Spot On Public Relations

Spot On PR Director Alexander McNabb spoke at the MediaME Forum 2011 in Amman, Jordan earlier this week about digital public relations and reputation management. The annual event organised by Middle East advertising and marketing portal MediaME was attended by some 300-400 advertising, marketing, public relations and digital professionals from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and around the region. You can watch Alexanders presentation here: Alexander McNabb the value of a Like is zero You can watch more video from the MediaME Forum 2011 on the MediaMEs Ustream page. You can also download copies of presentations from the MediaME Forum here. If you enjoy watching Alexanders presentation you might also like to read some of these posts on the Spot On blog: Should you outsource your conversation? (January 2011) When social media programs grow up (July 2010) Facebook bigger than newspapers? So what? (May 2010) If you would like to receive reports and updates from time-to-time by email click here to join Spot On PRs mailing list. Like Spot On PRs Facebook page Follow Spot On PR on Twitter Watch Spot On PRs Youtube channel Al Jazeera English Image (Creative Commons) A new report from the University of Washingtons Project on Information Technology and Political Islam comes to the conclusion that social media played a central role in the events we have all come to call The Arab Spring. Ever since the events of early 2011 started to unfold around the region, there has been debate as to whether social media really had any impact or importance to events themselves, or whether Twitter, Facebook, YouTube et al were merely reflective of events and driven by overseas commentators rather than activists on the ground. The PITPI report is based on deep dive analysis of political website traffic, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube traffic, including analysis of over three million tweets sent over the period. The report lists three key findings: 1) Social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring. 2) A spike in online revolutionary conversation often preceded major events on the ground. 3) Social media helped spread democratic ideas across international borders. In analysing the traffic online from the period between January and April 2011, the report makes a number of interesting points. One such, for instance, is that there has been a significant and growing participation from women 49% of Tunisian Facebook users are women, 36% of Egypts. The report points to women becoming online activists where they could not be active on the streets some 30% of Twitter commentators in Tunisia were women and similarly, 33% of the active Tweeters in Egypt were female. Logged Number of Tweets on #sidibouzid, by Location. The blue bar indicates the period in which journalists began reporting that protests had reached the level of thousands of participants. Rights: The Project on Information Technology and Political Islam, University of Washington's Department of Communication (Creative Commons). For those of us who were tracking events online day by day, the PITPI report is an interesting refresher as it looks back over events and adds numerical analysis to the narrative. The rhythm of Twitter traffic in particular is fascinating as the ebb and flow of tweets from inside Tunisia, Egypt and other neighbouring countries is mirrored by that of international commentary. 18% of Tweets about the Tunisian uprising came from within the country. The resignation of Ben Ali prompted a spike in traffic that was mirrored by political blogposts and over 2,200 Tweets from around the region. The report identifies what it calls a freedom meme, the movement of conversation around the region about freedom and change triggered by events in Tunisia. In Egypt, where young people are highly connected by mobiles and the Internet, the word spread quickly, with Wael Ghonims We are all Khalid Said Facebook page, mourning a blogger killed by the security services, topping 300,000 users. The report also looks at the role of viral video in spreading the freedom meme, with millions of views of videos posted from Tahrir square at a time when Egyptian state television was showing images of calm and empty streets. All in all, the PITPI report is an interesting document that repays a read if you have a view on the did or didnt social media play a role. Although the volumes of videos, Tweets and Facebook posts the report analyses are relatively small on a global scale, their ability to combine with technologies such as mobile and with strong word of mouth meant they had a disproportionately large impact on public opinion and debate. I get a feeling the label the freedom meme will stick, too You can read more about the University of Washington PITPIs Opening Closed Regimes research study and download the full report here: New study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring (UW Today News) Download the full report (PITPI website) If you liked reading this post , you might be interested in our past blog posts on Facebook usage in the Middle East and North Africa and the Arab Spring: Facebook Arabic Rising (June 2011) Update: Egypt revolution reading list (January 2011) About 9pm Friday evening (Dubai time) my email inbox began filling up with now following you email alerts from @spotonprs Twitter