| Kippreport.com

Getting to know the man behind Xero Error

November 23, 2012 9:45 by Muhammad Aldalou

Q) How did you gain popularity in the region? Your social media following, was that something you worked on to get more followers or did it just happen organically?

An early start in social media helped a lot. To be on twitter in the days when it was unheard of probably helped. I used my social channels extensively to promote Xero Error and the numbers started growing with it. My digital artwork has been regularly published in regional publication since my childhood, and a lot of people knew me from there.

Being active online, keeping your tweets/posts interesting and interacting with people helps a lot with the followers, as opposed to being a bot preaching your brand like some do.

Q) You are ranked as a high influencer on Twitter in the UAE. How do you feel about that and how important is social media to you personally?

It is flattering to be ranked as an influencer. I often wonder what I did to be there. I’m deeply thankful for that and to everyone who supports me and my work.

Social media for is a crucial element in my life. I use it personally and professionally and the line gets more indistinguishable with time. Being connected has brought about some very positive changes in my life and I hope to stick around socially for a long time.

Q) Tell us a little about your latest project or some future ones that are in the pipeline?

My projects can be divided into two halves: As an artist and as an entrepreneur (for lack of a better word).

At my digital design studio Xpanse CGI, I handle projects related to design, websites, animation and TV commercials. I am hands on involved in creative work as well as managing administration duties for Xpanse. Keep an eye out for some great new website launches from Xpanse very soon.

Apart from this, as an artist I have a few personal projects that I am currently working on:

FOBcity web comic (see above) – This is my current favourite project. I developed this comic series which depicts the shenanigans of expat friends living in an Arab country. All manner of first world problems ensue!I have some exciting plans for this series. It will be printed as a collected volume book to be launched at the next Comic Con and Sharjah International Book Fair. For now you can catch the fun at www.fobcity.com

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Tags: animation, Antar, Ashraf Ghori, fobcity, Kipp Report, Shakspur, Tempus, top 100 Arabs, twitter, twitter UAE, xero error