Apps
This App Lets You Setup Play Dates For Your Children With Ease
Shamim Kassibawi, the Founder of Play:Date, speaks to Gadget Voize about the app and her startup story
Tell us about Play:Date? Who is the target audience?
Play:Date helps moms, dads, kids, and families in general. The primary goal of the app is to help build a social circle for your child via the setting up of ‘play dates’. We understand how vital friendships can be at a young age, and expanding a kids social circle not only helps develop important life skills but it is also less likely that the child will have social and emotional difficulties later in life.
Additionally, users have access to several discounts, deals, complimentary entry at kid-friendly events, etc. In today’s day and age, we understand it can be difficult to run a family due to increasing costs, hence our number one goal is to create a convenient way for parents to build their kids’ social circle and provide families with an affordable experience.
Kids and parents are the core of our business – Play:Date’s target audience ranges from children that are 0 months up until 12 years of age.
How did you start up? When did you start up? How did you arrive at the idea behind your company?
My “appreneur” journey with Play:Date started two years ago when I realized a lot of the kids living in today’s cosmopolitan lifestyle did not have much of a social circle. Everyone is so busy leading such fast-paced lives that a lot of parents often have a hard time introducing their kids to others their age – this was a gap I identified while living with my sister and her kids.
I wanted to help families and this is how the idea was formulated. The next step was bringing it to life. However, a number of factors had to be considered – would parents be comfortable uploading their child’s data online? How would profiles be screened? Was it secure? After lots of research, trial and error, Play:Date was born.
Tell us about your team? How many members? Who is involved in the day to day operations?
I’ve always believed in maintaining a small tight-knit team. Given the right support, a small team can get work done quickly and efficiently. We are a total of 5 employees at Play:Date where everyone is given a responsibility and the freedom to ‘run their own show’. We currently handle marketing/PR, finance, operations/admin, designing and media-buying.
Did you come across any challenges during the initial days?
Personally, it has been technology. For someone that comes from a purely PR and Communications background, understanding the technical aspects was difficult. Technology is moving so fast we can barely keep up. There’s literally a new invention or innovation every other day. However, the solution for this is to constantly educate yourself, adapt and of course, have the right partners/team -you need to have the right people to guide, support, inspire and value you.
How is your service different from similar companies on the market?
We don’t really have a direct competitor. In fact, we encourage entities from the community to collaborate with us and together we can all work towards the same goal – connecting kids and making friends, thus expanding the community. I’m a firm believer in ‘“competitive collaborations”— this long-term partnership, truly do strengthen and mutually benefit all parties involved.
Was the funding self-funded or do you have external partners?
Play:Date has been solely self-funded for the last two years. However, we are now looking at raising capital and growing the business.
What are your future plans with your company? Any new markets/target audiences you plan to reach?
From a future plans standpoint, we’ve got lots of idea’s brewing in the pipeline that we would love to explore. I’d like to provide mothers and women in general, a working environment that is best suited for them. A place where they can work flexible hours, bring their kids to the office and have a nursery/daycare centre at Play:Date HQ – this is my long-term vision.
With regards to new markets, during Play:Date’s pilot phase we noticed that after UAE, the US was our biggest market. It certainly is super exciting to see this grow organically and is something we will be tackling as soon as things are perfected on the ground here. The US is definitely our next target!
What is your advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
My top three tips for a budding entrepreneur is :
Passion: This is so important! You are going to be eating, drinking, breathing and living your idea – almost 18 hours a day I would say – you need to know your stuff and love it.
Do Not Chase Money: avoid chasing money, money is great and you might be passionate about it, but that’s not enough. As someone once said “Don’t chase the money chase your dream”.
Create A Strong Support System: you need to have the right people to look up to, inspire and value you – the inner circle as I like to call it.
Apps
Saudi Pro League Partners with TikTok
The Saudi Pro League (SPL) announced TikTok as its ‘Digital Partner’ for the 2024-25 season. In this official partnership, TikTok will introduce a dedicated SPL Exclusive Hub, a central space where fans can access content from the league’s clubs and partners. This hub offers an immersive experience, bringing fans closer to their favourite teams and players in innovative and interactive ways. This collaboration sets new standards for sports entertainment by leveraging TikTok’s creative community and dynamic platform to bring the SPL closer to its expanding fanbase.
Through this partnership, TikTok will elevate the excitement of Roshn Saudi League (RSL) matches like never before. SPL will offer exclusive content available only on TikTok, giving fans unique insights into the league, its clubs, and players. From behind-the-scenes footage to in-depth player interviews, the content will create an engaging and immersive experience for fans.
