On the one hand, you have Youtube, where search engines will forever find the content and publishers rewarded with profits when these videos become popular. On the other, you have Facebook, where the content has higher audience reach and can be quickly discovered and re-shared by more people in a shorter amount of time during the video launch period. The current problem is that this very same content is not monetized on Facebook, and will not be easily re-discovered via search in the future.

Video publishers are going to have to think again and reconsider their content strategy as Facebook is preparing to share the profits.

Recode reported that Facebook is going to start showing ads in the middle of its videos. It seems that social media platform is testing a new “mid-roll” ad format, which will give video publishers the chance to insert ads into their (90sec or more) videos after people have watched them for at least 20 seconds.

Just like Youtube, Facebook will supposedly be sharing 55% of sales with publishers.

The post Video Publishers Get Ready To Make Money as Facebook Goes Head-to-Head with Youtube appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

One thing is certain along the process, many people will fail. This does not mean that they did not try their best, or that they had a bad product. But, in a competitive environment, a selection process takes place, and only a handful of people make it to the next level. This is mainly due to innovation, good perception of the product, hard work, perseverance and of course the right business plan.

Innovation does not always mean cables and wires. Yes, technology is a big factor in determining the innovativeness of a product, but this has become a given nowadays, technology is the engine to our everyday life.

Innovation is pushing products and businesses beyond the comfort zone. It is about creating new solutions, revolutionizing old ones and filling specific needs. All that, while positively changing people’s perception of the product and having a good impact on the business model.

Unless you have enough funding to kickoff your own start up, you’re gonna need professional support on different fronts: financial, technical, creative, user experience and business. Hence, the startup acceleration and incubation programs.

There are plenty of programs out there. I will be shedding more light on them in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime here are two respected programs you can immediately apply to as they are calling for applicants.

MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition

The MIT EF Arab Startup Competition is one of the large entrepreneurship competitions in the MENA region. It targets 21 Arab countries and receives over 6,000 applications every year. The competition engages entrepreneurs in top-notch training, mentorship, and provides media exposure and networking opportunities and gives out up to $160,000 in prize money. The competition has trained over 1,600 entrepreneurs and has created over 250 knowledge-based jobs.

The 10th edition of the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition is done in partnership with Community Jameel and Zain Group. It was launched on October 17, 2016 and you can apply on their website. The deadline for submitting applications is on January 4, 2017.

Seventy semi-finalist teams will be announced in February 2017 and will be invited to attend pre-bootcamp activities scheduled to take place in February and March, 2017 in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and the UAE, followed by a four-day event in Bahrain from April 24-27, 2017

Speed@BDD

Speed@BDD is a Beirut-based startup accelerator that invests cash in top-tier companies in the MENA region. It accepts startups at the idea and early stage and selects 20 startups per year over two cycles of three months each. Selected teams will have to commit full time and move to Beirut for the duration of the acceleration.

Speed@BDD is a collaborative effort between Bader, Berytech, IM Capital, Lebanon for Entrepreneurs, Middle East Venture Partners

You can apply on their website. The deadline for submitting applications is on January 22, 2017.

Good luck

The post Entrepreneurs Wanted! Apply Now to the Region’s Biggest Startup Competitions appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Let’s face it, we all want to take great pictures but we rarely invest in a good camera and a bit of time to learn a couple of tricks in order to enhance the quality of our photos.

I know that it is a lot more practical and easier for us to use our mobile phones as all-in-one devices. I’m an advanced photographer and most of the time I find myself too lazy to carry a camera. But there are times, when you wish you had a good camera at hand, to capture those great moments, especially if you have kids around you.

I use my phone cam for everyday activities and I always make sure to have my DSLR camera all charged up and handy for those occasional events and gatherings. This way my photo library is mixed with everyday mobile pictures and the higher quality one taken with my camera.

Najib wanted to get a good camera that is easy to use and to move around with. My recommendation to him was to go with the Canon EOS Rebel T6i, (reasons listed below) it is a high quality product that can be bought for a really good price. At the end of the day, it is a home camera for amateur usage and Canon has the best cams in the market. Of course there are many good brands out there, but I’ve been a loyal Canon guy for the past 15 years.