account. My first thought was somebody must have name-checked us somewhere, perhaps a #FollowFriday thing, but a quick look at the Twitter handles showed that these were fake accounts (each accounts handle was first name + random letters). @Marquittaukykz, @Sumikobufdj, @Nakeshajyflj, @Cathleenvxexu, @Corinnevchtr and many others. No problem, Ill delete them. We like to keep our follower list tidy and also feel a responsibility towards other Twitter users to block and / or report obviously fake Twitter users. After blocking the first twenty fake Twitter followers, and returning to my email, I found another inbox full of now following you alerts. This was not normal. Something was directing dozens of fake Twitter accounts to follow us automatically, and at some speed. And all the Twitter account holder names had one thing in common: they were female names. In fact, all the fake Twitter users had female names, a high quality profile pic and a somewhat unique profile bio including such gems as I love my art. Music is a big part of my life. I like to do stupid things at random moments. and I love sports ok just baseball and U F C fights lol Im a nice person kinda we all have our moments so basicly im a real woman. Fake Twitter accounts using auto-follow bots are nothing new. Bots are not always malicious, but there are nearly always downsides to using a legit Twitter bot and the fact is that any automation of your Twitter account can make it appear automated and so less trustworthy. However, last nights bots consisted of an automated script that followed hundreds or thousands of Twitter users in the hope that some of the users follow back. These bots seemed to be more discriminating than usual, mainly targeting Twitter accounts with comparable numbers of users followed and following (more than likely to find Twitter accounts that use auto-follow-back bots that way). 347 fake Twitter accounts followed @spotonpr last night! All in the space of a couple of hours (we reckon about 2-3 every minute). No harm done, but a lot of fake accounts are set up with malicious intent, so you be careful out there! If you liked reading this post about social media campaigns, you might also like: Should you outsource your conversation? (January 2011) When social media programs grow up (July 2010) Night of the anonyhaters (May 2010) Twitter & Customer Service Survey (March 2010) Tweets like grains of wheat (February 2010) 5 reasons Spot On PR uses Twitter (January 2010) Follow Spot On PR on Twitter What requirements should we look for in today's PR person? Were a picky bunch. Responses to our recruitment advertisements tend to go into the thousands and by the end of the process weve usually narrowed entry-level applications down to a short list of two or three candidates. Our list of criteria has always been a long one. We believe in a holistic approach to communications and so even our specialists also need to be all-rounders. Spot On deals with some very large brands and so accuracy, attention to detail and ability to manage high value relationships are critical to our business. Needless to say, we aim to create best-practice campaigns and use new creative ideas, so education, working knowledge and smart thinking are also important to us. And then were operating in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual market with plenty of differences in local requirements across the Middle East region, which demand different communications and language skills. Now add the Internet! More and more of our work is moving online and with the enormous momentum of social media, the Internet is an extremely fast moving environment for communications. We need, not only to be able to provide the right content and the right message to the right audience via the right platforms, but we need to be able to do this consistently, reliably and in-keeping with the strategies weve agreed with clients. Then theres managing adherence to communications, digital and legal guidelines at Internet-speed. Thats usually under an hour, sometimes just a few minutes and on rare occasions less than that! And you cant take for granted online communications stays online, since online news, comment and even a simple tweet can often jump into print and broadcast media. And, of course, anything seen, heard, experienced or published offline is only one step away from being posted on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, blogs or other online platforms. Even those with an encyclopedic knowledge of Internet platforms, online demographics and digital practices can get wrong-footed sometimes as an online mention of seemingly little merit can become todays trending topic. What does this all mean for recruitment? Are we looking for a new type of PR person with a different skill set or has our long list of hiring criteria just got longer again? The answer, as it often is in the consulting world, is yes and no. As organisations re-shape their communications and marketing to ensure things work effectively both online and offline, so PR people must also be able to do both. To ignore one and focus on the other is going to result in a very blinkered approach to a communications requirement. Whilst it would be foolish for any PR person to ignore digital communications, 24/7 digital natives that ignore offline media, events, word-of-mouth and offline audiences arent often