Google Trends for Middle East 2010

The below study covers UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

Check out below the Top Keywords that the users searched on Google in 2010. The searches are dominated by social media sites.

One interesting point to be noted is how users are searching their interests in Arabic (العربية) on Google.

Dubai emirate has dominated search in UAE, considering it has been in highlights for financial issues through out the year. Facebook remains the most sought after site in the search world.

User search for صور (Games) was the 3rd highest in Oman. Forums (منتديات ) stands at 7% of the top 10 searched items. 

Youtube is the most popular video engine site in the Middle East and Facebook the most popular Social Media Site.  People are keen to play games, view photographs and participate in forums. 

Interestingly Lebanon has Nokia among the top 10 searches, which can predict that it may be one of the most popular brands there. 

Qatar 2022 - Twitter Times

FIFA awarded Qatar the 2022 world cup to Qatar today evening. Qatar brings the World Cup to the smallest host ever but one which has unparalleled financial power to stage the world's biggest single-sport event. It overcame the reservations of many people about holding the games in desert heat. 

Qatar will stage a World Cup in and around Doha in a desert summer but promises state-of-the-art technology to cool fans and players alike. It beat the United States in the final round of voting 14-8.

The community tried to bring the #Qatar2022 amongst the top 10 trending topics on twitter, however, twitosphere had different plans. Varied versions of Qatar like Quatar and Katar came out as a trending topics on twitter. 

Check out collection of some interesting tweets posted before and after the announcement: - 

@dohanews 'Russia's really cold, so maybe they'll be ok that Qatar is really hot' overheard watching #qatar2022 bid

@AlmahaAli When Americans ask me "what's Qatar" I will go like "u know the country who beat u 2 the bid 2022

@rachelannmorris To all those (mainly in dubai) who told me I was nuts moving to #doha all those years ago...don't make me say "I told you so"

@AlexKunawicz The speed camera in Doha that fines you £800 is going to be working overtime for next 12 years. Wonder what fine will be by #Qatar2022 ?

@ya3gooby We learn from #Qatar2022: 1)Importance of clear Long-term vision, 2) Work Hard and You'll achieve, 3) Top-Level Support is vital for success

@sghazzi 21 degrees in doha but tonight doha is on fire #qatar2022

@Alkhulaiwi Thank you Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani. You are a true hero for the younger generation. #Qatar2022

@Xische The bid website has to be contractually taken down 60 secs after announcement. Its down already! http://www.qatar2022bid.com #Qatar2022

@eskaff if Beers not allowed go for #redbull #Qatar2022

@hussdajani am seriously out of words! I don't think it has kickd n yet!:) this has HUGE positive changing effect4this region

@leiandroid It makes me smile knowing that a country people can't even locate won against... well, the US. Maybe it'll motivate people to grab an atlas.

@Mohsinaltaf i need your support for 2028 for pakistan :) . ok?

Dohatweets.blogspot.com

Friends..

Check out a new blog roll on Doha. The blog will display tweets about any one and every one that mentions Doha or Qatar in their Tweets.

dohatweets.blogspot.com

Gamification of the Online World

The trend of neologism – creating new words – is on a rise in the world of technology. We need new words to interpret new ideas.  We had the Internet, Websites, Blogs, Web 2.0, Social Media, Tweet and now Gamification.

‘Gamification’ is the new buzz word and it’s coming soon to your gym, your job, your government and even your doctor. In fact it has already arrived in the world of financial services, and is used by marketers to engage customers online.

As defined on Wikipedia – “Gamification is the use of game play mechanics for non-game consumer technology applications (also known as “funware”), particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications”

The corporate world is realizing that “gamification” is an effective way to generate business using the same mechanics that keeps gamers glued to their television/laptops.

Since the inception of videogames, people have questioned why gamers spend hours to reach to that final stage of the game, working towards intangible rewards. The study of human behavior shows that incentives offered for completing a task, tend to be addictive.

