News Group International Hosts Event on Arab Social Media and Predictive Analysis

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- News Group International, the Dubai-based media intelligence group, will announce its findings of key political and socio-economic trends shaping the Middle East during a seminar at the National Press Club on March 29. The findings will integrate data from a variety of sources but will focus primarily on the large body of data from Middle Eastern social media platforms.

The research is part of the annually published 'Arab Media Influence Report' that was introduced in Washington last year. Highlights from last year's panel on the initial report, presented in May 2010, are available for viewing at http://www.newsgroup.ae/past-year-videos.htm. That panel correctly identified the following trends:

1. The emergence of Arab consciousness as a topic in social media
2. Increasing discussion in Arab nations about the concept of freedom
3. The rise of Facebook as a social factor in Egyptian society
4. The growing impact of Egyptian scholar, diplomat and, now, Presidential candidate Mohammed El Baradei on politics

Data and findings from the Arab Media Influence Report will be presented by News Group International. The panel will include:

Mazen Nahawi CEO, News Group International, the Dubai based news management company, monitoring and analyzing traditional and social media around the MENA Region

Sheldon Himelfarb Associate Vice President of the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, & Peace building, United States Institute of Peace

Paul Swider Special Projects Editor, Office of eDiplomacy, United States Department of State

Adel Iskandar Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University

Camille Elhassani Senior White House Producer, Al-Jazeera

The discussion will focus on predictive analysis -- how data from 10,000s of social and traditional media sources can be used to forecast future events. The events that have gripped the Arab world in recent months were in fact foretold at an event hosted by News Group at the National Press Club last spring. At the time, News Group's Mazen Nahawi commented, "Social media has created a sense of virtual liberty in the Arab consciousness which people are using to change the way they live, to improve their situation and really change the entire nature of the body politic and socio-economic cycles of life in that part of the world. It's revolutionary."

The report to be released later this year will focus on events of the last several months and what those developments are likely to mean for the future. "We are delighted to be presenting new and original data to an audience of decision makers in Washington, DC," said Fadl Al Tarzi. "It's gratifying to see that our information can be used to guide policy in the region."

This year's AMIR will identify a broad range of findings from social media analytics, including:

1. Key changes in Arab social media behavior
2. Comparative analysis of secular vs religious political movements
3. Evaluation of sentiment towards the US, Europe and Israel
4. Primary social media networks used by the Arab public -- Are Facebook and Twitter the main social media destinations in the Middle East or are there others? How sentiment and related public activities inspired from social media networks are starting to shape the character and body politic of Arab stakeholder groups.

Professionals with an interest in the Middle East are invited to RSVP for the discussion and breakfast that will take place at the Press Club, located at 529 14th Street, NW in Washington, DC, beginning at 8:30am. Registration for the panel discussion is available at www.gothammediaventures.com, and is offered free of charge.

About News Group News Group is a news management company founded in 2002.  The company and its subsidiaries specialize in the sourcing, distribution, creation, monitoring and analysis of news content in the emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa and the Indian sub-continent. The group includes seven subsidiaries that employ over 300 people. News Group is based in Dubai and operates in 30 countries across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, primarily through its subsidiaries.

Contact:
Gordon Platt
Gotham Media
Tel: 917-710-2747
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE News Group International