It's a new year and already it's been filled with some tech and social challenges. Starting off with the TikTok ban in the US also impacting people outside the country.

Is Dubai now looking to be the Creator Economy hub in the MENA region? Influencers in Qatar should prepare for new legislation that will impact them.

At CES 2025, Delta is bringing YouTube Premium to its in-flight entertainment. What about the possibilities of Netflix, Disney+, and other SVOD joining in? All this and more are covered in our latest episode.

Additional reference links during the episode

- TikTok STEM feed launches in Saudi Arabia

Chapters

"(00:00) Introduction and New Beginnings"

"(01:54) The TikTok Ban and Its Implications"

"(10:04) The Evolution of TikTok and Its Impact"

"(16:07) Educational Content and TikTok's STEM Feed"

"(21:02) Influencer Licensing in Qatar"

"(27:02) Regulating Influencers and Future Prospects"

"(27:14) Emerging Trends in the Digital Market"

"(30:15) The Rise of Creator Economies"

"(34:28) Monetization Strategies Across Platforms"

"(39:08) Innovations in In-Flight Entertainment"

"(45:28) The Future of Streaming Services"

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• Yasser Masood (Instagram, LinkedIn)
• Gazanfarulla Khan (Instagram, LinkedIn)
• The Geeky Nomads (Instagram, Threads, YouTube)

After many months since our previous episode, Yasser Masood and Gazanfarulla Khan return for the next episode exploring some highlights of the year: recent developments in Qatar, including tech events focused on Web Summit Qatar 2025 and WSJ Tech Live, AI initiatives across the GCC region, Apple's expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, and Talabat's IPO.

Additional reference links during the episode:

1. Apple is expanding in Saudi Arabia
2. PWC report on AI in Middle East
3. Qatar unveils Fanar LLM
4. Dow Jones expansion in Middle East
5. Stolen AirPods recovered ​

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If you're keen to suggest topics that you'd want to hear more about, follow us on our accounts below and drop us a message.

• Yasser Masood (⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠)
• Gazanfarulla Khan (⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠)
• The Geeky Nomads (⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠)

Picking up from our previous episode, Khan and I continue to recap our experience at the inaugural Web Summit Qatar 2024.

The last tech event I attended was CES 2019 (before everyone was locked in). The next best opportunity came with the inaugural Web Summit Qatar in February 2024. We managed to cover as much with a divide-and-conquer approach. With many interesting panels/sessions covering multiple conference tracks, there was plenty to cover and the onsite podcast booth setup was our way to crunch it all.

Prefer to watch as a video? ⁠⁠Watch the video version⁠⁠.

If you're keen to suggest topics that you'd want to hear more about, follow us on our accounts below and drop us a message

After quite a long time, I got to attend a tech event since the last one was in 2019 (yes, before everyone was locked in). The opportunity came with the inaugural Web Summit Qatar in February 2024.

Prefer to watch as a video? ⁠Watch the video version⁠.

Let’s introduce ourselves! We’re two ‘Khans’ who want to make this podcast different. How? Our focus is on the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) spanning tech, social media, digital and other related topics; sometimes, we'll even include the Indian Subcontinent (South Asia) region given the large diaspora present.