Content Innovation Strategies for Mobile Media in Qatar

John Pavlik, Everette Dennis, Rachel Mersey 
Collaborating Institutions: Rutgers University, Northwestern University in Evanston, Qatar University­­–Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI)
Funding: Qatar National Research Fund (NPRP)

This is a trans-disciplinary project linking media studies and computer science to investigate opportunities for the use of mobile media for innovative content in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The study builds on theories of the adoption and diffusion of innovations. Big Data analytics will be employed to study patterns in mobile media use in Qatar and the UAE, including user-generated content (UGC), social media, and their intersection with professionally produced content delivered via mobile media. Geographic tagging of mobile and social media will provide a location-based assessment of UGC patterns and mobile media usage. Content analyses will be conducted of 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 will complete the picture.

Based on these data and an assessment of best practices in mobile media content in the region. the researchers will provide a model of potential mobile-media content innovation in these countries, including both production and consumption. This should increase opportunities for public education and engagement via mobile media, advances in entrepreneurial and business innovation to support economic growth, but also a research baseline for future investigations into mobile media content development and diffusion.