(source: AlJazeeraEnglish)

A few weeks ago SocialEyez published a Buzz-Report on the Social Media trends of the first round of elections in Egypt. The result showed that 75% of Egyptians were in favor of the election although a majority claimed to continue resistance against the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces).

Now, after the second and third round of elections are completed and the results were published, we decided to take a look at online conversations and discussions regarding these last phases of the voting to get a concluding picture. In this report we will try to get answers for following questions:

• What were the most frequently discussed Social Media topics?
• Were there signs of an opinion shift during the various electoral stages? 
• How did the image of the woman who got beaten by Egypt’s military  have an influence on the elections? 

The results are divided into the two different rounds of elections. The synthesis of all three rounds of elections are provided within the conclusion.

Egypt Elections Round 2

Round two of the elections took place between December 14^th and 15^th 2011, with the run-off one week later on December 21^st-22^nd. Among all rounds this round had the lowest volume with only 4,608 captured comments compared to 13,815 during first stage.  A key issue that was picked up in the majority of mentions was with reference to the high turnout. In general, many users were satisfied with the high  number of voters and also acknowledged the relatively stable and calm condition during the voting period Raehat Al-ward Wal-Ful wrote on the Facebook page of Rasd News Network (RNN), an online news service: “The Egyptian people are great and the elite who claim that the people don’t understand [politics] so they make bad choices are not able to understand the real nature of the wonderful and brave Egyptians. A salute to the genuine Egyptian nation, including its youth, elders, children, males and females.”

User Rasha Barakat alludes the fact of the religious freedom: “It’s real! I have seen Christian ladies wearing the cross, women like my mother, my sister and I wearing hijab, women wearing abaya, and women wearing niqab. All people were respectable. I didn’t see propaganda outside the polling stations and no one tried to convince others to vote for a certain candidate.”

Nevertheless some users, like Tweeter Omar El-Halwagy claimed that this save situation was only a delusion: “Security success around the polling stations only, but the scene is totally different 10 meters away.”

Concerning the role of the MB (Muslim Brotherhood) the discussions were full of controversy. Especially in the blog http://tears-demo3.blogspot.com, one user highlighted the difficult relationship between the MB as a group and the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) as a party: “They *the Brotherhood+ said the group, Brotherhood, will be dedicated to da’awa (guidance or calls to follow the proper religious code) and the party, Freedom and Justice, to politics, but this hasn’t happened.” On the opposing side many users expressed their contentment about their great election outcome.

Finally, for the general share of topics, SocialEyez took Microblogs as an example and highlighted the main topics based on their percentage of volume. Out of 1500 total captured Tweets, the majority of Tweets was related to the role of martyrs in the revolution. (See graphic below for more results)

Overall, in comparison to the first round of elections, the volume of Social Media discussions has decreased significantly. In this time-frame, the elections were merely one of the top discussed topics, while other discussions were focused primarily on the role of the constitution, Egyptians support for the “Buy Egyptians Campaign” and the daily clashes with the military, in which one incident stirred the Buzz.

Controversy of an image showing a woman who got beaten by Egypt’s military

Between the last rounds of elections, the attention of the online community shifted to an incident that was the beginning of a large discussion about the general role of the military in Egypt and their handling towards protesters. Pictures and videos from a woman beaten up by the military, later known as the “Abaya Girl”, were posted across the web, with great attention on offline media networks as well.

(image: 3quarksdaily.com)

Over 73% of monitored Social Media users opposed the excessive use of force by the military against protesters and expressed deep concern against the military. On Facebook Wael Salem stated: “This is totally unacceptable! Tantawi and his dogs are attacking and killing our sons and daughters!” On the news website Al Dostor one reader added “This is not an army. It’s rather an armed militia affiliated with Hosni Mubarak. They are the cursed dogs of Mubarak.”

Around one quarter (22%) of all monitored comments defended the military police’s behavior or even accused the protesters of fabricating footage. On Facebook the fan Hana Qamar said: “We all are supporting the army. They are doing their jobs to protect the public interest. All Egyptians know that all the videos showing soldiers beating people are not real. All of them have been fabricated.” Another comment on the Forum Fatakt questions: “Why would a respectable girl go to a place like that at a time when the country is on fire?! What’s the objective? Revolution against what? And whhhhhhhhy? Has she gone mad?!”

For more discussions follow this link.

Egypt Elections Round 3

The final round of elections once again has seen a low volume of comments compared to the first stage. The round took place during the first week of January 2012, with the run-off on the 9^th and 10^th. Unlike the previous rounds most discussions were less focused on the procedure of the election, but more on the results and the final outcome. Users were talking about the great results of the Muslim Brotherhood’s FJP, with the majority of users expressing their satisfaction with the results. In the overall discussion regarding round three of the elections, this topic had an approximate share of 25% of all posts concerning the elections. Here are some examples of popular Tweets:

Another focal point was related to the great losses of former regime leaders. Estimated 70% of users expressed satisfaction with the bad results these candidates received. User Mohamed Ibrahim declared: “I’m proud of the conscious Egyptian nation that proved it is not an ignorant nation and has been able to isolate all former regime remnants from the elections without the need to issue the political isolation law. Hold your head up high, you are an Egyptian!”, while on Facebook Abeda Elbanna added: “Thank goodness. Former regime remnants won the elections some time ago due to rigging. I’m so happy that God provided the Justice and Freedom party candidates with victory because they were the most oppressed faction at the hands of the remnants during the elections. I hope that same victory goes to the martyrs and injured when they get their rights back. May God punish the tyrants and make them examples for other people.”

