savvy enthusiasts it was heaven on earth when they attended the first GeekFest Jeddah Beta — a casual get-together for science, technology, networking and blogging aficionados. Inspired by GeekFest Dubai, the event was organized by a passionate computer science student from Effat College, Khayra Bundakji; owner of That Jeddah Podcast, Nessreen Tamano; and Abduallah Kurashi and Omair Taibah. It was sponsored by Nokia and Litebites, while Microsoft supported the event. Duly abiding by the segregation laws of the Kingdom, the fest was held at two different venues. Fabrication Laboratory Arabia or FabLab Arabia in Dallah hosted the male attendees while Tashkeil, an organization that aspires toward the promotion of independent Arab designers in our region, hosted the females as part of their corporate social responsibility. The organizers leveraged on the online social network Twitter to inform and invite “tweeple” to the fest. The “tweeps” dutifully wore badges with their Twitter handles to distinguish and introduce themselves. No matter how crazy people are about technology, it isn't every day that one gets to attend a pure geek camp. Tashkeil partner Yolanda Perez said she was honored to host GeekFest to be able to provide geeks with a venue to network and share their ideas and expertise. It was a great way to bring together developers, bloggers, social media and online enthusiasts in an offline social event. “There are many intelligent and creative people that would not have had the opportunity to meet like-minded people otherwise,” Perez said. “Geek Talks” by experienced and imminent speakers engaged the audience in different topics through their presentations. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Venture Lab Manager, Eric Long Martin, spoke to the attendees about how the Saudi entrepreneurship ecosystem needs more people with unique passions, no matter what that may be, to pursue new things, new businesses. “This is a great event as it was really nice to see young interesting personalities, with impressive backgrounds getting together.” FabLab Arabia Manager Mohammad Tayeb enthusiastically interacted with the attendees in a general question and answer session. Renowned Saudi filmmaker and CEO of the EggDancer Productions Danya Al-Hamrani enlightened her audience about her experiences in filmmaking and documentaries. Taksheil CEO Sofana Dahlan inspired the youth with her talks on various topics, from identity crisis to career decisions. “Sometimes you lose your path, not because you're bad, but because you weren't shown the good, the right path.” The most awaited part of the evening was the “Gamefest,” where gamers competed with each other and tried out different games in the market, while “ArtStuff” depicted creativity and showcased talent in photography on the topic “What Makes A Geek.” As if all that weren't enough, Nokia stepped in to offer more exciting gifts and new models from its latest series of affordable smartphones called Asha. During the fun and interactive trivia game called “NokiaGeekOff,” participants competed with each other on topics such as science fiction, Internet memes, technology, and popular geek culture, among others. The female and male attendees' creative skills were put to the test in an origami competition and stick-and-glue contest. The winning participants received gift vouchers from Jarir Bookstore. Geeks-slash-tweeps were made to live-tweet the event and update their Twitter accounts as the fest was unfolding.Large projector screens ran the live tweets at both venues. Other self-professed geeks in town who missed out on GeekFest Jeddah Beta need not worry because GeekFest Jeddah Gamma happens in September! For more information, visit their website at www.geekfestjed.com or follow them on Twitter @GeekFestJeddah. __
