Mind Soup

It has been a while since I last blogged on this platform and I do miss blogging about what's going on in my life. Truth be told, for the last couple of years, I have been extremely busy, not only when it comes to my professional career as a communications consultant, but also working on social impact issues with several local and international organizations such as Junior Chamber International (JCI) which is a 101-year-old UN-partner organization that aims to make positive impact through youth empowerment as well as the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers program which empowers successful individuals in 436 different hubs to positively impact their communities. Hopefully I will be writing more about these organizations in the future. In this post, I am going to be talking about the two activities that I took part of this month in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is one of my favorite cities. Having been traveled to dozens of cities in the last couple of years, Istanbul has my ...

I was invited last month to speak about the state of entrepreneurship in Lebanon at the Lebanon SME Congress by eBusinessLebanon. Below is my presentation from the conference. Is entrepreneurship in Lebanon really what it is hyped up to be? Don't believe all the fluff, this is what start-ups, accelerators and crowd-funding really like in Lebanon! A clever presentTion by mohamad hijazi of cloud961 at lebanon sme congress yes SOME entrepreneurs have a big mouth and are simply ignorant — Maan Barazy (@maanbarazy) December 18, 2014

Linkedin is the premiere social network for business, yet most people do not know how to use it effectively. Cloud961 Magazine's Editor in Chief, Mohammad Hijazi, will be giving a seminar for entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs about using Linkedin to promote their start-ups, find investors, partners and employees and build a solid connection base. This seminar is part of Global Entrepreneurship week that is taking place on November 17-23 and is FREE OF CHARGE . Date: November 20, 2014 Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Location: Coworking +961, Sursock Palace ( View Map ) Get your ticket on ihjoz now before they run out again! About Mohammad Hijazi Mohammad Hijazi runs the Online Collaborative, a non-profit initiative that aims to promote awareness about technology and social media, and is the organizing entity of The Social Media Awards which took place last year in Beirut and launching in several Arab countries this year. In addition, he is the Editor in Chief of Cloud...

With an extensive background in computer science and information technology as well as the entertainment, music and mobile industries, Elie Habib and Eddy Maroun crossed paths and founded Anghami, a platform providing access to over five million international and Arabic songs through a convenient, user-friendly application allowing users to stream all the music they want on their mobile. Anghami has agreements with over 4,000 record labels, thus granting users access to the widest variety of content in the region. The mobile application is available for download on different smartphones, including iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and Nokia devices. The company offers a free, ad-supported version of the app, which allows usage only with an Internet connection. Anghami+, the premium ad-free application, allows users to stream an unlimited number of songs and to access playlists when offline. Anghami has partnered up with MBC and added songs from popular shows lik...

Omar Christidis is the Founder and CEO of ArabNet, the leading events and media company focused on the Arab web and mobile industry. ArabNet organizes the leading conferences for the digital sector in the MENA region, including the ArabNet Digital Summit, the premier international gathering for Arab digital professionals and entrepreneurs. The Summit was held for the fourth time in Dubai in June 2013 and brought together more than 800 attendees from 35 countries and received more than 9,100 tweets and 42,800 hits on the live-steam.   In 2012, Omar was selected by GulfNews Magazine as one of its “30 under 30" list. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Co-Founder of the Yale Arab Alumni Association.   At the last ArabNet Beirut, the issue of language of the conference was raised. Why do you think it is better for the conference to be conducted in English in both Dubai and Beirut? ArabNet Beirut and the Digital Summit are held in English because of the signific...

Many businesses have finally started to realize the importance of social media for their success, but few have relied so heavily on it in Lebanon to promote their concept. A perfect example of this would be Pizza Cups, an all-homemade catering business with a fresh, delicious idea that was launched solely on social media platforms. To know more about Pizza Cups and its social media strategy, I interviewed Wassim El Haddad, co-founder, about this innovation. El Haddad has been working in social media for the past year in Cleartag, while co-founding Pizza Cups with Khajag Apelian and currently handles the communication matters of the brand as they get ready to open their new outlet and expand. What is Pizza Cups and how did you come up with the concept? Pizza Cups are cup-shaped pizzas prepared with fresh quality ingredients and baked with care and dedication. They're available in different savory and sweet flavors, with different crust choices. The starting point of...

As the “edutainment reality” TV program  Stars of Science  prepares for its sixth season, the program’s creator, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), has revealed that a total of  28,000  young Arabs were inspired to submit their inventions over the first five seasons. Launched in 2009,  Stars of Science  was designed as a platform for the next generation of Arab innovators to develop its ca pacities in science and technology. Season 1 Winner, Bassam Jalgha from Lebanon Of the 28,000 applicants,  80  of the most talented and entrepreneurial spirits were selected to participate in the TV program, and were supported by an international team of experts in developing their projects from concept to commercialization. His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D., President of Hamad bin Khalifa University commented: “Through  Stars of Science , we are empowering some of the brig...