going to make very good PR people either. This is a most difficult time one of transition and change. The ability to comprehend that change, move with it and balance ones responses to the changing environment have never been so important. Asking for all the traditional hiring criteria for PR people, plus extensive digital skills and knowledge does seem like a tall order for both prospective candidates and employers. However, the truth is that much of this digital knowledge is becoming a given and one day, sooner than you think, all of this will simply be called communications, digital or not. If you are Arabic/English speaking and looking for an entry-level position in communications and marketing youre welcome to introduce yourself and send your CV to careers(at)spotonpr(dot)com If you liked reading this post , you might be interested in the following: Should you outsource your conversation (January 2011) The coolest agency in the world (February 2010) Losing the battle for control (January 2010) Snarky A PR person sometimes needs to be cynical (July 2009) Like Spot On PRs Facebook page Follow Spot On PR on Twitter Watch Spot On PRs Youtube channel Check our Spot On PRs Careers page The Arabisation of Facebook is fascinating to watch. Facebooks Arabic platform is growing at 175% per annum, about double the rate of overall growth, with growth in Arabic speaking users in Egypt and the Levant being over 200%. Facebook English users in the Arab world grew just 45% during the same period. Until recently many marketers pretty much took for granted that the regions Facebook users were English speaking Arabs or expatriates, using Facebook in English and representing a fairly elite group of online consumers. It has become apparent that this is now far from being true. This time last year we pointed out that the number of Facebook subscribers had reached a point where they outnumbered the newspapers being bought across the region: no longer a minority interest. The Arab Spring put paid to the idea that Facebook appeals to a narrow demographic in MENA. Now, with nearly double the subscriber base of May 2010, users of Facebooks Arabic interface account for more than a third of all Arab world Facebook subscribers. By the year end, the number of Facebook Arabic users alone can be expected to outstrip the regions newspaper circulations, while we may even see Facebook Arabic numbers achieve parity with the use of Facebook English versions. This process is to be expected and is consistent with a new technology being adopted by a relatively young, highly educated, English speaking audience and then finding greater acceptance from the street across the region, reaching deeper into society and also spreading from the cities. It goes without saying that pivotal to this process was the introduction of the Facebook Arabic interface itself in 2009. The number of users of Facebooks Arabic interface in the Arab world now stands at nearly 10 million, being about 35% of the regions Facebook subscribers (compared with just 24% in May 2010). As might be expected, Egypt leads in the number of Facebook Arabic users, with 3.8 million users or 56% of its Facebook users opting for the Arabic language version. 41% of GCC users overall now use Facebook Arabic and 61% in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the UAEs adoption of Facebook Arabic being the lowest at 10%). Language bias in the Arab World's top three Facebook communities So, what does this all mean for the regions marketers? Well, for starters, if youre a consumer brand you really cant afford to ignore Arabic in your Facebook marketing. Theres a fast growing audience of consumers on Facebook that are most comfortable using Arabic online and this audience is going to have different demographics, behaviours and content requirements. We can expect Arabic to become the most popular Facebook language version in the region within a year and for the growth in English language users to slow further. In terms of country requirements, Facebook now makes more marketing sense for Egypt and Saudi, where Arabic users are joining the platform in numbers. The exception to the rule, as usual, is the UAE, which is likely to continue to be unrepresentative of the region with the dominant Facebook language being English for the foreseeable future. Since Facebook seems to be becoming the regions premier platform for sharing Arabic content (see Spot Ons Ten Middle East digital predictions for 2011), this is also going to put a premium on Arabic language content generation and so we can realistically expect pressure on the regions existing skilled resources for the creation of quality editorial material, written, filmed or recorded, for Facebook. If you liked reading this post , you might be interested in our past blog posts on Facebook demographics and usage in the Middle East and North Africa: Egypt Facebook demographics (January 2011) Ten Middle East digital predictions for 2011 (January 2011) Facebook adds 1 million more Arabic users (August 2010) Facebook bigger than newspapers? So what? (May 2010) 15 Million MENA Facebook Users Report (May 2010) Join Spot On PRs Facebook page French president Nicolas Sarkozy has come out and said he wants a regulated web You need to hear our limits, our red lines he told an audience at the two-day e-G8 conference. The AP report is linked here. His is not the first