E-Commerce websites are beginning to appear in Lebanon as a result of the expansion of Internet access as well as the increasing popularity of credit card usage in the country.

However, the percentage of online shoppers in Lebanon is still among the lowest in the region.

How do you feel about online shopping?

Please take this short, anonymous survey, and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the topic.

Facebook announced that it has reached 500 million members, and to celebrate it, they launched a new application called “Facebook Stories”.

The new application allows people to share their own stories and read hundreds of others, categorized by themes and locations.

Click on the image above if you would like to share your story.

Facebook in Arab World

Cleartag, a digital consultancy headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, has officially launched operations in the Syrian market.

Cleartag has joined forces with Tabbaa Advertising and Printing Services (TAPS), a leading company in Syria with more than four decades of experience in the market, to cater to Syria’s large, fast paced emerging market.

“With the fastest growing internet usage market in the Middle East, we are enthusiastic and eager to cater to the Syrian market.” said a member of Cleartag management.  “With our current presence in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and now Syria, we aim to lead digital innovation in this region.”

AllWorld has announced that Cleartag is the 7th fastest growing company in Lebanon. Out of 50 companies competing for a spot on the Lebanon 25, Cleartag proved its might based on strenuous international standards ranging from business strategy and operations, along with analysis of detailed audited statements to verify revenues and growth. The results were announced at a reception hosted by the US Ambassador to Lebanon.

Cleartag will now compete alongside other regional leaders at the Arabia 500 to be held in the Spring of 2011.

“We are proud of this wonderful achievement, especially as a relatively young company, founded in 2001.” said a member of Cleartag management.  “We would like to thank AllWorld for their efforts and interest in entrepreneurial growth in Lebanon and around the world.”

AllWorld’s mission is to find and advance all the growth entrepreneurs of the emerging world by 2015.

Google Caffeine is an update to Google’s infrastructure and architecture.

Google announced on Tuesday, the completion of their new indexing system called Caffeine, which provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than the last index.

They opened up a preview of the Caffeine update in August of 2009, where people could test it and compare the results to their index.

Google with Caffeine

The Google Caffeine Update was needed for three main reasons:

• The amount of content and number of web documents is growing phenomenally in all languages.
• The web pages are getting richer and more complex with videos, images, applications and rich data formats.
• The “need for speed” with real time updates, fresh content and live news.

Plus the popularity rise of vertical searches and non-textual content.

The image below illustrates how Google’s old indexing system worked compared to Caffeine:

Google Caffeine Comparison

“Our old index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others; the main layer would update every couple of weeks. To refresh a layer of the old index, we would analyze the entire web, which meant there was a significant delay between when we found a page and made it available to you.

With Caffeine, we analyze the web in small portions and update our search index on a continuous basis, globally. As we find new pages, or new information on existing pages, we can add these straight to the index. That means you can find fresher information than ever before — no matter when or where it was published.”

Caffeine takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database and adds new information at a rate of hundreds of thousands of gigabytes per day.

So basically, Google’s Caffeine will crawl and index your newly published pages faster than before.
If you would like to know how Google Caffeine might affect your website, contact us to discuss our SEO services.

How Google Works:

Google has changed its look! With a new and improved left-hand navigation tool, powered by Universal Search, it’s now easier than ever to find exactly what you’re looking for. This new side panel highlights common refinements matching your search query. You can now switch between different types of results matching your search – everything from news, images, books, maps, and even updates!

In addition to the new navigation tool, Google has also updated its color palette and logo. While these changes are slight, they succeed in giving the Google interface a more modern feel.

In keeping with their mission to promote a democratic face of fashion, Benetton, the fashion brand, is on the look our for fresh faces to be a part of their upcoming campaign. With the help of augmented reality, Benetton has taken its model search online.

The online global casting call, titled, “It’s My Time,” encourages Benetton enthusiasts and aspiring models to use augmented reality technology to become part of the pioneering campaign. Interested contestants log onto www.casting.benetton.com, print a page that has an online graphic code, hold the code up to their webcam, and are then transported into an animated video with moving images of models.

Of the 100 contestants who receive the most votes, 20 will be selected to fly to New York city to be part of a fashion shoot, as well as 200 Euro Benetton shopping spree.

This Benetton campaign is a brilliant example of how AR technology can connect you with your target consumers and exponentially enhance your brand.

See the campaign for yourself! Click here.

Benetton Augmented Reality Campaign

Benetton Augmented Reality Campaign

Augmented reality is the term for a live view of a real world environment whose surroundings are enhanced by virtual computer generated imagery. The idea is relatively straightforward: you take a real-life scene, or a video of a scene, and then augment it by enhancing what a person sees, hears, feels, and smells through explanatory data, graphics, and haptic feedback.

Although Augmented Reality has only recently become a widely used buzz word among technojunkies everywhere, it has actually been around for quite some time. The first well known examples of the use of AR are in the world of sports. For example, the yellow “first down” lines seen in broadcasts of American football games, the colored trail showing location and direction of the puck in TV broadcasts of ice hockey games, and the telecasts of swimming events which often have a virtual line indicating the position of the current world record holder. In the past, it used to take huge systems to achieve what people would see during these broadcasts.

Recently, with the proliferation of powerful smart phones and computers with built-in video and wireless capabilities, the use of AR technology has exponentially increased. Currently, AR is used in a variety of industries. Some of these include: advertising, navigation, industrial and manufacturing operations, military and emergency services, prospecting, architecture, sightseeing, entertainment, and education.

Everyone from students, to soldiers, to the person looking for the closest cinema, will benefit from Augmented Reality Technology.

AR technology on the Iphone

The SixthSense augmented reality system lets you project a phone pad onto your hand and phone a friend -- without removing the phone from your pocket.

AR Technology on a GPS Navigation system

AR Technology for Architecture and Urban Planning

Gitex KSA is the 9th International Information Technology Exhibition being held in the KSA from the 25^th to the 29^th of April 2010.  During this time, the exhibition will be home to more than 450 exhibitors as well as over 100,000 visitors from all over the KSA and the world.  Cleartag/Taglogic, the only Lebanese company participating in the exhibition, will use this opportunity to strengthen its foothold both regionally and internationally.

Cleartag will showcase its latest new media and digital solutions at the Riyadh Exhibition Center.   Using a combination of RFID technology, multi-touch technology, and motion detection systems, along with its own customized software interfaces, the Cleartag booth is guaranteed to attract major attention at the show.  Cleartag is working on some very unique tools that will enable visitors to physically interact with the booth, thereby making the Cleartag “experience” both memorable and unique.

Gitex KSA 2010