ABU DHABI // Thousands of people have subscribed to a social media account dedicated to showcasing the capital.
Rami Abuarja, a Jordanian who has lived in Abu Dhabi for two years, decided to set up the account on Twitter to collect snaps from around the emirate.
“I am an Instagram user myself and one day I was out on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi and this idea came to me,” Mr Abuarja said.
“If I could take everyone’s pictures and put them all in once place, everyone in the world can see what Abu Dhabi is like.”
This notion inspired him to set up the Instagram Abu Dhabi – @InstaAbuDhabi – Twitter account about a month ago.
Using his knowledge of computers, Mr Abuarja wrote a script that automatically finds new Instagram pictures taken in particular locations around the city, and tweets them from the account.
Only pictures labelled as public are used.
Since being launched the account already has about 2,000 subscribers.
“A lot of people from all nationalities, especially Emiratis, are using Instagram. A lot of the pictures come from them and others from the tourists who are here just to see the sights – it is for everyone,” he said.
“Everybody used to just see photos online, but all of a sudden you have this app on your phone and you can take good pictures, it is not hard, anyone can do it.”
He said that Instagram is promoting the art of photography across the country.
The trend for using the popular site in the UAE has skyrocketed, with snap-happy residents and visitors alike uploading their best shots.
“It is especially good in Abu Dhabi because there is always things happening. People used to walk around with big cameras, SLRs and stuff and now people just use their phones.”
Users in the UAE outnumber any other Arab country on the site Instagramers Gallery, a separate entity dedicated to promoting the best pictures from the site.
Users can win prizes for the most popular pictures on the site.
UAE smartphone ownership has outstripped the global average by 30 per cent, according to a recent survey by research consultancy TNS Global.
“According to the study, about 78 per cent of the UAE population owns a smartphone, compared with the global average of 42 per cent,” said Jorge Martinez, co-founder of Instagramers Gallery.
“Also, nearly 40 per cent of UAE consumers either own or are looking to own a tablet. Furthermore, 34 per cent use their smartphones to access social networking sites. All this will fuel social media photography further in the UAE,” he said.
“Instagramers Gallery is a great tool for people to showcase their world. Most of the photos being posted on the photo platform from the UAE are mostly of the categories of people, travels, art, beauty, family, landscape and love.”
One of the most high-profile UAE users of Instagram is Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, or "Faz3" as he is known on the site.
Sheikh Hamdan has more than 625,000 followers and regularly attracts hundreds of comments and "likes" to his posts of life in and around the UAE.
ksinclair@thenational.ae
