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Has news journalism been sabotaged by Twitter?

Has news journalism been sabotaged by Twitter?

Talking Twitter on the Business Breakfast is always a pleasure and this morning no less so than usual. The question was, “Has news journalism been sabotaged by Twitter?” and my answer was pretty much a resounding “Yes!” There are three major problems with Twitter and news journalism, I think. One is the challenge of real-time […]

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Causing a stir: Twitter and the news media

Causing a stir: Twitter and the news media

The latest in a long line of Twitterpower case studies came last week with the news piece in The National highlighting Twitter outrage at the decision to send 25 Emirati women to Bahrain to watch the UAE play Bahrain in the Gulf Cup. The prevailing tide of expressed opinion was strongly against the activity, rallying […]

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Are brands at risk from the UAE’s new cyber-crime law?

Are brands at risk from the UAE’s new cyber-crime law?

Taking many media watchers by surprise, the United Arab Emirates President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has approved a new cyber-crime law for the UAE, Federal Legal Decree No. 5, this week. The online law was duly announced by the Emirates official news agency WAM yesterday evening (you can find the contents […]

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Honest statistics

Honest statistics

As any politician, publicist or PR person knows, one can prove absolutely anything with statistics! And in a region, such as ours, where reliable statistics for many things are so hard to come by, people certainly try! As veteran journalist and long-term UAE resident Peter Hellyer rightly says in Tuesday’s National newspaper, scarcely a week […]

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Facebook Arabic triumphs after Arab Spring

Facebook Arabic triumphs after Arab Spring

Middle East & North Africa users of Facebook’s Arabic interface reach 15.6 million, accounting for 39% of all users in the region. It doesn’t seem long ago that marketers considered Facebook a minority interest and lacking in reach outside of a few select English speaking audiences in the Middle East and North Africa*. The social […]

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Facebook Arabic Rising

Facebook Arabic Rising

User of Facebook’s Arabic language interface now account for more than a third of all Facebook users in the Arab world with Facebook Arabic growing at 175% per annum.

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Can we say Twitter revolution now? Can we?

Can we say Twitter revolution now? Can we?

There’s already been quite a lot written about the role of social media in the ousting of Tunisia’s President Ben Ali. Here’s our 2 cents worth, plus a list of useful links for anyone interested in learning about the role of social media in Tunisia’s regime change.

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Ten Middle East digital predictions for 2011

Ten Middle East digital predictions for 2011

Communications and marketing agency Spot On’s top ten digital marketing predictions for the Middle East in 2011.

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Is social media really that important for marketers in the Arab World?

Is social media really that important for marketers in the Arab World?

We’re now quite used to people looking at us aghast as we talk about the importance of social media in communications and marketing strategy. Reactions often include incredulity, annoyance, perplexity, anger and even, occasionally, well-reasoned disagreement. How can we have such certainty in the critical role of social media and in the Arab world, of […]

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Media consumption & habits of MENA Internet users

Media consumption & habits of MENA Internet users

Scroll down the page for survey download links The figures in our new Media Consumption & Habits of MENA Internet Users Survey simply confirm what everyone involved in the Middle East’s growing digital marketing industry has already been talking about for the past year or two: Internet connectivity has become pervasive amongst many of our […]

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