Data used during the panel discussion

3. Social Commerce

4. e-Commerce

5. Gaming

6. Social Networking for a Cause

8. Social media platforms chosen for engagement and how they are connected to one another with a Blog at its base pushing content to other platforms.

9. KEYWORD NEIGHBORHOOD

10. Connecting social media platforms via RSS and traditional backlinks.

11. 3 C’s

12. Consistency, Clarity and Congruency of message on the web using blogs as the base of the Social Media Infrastructure.

13. CONFLICT

14. Individual Opinion vs. Public Agenda.

15. Social Activism and Social Capital.

16. COMMERCIAL

17. Revenue Conversion- Benchmarking(Facebook fans, likes, tweets, etc..)

19. A label for something that varies with the changing power relations of people choosing to define it.

20. DRIVERS

21. Low Prices

22. Immediate Gratification.

23. DEMAND-DRIVEN-PRICING

24. It changes the balance of power from seller to buyer – consumer empowerment, that can reshape markets

25. “Push“ strategy- focus on finding and converting customers where they are.

26. POTENTIAL: ‘WE’ BEING STRONGER THAN ‘ME’.

27. Group-buy  the future of social commerce as a distinctive phenomenon.

28. ‘Destination' ecommerce marketplace today -$200 billion, though Facebook has overtaken Google as the most trafficked site, few brands have storefronts on Facebook. If only 1% of ecommerce dollars shift toward social commerce, that's a $2 billion market overnight.

29. Forrester Research’s Q4 2009 US Retail Executive Online Survey-64% of respondents named social commerce as one of the top 5 investment priorities in 2010.

30. "friend," "follow," or "subscribe to" –56% of online shoppers and Social Media users can be mapped.

31. DISTRIBUTION

32. Content consumed across the web.

33. Infrastructure: Ad Networks, Social Networks, And Commerce Platforms.

35. Global e-commerce is expected to top $13 trillion (Dh47.7trn) by 2012, UAE alone accounting for more than $36 billion in 2010.

36. Expected annual growth of e-commerce in the Gulf -20 per cent, rate of growth in the UAE might reach 50 per cent once the global financial crisis has abated.

37. e-commerce in Saudi Arabia topped $12bn a year- global e-commerce -$13trn in 2012-850 million people around the world.

38. E-COMMERCE PENETRATION

39. UAE (25.1%); Arabia (14.3%); Kuwait (10.7%); Lebanon 1.6% of the total population.

40. http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/11/02/MiddleEast.html# (Middle eastern economic metrics.)

41. Travel and Gaming (MMOGs- Massively Multiplayer Online Games) have been benefitted the most.

42. “E-COMMERCE PILLARS”

43. Internet usage penetration levels

44. Infrastructure development

45. Education levels

46. Financial services, such as the availability and usage levels of credit cards and debit cards

47. Income levels

48. CHALLENGES

49. Technological hurdles- weak electronic infrastructure, technological culture and awareness among people, and shortage of trained personnel.

50. Commercial Obstacles-lowlevels of experience and lack of aid needed to transfer commercial activities into electronic ones.

51. Governmental Challenges- policies adopted by some governments & their direct or indirect effect on the spread of e-commerce.

52. Social and Cultural aspects of some nations.

53. Legal challenges are involved in e-commerce exchanges.

55. 63 Mn Internet users in UAE, penetration rate 28.3%. Global avg 25.6%.

56. 1,648% in online gaming in last 9 years. Now a $15 billion global annual business.

57. 1.6 billion worldwide gamers, 38% from the Arab world.

58. Main players- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and the UAE.

59. DETTERENCE

60. Copyrightissues. Exception: Multiplayer online games who entered market 5 yrs ago. (Games free to download or play online, copying not an issue.)

61. GROWTH

62. 20% in mature markets, In Middle East 5%.

63. Approx 50 Arabic online games presently; 500,000 subscribers per month. Saudi Arabia and Egypt -biggest online gamers. Growing at 50% every year .

64. FUTURE :

65. Arab gaming industry to explore opportunities and compete so as to keep pace with exponential growth in global online gaming. Internet usage in region has grown >1,825% since 2000.

66. Regional online gaming industry about $100 million in 2010 as compared to $70 million in 2009.

67. Potential- Average users 1hr/day; hard-core players 6 to 8 hours/day. Monetarily$15 a day.

68. By 2015, the Middle East to be in the top 5 spenders globally.

69. MAJORISSUES:

71. Mass collaboration

72. People Mobilization

73. POTENTIAL IN LDC’S

74. 1 million Facebook users in Egypt within 3 years. South Africa has 1.1 million users, Morocco 369,000, Tunisia 279,000, Nigeria 220,000, Kenya 150,000,and Mauritius 60,000. The largest online social network is in China.

75. “GLOCAL” COMMUNITIES

76. Local communities pushing Global change and vice versa.

77. DRIVERS

78. Ease of connectivity and networking.

79. Build interest groups- gauge public interest (online communities, fans, followers, etc.)

80. 4 C’s SOCIAL MEDIA FRAMEWORK

81. Collaboration, Community and Collective Intelligence.

82. MOBILITY

83. Content sharing: hashtags, web2fordev

84. Increased access: mobile versions of social networks.

85. LIVE EXAMPLES

86. Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain

88. THANK YOU