Tag: News

Al Jazeera Goes Mobile In Both English And Arabic

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Al JazeeraAl Jazeera today announced the beta launch of its Arabic and English Mobile websites.  The websites will work on any mobile handset that has web browsing capabilities.  

Users can access the websites through their mobile phones and devices at the following addresses: for English news http://m.aljazeera.net and for Arabic news http://ma.aljazeera.net.

The mobile websites will provide Al Jazeera headline news, business reports, sports coverage and more.

This is yet another push by Al Jazeera to make their content more accessible and to get it out there through all existing channels, in order to broaden their reach and pass the information to as many people around the world as possible.

This move is also part of the ongoing Al Jazeera New Media initiative, which includes delivering video and other content over interactive platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes as well as other popular services.

Just a few days ago, Al Jazeera launched their Creative Commons Repository for video footage of ongoing events around the world, and only days earlier a service mapping the war on Gaza.

For more details about Al Jazeera’s other new media projects, you can check Al Jazeera Labs.

Al Jazeera Launches First Creative Commons Video Footage Repository

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Last night, Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Network launched the world’s first online repository of broadcast quality video footage released under the ‘Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution’ license. Select Al Jazeera video footage – at this time footage of the War on Gaza – will be available for free to be downloaded, shared, remixed, subtitled and eventually rebroadcasted by users and TV stations across the world with acknowledgement to Al Jazeera.

The repository is available online at http://cc.aljazeera.net, and through it Al Jazeera will release its exclusive Arabic and English coverage produced by the Network’s correspondents and crews in the Gaza Strip, that should make it a key resource for anyone producing content on the current situation especially with the scarcity of news footage available.

This step makes Al Jazeera the first news organization to release its footage under the ‘Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution’ license which allows for commercial and non-commercial use.

Mohamed Nanabhay who headed New Media at Al Jazeera and launched the project stated, “As one of the only international broadcasters in Gaza, our coverage of the war has been unsurpassed. The launch of Al Jazeera’s Creative Commons Repository means that our Gaza footage will be made available under the most permissive Creative Commons license (CC-BY). With the flexibility of the license we expect to introduce our outstanding coverage to an even wider audience across the world. This means that news outlets, filmmakers and bloggers will be able to easily share, remix and reuse our footage.”

Al Jazeera Creative Commons Repository

Lawrence Lessig, the founder of the Creative Commons organization and Professor of Law at Stanford University, stated, “Al Jazeera is teaching an important lesson about how free speech gets built and supported. By providing a free resource for the world, the network is encouraging wider debate, and a richer understanding”.

Joichi Ito, CEO of Creative Commons and a world renowned Web 2.0 entrepreneur, added, “Video news footage is an essential part of modern journalism. Providing material under a Creative Commons license to allow commercial and amateur use is an enormous contribution to the global dialog around important events. Al Jazeera has set the example and the standard that we hope others will follow”.

Wikeez, A New Social Entertainment Platform

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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