Learn and adapt: Lebanese startup scene darling Sociatag shows us how it's done

If you’re active in the Lebanese startup ecosystem, then you’ve probably already met the young entrepreneur behind Sociatag, the social integration platform hailing from Beirut. In less than two years, Wassim Hakim and his booth have quickly become staple figures at startup events.

With a background as a web developer at digital advertising agencies ClearTag (which has smartly been acquiring startups and is part of digital media umbrella group DNY, and also owns Innovo) and Eastline Marketing, launching a product to bridge the online and offline worlds seemed like the logical next step. Hakim thought up the idea during graduate school, but needed some time to find the right edge, as it is, granted, not the first idea of its kind.

But the idea didn’t stop evolving when he eventually launched. What started as a way to allow event attendees to interact with any online platform by simply swiping magnetic cards over physical boxes quickly evolved into a full-fledged social integration platform, enabling people to transpose their offline activity during events into memorable moments on their social media profile.

Here’s the story of the startup that has quickly become an events darling, and whose technology is now at the basis of the Beirut Digital District community.

Taking the leap

The idea is relatively simple. Attendees are given magnetic tags at registration to be used throughout the event (they can choose to sign in using their online profiles, or remain anonymous). The tags allow them to interact with Hakim’s physical smart boxes that read the tags and quickly perform social actions initiated by users tapping on the box, such as sending a tweet or an email, checking in on Foursquare, or logging a Facebook like. By default, boxes support three different social actions that are defined via a control panel by the event organizer (the number can be scaled based on demand). All it takes to get the system up and running is little training for the event staff and the desired number of boxes, which can be rented or bought by the client.

Original post by Stephanie Nour Prince

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Learn and adapt: Lebanese startup scene darling Sociatag shows us how it’s done