(MENAFN-Khaleej Times) Social media is just a tool that people use to belong to a community beyond borders
Speaking at the ‘Relationship between government communication and social media activities’ Jon Duschinsky, founder and CEO of the Conversation Forum, one of the panelists at the IGCF, said the kind of communication used 40 to 50 years back telling people to behave and to react is a strategy that does not work today.
He added that the power base has shifted to the people, that government power is not set with the government but with people using social media like Twitter, Facebook and other online communication.
Panelist Fadi Salem, director of Governance and Innovation Programme of MBRSG, said before the popularity of social media, there was abject poverty of information, and sharing of information was limited in the Arab world.
He said there is a marked change now, from 151 internet users to the current 65 million active users of social media, which is 20 per cent of the total population. And 70 per cent are youth below 30 years.
He added that two kinds of reactions from the government were found in researches to this phenomenon. “One is viewing it as a risk to be avoided, and the other that governments decide to adopt the benefits and make it the new sharing platform between people and government.
Dr Sulaiman Al Hattlan, founder and CEO of Al Hattlan Media, said Arab governments have no choice but to interact with people on social media. “Social media is no longer an option or choice. Social media exposes many facts which we never knew before. It is an open window that makes us take a quick look at needs and demands of people.
He said the UAE has invested in social media network positively but mostly in the Arab world, governments are concerned with security and political stability.
In social media, it is the issue of trust in the communication between social media activities and Arab government leaders. “Trusting may call for waiting, but waiting ushers in creativity. The idea that’s really created can be shared, Dr Parween Habib, Media Personality, Dubai Media Inc. (DMI), said.
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