Conclusion

After comparing all three rounds of Egypt elections within Social Media channels some basic trends became apparent. First and foremost, the total volume captured was dropping during these stages. Highest volume by far was reached during the first round (13,815), followed by the third (6,540) and second stage (4,608). The contrast between the first stage and the following two stages can be explained by the intial excitement surrounding the elections when they first began, which may have faded during the course of the month. It may also be the case that due to the Islamist lead, the results of the elections had become eminent to a good number of Social Media users, who then shifted their focus to other topics of discussion.

The main topic throughout all rounds can be identified as deliberations about the role of the Muslim Brotherhood. Furthermore, there was a predominant focus on the behavior of the SCAF, intensified by the image of a beaten Egypt woman.

While in the beginning of the elections discussions about the procedures and safety were predominant, in the last rounds the comments shifted to the final outcome of the elections.

Overall the Egypt Elections demonstrated an apparent shift towards a new and open Egypt. The numerous and intense discussions, especially on Social Networks, expressed a new culture of dialogue. Nevertheless the big controversy which was identified concerning many topics could suggest that there is still a long way to go.

Background: How does the system of Egyptian elections work?

Three rounds of elections should be enough? Agreed, but certainly not in Egypt. This country is known for its “notorious complexity”  and with regards to the Electoral System the procedures are anything but simple to understand. In order to get a brief overview, the Jordan based media website Al Bawaba published an insightful article explaining the difficult voting system “. Basically the elections consist of three rounds voting for the Lower House, two rounds for the Upper House and finally one vote for the new president. The elections for the Lower House, also known as the People’s Assembly (Majlis Ash Shaab) are now completed with the majority of seats for the Muslim Brotherhood. Total results of all three rounds can be viewed here. Two-thirds of the 498 people’s assembly seats were elected by proportional representation, using lists drawn up by parties or alliances. Seats were allocated proportionally based on a party’s showing in each of the 46 districts. The remaining third, 166 seats, in the lower house were open to individuals, who may or may not have party affiliations — two seats in each of the 83 districts. The elections for the Upper House, also known as Shura Council, are scheduled to start End of January 2012 until End of February. Eventually the presidential elections are expected to be held in July 2012.

Overall, more than 40 parties and 6,000 candidates have reportedly registered to participate in the elections. Approximately only the half over 80 million Egyptians are eligible to vote.

The three rounds for the Lower House were only one step in the electoral process. The results are crucial to get an overview of the current political atmosphere in Egypt and with the striking domination of the Muslim Brotherhood who set a clear signal showing the new balances of power. For the following elections it will be interesting to see what the next months will bring to Egypt and how the political system can develop. SocialEyez will follow this situation closely and update the readers regarding major Social Media trends. Stay connected.

Scope Note:

The Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various Social Media platforms. This explicit search was conducted on all Social Media platforms in Egypt in Arabic and English language with the time-period from end of November 2011 to the mid of January 2012. The focus of the research was on Social Media discussions related to the second and third round of the Egypt Elections.

If you are further interested in monitoring any special event, political development or a certain brand/product we welcome you to contact us at info@social-eyez.com. We also appreciate any suggestions and improvements regarding this Blog. Also follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook-Page to get regular updates regarding future Buzz Reports.

Other Buzz-Reports related to this topic:

Egypt Elections round 1

Jailed Blogger: Maikel Nabil

Yes, it’s here! On December 16th Apple officially launched the iPhone4S in the UAE. The Social Media Universe rose up in excitement, the new iPhone was the talkof the town, social media users shared their thoughts on its features, specifications, applications and of course about Siri.  In this Buzz Report SocialEyez tried to identify the main topics being discussed, user perception and sentiment. The search was conducted for a 22 day period starting from December 4th until December 25th.

SocialEyez team of analysts narrowed the discussions down to two most popular or discussed subjects / topics.

1. Users discussing if the iPhone was their number one choice and if it was as appealing as other devices introduced by Apple or its competitors.
2. Users asking questions about its release date, price and availability. Discussions on delay in delivery was repetitive, many users stressed the fact across social media.

Topic 1: General sentiment towards the iPhone

Neutral:

The majority of comments were neutral opinions, users were discussing basic information about the iPhone with the simple intention of sharing information.

Examples of popular comments: “Your iPhone’s home button isn’t as responsive as it used to be, here is a solution: http://t.co/YiYENEvd Amazing! It works.” or “LOL!!! Make Your iPhone Read Any Text Aloud with Just a Few Taps http://t.co/6ACptoIR,” relating to Siri, the new natural language user interface.

With regards to the positive and negative coverage users were inclined to have either very strong positive or negative opinions towards the iPhone.

