Dubai - WAM
The page of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on Twitter has succeeded in attracting over one million followers, making him one of the Arab leaders with the largest following. "Brothers and sisters, today the number of followers has exceeded one million…but I prefer calling you participants rather than followers," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. The success in attracting this enormous attention from people can be attributed to the diversity and richness of themes and issues he tweets that vary between national achievements and development initiatives of direct relevance to citizens and residents of the UAE, as well as regional and international charitable initiatives which have benefited millions around the world. His discussions on the social media also extends to the current developments on the ground economically, socially and culturally. His page enjoys extensive following among social networking sites due to his vibrant communication on many occasions as well as his eagerness to express his opinion and comments on many issues of regional and global importance. The number of those who follow Sheikh Mohammed, kept increasing steadily, reaching sometimes up to sixty thousand new followers each month. He had a vivid following from several countries across the world including Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia especially from India and Japan, but the largest percentage of followers come from the Arab world. "Hello From Canada! Sending you well wishes from across the Atlantic!" a follower tweeted. The keenness of Sheikh Mohammed to value the suggestions of his following made his page so lively. "Together we came up with many social, humanitarian and cultural initiatives and I have personally benefited from your constructive thoughts", he tweeted. Sheikh Mohammed also made use of his page to continuously communicate with citizens, as he kept updating them on the latest cabinet decisions and their effect on the national life. This methodology of information was very different from the traditional media as it had a personal touch.