Ramadan is just around the corner and preparations are fully underway, so let’s jump to our old favourite YouTube and the corker they’ve come up with for this year’s Holy Month.

Ramadan TV on YouTube

With viewing figures for popular Arabic soaps set to go through the roof this Ramadan, YouTube has had the brilliant idea to launch an online channel dedicated to Ramadan shows. The channel is set to host over 50 Arabic shows, allowing people to keep track and catch up on their favourites during the month.

According to The National the decision was taken to launch the channel since on average there are 167million YouTube videos watched each day by internet users in the Middle East and North Africa, which in terms of global views ranks second in the world.

YouTube launched the full channel today. See the full story.

Yahoo! Maktoob Launches Ramadan Destination in English

The Arab internet service Yahoo! Maktoob has launched a dedicated destination, offering non-Arabic speaking Muslims and non-Muslims the opportunity to learn about the holy season of Ramadan.

In recent research conducted by Yahoo! Maktoob across the MENA region, it was found that over half of survey respondents go online to find information during Ramadan, whilst approximately 45% believe that internet use helps improved communications with their loved ones over the Holy Month.

In light of the survey results, the Ramadan site is designed to offer learning assistance via fun trivia, factsheets, Ramadan glossary terms and e-greetings cards. Other features also include Arabic recipes and health tips during the month. In order to help Muslims during Ramadan, the site also includes prayer and iftar schedules.

See the full story.

Image source: Yahoo! Maktoob

45 million in the Arab world “Like” Facebook

We certainly “Like” this news!

According to arabianbusiness.com, Facebook users in the Middle East are up, growing over 50% year-on- year to 45.2million users at the end of June 2012. Collated by the Dubai School of Government’s Governance and Innovation Programme in their ‘Fourth Arab Social Media Report’, the number suggests that social media has “now become a tool for the masses for engaging in civil activities and influencing change in Arab societies” according to Fadi Salem, Director of Governance and Innovation Programme, DSG and co-author of the report.

The report also found that Arabic is now the fastest growing language on the social media platform across the region. According to Mr Salem, “The increased use of Arabic suggests that social media in the Arab region has clearly outgrown the perception of being a platform for ‘the elite’. Notably, it has now become a tool for the masses for engaging in civil activities and influencing change in Arab societies.”

See the full story.

Twitter use in Saudi up 3,000%

On the back of this Facebook news, Arabian Bytes can also report that Twitter use in Saudi, amongst the fast growth in other GCC countries, is up by 3,000%!

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, CEO of Twitter Dick Costolo, stated that Twitter users in Saudi Arabia increased by 3,000% in June, making Saudi Arabia the largest growth market in the world for the popular micro-blogging site.

According to Mr Costolo, approximately 50% of users access Twitter via their smartphones, whilst others log in on a daily basis. Also, similarly to the increase of Arabic language on Facebook, Arabic Tweets have increased by approximately 2,146%.

See the full story.

_In other news…… _

Bieber hit 25 million Twitter followers!

That’s right, kid superstar, boy wonder, Justin Bieber, hit his 25 million milestone this week, making him the second most followed person in the world behind Lady Gaga who currently holds the top spot with 27 million followers. See the full story.

Tweet this piano to hear a song

Self-playing pianos were pretty magical / scary when you were a kid right!? Well now you can Tweet this self-playing piano, affectionately known as Stanly, your song request! Simply Tweet your request to @StanleyPiano and the song will queue up for performance for you to view.