Positive:

When it comes to Apple there is the popular ‘iPhone Lovers’ group. These set of users adore everything created by Apple. Normal posts contain messages like “I miss my iPhone”, “Loving my new iPhone!” or “Retweet if you have an #iPhone.” Users also share their excitement for special apps and tools. For example, a post from a Dubai based user: “Got to say that I think I’m falling in love. Google maps on the iPhone is truly my soul mate and saves the day every time “. Another user posted: “I’m realizing that everything I thought was cool on my old android phone is AMAZING on my #iPhone! #nevergoingback”, while user SaraAljawi adds: “Done with blackberry world. I am tweeting by speaking to this awesome iPhone how cool is that!!”

Negative:

On the other hand there exists the ‘iPhone opposers’ – these group of social media users are no less strong and persistent. The release of the new iPhone couldn’t change their negative opinions. One user quotes: “It is a useless device, just a waste of money. Nothing special with iPhone 4S”, while another user states: “Stupid iPhone is effin up today.” User _Dreamkeeper remarks: “I’m never going to ditch my Nokia E7 for an iPhone. Ever.” Interestingly some users previously seemed to like or at least own an iPhone but had now changed their mind.  A disappointed user from the UAE explains: “I got my iPhone 4 S last month and it’s a great disappointment. It’s just a hype and SIRI isn’t good because it’s predominantly made for the US consumer.” Twitter-user Sweet_luv_21 adds: “I’ll purchase Black berry soon ~ good bye IPhone!”

Overall by comparing the positive and negative reactions posted by users there is a clear winner. The share of comments that were in favor of the new iPhone reached approximately two-thirds, while only one-third of the buzz were negative opinions. The peak in volume was during the period December 11th – 13th, a few days before the device was launched in the UAE. This might be related to the media coverage in local newspapers and the telecom operators such as Etisalat and its announcement related to the start of pre-ordering on December 11th.

Topic 2: Sales and availability of the iPhone

With the official launch of the iPhone sale on the December 16th long queues were lined up and the UAE telecom operators Etisalat and du witnessed a surge in iPhone4S sales and bookings at customer care kiosks across Dubai. Gulfnews quotes an Etisalat clerk who describes the demand as overwhelming: “I’m quite surprised, a lot of people want this new version of the iPhone4 and they want it right now.” Many social media users were upset with delivery problems and insufficient information. For example on Facebook user Kristofer Mariano posted: “I have went to 3 of your business centre they told me not yet released and maybe i cant have coz its already all PREBOOKED…. how is it possible? I did ask them aswell if i can pre book they said not possible… so some specialtreatments to others???” On the official du Facebook Page Azhar Abdu Muhammed posted: “Greetings! I’m Azhar and I just want to tell that suprisingly your shop disregard my request to avail the iphone 4s that you had advertise in your site. The staff told me that I can’t purchase or avail the iphone 4s because I haven’t received any messages from you.”

The most popular query was about the price of the new iPhone and its availability. Users shared information on where these devices were out of stock and which telecom was offering better plans and packages with the iPhone. Dubai based user Waleed Jameel aks: “No branch or Business Center is open on Friday. So where exactly is one supposed to go and find out about iPhone 4S from??”, another user promoted the iPhone in KSA: “iPhone 4s in KSA is cheaper see the plan…”. Social Media was a medium users to share updated information, to assist users by providing them with correct information. Brands need to be extra cautious when announcing new products on social media, a good social media plan can play a crucial role on consumers trends.

Scope Note:

The Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various Social Media platforms. This explicit search was conducted on all Social Media platforms (mainly Twitter and Facebook) in the UAE in Arabic and English language starting from December 4th until December 25th. The focus of the research was on consumer discussions related to the launch of the new iPhone 4s.

If you are further interested in monitoring any special event, political development or a certain brand/product we welcome you to contact us at info@social-eyez.com. We also appreciate any suggestions and improvements regarding this Blog. Also follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook-Page to get regular updates regarding future Buzz Reports.

Recent published Buzz-Reports:

Egypt Elections

UAE National Day

Jailed Blogger: Maikel Nabil

Besides the ongoing discussions around whether to vote or not, users were also eager to discuss possible results and the final outcomes. In terms of Islamist leading ahead of the elections, 55% off all monitored comments welcomed the result. For example Tweeter Aliaa Hamed asked “Why are people shocked of the progress of the Brotherhood and Salafists, as if it was a surprise?! Those who feel sad shall work hard, run in the remaining two rounds, and vote for the civil streams.” Facebook fan Zeinab Zoza added “Egypt is Islamic, and this will make the secularists or liberals understand that the nation loves and trusts its religion and will not accept a secular state.” On the other side 40% opposed the results and even feared Islamists in power. On Youm7, an independent news website, reader Genuine Egyptian said: “Do you know what the Islamists will do if they take power? They will force all the women to wear veils; close all the cinemas and theaters, prevent women from driving cars, and destroy tourism.”

For a better overview the following results are divided by the social media types. Most data was captured on Microblogs (71%), fewest on Forums with only 1%.

Microblogs

Similar to the actual turnout in the Egyptian web-community the majority claimed to want to participate in the elections. About two out of three users supported participation in the elections, only one third was against the vote because of the “unfair” conditions. Interestingly 70% continued protests even though they favored the elections. For example prominent human rights campaigner Hossam Bahgat stated: “I’m against military rule and against the Ganzouri [new] cabinet and I support Tahrir Square and the immediate transfer of power to civilians, but I will participate in the elections.” Out of the group that called for a boycott of the elections 90% described the elections as corrupt as long as they are held under military rule. Blogger Ahmed Elmoqdamy said: “I would boycott the elections because they are illegitimate under the military rule that I call to topple.” Overall in the discussion most popular-used Hashtags were #Egypt, #Election and #egyelections. The protesters also used #SCAF, #NOSCAF and #tahrir.

