The interactive capacities of social networking instruments have unleashed a number of possibilities for enhancing teaching and learning in the higher education sector and many universities are engaged in harnessing the capabilities of these tools. While much valuable research has been conducted on this theme, scholarship has tended to be oriented towards academic practices and sample student populations derived from mainstream societies and countries; little research has been conducted into social networking uptake in higher education sectors in peripheral geo-cultural regions. This research aims to focus on Saudi Arabia in order to develop and assess a social networking framework for the use by Saudi Arabian universities. The main research outcome will be a social networking framework for higher education in Saudi Arabia which can be used by Government departments, funding bodies, university management, administrators and technical support departments for the benefit of teaching staff and learners. [For full proceedings, see ED571459.]