After scanning the list of who’s who at the recent Web 2.0 2008 Expo, we noticed a couple of intriguing names. After a short Facebook research blitz and some Googling, we contacted Ahmed at over at Octopz to ask for an interview. He graciously agreed, check it out!

IslamCrunch: What is your web application/service about?

Octopz: Octopz Inc. (www.octopz.com) develops advanced online collaboration technologies built specifically for today’s creative professionals. With fully integrated support for text messaging, VoIP and webcams, Octopz allows colleagues and partners anywhere in the world to work together securely in real-time, or individually at their own convenience, using multiple document types. Team members can archive their work for subsequent retrieval, review and feedback. The result is accelerated decision making and speed-to-market – a significant competitive edge.

The company has built a secure and extensible collaboration platform with an initial primary focus on the Marketing & Advertising, Media & Entertainment, and Product Design verticals.

IslamCrunch: Why did you start this project?

Octopz: Originally, the company was a production services company, called diginiche, that specialized in building high-end photographically textured 3D models (clients included Ford, Nissan, Honda, Seiko, HP, Sony and others). The team built a browser-based synchronous 3D viewer purely for their own purposes – they needed a better way than email and ftp to get input and sign-off from clients – and once they started using it with those clients the founders realized there was a market for this type of product.

IslamCrunch: Who is your project developed for?

Octopz: Octopz is specifically designed for creative professionals who work extensively with rich media.

Today, creative professionals communicate with customers, colleagues and suppliers – whether down the hall or around the world – via phone, email, courier and face-to-face meetings.  Under increasing pressure to improve productivity, current online collaboration tools available to them are inadequate.

Octopz supports the iterative way creative professionals work, the applications and media formats they already use, and drives improved decision making and enhanced speed-to-market capabilities.

IslamCrunch: How much time do you devote to its growth?

Octopz: The company was formally launched at Web 2.0 Expo 2007 and devotes all of its time to growth.

IslamCrunch: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

Octopz: The Octopz team is currently 15 people and continuing to grow. The majority of the team is involved in research and development, but the company has also expanded its leadership team to include experts in sales and marketing.

IslamCrunch: What is your design/service philosophy?

Octopz: At Octopz, our goal is to provide clients with the most powerful, versatile online collaboration solution available – and to make it so easy to use that teams will see results immediately. Octopz is also designed to work the way creative professionals do. It’s flexible enough to accommodate the way projects flow – even if each one is completely different – and creative [personnel] use the applications and hardware they already own. There are no downloads, and the license covers everyone invited to collaborate in an Octopz Meeting Room.

Octopz is so user-friendly that even people with minimal computer skills find it remarkably easy to use. But when there are questions, the answers are instantly available from comprehensive online help files, in both text and video format. Just click the Help button from within the application.

IslamCrunch: What technologies are you currently using?

Octopz: Architected on a highly scalable combination of custom-built, open source and licensed software (including Adobe’s Flash Media Server and Flex technologies), the application requires nothing more than the Flash plugin (already installed on 97% of computers) and is completely cross-platform (Mac, PC, Linux).

IslamCrunch: What are the most requested features from your users/community?

Octopz: One of the reasons Octopz works so well for creative professionals is because, in addition to being software developers, the inventors of Octopz are also creative professionals with successful careers in photography and digital media. Their first-hand insight into the creative process informed every decision made during the software’s development.

This approach, coupled with input from our users, now drives a continuous enhancement process. We listen to what users have to say about Octopz and make improvements based on their comments. As a result, Octopz will continue to become more functional, more powerful, and even easier to work with, thanks to feedback from our customers, the people who actually use it every day.

IslamCrunch: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months? The next 2 years?

Octopz: The Company’s initial target markets include the Marketing & Advertising, Media & Entertainment, and Product Design industries. The extensibility of Octopz (via Flash, API and web services) facilitates deployment in the initial core verticals as well as adjacent markets that include Digital Asset & Content Management Systems (DAM/CMS); Architecture, Construction & Engineering; Printing & Publishing; and Social Networking & Online Communities.

IslamCrunch: What is the greatest challenge to your success?

Octopz: Web 2.0 has unleashed a new wave of innovation in online collaboration technologies that include browser-based rich media web conferencing, team coordination tools, online content creation services, digital asset management and web publishing tools. These new tools and services are changing the way people work together and are coming to market in a more rapid fashion then ever before. Being aware of and becoming familiar with these new emerging technologies is a challenge. Additionally, not becoming side tracked and remaining focused on the priorities and direction of the Company are critical for the continued success and viability.

IslamCrunch: Do you have a business model? If so, what is it?

Octopz: The company is implementing a go-to-market strategy that includes direct customer engagements as well as channel relationships with vertical leaders offering complementary products and services.