An outright example for this is location based website – Foursquare. The mobile app encourages people to share their location wherever they are. The users try to check in to locations several times to receive one of the several badges offered by the site.

The entire experience of achieving the “Mayor” status of a particular location gives users immense pleasure. The commercial side of this is that many retailers give their customers discounts/freebies upon achieving “Mayor” badge (or any other badge prescribed by the retailer). E.g. Dominos pizza in UK offers exclusive discount to anybody who checks into their outlet frequently and becomes the Mayor of that outlet.

Mint.com transformed the financial services into a gaming experience - Want to go to Bali for your next vacation? Select that option from drop down list of rewards on the website, and as you save your deposits toward achieving the desire target, a gauge fills, showing you how close you are to your next vacation. Mint is making managing one's money more fun with a unique approach.

A regional example is RAK Bank in UAE, who has recently launched games on their website to engage customers with the brand and indirectly inform them about their products. 

However, the Gamification is still in its infancy stage. The Gamification of services/products should not be just restricted to points like programs. The users may reject Gamification as any other loyalty program.

  

Points/badges are part of a game rewarded to customers for completing a task. Once this phenomenon is mature, a game itself must be able to give the player a choice to take a decision that will result into a reward. E.g. choosing a XM8 Lightweight Assault Rifle v/s AK 47 will help the player to win a game resulting in a reward.

If the "gamified" businesses, programs and products are implemented they will mutually benefit the company and the consumer. 

The above post was published on ICT Qatar's blog (Qatar's Telecom Regulator). Click here to continue reading the post.

Virtual Online Banks for Social Networks

The scope of the article covers banks for social networks and not Internet Banking.

Many banks have realized the potential of online social engagement; however, most of them are reluctant to connect with customers online. The concept of virtual online websites is not getting any younger. The realm of social media or online social engagement is growing with an estimated value of US 10 million in 2010 as estimated by Engage Digital Media.

In 2009 Mashable had reported that a user of Entropia Universe – an online virtual engagement website – bought a virtual space station for US $ 330,000. This transaction is registered in the Guinness book of world records as the most expensive virtual world.

People have got used to making online payments for goods on Internet and conducting their daily transactions via electronic channels. The comfort level now extends to social networking sites, where users are paying for virtual goods, and this builds a case for introducing financial services.

The scope of innovation in the world of online payment market is extensive. Once extended to virtual online world the scope is challenging. Some of the existing websites in the online social engagement world that facilitate financial transactions are: -

• Facebook, Secondlife, Entropia Universe – Purchase of Virtual goods 
• Purchase of Online Services – Facebook - Qtel Mobile Top up
• Online Social Lending – Virgin Money, Kiva

The above examples are an insight to various business opportunities that are yet to materialize. 

Mind Ark, the company which runs the Entropaia Universe became the first company to issue virtual banking licenses to real world banks in 2007. In March 2009, the Swedish Financial Authority, granted license to Mind Bank AB, that will allow it to function as a central bank for all the virtual world’s within Entropia Universe. Mind Bank will be able to process real money transactions for activities in the virtual world.

During my research, I came across an application on Facebook that allows users to perform financial transactions - Fiserv's MyMoney, a US based app, which is now only available to credit unions, and may be offered to banks in the near future. Facebook users download the application, which helps them to find and join a credit union, view account history, balances, and make transfers.

Banks are experimenting with this space but are yet to come out with a firm working model. Expecting a ROI on spend is not the way forward, as Social Media is still in its infancy stage.

Google goes la la la laaa

Google India has recently introduced the Bollywood Search Engine. You can now search the latest to the oldest bollywood music online and listen to the songs. The search can sort by Artist, Albums, Songs and even the time period.

List down the 1950 melodies or the latest hindi movie songs on the website. Google has partnered with SaReGaMa, In.Com and Saavn.com to stream music, which is fully legal.

Click here to listen to the music