whiff of regulatory sulphur, of course only the other day I posted about the British culture secretary sending out a clear enough is enough message regarding privacy on the Internet after Twitter made a mockery of that Great British Institution, the super-injunction. Of course, it should come as no surprise to hear those who govern us (all too often, you cant help but think, forgetting theyre supposed to be representing us) starting to talk about regulation. Wikileaks was a massive wake-up call to governments, followed by the wake-up call of the Arab Spring. We now know two things we did not fully appreciate a year ago.We have to redefine privacy, secrecy and transparency and we have to redefine governance, the aspirations of people and the way in which they are represented. But redefining these things doesnt necessarily mean micro-regulating them, at least in part because its so fast moving out there youd be hard put to keep up and thats a key problem governments have found in the past: you cant create legislation that keeps up with innovation. The Microsoft vs DOJ case showed quite clearly that an entire technology market, let alone platforms and applications, can change during a single action in the courts, let alone the time taken to draft and pass a piece of well defined legislation. Establishing a set of principles might be a nice approach to take, but then weve been doing that ourselves: up to now, morality and behaviour on the Internet have been largely a function of communities we all know what the rules are (if you use someone elses link on Twitter, you include in the tweet that it was via them; if you send unwanted emails to people youll be called a spammer and face consumer unhappiness; if you hijack a hashtag, youll get pwned all over the place and so on) or are in the process of coming to terms with changes and defining rules as a pretty much consensual process. Of course, regulating the Internet in the name of privacy and responsibility is all very well, but we also have to be wary of regulating discourse even when that discourse is uncomfortable for us. And heres the issue at the heart of government discomfort with that discourse: the ability for people to share opinion and organise in shows of public opinion that are not ordered through the representational process that has put the people in government where they are. I mean, imagine a world in which everyones voice could be heard! How insane would that be? A world where everyone had access to a viable way of voting instantly on any given topic, of canvassing opinions and sharing information without fear of corporate interference, lobbying or governmental mendacity, a world in which we didnt actually need to be represented by politicians because we have the mechanisms in our own hands to represent ourselves. Why do I need an MP to vote on my behalf in parliament when I can register a vote on a website instantly and have that vote counted in picoseconds? What if the Internet could slim down government in the same way it has slimmed down other disintermediated processes? What if? This piece also appears on Alexander McNabbs personal blog Fake Plastic Souks. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has come out and said he wants a regulated web You need to hear our limits, our red lines he told an audience at the two-day e-G8 conference. The AP report is linked here. His is not the first whiff of regulatory sulphur, of course only the other day I posted about the British culture secretary sending out a clear enough is enough message regarding privacy on the Internet after Twitter made a mockery of that Great British Institution, the super-injunction. Of course, it should come as no surprise to hear those who govern us (all too often, you cant help but think, forgetting theyre supposed to be representing us) starting to talk about regulation. Wikileaks was a massive wake-up call to governments, followed by the wake-up call of the Arab Spring. We now know two things we did not fully appreciate a year ago.We have to redefine privacy, secrecy and transparency and we have to redefine governance, the aspirations of people and the way in which they are represented. But redefining these things doesnt necessarily mean micro-regulating them, at least in part because its so fast moving out there youd be hard put to keep up and thats a key problem governments have found in the past: you cant create legislation that keeps up with innovation. The Microsoft vs DOJ case showed quite clearly that an entire technology market, let alone platforms and applications, can change during a single action in the courts, let alone the time taken to draft and pass a piece of well defined legislation. Establishing a set of principles might be a nice approach to take, but then weve been doing that ourselves: up to now, morality and behaviour on the Internet have been largely a function of communities we all know what the rules are (if you use someone elses link on Twitter, you include in the tweet that it was via them; if you send unwanted emails to people youll be called a spammer and face consumer unhappiness; if you hijack a hashtag, youll get pwned all over the place and so on) or are in the process of coming to terms with changes and defining rules as a pretty much consensual process. Of course, regulating the Internet in the name of privacy and responsibility is all