Another major force for change has been online social networking, which is also taking off in the Arabic-speaking world. In a morning session on Thursday, Farid Gasim, director of operations, MENA, for Dubai-based Internet consultancy Grafdom, hails from Azerbaijan, spoke at the ADIBF E-zone and offered some tips about the how to take advantage of this new phenomenon.Gasim noted that radio took 38 years to reach 50 million users, TV took 13 years, Internet, 4 years, Facebook took just 6 months… “Social networking is the most democratic form  of communication online,” he said, “all voices are equally loud.” It is, asserted Gasim, one of the most efficient and cost-effective means of marketing online. As an example, he cited Dell.com, the United States computer manufacturer, who says it made $6.5 million in sales via referrals through Twitter postings. “Facebook has been around for six years, but it has only been three years since we’re started to see the benefits of social networking,” admitted Gasim.He suggested that publishers, authors and anyone involved in publishing need to start social networking, but emphasized that there are social sensitivities that must be observed in the Arab world. “LinkedIn is the preferred medium for professionals, because you don’t have to delve into someone’s personal life, looking at photos and movies.” Facebook is very personal, while Twitter allows you to potentially reach a global audience, instantaneously, though it is of course limited to 140 characters. Gasim pointed out that there is no censorship in the UAE, save for a few videos on YouTube.One of the major benefits of using social networking tools for business is that you can instantaneously analyze and track the impact of your messages and measure the effectiveness of the campaign in real time.“Never before in history would you be able to get such quick instant feedback on your initiatives,” said Gasim.Still, it takes commitment. As one of the people in the audience – Fatimah M. AL-Hussein, director of the Women’s and Children’s division of the King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – pointed out, “you can start posting on Twitter and Facebook, but it’s easy to get distracted. For it to work you have to stick with it and do it every day.”  – Edward Nawotka