IslamCrunch: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

Octopz: With clients ranging from small companies to large corporations, Octopz has built a strong and passionate user base in over 75 countries around the world.

IslamCrunch: Are there any aspects of this project that has made you proud?

Octopz: Octopz launched at the first Web 2.0 Expo in 2007, and was named one of the ‘Top Five’ Web 2.0 services at the show by the editors of Webware.com. Since then, Octopz has been identified as a 2007 rising star by InfoWorld, selected by Red Herring as one of the ten hottest startups in Canada, named one of Canada’s Companies-to-Watch as part of the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, recognized as a Branham300 ‘Top 25 Up and Comer’, chosen as the Canadian Innovation Leader by CIX (Canadian Innovation Exchange) and has been a finalist in the Webware 100 awards two years in a row.

IslamCrunch: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?

Octopz: One year ago, companies were wondering what the whole phenomenon of Web 2.0 was, today, they are asking what strategies they can incorporate to take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies.

IslamCrunch: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?

Octopz: News sites:

• www.guardian.co.uk
• www.webware.com
• www.techcrunch.com
• www.silconvalley.com

IslamCrunch: Which social media tools do you use? Why do you prefer these tools?

Octopz:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Technorati
• Flickr
• YouTube

IslamCrunch: Does social media and social networking play an important role in promotion of your organization?

Octopz: Octopz uses a combination of both traditional marketing activities as well as social networking and web 2.0 activities.

IslamCrunch: What do you hope IslamCrunch can help you to accomplish?

Octopz: If you believe that Octopz is an interesting online collaboration solution, then profiling Octopz to increase awareness would be desirable.

IslamCrunch: Thanks Ahmed!

Not only is this an exclusive interview but also our first interview request via Twitter. We sent a direct tweet to the founder and VP of Marketing, Ashraf Mansoor asking for an exclusive interview. He was very gracious to participate and discuss Twffaha, a new job recruitment portal specifically for women in the Middle East. Twffaha is based in Sudan and has already been featured on several sites, check out this review from StartupArabia. This interview marks their first media article via a Western Muslim site. Ashraf is also very kind to offer our female readers looking for work in the Middle East a beta invite to their site. Read the interview for instructions.

IslamCrunch: What is your web application/service about?

Twffaha: We connect women who are looking for jobs to employers who are looking to recruit women for certain vacancies. Twffaha is the only portal specialized in recruiting women in the Middle East.

IslamCrunch: Why did you start this project?

Twffaha: We feel that the online recruitment market in the Middle East is already full with prominent players. However, as a job seeker or employer you will find it harder every time you look for a job or advertising a job in case
you were an employer. The market needs to be more organized, and that
can be achieved by exploiting niches and adding value for both parties, job seekers by offering them a portal that is only aimed at women, and employers by reducing their recruiting costs and offering them more focused job postings.

IslamCrunch: How does your project relate to Muslims? Or is your project geared towards a general audience?

Twffaha: Twffaha.com is geared toward a general audience, we do not ask for
information regarding your religion background. However, we do not allow
employers to post jobs related to activities we deem illegal in Islam. For example,
if an employer posted a related to Alcohol/Bars through our service we will remove the job posting and refund him/her.

IslamCrunch: How much time do you devote to its growth?

Twffaha: As a startup we devote a large chunk of our time in developing, marketing, and managing Twffaha.com in order to ensure it will keep growing organically. Working for 50 hours a week is our average.

IslamCrunch: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

Twffaha: The team behind the service comes from different cultures and background. We are well experienced with web development as Twffaha is actually our third project, although it is the first one we operate solely. Our team currently consists of two main members Ashraf Mansoor who is in charge of Development and Marketing and Ammar Mustafa who is responsible for Operations and Sales. We are looking to hire 3 more talented individuals to join our team in the following 2-3 months enshallah.

IslamCrunch: What is your design/service philosophy?

Read the rest of this entry »

During Black History Month, we will be featuring interviews from different personalities. We divided our questions into three parts: Past, Present and Future.

In our third Black History Month interview, we are honored to have Preacher Moss answering our questions. Preacher Moss is our mentor and dear brother. He is an educator, motivational speaker, comedian and anti-racism advocate.

Past – Malcolm X was a visionary and he had plans to establish a Muslim identity in North America.

1. Do you feel that our contemporary  generation has lost the connection to Malcolm’s legacies? Please explain (you may include suggestions and action steps)

The issue of connection is important. I don’t believe we’ve lost the connection, but we have not been effective in making that connection salient to a younger generation. As well, the message isn’t as competitive with things going on today. Individualism is an inherent reason why we have a passing understanding of what Malcolm’s message articulated to the people of his time. The young minds of today suffer from strategic amnesia of individualism and immediacy. If something doesn’t happen within a relatively short time, then it loses value. Our
challenge now is to present a true universal that resonates with our youth and it must be enduring.