Other popular Tweets regarding the elections:

Facebook

Among the Facebook Pages with the most discussions about the elections, was the fanpage ‘We Are All Khaled Said’ with close to 165,000 ‘Likes’ and over 2,400 ‘People Talking about it’. Originally this page was founded to honor an 28-year-old Egyptian who was tortured to death at the hands of two police officers. Since its launch this page serves as a common platform for all kind of protests against the regime and is also used as a popular exchange forum during the Egypt elections. One much shared post by famous activist Wael Ghonim stated on November 28: “Elections will be held tomorrow. In a nutshell, we all have to participate and choose our candidates. It’s one of the stages of the democratic transition in Egypt and we have to protect it. No one should lag behind the participation because the next parliament is the one that will decide upon the future of Egypt.” As a response for example fan Omar Helal said: “I’m anxious that the election will be held over two days, and I think it will be rigged.” The total post received over 3,300 Likes, 500 shares and 900 comments:

Generally many social media users like Emad Hussein, also dedicated the elections to January 25: “Despite all events, I’m very happy with and proud of today’s elections. Thanks for all who contributed to making this day. Thank you Tahrir Square.” Kimo Systimo goes even further and “salutes to the blood of the martyrs who made this possible and enables them to live freely”. On Facebook the overwhelming majority of posts were in Arabic language.

News Websites

Some quotes from popular news websites:

Al Dostor (opposition news website): “Remember that every vote counts and regardless of who ultimately wins, we must all do our part and vote for the party and the candidates that represent our values and our aspirations for equality, justice and dignity for all Egyptians. People of Egypt, vote and save Egypt from the powers of darkness and fascism.”

Al Wafd News (liberal news website): “The Egyptian people insist on the success of the elections. We will stand against any attempt to spoil this democratic process.”

Masrawy (independent news website): “All the candidates are opportunists and politically corrupt. This parliament will be full of the ex-regime remnants who nominated themselves under new parties. This is the viewpoint of a lot of Egyptians.”

Youm7 (independent news website): “May God bless Egypt. This election is the most important thing now. All the Egyptians must unite and vote to participate in the success of the elections.”

Forum:

Some quotes from popular forum entries:

Fatakat (specialized forum for women and their interests): “We must vote to move a step forward towards democracy. May God help us choose the best candidate.”

Christian Dogma (prominent Christian forum): “May God support all the voters. I hope that these elections will be transparent and fair.”

Next steps

The second round of elections will take place on December 14 and 15 with the run-off on 21–22 December. Third round will continue on 3–4 January with the run-off on 10–11 January. The final presidential elections are expected to be held in July 2012.

Scope Note:

The Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  This explicit search was conducted on all social media platforms in Egypt in Arabic and English language during the week of the Egypt elections. The focus of the research was on social media conversations and social media trends reflecting the sentiment towards the Egyptian vote.

If you are further interested in monitoring any special event, political development or a certain brand/product we welcome you to contact us at info@social-eyez.com. We also appreciate any suggestions and improvements regarding this Blog. Also follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook-Page to get regular updates regarding future Buzz Reports.

Other Buzz-Reports related to this topic:

Jailed Egypt Blogger: Maikel Nabil

Zaid Hamdan

Syrian Revolution

Awakening of the Arab consciousness

Libya

One highlight at the second day of the celebrations was the official National Day ceremony at Zayed Sports City in the heart of Abu Dhabi that showcased UAE’s history and achievements to thousands of spectators who came from all around the country to join the celebration.

This excitement was not only limited to the actual events but was also transferred to many discussions and conversations on social media platforms such as Microblogs and Social Networking Sites. Users informed each other about locations of events, discussed the celebrations or simply shared pictures and videos of the shows and parades. The top three topics were:

1. National day celebration and activities.
2. Trashing of the streets and the vandalism of properties.
3. Citizens cleaning the city.

Microblogs

Between 11/27/2011 and 12/05/2011 the majority of all conversations were on Twitter. Thereby the main influencers with the highest number of Tweets were the users @UAENationalDay and @HamamaHarib. The general sentiment of the Tweets towards the National Day was positive. 60% positive comments were congratulating the royal family and the people of UAE and complementing the individuals who participated in cleaning the city after the celebration. 40% of neutral comments were sharing poetry, participating in competitions, mentioning historical facts. Total volume of the topics inside the UAE reached 21,319 comments with the following popular Hashtags:

#UAE40, #UAEforty, #UAEnationalday, #spiritoftheunion: Mostly talking about the celebrations, history of UAE, Poetry about loving UAE, the Royal family and the founder of the union His Highness Sheikh Zayed.  Those Hashtags were used in 19,988  times (94%).

#SpotThe40: This Hashtag created by @UAENationalDay invited Twitter users to spot and snap a photo of the number 40 wherever they find it “40 as a symbol for the union that lasted for 40 years”. Those Hashtags were used in 141 cases (less than 1%).

