Q&A with The Big Start
The startup scene in Dubai is picking up, yet if you speak to anyone trying to set something up you’ll hear them complain about a major issue: securing funds and VC’s in the MENA region. In a recent interview with Dr. Adel Youssef of Intafeen.com he mentioned “VC’s in the MENA region are not real VC’s, they don’t want to take risks”. Now I’ve heard that way to often however no one really wanted... Read More
Our first infograph: Social Media for brands in the #MENA
Last month we wrote about a report that was prepared by OMG on use of social media in the UAE and KSA. So we decided to make into an infograph. We thought everybody’s doing one, why not us! This is well overdue, I remember Amer Massimi urging us to do infographs almost a year ago, it sure took us sometime but we’ve finally made it happen along with the help of Bayanat. Checkout their website they’ve done some pretty cool infographs... Read More
White paper: Social Media in #KSA and the #UAE
A white paper conducted by Omnicom Media Group (OMG) showcases social media habits of users in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The whitepaper has some very interesting insights as to the differences in how users from the different countries use and view social networks. The results were collected after conducting face to face interviews with 600 online users per country all from different nationalities and aged between 15 – 60. To view more, download... Read More
Make Business Hub an urban cafe for entrepreneurs
For those of you who are following us on Facebook and Twitter you probably saw the images we’ve uploaded about MAKE a couple of weeks ago. Its a very nice place to work out from it has a very energetic and fun vibe, you will definitely meet a lot of interesting people there working on their projects and conducting meetings. MAKE is founded and managed by Leith Mathews a very busy entrepreneur. If you’ve visited MAKE you must’ve ran... Read More
Q&A with Omar Kassim, JadoPado’s Founder
Last week I met with Omar Kassim, founder of JadoPado an ecommerce website based in Dubai and described as the UAE’s best kept shopping secret. I could tell from talking with Omar that he loved what he was doing and felt very passionate about it, he’s not just another guy with an idea but truly believes that the region is lacking quality online shops that can serve people better, stating that “I can’t believe there still isn’t... Read More
Rumor: Joob.com shutdown?
We got wind of some chatter that Joob is shutting down, the reasons are still unclear but it seems they’re financial. Joob, a company owned by the Jabbar Internet Group launched in April 2011 in the UAE and has been in Beta ever since. For those of you who haven’t heard of Joob (which is maybe why they’re shutting down in the first place) its described on the Jabbar website as: “Joob.com is an innovative online travel resource,... Read More
CareZone: The #MENA’s first mobile platform with a heart
A new application from Dubai is looking to give consumers a way to feel good about their purchases. The application which is developed by the Dubai based Innoventa, a leading provider of integrated solutions in management and marketing focusing mainly on the internet and mobile spaces, was recently launched and is a great and simple idea for people to shop, get rewards and help a cause. CareZone has a neat design and is easy to use. It is basically... Read More
Exclusive 20% Discount on Total Marketing Summit 2011 For All Interactive ME readers
Mark your calendar for The Total Marketing Summit 2011, this conference will be held in The Address Dubai Mall in Dubai, UAE between the 20 – 23 November. The summit which addresses marketing strategies that meet the growing needs of the increasingly integrated marketing responsibilities that marketers face today. The list of speakers at the summit is impressive with speakers from companies including: Coca Cola, EMI Group, Ducab, Red Bull,... Read More
Grosper: A new group buying website in the #UAE with a twist
Last week I met with a group of very ambitious young guys in Dubai who are working on a independently funded startup called Grosper. I know what you’re thinking why would users choose Grosper over any of the existing websites such as gonabit, cobone, etc… I asked the Co-founder of the one month old startup the same question and he had a good answer “Grosper is a group buying website that has a different twist to it. It doesn’t... Read More
Price Finder: A new way to shop for insurance in the #UAE
Back in April we covered Democamp Dubai and one of the demos that caught my attention was Pricefinder which is a comprehensive insurance comparison website. Initially the demo displayed was functional however the design was still not there. That’s not the issue anymore, they have completely revamped the design and now are in the final stages of testing and should go live to the public within a week or two. I had a chance to meet with one of... Read More
Confirmed: Gonabit acquired by Livingsocial?
