Twitter is the media platform for Saudis

TWITTER became an attractive platform where young Saudis love to share their ideas and discuss hot issues. Some people believe that Twitter has become one of the most preferred platforms used by Saudis as a forum to discuss local and international issues such as harassment, unemployment, housing shortages, corruption, and political changes worldwide.
When asked if Twitter should be a media platform to convey public opinion, media experts were divided. Saud Kateb, new media professor and deputy supervisor of the media center at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and writer at Al-Sharq daily Arabic newspaper, said Twitter is a good tool to help citizens convey their messages to officials. He said it has both advantages and disadvantages also.
“Twitter became a media platform for citizens who wanted to be heard. Nowadays, many citizens can send a message to officials, heads of companies and ministers,” he said.
Kateb considers Twitter a weapon that can be used for both good and bad. He criticized the way Saudis use Twitter to discuss certain issues and political cases.
“Issues that are related to investigations and court cases shouldn’t be discussed on Twitter. I think some cases were negatively influenced by Twitter users. Twitter was used as a tool by Saudis and Egyptians to trade barbs over the recent diplomatic crisis between the Kingdom and Egypt following the arrest of alleged Egyptian drug dealer Ahmed Al-Gizawi at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah,” he said.
“What we are seeing on Twitter is a huge number of Saudis including both youth and elderly gathering to discuss several issues concerning our society. Such forums are not negative, but it needs to be more organized in terms of sensitive issues or it will definitely have a negative impact,” he said.
Kateb confirmed that there is a big gap in the traditional media and that young people turned to social media in order to have their voices heard.
“Traditional media has to self-assess and be more open to different opinions. They also have to activate channels to allow interaction with public and deliver their voices. Once traditional media succeed in connecting with young people, the pressure on social media will be reduced,” said Kateb.
Hussam Al-Qurashi, vice president of marketing and external affairs at Al-Nahdi group and presenter of a YouTube channel, agreed new media had been successful in connecting with young people and allowing them to have their voices heard.
“Many programs happen on YouTube and then publicized on Twitter among youth. Young people have expanded their networks over Twitter, discussing how to reach officials in many sectors and have their voice heard,” he said.
“Major problems in Saudi society had been discussed in social media sites such as Twitter. For example, Essam Al-Zamil launched a program to discuss problems with the housing sector, attracting many followers.”
According to Al-Qurashi, it normally requires time and effort to contact go through established media channels to discuss controversial issues, but it is much quicker and easier through social media.
“I think in terms of the Al-Gizawi issue, social media worked faster than traditional media to discuss the case. In traditional media it takes time to discuss such issues because of bureaucracy,” he said.
Ibrahim Muftah, Saudi writer, poet and historian, said Twitter is a dangerous platform that should not be a source of information.
“I believe that Twitter is dangerous because it is open to all people. Our society because of its diversity cannot understand all views. In addition, we can’t be sure of the identities of Twitter users, especially if the names are well known or famous,” he said.
Talking about sensitive issues like Al-Gizawi and Hamza Kashghari (who insulted the Prophet, peace be upon him), Muftah said such cases should be resolved through official channels and mosques.
He added Twitter would never be an accurate source of information, especially in the absence of control.
Anas Al-Harbi, a Saudi student graduate of the Technical and Vocational Corporation, said he finds Twitter the best platform to discuss issues related to society.
“I used to have an account on Twitter to discuss my views of unemployment. I think my colleges and I found Twitter the best platform to discuss such issues. We organized a campaign to promote our skills and contact construction companies through Twitter. We tried to deliver our views through traditional media, but we didn’t have the opportunity to appear on television, radio or in newspapers. Twitter was the fastest and easy tool we used to deliver our message,” he said.
Twitter has become extremely popular in Saudi Arabia and according to IQPC, Saudi Arabia has seen a 240 percent increase in the number of Twitter users in 2010. On top of that, according to the Arab Social Media Report by the Dubai School of Government, Saudi Arabia has the third highest number of Twitter users in the Middle East.
In December 2011, Saudi prince and business magnate Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has purchased a $300 million stake in Twitter. He said that he wanted to give the site a cash boost as it looks to entice more users and paying advertisers.