—
I- TIPS TO CHOOSING A GOOD CAMERA WITH AN AFFORDABLE BUDGET IN MIND
(Regardless of the Brand):
—

1- Lenses:

Make sure you invest in a cam that has a lot of optical lens power (3al Libneneh: 3enda zoom). The best photographs are taken with different physical lenses. Most modern cameras nowadays come with interchangeable lenses, but if you don’t want to invest in buying multiple lenses, then make sure you buy a camera with a flexible lens that will work in most conditions for near and far objects. (i.e.18mm — 200mm)

Rule of thumb: The smaller the mm, ex. 24mm, the wider the shot and the closer you need to be to the object. The higher the mm, ex. 300mm, the better it is for capturing distant objects.

2- Video Capture:

Make sure you select a camera that can capture Full HD videos at 25 or 30fps. Nobody wants to carry an additional video cam around. Photo cameras that have HD video capture will give you great movie results. Photography lenses give you the ability to play around with the depth of field and have videos that are not flat but rather look and feel as rich as the still photos.

3- Memory Card:

Invest in a memory card with a large storage capacity, ex. 64GB, and that is high quality with fast memory. Not all memory cards are fit to be used for cameras, especially if you are taking burst shots and videos. Each memory card has a capturing/transfer speed, the higher the speed (60MB/s, 90MB/s, 280MB/s), the better the performance. It becomes more expensive but it is worth every penny.

4- Tripod:

You are not going to use the tripod everyday, but it will come in handy with night shots or when used to shoot a fixed frame video such as a ceremony or end-of-year school event. You can purchase a cheap tripod, but most importantly make sure you choose a lightweight one. Carrying a heavy weight tripod can be very tiring.

5- Flash:

Although it’s one of my least favorite pieces of hardware because most people overuse the flash and get super flat images. But then again, there are pictures that you just cannot take without a flash. Better have one on your cam to be used whenever needed.

6- Pixel Count:
Choose a camera with the biggest pixel capacity, ex. 24.2MP. A bigger pixel count means a higher quality picture.

—
II- TIPS FOR TAKING BETTER PICTURES
(Regardless if you are using a Mobile Phone or DSLR Camera)
—

1- Backlight:

Don’t take pictures whenever your subject is standing in front of a large source of light such as a window. You will end up with only a shadow of that subject with a very bright background.

2- Lighting:
Make sure your subject’s face is always facing the light source (such as the window).

Avoid using the flash as much as possible as it flattens the face and gives the picture a two-dimensional feeling. Instead try to look for a well-lit place before taking your photos and use as much daylight as possible.

Always avoid using direct sunlight and spotlights as they give hard shadows on the subject. The person’s face will not be relaxed but rather squinting from the annoying light.

If you are shooting outdoors, try to avoid noontime photo shoots and aim for earlier or afternoon photo sessions for softer light. It is even better to take pictures when it’s clouded without direct sunlight, the colors will pop up.

3- Angles:

Take pictures from different elevation points. Most people take pictures from eye-point level, because we simply point and shoot. Try to lower your cam and come closer to the subject, experiment a bit with different heights to take less boring pictures.

4- Cropping:

Come closer to the subject and avoid filling the frame with useless objects. Make sure the object you are shooting is the one that takes the biggest part of your framing and avoid distracting backgrounds.

Use the rule of thirds and move your object from the middle, every camera comes with a grid option that you can enable and use accordingly. For example, don’t place your horizon in the center of the image, unless you want to, but rather in the top or bottom third.

Take horizontal videos and avoid tilting the cam vertically when taking videos. So many phone users got into the habit of taking vertical videos but this is a big NO. Remember that you want to enjoy your videos on a TV/Computer screen, with vertical videos you will end up with a big back screen and a small video in the middle.

5- Keep your camera and lenses clean at all times:
Don’t remove the lens unless you really need to and if you do, don’t do it in a dusty environment. Make sure to cover up both sides of the lens and most important do not touch the mirror inside the camera or blow on it.

Avoid touching the lens with your hands and don’t clean it with any tissue. Blurry pictures most of the time are the result of dirty lenses. Make sure to get a cleaning kit. They are very cheap and available at any photography shop.

