Bahrain has become the 49th country to connect to the Social Media Club, a global network which helps members become experts in the field through regular events.

The Bahrain chapter of the club was ratified two weeks ago and is led by a team of eight members who hold Internet and media positions within the country.

They were nominated by club president Ali Sabkar due to their active use of social media in Bahrain.

Leading members include Ali Sabbagh, Eman Burashid, Hala Sulaiman, Adel Maymoon, Sari Mashal, Hussain Hussaini and Ammar Al Aradi.

Since its official launch, the Bahrain chapter has gathered 40 members and membership is open to all residents who have a passion to spread education through social media.

'Membership is free and anyone who has an interest in social media can join,' said Sabkar. 'Two days ago we launched our first programme, a social media camp, where members who are interested in becoming an expert in this field can take part in online and offline seminars.”
“The camp will last three months and we have support from experts on Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, socialbakers.com and LinkedIn who will host these seminars,” he added.

Membership is free for those willing to take part in gatherings, however, professionals in social media who wish to act as lecturers or teachers have to pay a $100 fee.

The group does not have a concrete venue for its operations, but plans to host meetings at Al Ayam Media Centre in Janabiya, Bahrain Society of Engineers in Juffair and the L'hotel in Seef.

Sabkar said the Bahrain chapter was set up due to the growing popularity of social media in the country.

'We didn't have an umbrella club for social media in Bahrain, where everyone could be included and social media has become a major channel here for news reports and information,' he said.

'Over the last six months, online activity has rocketed by 200 per cent on Twitter and 80 per cent on Facebook in the country and we wanted to create a group that encompassed all social media channels and prominent people in Bahrain.'

The Social Media Club has 318 chapters worldwide with 49 member countries.

President and founder of the US-based organisation Kristie Wells said she was delighted to see the network expanding.

'It is exciting to see the Social Media Club expand into new regions such as Bahrain. We are looking forward to seeing the passion of the members in this chapter come together to educate each other on digital and social media and share the best practices,' she said. – TradeArabia News Service