In the past few months, the potential of social media outreach in the Gulf hasn’t only been noticed and exploited by marketing firms but also by regional governments and officials. After all, there are a staggering 7.4 million Facebook users in the Gulf according to Inside Facebook as of May this year and 5.5 million Twitter users in the Middle East according to ArabCrunch as of March this year. Read more »
Archives for May 2011
A State of the Union Address for the UAE
In countries the world over, from the US to Russia, and from the Philippines to South Africa, citizens look forward to an annual statement that outlines the state of the nation in the past year and highlights plans for the coming 12 months. Read more »
An expanded GCC: Challenges and Opportunities
The news of the Kingdoms of Jordan and Morocco possibly joining the Gulf Cooperation Council states was met with shock and awe amongst users of social media networks within minutes of its announcement. The new Secretary General of the GCC Abdul Latif Al Zayani, barely a few weeks into his job broke the news to reporters in Riyadh on Tuesday evening. But what will this expanded entity look like and what are the initial challenges and opportunities? Read more »
Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf: An attempt to steal the show
The governments of the Arab Gulf states have been sceptical of the Arab Spring. For many political observers this scepticism stemmed from the fact that most of these states enjoyed strong personal and political relations with the presidents of Egypt, Yemen and Syria. Read more »
Osama Bin Laden: He had it coming
For ten years millions of Arabs were held hostage due to the acts of a minority. During this time tens of thousands of lives were lost in senseless violence that only a megalomaniac would be able to justify. Read more »
Gulf majlis culture forms fabric of society
Traditions are carried forward, local dialect is preserved, Arabian hospitality and respect for elders are upheld in this community meeting place. It’s time that the social role of the majlis is acknowledged and strengthened once again. Read more »