#CleaningUAE Campaign: During the second day of the celebrations an initiative was started with a single Tweet by @HamamaHarib a female film & broadcast entrepreneur who wanted to give something back to her beloved country and transfer her affection to action by tweeting:  “Please guys after the parade stop and clean the mess you did !! #cleaningourcountry #campaign”.  The single Tweet affected many users who were upset from some disturbing actions led by a few youngsters who lacked discipline. People who responded to the call started to spread the word asking others to join the campaign and a new Hashtags raised up next to #UAE40 & #UAEforty inviting everyone who loves his country to #CleanUAE and not to depend on others to do the work of #cleaningUAE their mess. Those Hashtags were used 1,190 times (5% overall).

Social Networks

On Facebook and Google+ around to 1000 comments were posted. 441 positive, 428 neutral and only 31 negative. The page ‘UAE National Day’ Facebook fan page had over 30,000 Likes and 14,000 people talking about this. The page updates were mostly pictures and schedules about the various events. The last post about the official ceremony received almost 2000 Likes with 275 comments.

A comment by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was shared more than 250 times with over 7000 Likes: (“I salute the efforts of the young Emiratis who took the initiative to clean up after National Day celebrations. I am proud of their sense of national and civic duty”)

Video-Sharing

On Youtube there were numerous videos which showed the celebration. Even some newspapers used these documentations to implement in their articles. One video with 40 people talking about the National Day received 11,000 views. Another one about His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed celebrating the 40th National Day had 3,800 views. The most watched video was about the Ferrari Parade with 20,000 views. To get a good summary about all events we recommend to watch this clip with close to 2000 views:

Similar to Microblogs, Video-Sharing Platforms had a 42% share of positive coverage , 47% neutral coverage and 11% negative of coverage.

Message Boards/Forums

63 comments were captured on Message Boards & Forums. One example shows a Forum post sharing a military exhibition during the ceremony at Zayed Sports City. Another entry congratulates the people of UAE on 40^th national day and shares a video Sheikh Mohammad ben Zayed dancing (Razfa) a traditional Bedouin dance with swords. There were seven positive comments congratulating the people of the UAE, nine neutral comments complementing the Royal Family.

Forum entry congratulating the people of UAE on 40^th National Day

Overall the online conversations were a good reflection of the general atmosphere and Social Networks are increasingly used to become a established medium for the National Day.

Scope Note:

The Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  This explicit search was conducted on all social media platforms in the UAE in Arabic and English language between 11/27/2011 and 12/05/2011. The focus of the research was on social media conversations and social media trends reflecting the sentiment towards the events of the National Day.

If you are further interested in monitoring any special event, political development or a certain brand/product we highly welcome you to contact us at info@social-eyez.com. We also appreciate to receive any suggestions and improvements regarding this Blog. Also follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook-Page to get updates regarding future Buzz Reports.

Whoever thought that when Muburak stepped down from power the Egyptian revolution was a closed chapter, is mistaken. The latest unrests, killings and arrests clarified by far: many problems remain unsolved and the gap between the Egyptian citizens and the Egypt military is still present. Especially young Egypt Bloggers continue to criticize the current conditions and are therefore constantly conflicting with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)

These Egyptian bloggers are not alone. All across the MENA region bloggers continue to protest for their rights. A lot of their repression remain unnoticed; only when an influential blogger like Alaa Abdel Fattah gets arrested or Ahmed Mansoor threatens with a hunger strike the mainstream media seem to be reporting them. But shortly after these initial reports are published such as the case of jailed Bloggers, they tend to be forgotten. Further look at the examples of  Nasser bin Ghaith, Mohamed Tahan Jamal, Ahmed Abdul Khaleq and Hassan Ali al-Khamis who were arrested in April in the UAE or the 20-year-old Blogger Tal al-Mallohi who was arrested in Syria (see a full list of detained bloggers in Syria). A survey from the Harvard University actually claims that 7% of Arab bloggers have been arrested or detained over the past year while 30% have been threatened. Whether this number is accurate or not, Bloggers in the Middle East undergo a constant fear of suppression.

All these cases may have different reasons but with this week’s Buzz-Report SocialEyez wants to take a closer look at one specific Blogger Maikel Nabil and showcase the attention his story received in the world of social media.

Egypt Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad (26) was arrested for publishing a blog post in which he criticized the role of the military in Egypt. Under a military court he was sentenced to three years of prison and an LE200 fine. On August 23^rd, 2011 he reacted with a hunger strike which brought him international attention. Maikel’s brother Mark describes the situation as “Maikel is staying strong and will not be broken … He won’t stop his hunger strike until he gets justice”. Across Egypt many people shared sympathy and used all types of social media platforms to support Maikel. Several articles and blogs demanded his release and reported about his current health condition. Below is an example of the popular blog ‘FreeMaikel’.

Source: http://www.freemaikel.com

Popular Hashtags were #MaikelNabil and #freeMaikel and the Facebook Page FreeMaikelNabil has over 60,000 Likes. These tools were used to organize the support. Nevertheless the final outcome is still uncertain. His trail was postponed again to the 27th of November.

The Buzz generated in relation to Maikel Nabil is depicted below. The quantitative analysis is based on conversations in Egypt only.

