FOO_ Windows Phone, Windows 8 Apps developer

1. Could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
My name is Ghady Rayess, I am the co-founder of FOO – a leading mobile app development firm in the MENA region. I pursued my Masters in Carnegie Mellon and then ventured into the corporate world with Zain Group (mtc touch). I am now specialized in mobile app development and always looking to acquire talented individuals interested in working on challenging topics. I aim to increase the brain gain by bringing creative Lebanese back home where they should be. I dream to make Lebanon a digital hub delivering the entire MENA region.

2. How the idea of the BulBul came to you?
In a world where information is growing exponentially, we felt the need to have a system that smartly filters and picks the news relevant to you. The result was the creation of BulBul. Bulbul extracts news from Twitter and presents them to users in a smart, categorized format, relevant to his location and interests. Click here to download and learn more about BulBul.

3. Why you decided to implement this idea specifically on Windows Phone?
We believe that Windows has a promising future. We expect it to grow and expand further in the market as more and more people will start using it.

4. What resources on Microsoft or community side you found most helpful while working on the app? Could you please take us on a quick tour to understand your application better?
Windows has some options that simplifies and at the same time enhances our app options. First, there is the Live Tile, which enables you to get notifications from the app without having to open it. Second we have the Pivot option, which allows its users to scroll page through page. In addition to the App Bar which can display important features in the app like “Favorites.”. Bulbul makes use of the push notification feature, which allows relevant news to be pushed instantaneously to user.

 

5. What are your interests behind technology?
I look at technology as the fuel for innovation.  With every new technology introduced, ample innovative ideas gets created.

6. What would you advise to Developers in the region who also would like to become #MEAHero?
Think global and deliver locally relevant content.

7. Where the community can catch up with you online or offline?
People can follow FOO on Facebook or twitter (@foobytes)