very well, but we also have to be wary of regulating discourse even when that discourse is uncomfortable for us. And heres the issue at the heart of government discomfort with that discourse: the ability for people to share opinion and organise in shows of public opinion that are not ordered through the representational process that has put the people in government where they are. I mean, imagine a world in which everyones voice could be heard! How insane would that be? A world where everyone had access to a viable way of voting instantly on any given topic, of canvassing opinions and sharing information without fear of corporate interference, lobbying or governmental mendacity, a world in which we didnt actually need to be represented by politicians because we have the mechanisms in our own hands to represent ourselves. Why do I need an MP to vote on my behalf in parliament when I can register a vote on a website instantly and have that vote counted in picoseconds? What if the Internet could slim down government in the same way it has slimmed down other disintermediated processes? What if?Whos Afraid Of A Regulated Web? French president Nicolas Sarkozy has come out and said he wants a regulated web You need to hear our limits, our red lines he told an audience at the two-day e-G8 conference. The AP report is linked here. His is not the first whiff of regulatory sulphur, of course only the other day I posted about the British culture secretary sending out a clear enough is enough message regarding privacy on the Internet after Twitter made a mockery of that Great British Institution, the super-injunction. Of course, it should come as no surprise to hear those who govern us (all too often, you cant help but think, forgetting theyre supposed to be representing us) starting to talk about regulation. Wikileaks was a massive wake-up call to governments, followed by the wake-up call of the Arab Spring. We now know two things we did not fully appreciate a year ago.We have to redefine privacy, secrecy and transparency and we have to redefine governance, the aspirations of people and the way in which they are represented. But redefining these things doesnt necessarily mean micro-regulating them, at least in part because its so fast moving out there youd be hard put to keep up and thats a key problem governments have found in the past: you cant create legislation that keeps up with innovation. The Microsoft vs DOJ case showed quite clearly that an entire technology market, let alone platforms and applications, can change during a single action in the courts, let alone the time taken to draft and pass a piece of well defined legislation. Establishing a set of principles might be a nice approach to take, but then weve been doing that ourselves: up to now, morality and behaviour on the Internet have been largely a function of communities we all know what the rules are (if you use someone elses link on Twitter, you include in the tweet that it was via them; if you send unwanted emails to people youll be called a spammer and face consumer unhappiness; if you hijack a hashtag, youll get pwned all over the place and so on) or are in the process of coming to terms with changes and defining rules as a pretty much consensual process. Of course, regulating the Internet in the name of privacy and responsibility is all very well, but we also have to be wary of regulating discourse even when that discourse is uncomfortable for us. And heres the issue at the heart of government discomfort with that discourse: the ability for people to share opinion and organise in shows of public opinion that are not ordered through the representational process that has put the people in government where they are. I mean, imagine a world in which everyones voice could be heard! How insane would that be? A world where everyone had access to a viable way of voting instantly on any given topic, of canvassing opinions and sharing information without fear of corporate interference, lobbying or governmental mendacity, a world in which we didnt actually need to be represented by politicians because we have the mechanisms in our own hands to represent ourselves. Why do I need an MP to vote on my behalf in parliament when I can register a vote on a website instantly and have that vote counted in picoseconds? What if the Internet could slim down government in the same way it has slimmed down other disintermediated processes? For those that have been watching the Arab worlds market for mobile applications, things could be about to heat up. The past few years have seen a wholesale change in perceptions of what mobile phone apps are supposed to look like, how theyre supposed to work and how they leverage Internet services. Now with the growing choice in platforms and apps, the mobile space has become very appy, but while gadget freaks across the region have been on the edge of their seats every time a brand introduces a new series of app ready phones, marketers have been biding their time. Is it a fad? Do mobile apps reach beyond geekdom? How fast is the uptake anyway? If the results from the new Effective Measure | Spot On PR Middle East and North Africa Internet users survey are anything to go by, mobile app usage is catching on fast. 45% of Internet users taking part in our mobile usage survey across MENA told us that they used their mobile phones to access the Internet. Of