The report aims to provide decision and policy makers as well as businesses leaders with answers to the following questions:

1. What is the impact of social media growth on job creation, economic growth and support for entrepreneurship in the Arab region?
2. How can governments adapt their developmental policies to this growth to better contribute to economic empowerment, citizen satisfaction and social inclusion?
3. Can the emerging generation of empowered Arab youth translate into a sustainable culture of innovation?

Report Approach:

The report was produced  by a combination of structured, Web-based questionnaires and focus group meetings that were carried out in the eight Arab countries mentioned above. The survey specifically examined the usage of social media and, specifically, perceptions about its impact on job creation, employment and entrepreneurship in the region.

The survey was conducted between March and May 2012, and included 4,754 respondents of which 331 (or 7%) identified themselves as entrepreneurs. The average survey response rate was 86.4 percent.

The survey respondents were chosen among Internet users according to a specific profile, which mirrored the demographic makeup of each country. Consequently, the typical respondent profile was a young professional (60% of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 30), primarily in the private sector (42% of respondents). The public sector (16%), the third sector (3%) and enterprise owners (7%) were also represented, along with university students (13%) and the unemployed (20%). The gender spilt was approximately 40/60 (female/male).

Additionally focus groups were conducted in Egypt, Kuwait and the UAE for further in depth exploration of survey responses in these countries. These meetings contributed to clarifying and contextualizing the overall picture, and adding anecdotal evidence to our findings.

Results:

The “Etihad Mapped-Out” tool is the 1st ever LinkedIn mapping tool & is available exclusively to LinkedIn members at etihadmappedout.com

— Etihad Airways (@EtihadAirways) April 29, 2013

Etihad Airways did a really great job with this application, you can geographically map out all of your Linkedin connections (both 1st and 2nd degree) and filter them by industries, you can choose to show if there are any Etihad flights between you and your connections as shown in the image below:

The reason I like this application is because it utilizes Linkedin’s API and not one of the more familiar networks such as Facebook or Twitter, so its something new I guess. Also it is generally well designed and easy to use with a quick tutorial to take you through everything you can do on the application.

I can see how this is relevant for Etihad Airways since no doubt people looking to create business deals and opportunities need to look outside where they are currently residing and maybe they will consider flying with them.

This is definitely a step in the right direction for Etihad Airways, and for brands in the MENA region in general, in terms of social media. This shows a clear sign of dedication to this area of communication and hopefully they’ll keep on producing new and interesting ideas to compete with international and regional airlines such as Emirate’s who have just announced their 25th consecutive profitable year. I guess Etihad just raised the bar!

Getting the right focus and knowing what to expect from the SEO services you employ can spell success for your campaign. Get tips on what are the best questions to ask here.

Video Highlights:

• The most common inquiry from our Help Desk
• How we address these type of questions
• What’s their focus?
• Some scenarios to learn from
• How we like to get things done
• Measuring SEO sucess

This is by far the MENA region’s largest mobile solutions and technology event and it aims to educate and motivate brands (and people) to transform their businesses and insure they’re staying ahead of the competition.

The list of speakers is very very impressive from global companies such as Electronic Arts, Tapjoy, Blackberry, Square, Google to regional and local powerhouses such as Mobily (who are the main sponsors) and Flip Media.

If it was anything like last year’s event it should be great:

So don’t let this opportunity pass you by and register now.

Know the peaks and the drops of when you get the most visits and conversions for your campaign and create a schedule that can lower your cost while still producing the best possibler results.

Video Highlights:

• Tracking your conversions
• The importance of the ups and downs
• Utilize Day Parting

Visit ClickJam for more PPC News

The main difference between the two countries are:

1. Users in the KSA pay more attention to ads on search engines than in the UAE
2. Higher percentage of consumers in the UAE research a product before purchasing
3. Consumers in the UAE have made more purchases and expect to purchase more products through their smartphones
4. More local information searches have been carried out and higher percentage of action on the found information occurred in the UAE

With each day we get closer to the release of the looming Google Penguin update that Matt Cutts announced in the recent SMX Convention. Here are some helpful tips on how to stay safe from the leading Dubai SEO Services provider, SEO Sherpa.

Video Highlights:

• Recall: Matt Cutts announces a major Google Penguin update
• Your site’s link profile 
• Check your link sources
• Why relevance is important
• Say NO to “PPC” sites 
• What we learned from the past Penguin update
• Anchor Text 101
• Google Webmaster Warnings

You can read the full transcript on SEOsherpa’s Blog.

The conference organised by spiderfrogs will have the theme: “Game changing technologies for forward thinking brands” where they will focus discussions on next generation brand engagement technologies such as multi?touch screens, augmented reality, digital signage, digital marketing platforms and how to best provide a personalised brand? experience.

The speaker lineup includes top regional and global digital experts from companies ranging from Jumeirah Group to IBM and Emirates:

• Brent Davids, Social Business and Collaboration leader, IBM
• Terry Kane, Director of Digital & ecommerce, Jumeirah Group
• Neetan Chopra, divisional VP of IT strategy and architecture at Emirates Group
• Gavin Payne, Regional head of technology at JWT
• Chris Vezey, Sales Director with Sitecore
• Dave Black, Business Development Manager at Blippar
• Heath Arensen, President and CEO at Tanasuk Technologies
• Loulou Khazan Baz, Founder of Nabbesh
• Major Steadman, Head of Digital Arts Network
• Marco Blankenburgh, Founder and Director of Knowledgeworkx
• Tala Elle Samman, Award winning blogger of myfashdiary.com
• Teodor Tanase, Founding Partner and Chief Strategist of SensyTouch
• Yousef Tuqan, CEO of Flip Media

You can register for the conference here.

This article was contributed by James Reynolds.

Often the most engaging conversation is one where the topic is something we are interested about. Find out exactly what your clients are talking about, and have them join your following and increase your website traffic. Video Highlights:

• Join the conversation your customers are making
• One famous example over the recent years
• Mirror these stories in your landing page and ads
• Ways to survey your customers and audience
• Look up past support issues

You can read the full transcript on Click Jam’s Blog.

This article was contributed by James Reynolds.

After the release of Google Panda and Google Penguin, several changes have occured in the field of SEO, and citations have been given more recognition than before. Find out how to take advantage of this with tips from the leading SEO Agency here.

Video Highlights: 

• The Google Panda and Google Penguin effect
• What’s a citation?
• How to make use of Local SEO
• What’s the correct NAP format?
• Local Directories in your niche is the key
• Get reviews in with your best customers

You can read the full video transcript on SEOsherpa’s blog.