Content Innovation Strategies for Mobile Media

Proposed here is a trans-disciplinary project linking media studies and computer science to investigate opportunities for content innovation via mobile media in the Arab world. Big Data analytics will be employed to study patterns in mobile media use in Qatar and other Middle East and North Africa Arab nations, including user-generated content (UGC), social media and their intersection with professionally produced content delivered via mobile media. The project will collect data using multiple methods, including public social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, user surveys and detailed interviews with media professionals regarding their use of mobile and social media. Geographic tagging of mobile and social media will provide a location-based assessment of UGC patterns and mobile media usage. Based on this analysis, we will provide a data-driven model of potential mobile media content innovation in these countries, including both production and consumption patterns and a translational framework for mobile media content innovation strategies and an assessment of “best practices” in mobile media content in the region. Outcomes of this project include formulating innovative content strategies for advancing learning and public engagement in the Arab world via mobile media content. This investigation builds on the theoretical and applied research on the adoption and diffusion of innovation. Benefits of this project to Qatar include increased opportunities for public education and engagement via mobile media, advances in entrepreneurial and business innovation to support economic growth in media, and a research baseline in mobile media content development and diffusion. The study aligns well with the Qatar National Research Strategy, especially within the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Pillar. It will: • contribute to building human capital, • help raise Qatar’s profile in in the international research community, and • benefit the