6- Settings:

Always set your cam to the highest quality settings and keep it on automatic mode if you are not a savvy photographer. It will do all the work for you if you follow the basic tips that were explained above.

7- Patience:
Avoid taking 90 consecutive useless burst shots, have some patience and wait for the right moment.

8- Storage:
Don’t keep your pictures in your camera. Make sure to copy your photos from your memory card to your computer after each use and make sure to store pictures and videos separately (we will be tackling this topic in details in a later post)

I hope this post was helpful. Enjoy using your camera!

For some cool shots, follow me on Instagram @jimmyghazal

—

This article was originally posted on BlogBaladi

The post Tips to Choosing the Right DSLR Camera and to Taking Better Photos appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Despite the fact that this seems like a complete rip-off, which will probably end up with several legal repercussions costing Facebook a fortune, this is the price they are willing to pay in order to get rid of their main competitor!

It might be early to assume that Snapchat is dead, but it was definitely hit by a wooden stick straight to its heart! Let’s hope that Snapchat is still hiding new tricks up its sleeves in order to survive this. There’s no doubt that a huge sector of the online community adapted to Instagram Stories really fast, as if they just needed a reason to migrate away from Snapchat!

What does this mean to brands?

Many brands already had a shy presence on Snapchat, and they have been struggling for sometime now trying to figure out how to best be present on this platform considering that Snapchat’s main audience are primarily young people.

They were trying hard to keep up with the trends, create relevant content and most importantly rebuild their audience all over again given that they already spent a lot of time and money growing their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Overall, Facebook’s reign is not going to be over anytime soon, they will continue to dominate the social media landscape in any means necessary, reminding us a bit of Microsoft’s golden era.

Follow my Instagram Stories  @jimmyghazal

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If you’re just getting started with Netflix, here are 8 tips for making the most of a Netflix streaming subscription:

If you’re just getting started with Netflix, here are 8 tips for making the most of a Netflix streaming subscription:

1- Choose the right subscription plan:

It offers three types of subscription plans; Basic, Standard or Premium.

The Basic subscription plan is perfect for mobile-only users especially for people with a limited data plan, because movies will stream in SD and not HD.

The Standard or Premium plan work perfectly on multiple devices (for a single user or multiple users) whereby you can watch a movie or TV show at the same time, on different devices in different locations.

2- Create Multiple Users:

If you are not the only one at home using Netflix, then make sure to create multiple users before you watch any movie. Netflix, and similar streaming platforms, work on a recommendation engine. The more you watch, the more will Netflix recommend shows that you might like. Your favorite shows will also be neatly displayed on the home screen under “shows you watch”.

If everyone in the family is watching under the default user, then your favorite shows will be mixed with the ones your family members have picked and Netflix will start recommending shows that will be tailored for all the members and not just for you.

3- Parental Control:

Netflix contains content for all ages. So, if you have kids, you surely need to turn the parental control setting on. This can be done from the website and it will automatically apply to all the devices you use.

You must create a user for your kids, as there’s a huge variety of animated movies and series that are tailor-made for your little ones.

I would also recommend the family movies section, it has a wide selection of films for parents and kids to enjoy together.

4- Watching on a big screen:

If you have any of these devices (Apple TV, PS4, Xbox, Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast…), then you can enjoy watching Netflix on your big screen.

My favorite is the Apple TV because the interface is slick, and the new Apple remote control experience is fully optimized to get all the features out of the app with a few swipes and minimal effort. It is far better than controlling it with your console controller.

5- Mobile Data:

If you are watching movies on your mobile, then make sure you are always connected to WIFI for if there’s a streaming movie, it will drain your data plan and it will cause additional unwanted charges.

6- Internet Connection:

If your internet connection is anything less than 2Mbps then Netflix will NOT work properly but if you are on a +2Mbps connection, like most of the Lebanese, then here are a few tips to better optimize your experience:

Take your time to choose the movie and check the reviews on IMDB before watching. You don’t want to start a movie and then drop off 15 minutes later. It’s a waste of time and data consumption. The movie usually starts the first couple of minutes with a low quality pixelated video. But, you don’t have to worry about that as it will adjust automatically to enhance the quality. Avoid constantly skipping through the movie as it will increase the data consumption taking more time to reload the video with every leap.