those, 85% stated that they have downloaded applications for their mobile phones, whilst 27% claimed to download more than one mobile app per week. About 20% of mobile Internet users also claimed to have paid money for a mobile application download, even though availability of paid-for mobile apps in the region still remains quite limited. Here are some more key points from the survey: - 45% of all Middle East & North Africa Internet users surveyed use their mobile phones to access the Internet, rising to 50% among Internet users in the United Arab Emirates. - 71% of mobile Internet users rank email as biggest mobile data activity. - Other popular activities on the mobile Internet were social networking (34%), news & weather (29%), sports news (29%) and hobbies (25%). - Mobile access habits of male & female users differ significantly. Female mobile Internet users surveyed in MENA were more likely to use photo and video sharing websites and applications than their male counterparts. Usage of mobile games was also more popular among female respondees than males. - 85% of MENA mobile Internet users surveyed have downloaded apps and 27% of those surveyed download more than one app per week to their mobile phones. - 49% of all MENA Internet users surveyed plan to buy a tablet before end of February, whereas 57% of MENA mobile Internet users plan to buy a tablet device. Download the full survey report (PDF) Download the press release (English, Word doc) Download the press release (Arabic, Word doc) Media Consumption & Habits of MENA Internet users by Effective Measure and Spot On Public Relations is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. If you liked reading this post about MENA mobile Internet users, you might like some of our other Internet demographics and habits surveys: MENA Consumer E-commerce Habits Survey (September 2010) MENA Internet habits Survey (July 2010) 15 Million MENA Facebook Users Report (May 2010) Twitter & Customer Service Survey (March 2010) Spot On PRs MENA Twitter Demographics & User Habits Survey (2009) If you would like to receive reports like this by email, plus special bonus information click here to join Spot On PRs mailing list. Like Spot On PRs Facebook page Follow Spot On PR on Twitter Watch Spot On PRs Youtube channel The Egyptian peoples uprising is undoubtedly one of the most shocking, significant and, some would say, hopeful major socio-political events (update: and now must be said highly dangerous!) that weve seen in our 16 years of business in the Arab world. So, as many are, were following developments quite closely and have been glued to Al Jazeera over the weekend and following journalists and activists in Egypt via Twitter (even though most of the country has been cut off, a few people have been tweeting over the weekend using sat phones, GSM roaming and other technologies). Heres a working list of our must read analysis and opinion about the demonstrations in Egypt, world opinion and the Egyptian peoples self-determination. Update: this list is not meant to be comprehensive and there are many journalists that have done an amazing job at reporting on Egypt that are not mentioned here. Cairo is not Tehran (6 February 2011) Some commentators are already warning that were seeing a remake of Irans Islamic revolution in Cairo: Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times Doyle McManus disagrees. The west should cheer, not fear, this cry for freedom in Egypt (6 February 2011) The Observers award-winning chief political commentator Andrew Rawnsley believes the Wests values and its long-term self-interest demand that it backs the struggle for democracy in the Middle East. Why Israel fears a free Egypt (6 February 2011) Veteran negotiator US Aaron David Miller on why Israel fears a free Middle East and the risks Israel sees resulting from major changes in Egypts politics and government. In Egypt, the lamestream media shows its courage and value (6 February 2011) The Washington Posts Kathleen Parker argues that mainstream media covering the turmoil in Egypt deserve credit for being there and getting the news out despite the now obvious risks. The wrong Mubarak quits. Soon the right one will go (6 February 2011) The Independents Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk writes that protesters in Tahrir Square are right to be sceptical despite the apparent shake-up in Egypts ruling party. Lies, damned lies (5 February 2011) Chief Editor of Daily News Egypt Rania Al Malky gives her personal account and analysis of the Mubarak regimes propaganda machine. How to Deal with Egypt the Wests Dilemma (4 February 2011) Firas Al-Atraqchi Associate Professor of Practice in Journalism at American University in Cairo explains the quandry faced by Western governments in reacting to Egypts pro-democracy protests. What Al Jazeera shows and doesnt show (4 February 2011) Sheila Carapico professor of political science at the University of Richmond and the American University in Cairo writes about how television is no longer an independent messenger, but rather a force thats helping shape the story. Understanding Revolutionary Egypt (4 February 2011) Foreign Policy magazine asks three experts to to discuss how the world should adjust to Egypts rapidly shifting reality. Authoritarian states in focus after Mideast turmoil (4 February 2011) Reuters Political Risk Correspondent