I was an ArabNet Official Blogger last year, and I had a blast attending the conference, live-tweeting it and blogging about the panels and talks and events within the conference. I also met a lot of people from across the Arab World who have become very good friends. Most importantly, I started seeing mobile and web like a boss, and could even start giving advice to businesses and agencies, all thanks to last year’s speakers and panelist, who turned me from a humble Biology student interested in tech, to a web and mobile-savvy person up-to-date with the latest trends, start-ups and the industry in the MENA region. So, here are a few reasons why you might want to attend ArabNet 2012.
1- Meet People
This is the top reason to attend in my opinion. Two years ago, 500 people attended. Last year, around a 1000. This year, it’s expected to surpass 1500 participants from all over the world! Imagine how many business owners will meet the right developers, how many start-ups will meet the right investors and how many designers will pair up with programmers and create the next big site or app.
So, graab a whole bunch of business cards and make new shiny ones, because the real magic of ArabNet doesn’t only happen in the big halls where talks and presentations are held, but the coffe breaks and lunch breaks where you can mingle and network.
2- Diversity
This time around, the conference is five whole days. These days have something in store for everyone from the geeky programmers who slave on building our websites and apps functionality, to the artsy designers obsessed with stream-lining everything, to the seasoned investor trying to make sense of web and mobile, and of course the steadily rising number of aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to make their businesses come to life.
So, if you didn’t know you could hack a Kinect and aren’t interested in learning how, you could miss the first couple of days. But, you’d also be missing out on the lightning talks and getting to meet engineers from companies like Google and Facebook! The Industry Day looks exceptionally exciting this year, the two forum days are a MUST-attend and the Community Day is the culmination of the whole conference where we open up to the general public.
3- Industry Day Debut
The Industry Day is something new this year, and I’m personally looking forward to it. This day will focus on how tech, web and mobile are being used in industries like healthcare, the banking sector, governments, education and other fields that are not exclusively web and mobile, but integrate these technologies to better their performance, experience and output. This is a MUCH-welcome addition in my opinion, after all, focusing exclusively on web and mobile companies and start-ups was sorta limited, now, we have the whole business and services spectrum included!
4- The Speakers
Check this list out. Exactly, wow. You might not want to watch every single one, but there are at least two-dozen that I personally would love to hear speak. Everything from marketers and strategists, to CEOs and rising entrepreneurs, sharing their success stories, analyses and predictions for the future of web and mobile.
5- Looking Back, and Forward
Last year, ArabNet was taking place at the peak of the Arab Springs. Naturally, with web and mobile’s catalyzing role and citizen journalism via social media blossoming, the Arab Spring was a major issue being discussed, with optimism and enthusiasm about the future high. This time around, the Arab World is a changed one, and the inevitable “report card” of the Arab Spring will be an issue that will undoubtedly be present. Also, some struggles are far from over, and understanding their impact and their outcomes with all the brightest minds of the Arab World is reason enough to attend!
6- Better Internet
Lebanon’s notoriously horrible Internet connection and speed last year was the butt of many jokes. Luckily though, we’ve gotten a considerably bump in speed and bandwidth and things like online conferencing and live-streaming will be a breeze.
For more information and registration, go here!



























































































