Virtual relationships come alive on social media

DUBAI — Hectic urban lifestyles and intense work schedules turn social activities into mission impossible for a lot of people living in the UAE. Social media have stepped in as useful helpers with a growing number of people turning to these networks to build virtual relationships.

by

Muaz Shabandri

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Published: Mon 26 Jul 2010, 11:56 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 2:54 PM

Shamim Kassibawi, a senior PR executive from New Zealand says, “Being on social networks is wonderful. Not only do I meet amazing people from different backgrounds but I also get to learn and read about different cultures here.”

UAE has over 1.7 million registered Facebook users, and a Twitter population of over 15,000. With the growing popularity of these websites, more and more people are making their virtual presence felt. Shamim adds, “If I visit a restaurant and I am impressed with the food or service then I will make sure I tweet about it and I feel it is only fair to give a brand the credit it deserves.”

Kellie Whitehead, a freelance copywriter from Britain says, “I use Twitter all day every day. It’s a bit of an addiction, but I don’t mind that because I use it for work purposes too, I have gained many professional contacts via Twitter, and it helps me keep in the loop with local industry happenings.”

When asked about her Facebook profile, she adds, “I have a Facebook profile too but I don’t connect with anyone on Facebook, especially when I don’t know the person in real life.”

Shifting focus from traditional forms of communication, a lot of brands actively engage with audiences over these social networks to enhance their corporate identity.

Commenting on the growing number of users in the UAE, Carrington Malin, Managing Director at Spot On PR says, “It is the volume and frequency of conversations that makes Twitter influential. The most active Twitter users in the UAE are also active on Facebook, have their own blogs and many work in the media, communications and marketing industry. So, news surfacing on Twitter has the potential to reach many other people via other social networks and word-of-mouth.”

GeekFest, a regular gathering of Twitter users and tech-savvy UAE residents is a reflection of the growing sense of bonding in the active online community.

Ritesh Jeswani, an account manager at Socialize says, “Networking events for the online community are taken to an offline community. Events like GeekFest and LeMagnifique are promoted purely online and yet pull in a mass sum of people that you would have interacted daily on a 140 character basis.”

“Twitter as a tool has helped me meet individuals from all over the region and my current employer and I first interacted on the site.”

Many people cannot imagine a single day without updating their Facebook profile, sharing information via Twitter and writing a new blog post.

Mani Karthik, an active blogger and ardent techie says, “The UAE community is very elite and passionate about what they’re into. Everybody is very different in what they do and what they are and the one common thing that interests them is Twitter.”

Just like any popular trend, social networking has led to intense debates. Are social networks our friends? Do they bring more benefits or do they harm users?

Karthik quickly negates the criticism as he says, “Twitter is more than a communication tool. It is a new platform, a new media. It might sound a bit awkward now, but it is going to grow from here, and everybody’s going to crave for it.”

news@khaleejtimes.com


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