Social networking site Keek gets mixed reviews

On social networking site Keek, a 36 second video clip is enough to deliver the message of its user. The website is the newest social networking medium that is gaining popularity in Saudi Arabia, and some criticism too. Instead of typing tweets, posting photos on instagram and posting status updates on Facebook, a user can post a video or a ‘keek’ that is no longer than 36 seconds.
Many users post their diaries this way, with the contents being either beneficial, which is a rarity, or just ridiculous. It is considered a smaller version of YouTube and is being called the ‘Twitter for video”.
Keek was created by a Canadian company in 2011 as a social networking website with personal and genuine content. A survey by Alexa showed that Saudis constitute the most users of the website, comprising about 38 percent, followed by Americans who are accounted for about 16 percent of all users.
However, many people have criticized Keek. They say they do not need to know about trivial details of common people, not to mention the announcements of those people on Twitter where they invite others to check out their Keek videos.
Social activist Naser Al-Balbisi used the program initially but later removed it, saying he could not understand the reason for its popularity, especially when people had been able to upload video clips to Facebook and YouTube since 2007.
“I don’t know why would they upload video messages on Keek instead, knowing that it limits the video to just a few seconds.”
The UAE’s telecommunication company Etisalat Corporation had blocked some links on Keek for promoting inappropriate videos and notions that contradict with the country’s values and traditions.