At a time of major news developments in the Middle East and North Africa, the Arab-American media’s efforts to meet the demands of its audience have been complicated by declining ad revenue, new technology, and growing competition from Arab outlets in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a new PEJ study.

How did people use Twitter during Hurricane Sandy and what did they tweet about? A new study from PEJ shows that over half of the conversation on and around the hurricane’s landfall was news, information, photos and videos of and about the super storm.

The news made at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco last week ricocheted through the internet’s many tech blogs. And on YouTube, a mixture of President Obama and the catchy pop tune “Call Me Maybe” was the most viewed news-related video for the second week in a row.

Bloggers and Twitter users love guessing about new high-tech devices and last week, they were busy discussing what the new iPhone would look like and whether Facebook would jump into the smartphone business. On YouTube, many users saw video of a gruesome crime.

The naming of new celebrity judges for a popular reality show generated major attention in both the blogosphere and Twitterverse last week. And for the second week in a row, events related to the 2012 Mexican presidential election registered as the top news video on YouTube. 

An article that focused largely on the president’s relationships with some old girlfriends inspired bloggers to weigh in on both Obama and the article last week. On YouTube, protests in Malaysia calling for fair elections dominated the week’s most popular news videos.

The impending release of Google Drive and looming changes at Google+ triggered a lively online discussion last week as bloggers generally seemed to welcome these new developments. On Twitter, it was another big week for pop stars while a tragic car accident in Japan registered as the most viewed news video.

Social media users are often fascinated by high-tech advances and a preview of Google’s augmented-reality glasses last week generated a major reaction on blogs and Twitter. Meanwhile, an April Fools’ joke at the expense of a presidential candidate was the most popular news-related YouTube video.

Major changes came to Google’s Search last week and bloggers rallied largely to voice displeasure and concern. And Super Junior, the Korean pop group that has rabid fans across the world, continues to be a draw on Twitter.

News of Apple’s dominance in mobile shopping and the possible waning of price comparison websites struck bloggers interest last week.