Online Content Bottlenecks in Arabia are loosening up

Online Content Bottlenecks are loosening up

Looks like all are meeting at the content crossroads. Telecoms/ISPs providing higher bandwidth & speed, Media/Entertainment companies bringing the content online, and we users getting ready to use all that. I skipped Advertisers, let’s give’em a break.

The amount of direct online content piracy on Arabic websites could really shock you out if you weren’t the type that listens to Arabic music. You can download, stream, and do whatever you want with full albums of the latest titles for free, not on some obfuscated or hidden websites, torrent, or file-hosting, no, on proud flashing home pages. With all that around for years(showing the amount of interest) the only conclusion often heard was “Arabs like to get Music for Free when it’s digital” such a passive thing to say.

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Du Launches Full Track ‘Music on Demand’ Service In The UAE

duDu, the integrated telecom operator in the UAE, just announced the availability of Music on Demand, an online music service which allows du customers to download full track music content.

The initial launch of Music on Demand features over 2000 songs from Rotana’s leading Arabic artists, such as Husain Al Jassmi, Amr Diab, Elissa, Najwa Karam, Shireen and many more, made available for du customers to download on their mobile handsets or personal computers. All du customers who register for Music on Demand will receive free full track music downloads worth AED18.

du plan to grow their full track music library soon, to allow customers to download music from other genres and regions of the world through partnering with leading content providers.

Rotana, the leading provider of Arabic entertainment content in the region, signed an exclusive agreement with du in 2008 to offer all content from its library to du’s customers in the UAE. For as little as AED 6, du customers can purchase full music tracks via 3 new exciting channels – a web portal, a Mobile client, or a PC application. Once songs are purchased, customers can download the same song on any of these 3 channels mentioned above, making this an industry leading “Music on Demand” offering.

All the customer needs to do is to register at the website to get access to the service and start downloading music, streaming audio and video from Rotana channels and have access to the latest buzz and gossip in the Arabic entertainment world.

3alaRasi, A Portal For Comedy Entertainment Content

3alarasi3alaRasi is a Jordanian entertainment portal that features a mix of funny cartoons, caricatures, articles, videos, photos and audio.

The portal’s content comes both from in-house productions, as well as content generated and submitted by the site’s users.

The site integrates all the regular sharing and social networking features that allow users to create their profiles, connect with their friends, and share all supported kinds of content with them.

In addition to all the kinds of content mentioned above, users can also upload and share games in Flash and Shockwave format.

The cartoons and animations currently produced by the 3alaRasi team are currently inspired by the Jordanian (Awad Abu Shifa, Jaber Kawanes, 7awa)  and Palestinian (Falla7) society and culture, but there are plans to expand and add Egyptian and Gulf inspired characters and content soon.

The site’s interface is currently in English only, although an Arabic version should be expected soon.

3alarasi

3alaRasi also distribute their content through a number of mobile channels in Jordan and the GCC, and are looking to expand to other countries in the region.

Other distribution channels have been through Jordanian radio station Mazaj FM airing Audio clips from 3alaRasi, as well as Nourmina TV which aired 3alaRasi cartoon episodes in Ramadan. A new deal with Jordanian daily Addustour, will also see a daily cartoon from 3alaRasi cartoonist Omar Abdallat published in the newspaper.

3alaRasi was launched by ERUM Creative Productions L.L.C, which was founded by Amer M. AbuLaila, Omar Abdallat, Rajai Qawas, and Fahd Oweidat.

3alaRasi

Wikeez, A New Social Entertainment Platform

WikeezWikeez, is a new Lebanon-based startup, focusing on user generated content around entertainment topics, which was founded by Kuv Capital with a seed investment of US$250,000.

Wikeez aims to allow people to publish and exchange on their favorite subjects centered on entertainment topics (tv shows, movies, celebrities, music and sports).

Each topic is fragmented into 3 tiers:

  • Top Stories: Information on the subject; latest news, Bio,…
  • Blog Stories: content produced by Wikeez members
  • Micro Stories: reactions shared by Wikeez members

Wikeez will also enable people to create their own blogs, fan clubs, get the latest news centered on their passions, as well as socialize with other fans.

Wikeez

The site is still in alpha, with a beta version coming pretty soon.

The company is currently looking to recruit in Lebanon; You can check out their open job vacancies on the StartUpArabia Job Board.

Update: Wikeez is offering invites to their alpha version to all StartUpArabia readers; if you’re interested, just send an email to: invite@wikeez.com.

Wikeez

Yooyaland – Education & Entertainment For Arab Children

YooyalandYooyaland is a Palestinian startup that aims to fill the need for creative educational resources for 3-9 year old children in the Arab world; providing resources that blend technology with an enlightening learning process, and utilize Internet as a medium to deliver across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the rest of the world.

Its exclusive, original content is carefully created to stimulate the children and challenge their intellect; provide teachers with entertaining, educational material; and transform the home educational cycle by giving parents an ever growing library of resources ranging from Yooyaland’s interactive portal to worksheets, toys and other products.

Yooyaland delivers a rich variety of age-appropriate activities to each user, providing parents with the possibility to change the level of difficulty to each activity, according to their child’s pace.

It also focuses on the educational skills that are most important to the child’s development, including basic language skills, number recognition and mathematical thinking, critical thinking, spatial reasoning and logic.

The animations are based on flash technology and demonstrate effective use of e-learning methods such as dividing the content into few learning steps, examining the knowledge gained in each step, and interacting with the child to keep him/her playing online.

To get access to all the lessons and contents of Yooyaland, subscribers have to charge their accounts using one of the supported payment methods: Visa, CashU, OneCard and Yooya Prepaid Cards.

Yooyaland

Alia Abu Shmeiss submitted the Yooyaland project to PICTI (Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator) back in 2005, where it was then incubated for a period of 18 months, through which it went from idea to reality with support and consulting from PICTI.

PICTI then linked Yooyaland with Hadara, a member of Paltel Group, which launched it to the private sector, making Yooyaland the first case of a merger and acquisition from the incubator in Palestine culminating in transfer of equity shares in exchange of US$450,000 and an additional US$1Million of investment in the company.

Yooyaland