2. On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of  Malcolm’s death, why do you feel we still have not been able to establish a fraction of Malcolm’s vision?

There are many successful outgrowths of Brother Malcolm’s vision. The problem is that they appear to be isolated in nature and thus, aberrations. Specifically, these outgrowths of Shabazz’s vision do not appear to be something organic to many. As a result, people tend to think that extraordinary measures must be taken to achieve success. From there, some people tend to think they’re limited in skill, conceptual understanding or commitment. Often this is the reason people do not try at all. It is this unmotivated thinking that continues to let us
down. [This also does not allow us to] establish Malcolm’s vision and establish a current vision. We have to establish a tradition on which can be judged by our actions in the future.

Present – Andre Carson and Keith Ellison, new leaders in a new age.

1. Mr. Carson and Mr. Ellison have added a new dimension to American politics. Do you think it is important for them to emphasize their Islamic beliefs to the American public? Why or why not?

Mr Carson and Mr. Ellison, whom I’ve met, will ultimately be judged by their approach to service. Their beliefs will inshallah shape their actions. It is my theory that their beliefs have called them to action into politics and will now lead them to execution of positive action within the political arena. The greatest thing we can do as Muslims is service to God and community. Here they have an opportunity to exercise their faith in a righteous manner without hesitation or consternation.

2. If you were a member of their administration, what advice or suggestions would you offer to them?

My advice to them would be something I say in my comedy routine which is…”Think Black.” Focus on the infrastructure of not Black people, but a working history of a survival narrative in American history. I encourage all of us to do so. It is a spiritual exhortation that we must understand that Pharaoh has never treated the oppressed as an equal…so why would we wait? We have to reassess that covenant we have with G-d and understand that the value in that relationship is the only thing that can bring us peace or salvation. I know Pharaoh may get upset about that comment, but I would also tell him to settle down and “Think Black.”

Future – African American Youth

1. The youth are constantly bombarded by insidious and harmful elements in the media. Which role models would you recommend for our youth to seek inspiration and guidance? (Our Beloved Prophet is the default answer but anyone else that is in our generation?)

I would suggest several people of whom a young mind might study. I would suggest 1) The Honorable Elijah Muhammad 2) Manning Marable 3) Reverend Vernon Johns 4) Shirley Chisolm 5) Miles Davis 6) Dick Gregory/Redd Foxx

2. For many, African pride is strong during the short month of February. What do you recommend to our readers to instill a consistent awareness of African history, past & present contributions and contemporary issues?

In order to maintain consistent awareness of African History, I would suggest your readers to be aware of world history. We should be advocates for having an integrative thought process about any form of history. I formed a theory that if you want to know why someone is interested in you, then you must find out what is interesting in that person and expand that ideas surrounding that person’s core values. History happens everyday, so we can be effective anytime we wish. The 1 million dollar question: Our intent when we expose ourselves that way?

Check out Preacher Moss’ latest project here: http://islamcrunch.com/archives/exclusive-handshake-productions-inaugural-event/

During Black History Month, we will be featuring interviews from different personalities. We divided our questions into three parts: Past, Present and Future.

In our second Black History Month interview, we are honored to have Abdul-Malik of Native Deen answering our questions. Check bandmate Joshua Salaam’s interview here.

Past – Malcolm X was a visionary and he had plans to establish a Muslim identity in North America.

1. Do you feel that our contemporary  generation has lost the connection to Malcolm’s legacies? Please explain (you may include suggestions and action steps)

During the height civil rights era, youth were at the center of the impetus for change and revolution. Malcolm X grew up in this climate and it directly affected his perspective on life and the great legacy that left. Today, youth have been afforded the opportunities [that] many people in civil rights era never had. However, these legacies of faith, leadership and tolerance that Malcolm X [upheld] are not encouraged in the media that youth are watching day after day. During the time of Malcolm, there were blatant injustices embedded in the culture of America that needed to be eradicated. As youth of today, we need to put a spotlight on the aspects of our culture that [are] negative and do as much as we can to remove them from our lives and the lives of those around us. Malcolm’s legacy was one of change. Societal ills such as the pervasiveness of drug abuse and fornication need to be tackled immediately.

2. On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of  Malcolm’s death, why do you feel we still have not been able to establish a fraction of Malcolm’s vision?

Malcolm was about revolution. The Prophet SAW advised us to change any situation with our hands, then with our voice, then at least abhor it in our hearts. The reason that many times our goals have not been accomplished or visions be realized is that we aren’t following those steps that he, Prophet SAW, mentioned are the ways to make change. We may try to outwardly change something, but we may not really believe in the change. Or we may believe in the change in our hearts, but we don’t try to change it with our voice or hands. The Quran mentions many times “Belief and righteous works” – both going hand in hand. Once we establish our belief, we must put our faith into action.

