Christina Hawatmeh
Christina Hawatmeh (born May 8, 1998) is an American tech entrepreneur and award-winning author who has shaped the creator economy by changing the way images are shared and disseminated online.[1]
Professional career
Hawatmeh journey began as a student at George Washington University, where she delved into researching Facebook groups. This exploration evolved into a groundbreaking concept in 2014 during research for her master's program at Columbia University that landed her on the cover of the Columbia Spectator. Struck by the tremendous storytelling power of images on social media, she felt that the visuals prevalent at the time failed to authentically represent the world's complexity. She saw an opportunity to change this, deeply convinced that the world’s images have never been richer in meaning, ready to be shared on a mainstream scale.[2]
Driven by this vision, Christina developed AI capable of identifying original images from social media and mapping their origins to find historic moments captured and shared on social media and, most importantly, to save them permanently. The goal was to move them off social media, where they would get lost and move them to the real world.[3]
Her goal was ambitious: to distribute these images within three minutes of being uploaded, using AI to streamline workflows. The sheer avalanche of world participation on social media was unprecedented – the world was coming together online in a new way – and a generation of voices exploded. Without a way to filter images, the world’s history would be lost – “easy come easy go” – without any understanding of the true value of these images. “It was like throwing away diamonds,” said Christina. The filters and feeds – algorithms – cleared images daily.[4]
Christina aimed to empower individuals globally, providing them with a platform to share their photos with the world, without being a professional journalist or photographer.
Initially starting a Kickstarter campaign, Christina faced challenges, leading to the temporary shutdown of her site that sourced images from Twitter and Instagram. However, she persevered, relaunching the idea in a company called Scopio, short for Scope It Out. Users could now upload images directly and distribute them from a unified source.
Through her work identifying global voices on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, Christina established a powerful network and community of individuals sharing their images globally. This effort aimed to liberate valuable images from the confines of social media, which she believed were holding our world's history captive. She emphasized that if these platforms were to shut down, essential pieces of global history might be lost forever.[5]
She saw the inner workings of social media – how algorithms worked to promote certain types of content – instead of connecting and amplifying certain topics. Given the fast moving nature of trending topics, the sheer volume of posts, and the fact that algorithms controlled what the public sees, she wanted to build a platform that challenged current business practices.
Christina further expanded her impact by creating a marketplace with two sides — one supplying images and the other seeking real-life representation through global images. The goal? To discover "undiscovered voices." This transformative approach effectively moved an outdated stock photo industry into a new era of photo sharing, bridging the gap between professional photographers and ordinary individuals.[6]
Notably, Christina challenged traditional notions of "editorial captions," transforming them into stories that people shared. This departure from a more serious approach brought about her bestselling book, "The Year Time Stopped: The Global Pandemic in Photos," featuring images from around the world during 2020 and the accompanying stories. Her innovative perspective earned recognition from the Digital Media Licensing Association, establishing her as a dynamic force in the industry.
Beyond her entrepreneurial endeavors, Christina is a dedicated social justice advocate, particularly focused on cultural awareness and race. She passionately believes in the importance of venture capital allocating more funding to diverse founders, asserting that the best ideas often emerge from the peripheries. In the era of increasing global connectivity, Christina advocates for a more inclusive tech industry that goes beyond gender, embracing underdog founders from all backgrounds.[7]
Global engagements
Her commitment to these principles is evident in her global engagements, where she speaks on topics that extend far beyond being a female entrepreneur, encompassing the broader spectrum of underrepresented voices in technology, and creativity. Her recent speaking engagements at conferences include: LEAP (Saudi Arabia), DLD (Germany), Ink (India), MIT (Female Founders), Dubai Watch Week, and Code Like a Girl. She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, Yahoo, Forbes, and Mashable. She is often a guest on tech podcasts, speaking on the creative renaissance, proposing that we are in the midst of a new renaissance, witnessing the most talented visual generation on earth. “We have visual geniuses changing our world; they are bringing the world closer together and changing our minds in ways we don’t realize yet,” she said.[8]
Books
Author of the HarperCollins book “The Year Time Stopped: The Global Pandemic in Photos,” which hit number one in three categories on Amazon. It was also featured at the Grammys, and won the Mind Award from Living Now Book Awards, which recognizes exceptional life changing books.[9]
Awards
Christina’s accolades include: Top 10 self made women in 2023 (MSN),[10] Top 10 Entrepreneurs to follow (NY Finance), Top 10 Influential women to look out for (NYC Journal),[11][1] Scopio is a Forbes30u30 recipient.[12] Initial member of CHIEF, Tech Boss Awardee, and Columbia University Business School innovation entrepreneurship program, first class at Columbia Startup Lab, 500 Startups alum,[13] ERA alum, Arch Grant Winner.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Women in NYC Tech: Christina Hawatmeh of Scopio – AlleyWatch" (in en-US). https://www.alleywatch.com/2017/05/women-nyc-tech-christina-hawatmeh-scopio/.
- ↑ "SIPA student's app aims to transform protest reporting". https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2013/11/12/sipa-students-app-aims-transform-protest-reporting/.
- ↑ https://www.thewiesuite.com/post/christina-hawatmeh-on-why-diversity-in-stock-images-matters
- ↑ Jordan, Adrienne. "This Platform Allows Travel Content Makers To Earn Extra Money During COVID-19" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/adriennejordan/2020/05/10/this-platform-allows-travel-content-makers-to-earn-extra-money-during-covid-19/.
- ↑ https://smash.vc/christina-hawatmeh-scopio-io/
- ↑ Zhao, Ming S. (2022-04-29). "Power Women: Christina Hawatmeh of Scopio On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A…" (in en). https://medium.com/authority-magazine/power-women-christina-hawatmeh-of-scopio-on-how-to-successfully-navigate-work-love-and-life-as-a-47ce49c20688.
- ↑ https://disruptmagazine.com/christina-hawatmeh-is-making-photography-more-diverse-and-accessible-while-helping-photographers-across-the-world-with-scopio/
- ↑ "The Alexa Rose Show" (in en). https://open.spotify.com/show/6JsXYC7DYMcdpfKPiAg0sj.
- ↑ "Alumna’s New Book Shines a Light on the Global Pandemic Experience Through Photos | GW Alumni Association | The George Washington University" (in en). https://www.alumni.gwu.edu/alumnas-new-book-shines-light-global-pandemic-experience-through-photos.
- ↑ Rodriguez, Mia (2023-12-05). "Top 10 Self-Made Women Who Turned Dreams Into Reality". https://www.msn.com/.
- ↑ "Top 10 Influential Women To Look Out For In 2023". https://thenycjournal.com/top-10-influential-women-to-look-out-for-in-2023/.
- ↑ "Nour Chamoun" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/profile/nour-chamoun/.
- ↑ (in en) [500 STARTUPS DEMO DAY 2017 BATCH 19, Scopio], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQly2c8iiG0, retrieved 2024-02-07
- ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/living/2020-in-photos-a-new-book-captured-the-year-that-changed/430555
