Very Interesting. On Gulfnews : Gulf governments take to social media

"....A growing number of officials across the Gulf are beginning to understand the significance of social media's outreach. The experience of Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan illustrates this change. Al Farhan was arrested in Jeddah in December 2007 and held in solitary confinement until April 2008 after posting a controversial blog naming his ten least favourite Saudis whom he never wants to meet that included a senior Islamic cleric, a billionaire prince and a cabinet minister. In a sign of changing times, Al Farhan, whose popularity only grew after his release (he has over 15,600 followers on Twitter) was one of five Saudis invited earlier this year to meet the Governor of Makkah, Prince Khalid Al Faisal, following the 2011 Jeddah floods. The meeting, held to explain the government's efforts to deal with the floods, was broadcast on national television and the Prince asked Al Farhan to give his regards to his followers on Twitter .

Another impressive presence on Twitter is that of Abdul Aziz Khoja, the Saudi minister of information and culture. The 69-year-old former diplomat personally updates his Twitter profile and interacts with Saudi as well as non-Saudi users, even asking a journalist why he hasn't been active on Facebook recently ....

via gulfnews.com

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