I’ve lived most of my life in the heart of the Middle East that I’m considered a third-culture child (passport of one country by ethnic identity but born and raised in a different geographic location with the cultural quirks). I grew up from the time when 56kbps dial-up was the fastest then ISDN followed by DSL and WAP/GPRS started to engulf our lives on possibilities. I’ve seen it all develop, unveiled and released as time flew infront of my eyes.
Completed my Undergraduate education at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar (the official branch campus of the very same Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and it’s the same degree that’s conferred upon graduates) and spent almost a year unemployed with the challenges for non-citizens that don’t have any experience.
I got my first job without even applying for it in Qatar, courtesy of the forward-thinking power of LinkedIn. Have just completed my 10 years.
I have a passion for covering the latest technology news but focused more on the Middle East region. Hence, I started writing for Techview.me with a team split between Dubai and Doha. The hobby grew and it really took us places to some of the major technology events, until we chose to sunset the site in late 2017. You can see some of my published articles on my Author page (currently archived).
All the major events I’ve attended where I got to see the latest in mobile/tech/gadgetry and more:
- TEDGlobal 2011, which allowed me to organize TEDxEducationCity (2012 and 2016) and TEDxYouth@Doha (2011 and 2012)
- SXSW 2014
- Mobile World Congress 2016
- Samsung Unpacked 2016
- CES 2017 (the 50th edition, which is quite a big deal) and CES 2019
- Samsung Unpacked 2019 (New York City, USA for launch of Samsung Galaxy Note 10).
I believe in the power of community and using social media for good, which is why I decided to also try something that very few would ever do – organize diplomatic tweetups with ambassadors in Qatar. It started off with one tweet to the UK Ambassador in 2013 and the rest followed.
I tend to take risks where I can to level the playing field, and working my way above my current stature.
How can you reach me?
You can follow some of my accounts across the social media-verse (links are on the side or at the bottom of the page) or drop your details below.