The ‘Buzzfeed of Dubai’ wants to show you the city’s lighter side

Picture credit: Maher Najm

Dubai may be regarded as the ‘playground of the Middle East,’ but with almost 85 percent of its population consisting of expats, the city is also a melting pot of culture, language, and tradition. And with such a cosmopolitan outlook come rapidly-shifting narratives as people from across the world combine to give its culture a unique flavor.

Lovin Dubai, a new media startup, is trying to tell the city’s story through the lens of its residents. Most of the headlines you might read about Dubai talk about its fancy hotels, gargantuan shopping malls, and ostentatious penthouse apartments but there’s a lot more than meets the eye.

With over 200 cultures and 8,000 restaurants in Dubai, the city certainly has a buzzing and energetic vibe that envelops it. So there’s no shortage of things to cover.

“Think of Lovin Dubai as a cross between Buzzfeed, Timeout, and Yelp,” explains Richard Fitzgerald, managing director Lovin Dubai. “It does all three, really.”

That statement seems to be fairly accurate. Most of the content you see on the site revolves around restaurants, events, and relatable posts centered around life in the city. GIFs, listicles, and easy pinup recipes abound. Richard says that’s the content loved by its audience – stuff that talks about Dubai as the sum of its parts.

The site is part of the ‘Lovin’ brand, which also includes Lovin Dublin and Lovin Berlin. Richard, who has over a decade of experience in media and advertising, says they’re trying to talk about cities that have interesting, changing stories. “We’re all about discovering people and talking about the zeitgeist of the city. People generally don’t have a good understanding […] so it’s important to tell their story,” he adds.

Lovin Dubai gets approximately 250,000 page views per month, with a team of four people. It’s financed by Jordanian investors. Richard says they’ll be opening other cities in the Middle East very soon, like Cairo, Tehran, and Jeddah.

Like most media startups, Lovin Dubai monetizes through advertising and sponsored content. Richard explains they’re not pushing sales aggressively at the moment, but have seen interest from food and beverage companies, hotels, and some premium brands. Plans are to focus mainly on content by writing more and introducing new categories, such as videos.

“We want to bring native content to Dubai, and expand it across the region,” he asserts.