Category: The web

  • Once upon a time HM King Abdullah II commented on a blog

    It was just four years ago that HM King Abdullah II commented on The Black Iris, the well known Jordanian blog. You can see His Majesty’s comment here. In that comment the King said: “We are a country of freedom, tolerance, diversity and openness, and everyone has the right to express their thoughts – no…

  • Why am I joining the Jordan Internet Blackout

    For the past decade and a half, a large part of my belief in Jordan as a homeland has been based on the fact that we had a free uncensored internet (yes I know about the Arabtimes.com exception, but let’s just agree that the net in Jordan was largely free and uncensored). What does the…

  • Internet freedom in Jordan: the beginning of the end?

    Whenever journalists, investors or ordinary people ask me: why has Jordan been able to shine in the region in the field of technology, web business and web content, one of my standard answers has always been: our relative freedom and our open internet policies. Over the past decade, Jordan has been steadily building a reputation…

  • Egypt’s Revolution. My Revolution.

    I’ve been glued to Twitter for the past 16 days. Too many thought racing through my head to think clearly. A total emotional roller-coaster. My generation’s first revolution! All that I can think of right now is that everything in this region, in our lives, need to be rethought. I am part of the 1989…

  • Hey Jordan’s geeks: why not challenge Google at G-Jordan?

    OK. So Google is coming town (Amman, that is). And no, this is NOT about them opening an office in Jordan. What’s happening is G-Jordan. A three-day Google event for computer scientists, software developers and tech entrepreneurs. From the 12 to the 14th of December, Google will be “flying in” 20 Googlers to rub shoulders…

  • The fall and rise of 360east

    I was checking the statistics of 360east.com this morning and saw this interesting graph that I thought is worth sharing. Those who follow this blog might have noticed that it was down from 11-15 September. I had a problem with the domain name, which required a few days to be solved. That’s where you see…

  • 10.10.10 One Day On Earth!

    One Day on Earth Participant Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo. On 10/10/10, the entire world is being documented as part of an ambitious project called One Day on Earth (www.onedayonearth.org). Through their website, filmmakers, students, teachers and everyday inspired citizens representing EVERY country in the world have all coming together to film…

  • Wamda: it started with a spark, now in beta!

    For the past seven months, our company duo, SYNTAX and Spring has been working on their most revolutionary web project to date. What was just a sketchy idea by early 2010, has become a groundbreaking, living, breathing web venture: Wamda.com, a hub that, for the first time, creates a focal point for the Middle East’s…

  • Wamda, a hub for the region’s entrepreneurs and change-makers will go into private-beta soon

    Nothing like being able to start showing people what I’ve been immersed in the past few months! It’s been a crazy journey for the team at SYNTAX and Spring and it will only get crazier. What was a sketchy idea a few months ago has turned into a full fledged project with a powerful vision:…

  • TootCorp launches ZOOFS: what Twitter is watching

    TootCorp, makers of Toot, Ikbis and Watwet, have launched their fourth product and the company’s first aimed at the global market. It’s called ZOOFS. Here is what TootCorp cofounder Kareem Arafat had to say about it: Zoofs is a new way to discover YouTube videos that people are talking about on Twitter. Zoofs swallows millions…

  • 6 interesting usages of Ikbis.com

    Over the past few years, Ikbis.com has grown in size and in depth. Ikbis Channels, in particular, have been multiplying in number and are being used by a wide variety of users and organizations: from people sharing a an interest to global broadcasting organizations reaching out to Arab audiences. Here are 6 examples of what…

  • ArabNet, Beirut and ‘Being Arab’

    Visiting Beirut is always a bitter sweet experience. My last trip to Beirut to attend ArabNet, the region’s first web business conference was my third trip to the city in 8 years, each of which had the duration of 48 hours. Each time I visit beirut I leave with a book, always from Librarie Antoine,…