Vinton Cerf, one of the innovators behind the Internet Protocol Suite, spoke at the “Google Arabia 2.0” Forum in February, reports Mohammed Nasser at Asharq-Alawsat.

Executives and government officials from the MENA region gathered to discuss internet content in the Arab world at the forum, which took place in Dubai.

In an address to the attending officials, Cerf expressed great interest in developing Arab language internet content. “The company attaches great importance to the services that it provides to users in the region and Arab users in particular. My personal concern for this issue is one of the reasons for my forthcoming visit to Dubai, and I will try to focus on the aspects of development and improvement that we can add to the services and information that we provide to the region,” he stated.

Currently, the Arab world has limited access to Arabic-language content on the internet. Cerf stated that it is a “widely known fact that the MENA region currently produces less than one percent of content online in Arabic.” He viewed these limitations as both a challenge and an opportunity for technological innovators in the region.

Investors, technological experts, and politicians alike view the internet as a powerful tool in the MENA region. Many innovators are pushing for an increase and the further development of social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook. Regional businesses are trying to capitalize on the social media boom, even during the economic recession.

“Social media marketing is the most effective marketing approach because it is viral and much cheaper than other forms of marketing,” writes Gaith Saqer at Arab Crunch.

Saqer comments that social media marketing in the Arab world is “still in its baby steps.” He remarks that the statistics, which show that more Arabs are using social media tools, should encourage public relations and advertising firms to take a more technologically sophisticated approach.

“There are around seven million members from the Arab world on Facebook, hundreds of thousands of blogs coming from users from this region, and around 40% traffic from Arab ISPs is going to Youtube,” he claims.

Other entrepreneurs are attempting to capitalize on mobile phones, which are more ubiquitous than computers or internet access in the region.

“As you know, in general the people in the Middle East rely heavily on mobile phones in obtaining information, which highlights the importance of accessing information via handheld devices on the move, as the phone in some cases becomes the means to connect you to the information that you require,” Cerf commented.

In a Booz & Company press release posted at AME Info, mobile devices are being touted as “another high-growth platform for media companies, thanks to the rapid penetration of smartphone devices and growth of applications.”

According to the report, the Middle East has approximately four times as many mobile users as desktop internet users. The report states that in many emerging markets, mobile devices offer a much more popular platform for content distribution than the internet.

Although the development of Arabic content and the push for technology and social media platforms continues, Molouk Ba-isa for Arab News is calling for a “digital timeout.” As spring break begins for students in Saudi Arabia, he fears that young people will be spending all their time “watching television, playing video games, surfing the net, listening to music and talking on the phone.”

Arab News spoke with Dr. Peter Tesler of Manhattan's Physician Group. Tesler noted that the concentration of exposure to media has dramatically increased, due to multitasking.

He emphasized that parents must take an active role in their children's use of technology. “Parents would be very unhappy to learn about the personal information and photographs that their children are posting at sites such as Facebook,” Tesler stated, promoting limiting media use and encouraging exercise.

Ba-isa concludes, “Parents have the power to provide youngsters with guidance on media use. Those who chose to be involved in controlling media resources can help their children have healthy, happy lives.”