Daily Volume

Since the start of the hunger strike on August 23rd the graph shows a constant shift in social media attention. Initially the first two weeks the volume was generally high which is also related to the extensive news coverage internationally. The next peak on October 4th is due to the postponement of the trial with close to 2000 comments on only one day, most of them on Twitter. A further Buzz-highlight was measured one month later when Maikel refused to show up at the court. It will be interesting to see which volume will be generated on the 27th of November when his next trial is scheduled to.

Share of Coverage

The majority of comments was captured on Microblogs mainly Twitter. Social Networks had a share of 27%.

Top authors

Among all comments the names of the main influencers are “freeMaikel”, “metad66″ and “naguib” although there is a large variety of users engaging on a regular base.

Top language

Most spoken language is Arabic with 5945 comments. English is only represented with 14% and close to a thousand comments. Interestingly a lot of users tend to switch between the two languages.

Qualitative examples

Positive:

• “Release Michael immediately, how come you imprison people who speak up their minds??? From now on the court should have nothing to do with what people think, and whoever is harmed by anyone’s opinion should only respond in the same manner”

• “Ala’a Saif impronment was extended for 15 more days and postponement of sentence in the case of Michael Nabil till November the 27^th. GOD damn military government”

• “Demand the release of Maikel Nabil Sanad”

• “@bothainakamel1 solidarity with you and #MaikelNabil good luck with the hunger strike”

• “Freedom for the detainees; Michael Nabil, Ala’a Abdel Fattah and Amer Al Behairi”

Negative:

• “Betrayers will never leave jail, and the rest of the 6-April betrayers will follow. I wish instead of apologizing you would teach your son how to respect the upper authority, and that the people he is with now are agents and saboteurs.”

• “We should pay more attention to more important stuff than those atheists and please do not ever sympathy with them.”

Neutral:

• “European Parliament passes resolution against military trials”

• “Please sister, do not call them atheists as long as you do not know that for sure. Either you say something good about them or shut up which is way much better.”

SocialEyez captured approximately 2800 comments, this total represents the buzz volume generated by users in a span of 3 – 4 hours after NTC confirmation. Over 43% of the total coverage was on Micro-blogs, mainly Twitter. At 3:41pm Al Jazeera English tweeted: “Sources tell Al Jazeera that Muammar #Gaddafi has been captured and is “critically injured” http://aje.me/jMZYMN #Libya #moammar.”

During the first half hour mixed opinions were posted on social media:

• “#gadafi has been killed .. congratulations #arab world”
• “the man is dead stop making joke about him”
• “i’m already sick of the gaddafi news coverage. in the past 15 minutes i saw the picture of his dead body 5 times and its still disturbing”
• “end of an era for #libya: muammar #gaddafi is killed in #sirte”
• “with all my respect to everyone: gaddafi being snuffed is a reason to celebrate. i will celebrate the death of each and every bloodsucker”

Share of Coverage – by media type

Micro-blogs such as Twitter had the highest share of coverage (43%).

Countries

Users from Egypt generated the highest buzz volume (46%). Interestingly users in Libya contributed to only 1% of the total coverage. 61% of the buzz was in English the remaining 39% was in Arabic.

Scope Note:

The search was conducted on all social media platforms across the MENA Region in Arabic and English. For more details and suggestions write to us at info@social-eyez.com.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“

                                                                    – Steve Jobs -

Undoubtedly, the world has lost a man, who “changed the face of personal computing and consumer electronics in many ways”, a user said.

In the last years personal computing reached a new dimension: people are able to use their mobile devices to communicate via Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media Sites. With the development of the iPhone and the iPad Steve Jobs has a huge stake in this new world. The reaction to the news of his death was exceptional, especially on the web. SocialEyez took a closer look at the reactions in the Social Media World in the Middle East Region. The monitoring was conducted for one week starting from October 4^th until October 11^th.

Daily Volume

When people first heard about Steve Jobs’ death the posts on the Social Web were growing exorbitantly. Starting on the day of his death with approximately 7000 comments the peak was one day later with over 20,000 mentions. Shortly after this the volume dropped rapidly below 5000 comments per day. Majority of the users honored Steve Jobs as a “true leader and icon”, “tremendous visionary” and “genius”.

Share of Voice

89% of the reactions were posted on Micro-blogs such as Twitter. Comments on newspaper articles generated 8% of the total volume and 2% of coverage on Message/Boards and Forums. Many users mentioned his huge success, for example one user wrote “when Steve Jobs returned to Apple 15 years ago, the share price was $5.88. Today it’s at $378.25″. Another person referred to share Jobs’ unbelievable story: “Steve Jobs started Apple with a high school friend in a silicon valley garage in 1976″.

Closer Look: Twitter

On the 6th of September the hashtag “stevejobs” was used more than 400.000 times (Globally) on Twitter (Source TweetLevel). Similar to the Daily Volume Graph the main discussion was during this one day.  53% of the Tweets had the intention to say Thank You and Rest in Peace like the following two examples: ” RIP Steve Jobs. Thank you for changing the world in an incredible way” or “RIP Steve Jobs. You leave behind an amazing legacy”.

Regarding this hashtag it is extremely remarkable that www.apple.com/stevejobs and www.apple.com were linked 23,496 respectively 3,143 times. The first one is reminiscent of Steve Jobs with a verse, the second one with a picture of him.

