Produced by the Dubai School of Government’s Governance and Innovation Program, the second Arab Social Media Report highlights and specifically analyzes usage trends of online social networking across the Arab region based on data collected in the first quarter of 2011. In this edition, the report analyzes data on Twitter and Facebook users in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey, highlighting the role they played in the civil movements that swept the region during that period. This is part of a larger research initiative focusing on social engagement through ICT for better policy in Arab states, which explores the use of social networking services in governance, social inclusion and entrepreneurship promotion. The initiative also studies the potential of social networking applications for increasing collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation, both between and among government entities, citizens and the private sector.

Toward this end, the Arab Social Media Report aims to inform a better understanding of the impact of social media on development and growth in the Arab region by exploring the following questions: What are the penetration trends of social networking services in the Arab region? What is the growth rate, and what is the demographic and gender breakdown? What factors affect the adoption of these platforms in different Arab countries (e.g., income, youth population, digital access, Internet freedom, etc.)? What is the impact of these phenomena on citizen engagement and social inclusion? What is the impact of the new social networking dynamics on innovation and entrepreneurship? Ultimately, we hope that the report findings shed light on the role that social media played during the civil movements in the region in 2011.

This report, along with supplementary charts and information, is available at http://www.ArabSocialMediaReport.com.