Additionally, the SPL will provide TikTok creators with exclusive opportunities to explore and showcase new facets of the league, such as access to training sessions, match-day experiences, and interactions with top players. These opportunities will not only enhance engagement but also drive creative storytelling that resonates with a global audience. With SPL’s innovative experiences and thrilling football content, TikTok football fans can look forward to a diverse range of content and engagement opportunities, all exclusively on TikTok. With more than of 44.2 million likes and a follower count of 2.5 million, the SPL’s presence on TikTok has created a centralized digital space for fans to engage with the league like never before.
Omar Mugharbel, CEO of the Saudi Pro League, said, “The partnership between the Saudi Pro League and TikTok is a groundbreaking development for our sector in the region and represents a strategic leap into the future of sports entertainment. This is more than a partnership, it’s a digital revolution. We are harnessing TikTok’s power to transcend traditional engagement and offer our fans a canvas for creative expression and a suite of experiences tailored to their passion for football. We’re creating a realm where each fan has a front-row seat to the spectacle of the Roshn Saudi League, powered by the boundless creativity that TikTok embodies. The SPL Exclusive Hub on TikTok provides an immersive and interactive digital home for our passionate football fans. We are shaping the future of fan engagement and setting a global benchmark right here in the Saudi Pro League.”
Kinda Ibrahim, TikTok’s GM for Operations in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Pakistan and South Asia, said, “Saudi Arabia’s passion for football runs deep in its history. By partnering with the Saudi Pro League, we are tapping into this strong affection for the sport and aligning with the league’s strategic vision to become one of the top football leagues globally. Through modernising the fan experience with a dedicated space for league content, clubs, and partners, we aim to strengthen the community of sports enthusiasts by providing them with more ways to connect and engage with exclusive content online.”
Apps
Age of Empires Mobile to Release Around the World on October 17, 2024
Mobile gaming fans around the world can prepare for a brand-new take on a strategy classic as Age of Empires Mobile will officially launch on the Apple App Store and Google Play on October 17. Co-developed by TiMi Studio Group (Call of Duty: Mobile, Pokémon Unite) and World’s Edge, an Xbox Games Studio, Age of Empires Mobile is a fresh and innovative experience for the beloved series, bringing familiar elements from the iconic Age of Empires games with brand-new and mobile-specific gameplay to mobile players.
On the road to global launch, players will have the opportunity to participate in on-site events at the Xbox booth, and the stage event with fun engagement activities at the Level Infinite booth, during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Media and creators will be invited to preview the game in the business area. Players can pre-register now for the official launch on the App Store and Google Play, join the game’s official Discord or head to the game’s website for more information.
“We expect players to mystify, mislead and surprise their enemies through the realistic, immersive, medieval gameplay featured in Age of Empires Mobile,” said TiMi Studios team leader and studio general manager Brayden Fan. “We’ve already seen alliances form and alliances crumble through our multi-month playtesting. Through it all, players have shown strategic wit, savvy teamwork and a passion for an entirely new Age of Empires experience.”
Built from the ground up for mobile and social play, Age of Empires Mobile includes a variety of game features:
- Multiple single-player modes built on the Age of Empires lineage and featuring iconic elements from the original series
- Build your empire in a lively, realistic medieval world featuring stunning civilizations, imperial cities and historical figures
- Immersive battlefields offer one-of-a-kind original gameplay with large-scale castle sieges featuring realistic weapons taking on multi-dimensional defences in a fight with thousands of players worldwide
- Be strategic as you encounter realistic and interactive terrain and weather and manage multiple troops with real-time micro-control
Built to expand on the series’ lineage, Age of Empires Mobile offers players the opportunity to select from some of the world’s most legendary historical figures to lead their armies. Players choose from dozens of these leaders, such as Barbarossa, Darius the Great, Hammurabi, Joan of Arc and Leonidas I, each featuring unique individual talents and synergies with each other to unleash on your foes.
“Our goal at World’s Edge is to bring the magic of Age of Empires to as many different types of players around the world as possible. Partnering with TiMi Studio Group means we can combine their expertise in mobile gaming with the strength of our franchise and history – to bring a brand-new take on Age of Empires to even more gamers, in even more places,” said Michael Mann, Studio Head at World’s Edge.
Apps
WhatsApp to Intro Real-Time Voice Conversations with Meta AI
WhatsApp is set to revolutionize user interaction with the introduction of real-time voice conversations powered by Meta AI. This new feature, currently in development, will allow users to engage in natural, spoken dialogue with the AI chatbot.
Key Features:
- Personalized Experience: Users can select from various voice options for Meta AI, tailoring the interaction to their preference.
- User Control: The voice chat mode will be optional, ensuring users have complete control over their conversations.
- Privacy Focus: WhatsApp is implementing a privacy indicator to inform users when their microphone is active, safeguarding user data.
- Accessibility: Captions and transcripts will be available, enhancing accessibility and providing a visual record of conversations.
- Customizable Responses: Users can choose between brief or full responses from Meta AI, adapting the AI’s output to their needs.
This exciting development promises to make AI interactions more engaging, accessible, and personalized for WhatsApp users.