Future – African American Youth

1. The youth are constantly bombarded by insidious and harmful elements in the media. Which role models would you recommend for our youth to seek inspiration and guidance? (Our Beloved Prophet is the default answer but anyone else that is in our generation?)

Artists, athletes and musicians have a tremendous [role] in inspiring and guiding the youth of today. Many famous artists only wish to entertain and not inspire which is one of the causes of many ills in society. Hip hop artists will rap about drug[s], sex and violence in their lyrics for the purpose of entertainment. Even some Muslim rappers fall into the trap of being “popular” and riding the wave of the industry. However, there are a few that craft their art for the benefit of the youth. These can be good [role] models for our youth. Hakeem Olajuwon is a good example of a sports figure who kept to his beliefs and also out-performed other players on the basketball court.

2. For many, African pride is strong during the short month of February. What do you recommend to our readers to instill a consistent awareness of African history, past & present contributions and contemporary issues?

As Muslims, we realize that we are a creation of Allah SWA and we are all equal except for our righteousness. He made us into nations and tribe so that we can get to know one another. But its also important for us as African Americans to be proud of our heritage. If we feel an inferiority complex towards any other group of people or race, we are in essence not accepting Allah’s ultimate knowledge and wisdom.  In order to instill this pride, we have to let our family and friends realize the great advancements in science, technology, medicine and other areas by African Americans. There are many youth and immigrants who don’t realize how great the African nation once was. This has to be mentioned and instilled into people – so that there is a genuine respect for each other and we can learn from each other equally as Allah commanded.

Purchase Native Deen’s new album, Not Afraid to Stand Alone, here. Also, check out their MySpace and Facebook pages. Here is a video of their previous single, Small Deeds.

Small Deeds – Native Deen, posted on www.IslamCrunch.com

During Black History Month, we will be featuring interviews from different personalities. We divided our questions into three parts: Past, Present and Future.

We begin our series of interviews with Joshua Salaam from Native Deen and ADAMS Center Youth Director.

Past – Malcolm X was a visionary and he had plans to establish a Muslim identity in North America.

1. Do you feel that our contemporary  generation has lost the connection to Malcolm’s legacies? Please explain (you may include suggestions and action steps)

Yes. Without a doubt we have lost the spirit, drive, integrity, etc. that Malik Al-Shabaz stood for. I say “we” because I myself have been victim to becoming complacent. His life’s message for everyone was to seek the truth and stand for it, no matter what the consequences.

2. On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of  Malcolm’s death, why do you feel we still have not been able to establish a fraction of Malcolm’s vision?

Hard to say. Perhaps we have realized some of his dream. But its less of a goal and more of a lifestyle. A lifestyle of bravery and strength. There will always be battles to be fought. Maybe with different tactics but we must be ever vigilant against racism, discrimination and hatred.

Present – Andre Carson and Keith Ellison, new leaders in a new age.

1. Mr. Carson and Mr. Ellison have added a new dimension to American politics. Do you think it is important for them to emphasize their Islamic beliefs to the American public? Why or why not?

I don’t think its important for them to emphasize their beliefs. I think it is crucial for them to stick by their beliefs. Maintain their beliefs. Everyone is a product of their upbringing. So they should keep whatever fundamental good they brought into their position and just live it. People will see for themselves. They won’t have to emphasize anything.

2. If you were a member of their administration, what advice or suggestions would you offer to them?

Its your time. Make the most of it.

Future – African American Youth

1. The youth are constantly bombarded by insidious and harmful elements in the media. Which role models would you recommend for our youth to seek inspiration and guidance? (Our Beloved Prophet is the default answer but anyone else that is in our generation?)

I think role models are local. Your neighbor, your teacher, your friends. You see them deal with stress on a day to day basis. People on TV are able to hide their true reactions. Therefore, it is also very important for everyone to remember, we are all role models and there are many little eyes looking at us searching for examples to live their lives by. We are all role models. Let’s be good ones.

2. For many, African pride is strong during the short month of February. What do you recommend to our readers to instill a consistent awareness of African history, past & present contributions and contemporary issues?

It must be a culture. If a guy play extremely well on the court, someone may shout out, “Jordan!!!” If someone is extremely smart we may shout out “Einstein!!!” But how many African American names can we shout out for academic achievements. We have to learn them and make it a culture of reminding people what our achievements are.

Purchase Native Deen’s new album, Not Afraid to Stand Alone, here. Also, check out their MySpace and Facebook pages. Here is a video of their new single, Stand Alone.