Peter Apps writes how demands for democracy remain a powerful force around the world. Egypt violence exposes secret tools of state repression (4 February 2011) BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner writes that events in Egypt during the past few days have given the world a small but painful taste of the dark side of President Mubaraks regime. Have Egypts rulers thought about the isolation that awaits them? (4 February 2011) American historian, foreign policy commentator and Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan asks have Egypts rulers and military leaders asked themselves, after they finish bloodying the opposition, whats next? Egypt protests: An endgame seems to be approaching, but whose? (3 February 2011 Dan Murphy asks in the Christian Science Monitor if the intimidation of the press and human rights groups on Thursday is a prelude to a crackdown intended to break the back of the demonstrators? Egypt: What will happen next? (3 February 2011) Osman Mirghani Senior Editor-at-Large for Saudi Arabias influencial newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat calls for real focus on dialogue between different parties to help shape Egypts future. Blood and fear in Cairos streets as Mubaraks men crack down on protests (3 February 2011) Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk calls February 2nds protests final vindication of all Mubaraks critics and a shameful indictment of the Obamas and Clintons who failed to denounce [him]. Mr. Mubarak holds Egypt hostage (3 February 2011) Michael Wahid Hanna fellow and program officer at the Century Foundation writes on Foreign Policy that since the Egyptian military have been implicated in Wednesdays violence, there should be a clear public statement from the US on Egypt. Watching Thugs With Razors and Clubs at Tahrir Sq. (3 February 2011)* New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristofs personal account of the Tahrir Square violence on Wednesday February 2nd. It feels good to be Arab these days (3 February 2011) Lebanese philosopher, linguist and freelance writer Goufrane Mansour writes in The Guardian The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt are a great awakening for Arabs led to believe they were incapable of change. U.S. Interests in Peril as Youth Rebel, Leaders Quit in Mideast (3 February 2011) Bloomberg analysis on how the events of the past few weeks have irrevocably altered politics of the Middle East making new demands on the way the US deals with countries in the region. In Cairo streets, a fight for the Arab future (2 February 2011)* Anthony Shadid, foreign correspondent for the New York Times, on how the Arab world may never be the same again. Game over: The chance for democracy in Egypt is lost (2 February 2011) Robert Springborg, professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and Program Manager for the Middle East for the Center for Civil-Military Relations, describes on Foreign Policy how the Egyptian president and military have outsmarted the opposition and the Obama administration. The New Arab World Order (31 January 2011) Robert D. Kaplan sums up the dangers of a revolution for US interests and what action President Barack Obama should take on Foreign Policy. Pharaohs End (31 January 2011) Foreign Policy asks five top experts how Barack Obama should respond to the growing signs of revolt on Egypts streets. Arab rebellions puncture Qaeda propaganda (31 January 2011) Reuters Security Correspondent William Maclean reports than some sources see the pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt as a huge defeat for Al Qaeda. Egypt: a day of deadlock (31 Jan 2011) Brian Whitaker sums up the impasse between President Mubarak and the popular movement of demonstators calling for democracy very well. Washington Plays for Time in Egypt and the Arab World (30 Jan 2011) Massimo Calabresi writes about Tunisia revolutions past and the US position on the Egypt demonstrations on TIMEs politics and policy blog. Egyptian army holds key to Mubaraks fate (30 Jan 2011) Alistair Lyon, Reuters Special Correspondent, reviews the role of the Egyptian military establishment. Investors face risks however Egypt plays out (30 Jan 2011) Reuters Political Risk Correspondent Peter Apps weighs the economic risk now associated with Egypt, with or without Hosni Mubarak. Mubaraks dictatorship must end now (30 Jan 2011) The UKs Sunday Observer on the impasse and unsustainable deadlock between Egypts people and president. A test of Egypts military and its relations with U.S. (30 Jan 2011) Washington Post Staff Writers Howard Schneider and Greg Jaffe review the USA-Egypt military relationship. Obama Presses for Change but Not a New Face at the Top (29 Jan 2011)* New York Times David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper on Egypt, US policy and the Obama adminsitrations recent statements. President Obama: here is your game changer (29 Jan 2011) Amaney Jamal, Ellen Lust and Tarek Masoud on the Foreign Policy blog on the fears of the Obama administration. Yearning for Respect, Arabs Find a Voice (29 Jan 2011)* Anthony Shadid, foreign correspondent for the New York Times, writing on the shared destiny that is driving change in Egypt and Tunisia. Arab rulers only option is reform (29 Jan 2011) Editorial in Lebanons Daily Star: Arab autocrats should learn it is too late