Average data usage: Low-Medium (0.3–0.7GB per Hour), High (up to 7GB per Hour).

7- Watchouts:

One of the disadvantages of Netflix is that you cannot watch the currently running season of your favorite series; it will only be released after all the episodes have been aired. On the other hand Netflix has lots of original content that is not found elsewhere, noting that not all content is available in Lebanon due to legal rights.

Remember, ONLY the first month is free of charge by default but it will renew automatically by the end of the month cycle.

8- Alternatives to Netflix:

Hulu: My personal favorite; a similar service to Netflix with an even better option whereby you may watch your favorite shows directly on the next day after the episode has been aired on TV. Unfortunately, this service is only available in the US.

Amazon Prime: Its library is not as rich as the others but it does include some original content like “The Man in The High Castle”.

Finally, here’s a useful link to easily browse all the Netflix content by genre.

Happy streaming!

The post 8 Things to Consider Before Signing up to Netflix appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Few weeks ago, Netflix became available in most countries. This news was welcomed by every movie buff and TV series lover out there. People can now stream their favorite content anytime and anywhere at a small subscription fee without being restricted by proxies and having to go through the hassle of VPNs.

The beauty of Netflix and similar services such as Hulu, which is my personal favorite, is that unlike popular belief, you don’t need a super duper internet connection for it to work, but rather with a minimum of +2Mbps will allow you to stream and enjoy HD movies. Of course the connection should be stable and you should not be running other online services at the same time. It is actually faster and more cost effective to stream a video than to buy and download the HD version. Streaming in general is optimized to consume the video at less bandwidth vs the full HD download, and people will finally and gradually move away from the habit of storing movies that they will never watch again on infinite number of hard drives, when they realize that these same movies can always be found online anytime, anywhere.

Unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled about the news. The media industry is rather worried about Netflix’s sudden availability as if they never expected it to operate outside the US. Most local TV stations over the past decade missed every opportunity to ride the wave and embark on the technological journey of the internet. Instead of leading the online revolution and creating monetizable local platforms, they followed in the traditional shadows of regional cable giants feeding on their leftover content and providing local users with a second-hand service, by broadcasting older reruns and many times already watched content (on other online platforms). Their market share is mainly producing low budget dramas and game shows for their local audiences while fighting each other over the primetime evening news.

Local TVs are not being able to properly monetize their content especially now with advertisers shifting much of their budget to online platforms. One of the main reasons is that for the past years, they have been giving away all their content for free, they have poured everything on Youtube, and made people believe that content is not something worth paying for. Now, they are desperately looking for a way out because people can no longer wait for content to be aired in their country many days and sometimes months later. People eagerly look for fresh content to be consumed as soon as they find it wherever and whenever they are on any available platform. With the variety of connected devices, people can consume content from their mobiles, desktops, and mostly from their connected TVs (via smartTVs, Apple TVs, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and similar devices). Today the connected TV screen is regaining its online viewing marketshare and competing with mobile devices because the large screen viewing experience is still unbeatable when it comes to watching long hours of media, especially when watching with family and friends.

Unlike what it seems, local TV stations are not the biggest losers, but rather the giant middlemen (i.e cables) that are fighting battles on various fronts: The content front with local channels, the distribution front with Telecom operators and IP TV providers, and finally the online front with international players like Netflix and Hulu, without forgetting the growing custom content that commercial brands are creating for their online platforms.

The opportunity is still there (at least for the time being) and local TV stations can still make it after all, but this cannot happen with the current mindsets and business models. Drastic change must happen in order to evolve and adapt to the current needs and opportunities. They need to dare to invest in new ideas, work on innovative programming, and most important create engaging interactive local and cultural content. TV stations need to realize that the size of an audience is not bound by the geographical boundaries of the country, but rather starts locally moving to the diaspora community in order reach regional and international audiences.

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This presentation provides an analysis of the evolving operating model of communication agencies in the digital social era, along with assessment and recommendation of the content and the content creation process in an ever-changing culturally sensitive and diverse Middle East.

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