Web 2.0, social networking, video, podcasting always moving forward

The internet has been embraced by the news media in a big way over the past few years.

And while it is way off the mark to suggest that newspapers will be killed by the internet, what is certain is that online has changed the way traditional print operations work.

Who would have predicted ten years ago that you could now get instant reader feedback on a topic, or have a fantastic, on-the-spot picture in your inbox within minutes from a reader?

Now all these things are taken for granted, but like all technology, it doesn't stand still.

And for gulfnews.com to stay ahead of the game and maintain its position as the most-read UAE-based news website, we will have to keep innovating.

So what will that mean for gulfnews.com?

Well obviously we're not going to be giving away any confidential information but will instead be able to give an overview of the kind of things readers can expect in the coming months.

The most important thing for us is to make sure we do things that work; we have found out that not everything the global media is experimenting with works in this market.

While it is important to try to innovate, it must always be useful innovation. There is no point in making huge, interactive flash movies that most people in the UAE cannot load properly.

It would not be giving away too many secrets to say that we hope to build on our current successes.

We were the first newspaper website in the UAE to launch a dedicated mobile edition. It was a basic first stab at it and is increasing in popularity month by month.

So the growing number of people who log onto Gulf News via their handheld devices will soon be able to enjoy an expanded service.

Those people who log into the site regularly will not have failed to notice the addition of video packages.

The first videos were a toe in the water of the video arena, but this has proved to be more popular than we could ever have realistically dreamed of, and GNTV will certainly become a significant part of the online portfolio in the future.

We will also be aiming to make the site appeal to a broader audience, with more entertainment and more lifestyle content to complement the up-to-date and relevant news coverage that we already provide.

One of the biggest areas of development will be in the social aspect of our websites, giving you the reader many more opportunities to engage, interact and converse with us as a media house and other viewers.

And of course, we would not be doing our jobs properly if we did not carry on and look to improve the core things that have made us the number one provider of news in the Gulf.

We will be looking not just to maintain, but to make our news and information provision even better. In short, our aim is that anytime there is an important news story in the UAE or the Gulf, we will have covered it. And people will have found out about it from Gulf News - be it the print edition, mobile, website or one of our radio stations.

Overall, the website is just one part of a large organisation that will be dedicating time and resources to being the biggest and the best.

These steps we have planned for the site will just be part of helping the Gulf News brand stay number one in the UAE.