Arun Rajagopal

Social Networking: To be or not to be? October 5, 2007

This morning, I checked my mail like always and there was this interesting story in my daily mailshot from ArabianBusiness.com which I had to click on and read – No ban for Facebook.

The story is about Emirates’ telecom regulator Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) saying that they had not banned popular social networking website Facebook in the UAE earlier this week, following widespread rumours that it had been blocked after thousands of residents found themselves unable to access the site. The outage was apparently due to ‘technical / connectivity issues’.

Facebook, which also happens to be the second most visited website in the UAE, is up and running again.These rumours gained significant wind in light of TRA’s move to ban social networking website Orkut in July 2007 following reports that the site contained sexually explicit material and was being used for “immoral activities”.

The UAE also has a ban on social networking websites Flickr and Hi5, and only recently lifted a ban on MySpace and YouTube. However, users based in free zone locations such as Dubai Internet City can access Flickr and Hi5.

Meanwhile Maktoob.com and faye3.com have recently teamed up to develop their own Arab social networking site to rival Facebook. The two sites are working on a joint initiative aimed at providing a service that will allow Arab communities to link up online and share contacts.

Later in the afternoon, I read “Social Networking: A Time Waster Or The Next Big Thing In Collaboration?” on Information Week. The article discusses how Facebook and other social networks in the workplace can suck up employees’ time and worse. But managed right, they may be the next breakthrough in business collaboration. Shell Oil, Procter & Gamble, Citigroup, McDonalds and General Electric are case-studies under consideration.

It was interesting to see both sides of the coin today. There are always going to be pluses and minuses for every new innovation, tool or phenomenon that brings together people and creates benefits by doing so. I think it’s all about considering the ‘better good’ or rather, the ‘larger good’.This is where I think initiatives such as ‘The Age of Conversation’ play a crucial role. AOC shows the world the power of social media to do a world of good by creating a community of people who value conversation and want to use their talents to make a difference to way brands speak to consumers. The more we promote this ‘goodness’ in markets that have its natural reservations about social media, people are going to start asking – now wait a second, let me have a slice of that pie because it seems good for me. That, my friends, is a small step for us and big leap for the world out there.