The Commencement Address at Stanford University

At elite universities the commencement address is an honorable tradition in America and Steve Job’s impressing speech is almost historic. Over eleven million people watched it on YouTube and some quotes of the speech were posted as Tweets. The most popular ones were:

• “you’re time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”
• “if you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right”
• “if you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much”
• “have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary”
• “Stay hungry. Stay foolish”.

Many users highly recommended to watch the whole speech:

Scope Note

This Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  The search was conducted on all social media platforms in Arabic and English. The focus of the research was on social media conversations in the Middle East Region and social media trends reflecting the sentiment towards the death of Steve Jobs. For more details write to us at info@social-eyez.com.

While Facebook named it the “evolution of your profile” (Facebook Blog), the majority of users particularly on Twitter seemed less satisfied and called it “too damn complicated” (@michielveenstra) another user stated: “Who cares about new Facebook :\ we have Twitter FT” (@AbrarMB). Nevertheless in the last week all over the world the spotlight was on Facebook. Social Eyez was especially interested in the reactions of users in the Middle East and North Africa, continue reading for more on our exclusive findings.

Daily Volume

On September 21st 2011 the buzz on Facebook reached its peak with 3500 posts on all social media platforms. This chart also shows the limited time frame of the discussions. Two weeks later in October less than 100 comments were posted.

Share of Voice

Microblogs such as Twitter had the majority of posts (59%). In the total discussion the new changes of Facebook were only represented with 20 percent on Social Networking Sites.

Have a closer Look: Twitter 

According to Tweetlevel.com over 70,000 Tweets only with the hashtag #NewFacebook were postet on September 22nd 2011. Interestingly in this statistic the Buzz was fairly short and only centered on one certain day.

Besides the normal expected phrases used in the discussion, especially the word “fail” stand out, highlighting the general negative tone (source: Tweetlevel.com).

This cartoon card was one of the three most shared links on Twitter.

(source: Tweetlevel.com)

Social Media Conversations

Positive:

• “Ok i finally checked my *New* #facebook. It’s severely cool.”
• “Am i the only one who doesn’t mind, but actually likes the new and upcoming facebook changes?”
• “I Changed my Facebook to TIMELINE! HONESTLY It’s DAMN GOOD!”
• “people don’t complain about the new #facebook you will get used to it soon I like it “

Neutral:

• “And the reason why I don’t really complain as much as u guys from #NewFacebook is bcoz when I do check it, its usually from mobile.”
• “Everyone complaining about facebook- Just think what Pac would say.. and thats “Things change, thats just the way it is”

Negative:

• “Facebook Is Getting Too Damn Complicated”
• “I hate the new facebook”
• “facebook is rushing madness through updates”
• “Sorry Facebook, you keep saying you’ve changed, but it’s too late. I’m already in love with someone else, her name’s Twitter.”
• “the “new” Facebook layout is confusing. I find myself avoiding FB because of it.”
• “Yup, all-new #Facebook design + features… again! Why so much, so soon and all together?”

Scope Note:

This Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  The search was conducted on all social media platforms in the MENA-Region in Arabic and English language. The focus of the research was on social media conversations and social media trends reflect the sentiment towards the New Facebook. For more details and suggestions write to us at info@social-eyez.com.

Twitter user algergawi argued: ”It would be a shame if they didn’t score a title now that Maradona joins Dubai’s al wasl as head coach.” Many others have questioned the ability of “El Maradona”, who lost his last big match against Germany at the FIFA World Cup with 4 – 0.

Users now, are not only interested in the championship, but also in the legend’s livelihood in this part of the world. In the recent weeks, Maradona’s life in the Middle East has generated a high level of buzz online.

SocialEyez decided to take a look at user reactions with regards to Maradona’s status in the Social Media world and gauge whether the community approves of his new title – ‘Dubai’s new little skyscraper’.

Share of Voice

52% of the comments were posted on Microblogs followed by 21% of posts on Message Boards/Forums. There were fewer comments on other forms of Social Media like Blogs and Social Networking Sites.

Map Overlay

The world map below demonsrates Diego Maradona’s fame around the world. People in nearly every country have discussed his new position on social media platforms. People within the UAE, Egypt, India, Canada, US, Canada and the UK seem to be especially interested in this issue.

Tone of Content

Although the most comments were neutral in nature, there were however more positive feedbacks than negative ones. 28% of the users expressed a positive reaction with regard to having a celebrity coach the UAE League whereas 18% of the users disagreed.

Social Media Conversations (Samples)

Positive:

• “Al Wasl is trending in Argentina! Thank you Mariano Donda. Thank you Diego #Maradona. Thank you #Argentina!”
• “Maradona’s going to go down well in the Gulf. Was officially presented w a headscarf by Al-Wasl today, & shouted ‘Viva Palestina!’”
• “Maradona shows he still knows how to dive: New Al Wasl coach Diego Maradona still has all the old tricks …”
• “They should support Maradona’s Al Wasl now we’re in UAE”
• “Seeing Diego so close was a dream, thank you #AlWasl for making it come true.”
• “From now on I’ll be a fan of Al Wasl club since you have hired THE BEST SOCCER PLAYER OF ALL TIMES: DIEGO MARADONA. Thank you and good luck.”