Rumor has it that Living social, the international brand and social buying company headquartered in Washington, D.C. has finalized a deal with Gonabit, the oldest group buying website in the Middle East backed by Bayt.com. The deal is still unconfirmed, but if what I heard is true than Gonabit looks to be selling somewhere between 40 – 60% stake in the company for a price tag in the region of USD$15 – 20 Million. Not bad for a company... Read More
Reminder for the Government Social Media Conference Tomorrow
With all the talk about the second release of the Arab Social Media report prepared by the Dubai School of Government to be released soon, it is likely that we will get more information and numbers tomorrow. If you haven’t registered yet you can do so on the Government Social Media Conference registration page, but hurry because the event will be carried out tomorrow June 7 till the 8th in Al Murooj Rotana, Dubai. Read More
The Arab Social Media Report: A Report from the Dubai School of Government.
This week, I was at the Marcus Evans Middle East Social Media and Marketing Event as part of team InteractiveMe.com. The event was enjoyable, the speakers were well-informed and the attendees were wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Stay tuned to the site, as we’ll be posting highlights, video and commentary on the use of Social Media as a tool for Brand Awareness and marketing. As a Digital Consultant, one of my jobs is to provide... Read More
1 on 1 with Mishaal AlGergawi UAE’s Social Media Expert (Part 2 of 2):
This article is a continuation of the discussion held here in part 1 With Mishaal AlGergawi, and is sponsored by the Government Social Media Conference (@govsmc) taking place in Dubai on June 7th – 8th. After discussing how Mishaal felt about his personal experiences with Twitter we then moved on to discuss the state of Social Media in the region and especially in the government sector. I asked him whether if he thought social media was on the... Read More
15% discount on Econsultancy training courses in #Dubai
It’s been busy here in Dubai, just yesterday we were covering a social media conference and after talking to almost everybody at the conference I must admit only a small number of people found it beneficial but I can say there was a bigger number still not convinced and were still looking for more help with social media (we will cover that in a later article) but if you plan or would like some of your friends (Ahem… clients) to receive... Read More
The Best Online Stores in the UAE
I spend hours online everyday testing the boundaries of the internet, making millions of conscious and unconscious impressions. Each time I find an unknown digital gem, the nerdy kid inside me giggles as I share it with my social network. It’s like finding little presents – uncovering precious needles in an ever-expanding haystack. I realize that most people do not share my geeky joy (my clients definitely do not), so to them I often... Read More
The rise of Mobile in the MENA
Last week we posted an article about some interesting information released by Effective Measure regarding mobile internet consumption in the MENA region. Apparently brands in the region have noticed this trend and have started reacting to this consumer need by producing either mobile apps or mobile websites to connect with users on the go. The latest company to do so is Dubizzle, they have launched their mobile website dubai.dubizzle.com/m earlier... Read More
VoilaDubai: A new discovery & sharing engine in Dubai
Last week I came across a new startup from Dubai, called VoilaDubai, it was a neat looking website and had some interesting content but you could tell that it was either recently launched or not well managed. So I decided to get in touch with them to see what was going on and it turns out that the site had just recently launched, and I’d say that the website is managed pretty well just from the level of responsiveness I got from Farah... Read More
Dont forget the Middle East Social Media Marketing Conference on May 29
It’s almost here the Middle East Social Media Marketing Conference organized by marcusevans will be held next Sunday 29 – 30 May at the Hyatt Regency Dubai Hotel, Dubai, UAE. We have already talked to two of the experts that will be present at the conference, but there will be many more who will share their knowledge and provide a local insight. Take a look at the list below: Ibrahim Elbadawi, Strategic Planning Specialist – Emirates... Read More
Meet the Geek: Osama Romoh
We’ve had the pleasure of meeting Osama Romoh (@osamaromoh), who is a prominent Jordanian Blogger at osamaa.com with over 1,800+ Followers on twitter and with more than 13,900K likes on his facebook page. Osama now works in Dubai with Dubizzle where he is the Digital Marketing manager, we thought we’d share his wisdom with the world when it comes to Digital marketing so we sent him a couple of questions and he gracefully replied. Below... Read More
