The “Insta-fame” age is alive and well in the UAE – of the 400 million or so global users active on Instagram each month, experts say about 25 million of them are based in the Middle East and North Africa, with two million managed right here in the UAE.
The popularity can be attributed in part to the surge in smartphone ownership in the region, with research showing that up to 80 per cent of UAE residents now own one.
“With the high smartphone penetration in the Middle East, these devices have caused a shift in communication, from words to images – with 80 million photos posted on Instagram every day, if something is happening it will likely be captured on Instagram,” says Instagram’s brand development lead, Amy Cole, who was in Dubai earlier this month for the company’s 12th Worldwide InstaMeet – the bringing together of like-minded people to explore and share photography with followers under a unified hashtag (#worldsultimateinstameet).
So what is the attraction? The Dubai-based social-media expert Ema Linaker says the photo-sharing site “is simple and intuitive to use”, and it’s capturing the most sought-after audience on the planet right now – the 18-to-24-year-old “millennials” earning between Dh184,000 and Dh273,000 per year.
“You literally take a photo and capture that moment,” Linaker says. “You can become involved in the creative output of that moment through the filters and features and be in charge of your own personal visual story.”
Original article by Melinda Healy
Continue reading at The National:
We’re liking: a look at the UAE’s Instagram influencers
Comments
Facebook
Twitter
Contact
Elan.tv
Comments