(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Official says that the social media summit is at par with the vision of the government of dubai.the advent of technology has given birth to a new ‘majlis’ — a platform now called social media said mona al marri director-general of dubai government media office.
“in its early years there were very few means of communication in the uae. the ‘majlis’ which is one of the key emblems of emirati culture was the main gathering point where the general public and the country’s leaders came to discuss important topics related to their daily lives” said al marri. she was speaking at the first edition of the social media summit on monday. al marri added that the social media summit is at par with the vision of the government of dubai.hosted by areebaareeba the new world social networking website in the middle east with over three million active users the summit saw participation from samir al rifai senator and chairman of foreign affairs committee and former prime minister of jordan; osman sultan ceo of du; and mohammed burhan ceo of cnbc arabia.the summit also brought together heavy weights from media groups and leading technology and digital marketing companies including huawei google ibm nissan cnn osn blackberry du and dmi to share insights on social media strategies and their impact in driving business output.“according to ‘the arab world online 2014: trends in internet and mobile usage in the arab region’ report there are more than 135 million internet users in the arab region of which over 71 million active users utilise social networking technologies. these staggering figures reflect the growing dominance of social media in the region and beyond. in view of these findings we are proud to be launching the first edition of the social media summit to help businesses and companies in the region realise the significance of this digital boom” said ayman irshaid founder and chief executive officer areebaareeba.osman sultan one of the keynote speakers at the conference said in the near future smart cities would have sensory trackers spread across the city that will provide centralised access security to users authentication and smart payment options to its citizens.“innovation happens as a necessity as countries are faced with the pressure to change and in turn there will be exploration that will give birth to newer technologies” added sultan.social media and newsone of the key points discussed at the summit was the role of social media in news consumption. the public is increasingly turning to social media to consume news and it plays an active role in the process of collecting reporting analysing and disseminating news. in a panel discussion moderated by dr bashaiar al sanaa from the department of communication kuwait university experts discussed the increasing use of social networking websites like twitter and facebook the consumption as well as the creation of news content. panelists discussed the speed at which technology was changing and how people are being involved in the creation of news.heba alsmat digital media director dubai incorporation inc said: “social media is a valuable tool for media professionals. a huge amount of information can be culled out of social media channels and it has changed the way of operating writing stories and presenting news.”mohammed burhan ceo of cnbc arabia said: “consumers are using networking websites like facebook twitter and instagram to upload news and in this process every individual has become a broadcaster.” alsmat added: “what we’re seeing now is only a drop in the ocean and a sign of what is coming. however in the context of news manufacturing social media is only a tool that can be used and cannot be used as a replacement for mainstream channels of media.” dhanushaئkhaleejtimes.com
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