for them to undertake reform, but it is their only way forward. Why Egypt matters (28 Jan 2011) Roger Hardy, Middle East analyst at Woodrow Wilson Center, on BBC News website. The scent of jasmine spreads (27 Jan 2011) The Economist calls it again. the real question for Mr Mubarak is whether he wants to leave his country with a chance of peaceful change, or to leave it ablaze. * New York Times requires log-in. If you dont want to register, you can search for the headline in Google and its usually possible to read the story without logging in to NYT. You can find more links to breaking news, blog posts, photos and other updates from the past few days via Spot On PRs Twitter profile @spotonpr Last updated 6February 2011, 8pm UAE / 4pm GMT Weve seen a sharp increase in interest in our Middle East and North Africa Facebook Demographics report from last year since Egypts reported moves to block the social media platform following public protests on January 25th, 2011. For this reason, weve just updated the Egypt country section of this report, which you can download as an Adobe Acrobat file. Egypt still leads the Arab world in numbers of Facebook subscribers, with 5 million members and has the largest number of users of Facebooks Arabic interface (2.2 million Facebook Arabic users in Egypt, versus 1.8 million in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). 30% of Egypts 17 million Internet users are Facebook subscribers: up from 20% in May 2010. Nearly 3 million of Egypts 5 million Facebook subscribers are under the age of 25 years old (58%), making it one of the youngest Facebook communities in the MENA region. 63% of Egyptian Facebook members are male. Egypt Facebook Demographics (January 2011 update) Middle East & North Africa Facebook Demographics (May 2010) If you liked reading this post about MENA Internet users, you might like some of our other Internet demographics and habits surveys: MENA Consumer E-commerce Habits Survey (September 2010) MENA Internet Habits Survey (July 2010) Twitter & Customer Service Survey (March 2010) Spot On PRs MENA Twitter Demographics & User Habits Survey (2009) If you would like to receive reports like this by email, plus special bonus information click here to join Spot On PRs mailing list. Like Spot On PRs Facebook page Follow Spot On PR on Twitter Watch Spot On PRs Youtube channel Tomorrows DubaiToday radio show should be quite special were bringing no less than seven respected bloggers onto the show to talk about how, why and what they blog. Blogging is beginning to wield more influence the Middle East and, as social networks now help drive demand for relevant local and regional content, were seeing an increase in the quality and variety of blogs across the region (also see Spot Ons Ten Middle East Digital predictions for 2011). My co-host Suzanne Radford and I will be joined in the studio by SeaBee of Life in Dubai, Who-Sane, Bebhinn Kelly of Hellawafashion and Sarah Walton of Sandpit Diaries. SeaBee should need little introduction hes one of the longer-serving bloggers in the region, having founded the blog back in 2006, arguably the hey-day of UAE blogging (The UAE Community Blog was founded back in 2005). A voice of reason occasionally heard crying in the wilderness, his commentary on Life in Dubai is a must-read. Who-Sanes original blog was deleted, which is a shame as it contains the full story of how a Jordanian bloggers cry against injustice ended up in bringing His Majesty King Abdulla of Jordan into the frame. Sarah Walton is one of the newer bloggers on the block, her Sandpit Diaries mixing social commentary with a passion (and flair) for photography. Last, but by no means least, fashion blogger Bebhinn Kelly is a professional blogger whose Hellwafashio blog is the first, of what we think will be a growing number, professional blog in the region. During the show well be joined on the lines by Sara Refai, whose Ussa Nabulsiyeh blog documents her life as a volunteer teacher in Nablus. The blog also resulted in a spontaneous social media campaign last year that saved the life of a small Palestinian girl and showed the team behind charity the PCRF the way forwards in terms of online social activism. Were also being joined by Micheline Hazou, whose MichCafe blog is a delightful personal account of everyday life, reminiscence and discovery. And then theres Roba. Roba Al Assi is not only the person behind popular Jordanian blog And Far Away, shes also the guiding intelligence behind Bayt.coms new website and community for marketing professionals in the Middle East. Altogether, I think youll agree, a stellar cast of Middle Eastern bloggers whose experience and wisdom on all things online should make a compelling two hours of radio! Tune in to DubaiEye103.8FMon Tuesday January 25th from 10am to 12 noon UAE time to listen to the show (11am to 1pm KSA). You can also listen to Dubai Today via Dubai Eye 103.8FMs live audio streaming. Follow Dubai Today show updates via Twitter by following hashtag #DubaiToday. You can keep up to-date on topics for Dubai Todays weekly TechnoTuesday show by following the Spot On PR Facebook page. Why do you blog? Blogging, social change & the media Blogging from Nablus (Blogger call-in live from Palestine) Blogging, PR and objectivity The Jordanian blogosphere (blogger call-in live from Amman) Censorship, the media and the future of blogging