Shaikh Mohammad opens Arab Media Forum in Dubai

Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, officially launched the 13th Arab Media Forum in Dubai on Tuesday.

The two-day event opened in the morning exploring the impact of social media in shaping social trends, competing with the mainstream press and catapulting bloggers to fame -- ironically on traditional media such as TV.

Morning sessions also explored how cyber warfare can be as "dangerous" as armed conflict, transforming the concept of national security in today's hyper-tech and digitally connected world.

The forum also revealed highlights of the Arab Social Media Outlook 2014, which said 1 million more people in the UAE joined Facebook in 2013, boosting its penetration to population to 54 per cent - the highest in the Arab world.