just thought ‘lets make it’,” said Fouad Mardini. “This was something we wanted for ourselves, so it really has been a very fun project to work on.”

# Jawaker

Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation Signs MoU With Syrian Computer Society’s ICT Incubator

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Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum FoundationThe Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation of Dubai today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Computer Society’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Incubator.

Established to build the information society in Syria and nurture entrepreneurial ideas, the ICT Incubator currently provides a variety of services and training to projects that are commercially viable.

This announcement came during the fourteenth annual Information and Communication Technology exhibit which was held at Exhibition City in the Syrian capital Damascus. The MoU was signed by Sultan Lootah, Vice President of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, and Dr Rakan Razouk, Chairman of the ICT Incubator, Syrian Computer Society, in the presence of senior Foundation officials and key Syrian officials from the private sector, public sector and academia.

The agreement marks a new milestone in the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, which seeks to develop cooperative programmes to advance the creative talents of Arab entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities, as well as enhance research methodologies and information exchange.

The agreement mandates the creation of an extensive online network for regional incubators to encourage interaction, share experiences, discuss best-practices and exchange information between entrepreneurs and incubators throughout the Arab world.

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Mecca.com Releases More Features And New Design

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Mecca.comMecca.com, the Muslim community portal, that also integrates a social networking and user generated content platform, has just rolled out a new look, unveiling a new logo and a re-design for their whole website.

The new design is more colorful and looks more hip; it also feels better organized, optimizing the use of screen real estate.

This new design, comes just a short while after Mecca.com rolling out their new Videos section, where members can upload and share their videos with friends. As with other online video sharing services, friends have the ability to comment, rate, edit, and share videos with other users.

Mecca.com

Mecca.com had also enhanced their Photo sharing feature by improving the user interface, and adding the possibility to import photos from Facebook and Flickr.

Stardoll And Maktoob Bring Avatar Fashion To Arab Market

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Stardoll - MaktoobStardoll, the world’s largest online entertainment destination devoted to girls interested in fame, fashion and friends, has announced a partnership with Maktoob, the world’s largest Arabic online community, to launch an all-new Arabic-language version of Stardoll.

The partnership, which was announced at the Dubai World Game Expo, introduces the Stardoll community to Middle Eastern fashion enthusiasts exclusively on the Maktoob network at stardoll.maktoob.com. The site is now available in 13 countries in the region including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and United Arab Emirates.

Users who join Stardoll’s interactive global community can enjoy the full Stardoll experience; they can create customized ‘MeDoll’ avatars in their own likeness, be able to use Stardollars, the site’s virtual currency, to shop for virtual fashions in the Starplaza, and purchase virtual décor to furnish their personalized suites–all while navigating the site seamlessly in Arabic. Other features of the site include the recently launched Stardoll Magazine, member-created clubs and StarDesign–a virtual design studio.

“Maktoob is proud to partner with Stardoll to bring this one-of-a-kind fashion community for girls in Arabic,” Ahmed Nassef, Vice-President and General Manager of Maktoob, said in a statement. “Teen and Tween girls already make up a huge segment of our audience, currently mostly focused around our casual gaming channels. By partnering with an international leader like Stardoll, we are bringing a whole new level of fun and interactivity to this online-savvy audience.”

“In keeping with the unique cultural traditions of the Middle East, the Arabic-language version of Stardoll has been tailored to reflect the values and sensitivities of the region, while ensuring the confidentiality of user identities as per Maktoob standards,” Nassef added.

“Stardoll is thrilled to partner with the highly regarded Maktoob to bring our content to the Middle East,” said Mattias Miksche, CEO of Stardoll. “As home to more than 20 million users worldwide, Stardoll prides itself on its global reach. We’re happy to connect young fashionistas throughout the Middle East to our global community of girls all over the world who share similar interests.”

Stardoll has about 20 million users worldwide and 8 million unique visitors every month – 94% of whom are teen and tween girls. Most users are girls between the age of 10 to 17 and online safety is a huge consideration. Stardoll adds a layer of anonymity to all accounts. Users can never reveal personal information such as their real name or city of origin on their pages.

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

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The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)The Dip is a great little book by Seth Godin, that tackles a simple idea, which is simply that winners do quit, and quitters do win.

The book talks about how every project (or job, hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun, but then gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point—really hard, and not much fun at all.

