1.
Digital
Digest
Issue 11, Q1 2014

2.
The Social Impact Department at the Ministry of Information and
Communication Technology (ictQATAR) established Rassed, a
program that aims to study the effects of the Internet and
Information Communication Technologies (ICT) on society; and the
potential of emerging digital technologies.
About Rassed

3.
Highlights
Middle
East gets
new Twitter
“location
trends”
MENA’s
most
popular
YouTube
channels
revealed
Drones to
deliver ID
cards in
U.A.E
New local
e-goods
platform
launched
MENA’s
mobile data
growth is
the highest
in the world
How some
residents in
MENA
can’t afford
broadband
Google
Street view
comes to
Dubai
.Shabaka
arabic
domain
goes live
China the
least active
country on
social
media
Global
Mobile
payments
to increase
6X by 2017

4.
Social Media

5.
Twitter adds 16 new
Middle East “trend” locations
New locations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan,
Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Algeria and Lebanon.
Location trends reflect the topics or “#” that are most
popular in a specific location at certain time.
The Next Web: http://tnw.co/1dooRlB

6.
The Middle East’s
most popular YouTube Channels
Istizada: http://bit.ly/1g9EJhA
1 billion views +500 million views
+300 million views 2.5 million views

7.
Social TV coming to Middle East
YouToo will allow viewers to
interact in real time - from the
web or their mobile device -
with TV programs using
video, pictures, voting and
social media.
Gulf News: http://bit.ly/1hzRXRw Image courtesy of Technology Review: http://bit.ly/1g9Ezqk

8.
Technology

9.
World Bank: Some MENA residents
feel broadband is not affordable
In Morocco and Tunisia
low-income households
would need to pay about
of their income to afford fixed or
mobile broadband services.
While in Yemen
low-income households
need to spend half
their income for mobile Internet.
World Bank: http://bit.ly/1b4MP9R

10.
Cisco predicts strongest
mobile data growth in MENA 2013-18
Cisco’s full report: http://bit.ly/Msevdw
Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: Global
Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update,
2013–2018 suggests MENA will have the
strongest mobile data traffic growth of
any region in the next five years.

11.
UAE proposes drones to
deliver ID cards and driving licenses
Aljazeera: http://aje.me/OvwtNa
“We want to save time, to shorten distances, to increase
effectiveness and to make services easier”
Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

12.
Ambulances in Qatar
to control traffic lights
New technology will enable
emergency vehicles to transmit a
signal to change the traffic lights
ahead of them, reducing
potentially life threatening delays.
Doha News: http://bit.ly/1dcmcB4

13.
MENA workers prefer
face to face over technology
Although 76% admit technology makes them more efficient.
Their preferred method of communication is “in person”.
Bayt: http://bit.ly/POwnkG

14.
Digital Content

15.
New DotShabaka
top level Internet domain goes live
The first generic Arabic
domain name has gone live,
allowing users to solely access
sites in Arabic script rather than
having to use .com .org etc.
BBC: http://bbc.in/1nD1yy4

16.
The Middle East’s
first “Mobile Mall” is launched
SAMY is a mobile app, which
enables merchants and
shopping centers to market
via mobile devices.
Emirates 24 7: http://bit.ly/1igvWJd image courtesy of Samy.com

17.
Asnad: First Arabic
platform for selling digital goods
Portal to buy and sell “digital goods” like e-
books, computer and mobile apps, web scripts,
games, audio and video clips and digital art.
Zawya: http://bit.ly/1j4Pxve

18.
Most news content on
YouTube comes from Qatar &Syria
For the full infographic: http://bit.ly/1huGjr3
Countries contribution by content category:
In other categories,
Saudi Arabia leads the
contribution for comedy,
whilst UAE dominates
Entertainment content.
Music content is popular
in Egypt and Lebanon.

19.
Google Street View
cars coming to the Middle East
Dubai will be the first city in the Middle East to
have street views added to Google’s online
mapping service.
The National: http://bit.ly/1bOjyeq Wikimedia: http://bit.ly/1dctt3D

20.
Turkey has the world’s
highest percentage of online gamers
Spil Games and comScore: http://bit.ly/1qTsp8n

21.
Global Stories

22.
There are as many mobile
phones as there are humans
Cisco: http://bit.ly/Msevdw Worldometers: http://bit.ly/Ism9T6
At the end of 2013, there were 7 billion
mobile phones in the world, equivalent
to the global human population

23.
Pew: 51% of Internet users in China
do NOT engage in social networking
Pew: http://bit.ly/1mg8Nvc

24.
Mobile payments to grow
6x their current size by 2017
Mobile payments for
online purchases are
anticipated to
increase six-fold
from $18 billion
worldwide in 2012 to
an estimated $117
billion in 2017.
World Pay: http://bit.ly/1iFnzYA
Which countries have the most
online shopaholics?

25.
Elderly Australian Internet users are
most vulnerable Aussies online
McAfee: http://bit.ly/OB0sD8
McAfee study finds
Internet users in
Australia over 65 years
old to be most likely
victims of cyber crime.

26.
Disclaimer: All content in these slides is in the public domain and referenced so that you can read the original sources.
Contact Us: rassed@ict.gov.qa
Twitter: @ictqatar
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