Neutral:

• “A journalist’s-eye view of the Al Wasl media conference for Maradona’s new stars”
• “ For those wondering where will Diego Maradona stay while in Dubai, he will live in a villa in the  artificial “Jumeirah Palm Island.”
• “Diego Maradona enjoying Dubai life: Al Wasl’s new boss Diego Maradona is  clearly settling into life”
• “100′s of fans waiting for Maradona and the players to start the training session  at al wasl club”
• “Diego Maradona needs two more signings to have a squad capable of fighting for  the UAE title”
• “Al Wasl have confirmed Diego Maradona will earn $34.5 million for two years as coach.”

Negative:

• “Do you think Maradona is the right man for the job as Al Wasl lose their first match”
• “Instead of focusing on Maradona and boasting about it, pay attention to the team and its performance and cut the bullshit.”
• “maradona is a clown”
• “Its a pure financial reason – not promoting sport in the region”
• “Al Wasl’s appointment of Diego Maradona is for the wrong reasons”

Background:

Diego Maradona is one of the greatest football players of all time and is known for winning the 1986 FIFA World Cup with Argentina. In his career as manager of football teams, his first big station was the national team of Argentina and since May 2011 he is the manager of Al Wasl, a team competing in the UAE Pro-League.

It is only the fourth professional season in the UAE and many teams are trying to appoint famous football players like David Trezeguet or Grafite and illustrious coaches like the Italian Walter Zenga, the Austrian Josef Hickersberger or the Belgian Franky Vercauteren. Now Al Wasl hopes success to follow with the international star Diego Maradona.

Scope Note:

This Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  The search was conducted on all social media platforms in Arabic and English. The focus of the research was on global social media conversations and social media trends reflect the sentiment towards Diego Maradona as coach of Al Wasl. For more details write to us at news@social-eyez.com.

Report compiled by the SocialEyez Team

Concerning the tragic event there are many controversial opinions on social media across the Middle East. Some users complain about the crudeness of the attacks, the others criticize America because of its fight against the terror which includes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to it a lot of people also show their sympathy towards the victims and their relatives via tweets, comments on blogs or other online platforms. On Facebook, for example, over 350,000 people like the memorial site “Never Forget 9/11”.

Daily Volume

Among the 14,000 posts captured from the MENA region, approximately 11,500 posts were posted on the 11^th of September 2011. After which there was a decline in the buzz volume day by day. The below chart depicts the buzz volume by day.

Share of Coverage – by Media Type

55% of the total buzz captured related to the 9/11 were tweets or mentions on Google Buzz. Another major role plays message board/forums where 19% of the total volume was found.

Top Countries

In general the discussions about 9/11 was wide spread. Users from Egypt contributed to 30% of the total volume. Users from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and KSA followed with 16%, 13% and 12% respectively. Volume generated from the other countries were in a range between 250 and 500 posts.

Sentiment Analysis

The qualitative research of data indicated the great diversity of opinions concerning the topic. Majority of the comments were neutral in nature but the remaining reactions were either very negative or very positive – demonstrating a deep gap in the discussion. Significantly there were more negative discussions than positive. In the following paragraph we have showcased some of the most popular posts/comments.

What People Were Saying?

Positive:

• “I think anyone would have wished 9/11 never happened.”
• “God Bless those who perished on 9/11/01.”
• “Sending my love and thoughts to all the victims of 9/11. My heart goes out their families and all the heroes of that day – Enrique”
• “In Kennedy Center Speech, Obama Says America Is Stronger Post-9/11”

Negative:

•  “R.I.P. to the 2,976 American people that lost their lives on 9/11 and R.I.P. to the 48,644 Afghan and 1,690,903 Iraqi people that paid the ultimate price for a crime they did not commit. Oh and the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who experience this everyday. Your 9/11 is their 24/7”
• “This tribute thing for 9/11 makes me wanna cry…”
• “Nothing makes me more upset when people talk shit about 9/11. Why don’t you inform yourself on what happened that day, and then try to …”
•  “9/11 Paved the Way for America’s Permanent Wars of Aggression”
• “On 9/11 people are sad, but I’m the happiest guy. I love you, and you know who you are. A day to remember ”
• “Reflection on 9-11, with the perspective that the US is only a minor player as the world changes. Insightful.”

Neutral:

•  “9 -11 was a surprise to the american authorities!!”
•  “10 years later 9/11 survivors still need support. You can help by contributing to the #911Relief Fund”
•  “A changed america: marking 10 years since 9/11”
• “World Still in Midst of War against ‘Terror’”

Background:

On the 11^th of September in 2001 four US planes were hijacked by the Islamist militant group al Qaeda and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The explosion caused the twin towers to collapse and approximately 3000 people were killed. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden declared the responsibility of the attacks; he was killed on May 2011 by US-troops.

As a result of the events in October 2001 the war in Afghanistan began. American and British military forces started targeting camps of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Less than two years later the war in Iraq started in which approximately over 20,000 people died.

SCOPE NOTE:

This Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms.  The search was conducted on all social media platforms in Arabic and English. The focus of the research was on Middle East social media conversations and social media trends reflect the topic 9/11. For more details write to us at news@social-eyez.com.

Report compiled by the SocialEyez Team