At points like this you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

The book argues that what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.

This is a well written little book that should come in handy for everyone, and provide pointers on how to figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents; or if you should quit, so you can be number one at something else.

[Amazon: The Dip – Seth Godin]

How much money do you need for your startup? [Poll]

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A new poll has gone live on StartUpArabia, you can find it on the first sidebar on the right or vote straight from this post.

This poll is mainly aimed at Arab entrepreneurs who have already launched their startups and are looking for financing, or those who have yet to launch their projects and will be needing some funding.

The question is: How much money do you need for your startup?

The poll gives a number of ranges that are based on some of the feedback I’ve gotten from entrepreneurs I’ve met and talked with around the Arab world.

Feel free to further expand on your response in the comments section of this post.

Content Syndicate Wins Cool Start-ups Award At TiE-ISB Connect

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Content SyndicateAt the recent TiE-ISB Connect 2008 event jointly organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and the Indian School of Business (ISB), Dubai-based Content Syndicate (CS) emerged as the winner in the ‘Cool Start-ups‘ category.

The event took place at ISB Hyderabad from 5 to 7 November. Sponsors included Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Times of India Group Satyam, Totem Infrastructure and the Indu Group.

This is the third year for TiE-ISB Connect and it is also one of Asia’s largest investor-entrepreneurial events. Tie-ISB Connect 2008 featured over 700 delegates, 30 venture capital firms and various media companies.

The event attracted over 200 business plans of which 149 executive summaries were short-listed for the next round. 30 of the short-listed firms were invited for a final presentation before a judging panel comprising of senior partners and management from Accel Ventures, Google, Canaan Partners, Helion Ventures, Venture East, Clearstone, PA, Virtusa, IDG Ventures, Nexus Capital, Sun Microsystems, Ojas Ventures, Totem and Kuruvindam.

The criteria for selecting the winners were based on the strength of business model, innovation, the team, maturity of business, track record, financials, long-term plans and scalability.

Commenting on the award, Content Syndicate’s Founder & CEO, Maddy Reddy, said: “We are honoured to be a part of this prestigious event. It was a great experience and provided us with a strong validation of our business. I would like to extend my gratitude to our clients, team, investors and partners for playing a vital role in making this happen.”

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Dubai Hack Night – Knowledge Village, Dubai – Nov. 19th

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SpinBits, the web consultancy company that is also one of the organizers behind the DemoCamp Dubai events, are organizing a really cool new event titled Dubai Hack Night on Wednesday November 19th at 7PM, and are inviting all Web enthusiasts in Dubai to participate.

The goal of the event is to provide a place where people involved in the web industry in Dubai can get together in a more “geeky” environment. If you work as a Web developer, designer, or are just an enthusiast who wants to bounce some ideas around, you may enjoy attending.

The organizers of the event hope to provide a setting for people to:

  • Talk about the latest technology trends
  • Discuss ideas together in front of a computer
  • Meet interesting people
  • Eat pizza (SpinBits’ treat)

The event will take place at the SpinBits office located in the Knowledge Village area: Business Central Towers – Tower A, 18th floor, Office #02.

Attendance is free and open to everyone interested.

TechWadi Event: Communication For Technology Professionals – San Jose, California (Nov. 20th)

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TechWadi, the leading networking association for Arab American professionals in the Technology industry, will be hosting its next event on Thursday November 20th, 2008; starting at 6PM.

The event will kick off with an hour of networking among peers from the technology industry, and then move on to a discussion of the topic of ‘Communication for Technology Professionals‘ by an expert panel, led by Dr. Dina Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Broadcasting at San Francisco State University.

Communication is a cornerstone of all businesses and integral in the development of corporate and personal relationships. However, while some messages resonate well with audiences, others seem to miss their target completely.

The goal of the event is to pass on the expertise on how to:

  • Articulate messages that resonate with your target market
  • Encourage editors and reporters to talk about your business or invention
  • Effectively communicate with colleagues, higher management and clients
  • Overcome cultural and business obstacles to business success with companies based in the U.S. and in the MENA region

Registration is free for TechWadi paid members, and will cost $20 for non-paid members.

The event will be held in San Jose, California at:

Cisco, Building 1, Mt Rainier Conference Room
3850 Zanker Road
San Jose, California 95134

For more details, you can check out the TechWadi event page.