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!

Join the IslamCrunch Green Team to fight global warming. Since we are in a green mode, we wanted to share with you how IslamCrunch tries to minimize it’s carbon footprint and minimize global warming on a micro scale. We have been using the LocalCooling app for awhile now and recently upgraded to version 2 of their environmentally conscious app.

What is the LocalCooling app?

LocalCooling is a 100% FREE power management tool, from Uniblue Research Labs, that allows users to optimize their energy savings in minutes and as a result reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What does LocalCooling do?

Download the 100% FREE LocalCooling application and to automatically optimize your PC’s power consumption by using a more effective power save mode. You will be able to see your savings in real-time translated to more environmental terms such as how many trees and gallons of oil you have saved.

LocalCooling will:

• Cut your energy bills
• Reduce the amount of greenhouse gas CO2 emissions as a
  result of your reduced PC power consumption
• Give you full control over your power mode settings
• Improve your overall efficiency and computing experience
• Show you, in detail, how much you have saved since installing the software

Click the banner above to download the app. You will be added to the IslamCrunch Green Team, a group of dedicated users fighting together to reduce global warming. Our stats will be collected and grouped together.

After yesterday’s conversation of the name ‘IslamCrunch’, we discovered a new blog that is about to launch called Arabcrunch. We will let you decide if the Arabcrunch blog reminds you of another well-known blog:

Arab Crunch is the first and only Arabic Blog on the internet that is dedicated to profile and reviewing new and existing internet and mobile products especially in web 2.0 and mobile 2.0 mainly in the Arab world and across the world.

Besides offering coverage of new startups we also analyze current companies that is affecting our world.

We will try to give bigger slice of coverage to Arab startups and companies, but because most of the internet innovation is happening in USA we will give in depth coverage to them as well.

We aim to enable an environment that helps Arabs innovate, create and thrive regionally and globally.

Background information:

ArabCrunch was founded by Ghaith Elzaem who added me as a friend on Facebook. After reviewing his profile, I noticed links to Arabcrunch and his membership to the IslamCrunch Facebook Product page. His blog is hosted on the Google Blogger platform.

As they say in the Arab world: Marhaban! We look forward to the development of Muslims involved with Web 2.0 and beyond.

The Zaytuna Distance Learning Spring Semester will be launching soon. One of the new courses is “Getting Back to Basics: Islam 101″with Imam Zaid Shakir.

Course description:

A course explaining the basics of Islamic belief and worship with a concentration on the elements and issues that are essential for the sound and practical practice of Islam in our time.  Appropriate and beneficial for not only the new Muslim, but for any Muslim living in the West, this course will cover “the Five Pillars,” “the Articles of Faith,” aqidah, basic fiqh, and critical issues such as appropriate gender relations and how to defend oneself against the attacks currently being levied against Muslims.

Originally taught in Zaytuna during the Winter 2007 quarter, the Zaytuna team has released this course as part of the Spring 2008 quarter. Another new course is “The Prophetic Characteristics: Part III” taught by Sidi Yahya Rhodus.

Visit http://www.zaytuna.org/distancelearning.asp for more details. Video clips will be added to the Zaytuna Facebook Page.

Please share this post with your friends and family. Please encourage them to register for classes. Here is a testimonial from our brother & fellow activist:

“For years I have searched for an affordable distance learning program to quench my thirst for Islamic Knowledge. Finally, with the advent of Zaytuna Institute’s Distance Learning program, I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn from knowledgeable teachers who are inspirational individuals in their own right. I look forward to being a student of Zaytuna Distance Learning program for years to come inshAllah”

- Adam Soltani

Due to the *very* personal relationship with the Distance Learning Program Manager at Zaytuna, we have the exclusive honor of posting this announcement first.

One of the most highly anticipated tech events rolls into the San Francisco Bay Area in April. We have already scored ourselves some expo passes. Thanks to the organizers of the event, we are able to provide our readers a code to receive a $100 discount off the expo pass. This means you can get an expo pass for FREE!

To receive the code, please drop a comment and tell us which web 2.0 you have submitted this post to: StumbleUpon, Digg, Pownce, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Facebook Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=16554925133

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Web-20-Expo-San-Francisco/6972960853

Main page: http://en.oreilly.com/webexsf2008/public/content/home

Web 2.0 technologies are empowering us in ways we could only have imagined even just a few years ago. We’re able to build more, connect more, have more fun, sell more stuff, share more than ever before—and do it all faster. But as the pace of change and innovation accelerates, separating signal from noise, useful from annoying, genuine from fluff becomes increasingly challenging.

What tools and applications are right for a given project? How can we provide a more meaningful experience for users and customers? How can we have a positive impact on the world we live in? What are the ways we can create more value for our businesses? How do we gather and focus datapoints to deliver relevant information? How can we increase conversation and collaboration?

The second Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco takes the pulse of the Web ecosystem and looks to its future, training a spotlight across the Web 2.0 universe to illuminate how the Internet Revolution is being created and delivered. Web 2.0 Expo is for the builders of the next generation web: designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists, people who have experiences to share and a passion for learning–the hot new thing, lessons from failures, innovations and inspirations, and the practical applications of all of the above. What will you do with the power of Web 2.0?