From Tribe to Facebook The Transformational Role of Social Networks

The effects of online social networking have been transformed at a global level – and nowhere more so than in the Arab world. Influencing politics, economics, society, security and the media, these online networks have become a means for people to voice their opinion, meet others with similar views and often organize themselves into coherent groups (whether activist or not). Jamal Al-Suwaidi argues that social networks have led to a societal shift from a tribal mentality to that of a Facebook group mentality. Within the architecture of social networks, each group of users had its own common orientation and outlook – effectively forming an allegiance of its own. These 'virtual' allegiances combine with 'real' ones in order to characterize the new social structures of the twenty-first century. From Tribe to Facebook charts the impact of this trend in order to explore and analyze the potential outcomes of the accelerated development of social networks.

Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi is the Director General of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR). He is also an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at the UAE University in Al Ain.

Introduction
1. Scope of the Study
2. Previous Studies
3. Social Networks: Concept and Role
4. Statistical Indicators of Main Social Networks
5. The Social Networking Age
6. Data-entry Potential of Social Networks
7. Impact of Social Networks
8. Prospects for the Relationship between Traditional Media and Social Networks
9. Legal Problems associated with the Use of Social Networks
10. Social Networks: Future Prospects
11. Conclusion: Various Future Prospects