Social media is changing. No longer satisfied with merely posting pictures and short clips, platforms now enable users to broadcast their entire lives online, live and personal, 24-hours a day.
YouNow is one of the latest players to hit the Middle East. Users broadcast to their fans (or 'fams' as they are known) in real time, and without time limits. In return, viewers can toss money into a virtual 'tip jar' for perks such as highlighted comments and fan mail, or they can buy likes to help their broadcaster "trend". The virtual currency is then converted into real-life wages for broadcasters' post-session. youNow says this can be up to $10,000 per month.
"Not only are we facilitating direct fan-to-fan engagement, we are allowing ordinary people to profit from their talent or personalities and build a global fan base around them. Live streaming is big news at the moment but no other platform offers this opportunity for users", said Chereen Zaki, Arab Market Manager at YouNow.
In the Middle East, top 'YouNowers' are currently raking in thousands of dollars. KSA-based user Abodybad broadcasts an average of six times per week to over 250,000 fans and racking up a total of 14 million views, Abodybad is not only making a name for himself online but earning money alongside his studies.
Launched in 2011 by founder Adie Sideman, YouNow has amassed 100 million user sessions per month globally and although a rapidly growing market in the Middle East.
"In the USA we have seen a number of our top YouNowers earning enough to make broadcasting a full time job. We've had fans help musicians get to number one on iTunes and even get record deals. the possibilities are endless and exciting", said Candace Tossas, International Markets Manager.
Here we speak to three Middle Eastern YouNowers about their experience.
DOAA EL SEBAII
"I am Egyptian living in Cairo. I broadcast a lot of different things on YouNow; sometimes just talking about myself, sometimes talking to my friends or often I do a Q&A session with my fans. My user name on the site is Doaa_ElSebaii."
"One of my friends told me about YouNow because I was trying to do live streaming on other websites and it wasn't successful. The fans started picking up my broadcasts moderately fast but now I have over 22k. The users are quite young and they are very loyal so they tend to tune in every broadcast - I also don't have Snapchat so it's one of the only video outlets they can interact with me on."
"This is not my full time job but I regularly get paid every month. Singing is my full time job but I hope to increase my following on YouNow so I can earn more."
"It's true that it is popular in the Middle East but I believe it is popular everywhere. When I broadcast I see lots of people broadcasting and tuning in from around the world and that is the beauty of the platform. It is a tool that allows you to communicate your personality, your opinions to a variety of people. It's almost a substitute to a TV but in a very efficient way."
MOHAMED MEKAWY
"I am half Egyptian, half Lebanese living in Cairo, Egypt and I am 22. I mainly use YouNow to do funny jokes and crazy pranks live, as I do on TV and my other social media accounts. People love it and people can find me by searching my YouNow name - Mohamed_Mekawy"
"My YouNow fans picked up fast because of Instagram and Facebook. I advertised my broadcasts on there and people started asking me to do meet and greets, or just talk sometimes and ask questions. The fans quickly got higher and now I have over 2,000 in less than a month."
"It's not my full time job, I broadcast two times a week and I am still a student majoring in marketing. I am also an actor in Egypt in a TV show, I do advertisements and I work on marketing campaigns as a freelancer."
"In the Gulf maybe boys and girls do not hang out together as often so they do broadcasting instead."
MAHE EL SHAMY
"I am a 22-year-old Egyptian living in Dubai. I am a fashion blogger on Instagram I have more than 40,000 followers. My first broadcast on YouNow was for me and my followers to chat and so they got to see me live. They love watching my videos on snapchat and so on YouNow we get to interact live and start a Q&A conversation. People can find me on YouNow by searching my name "Mahe el Shamy".
"I got into this service when I was picked to be part of the Partner Program in the Middle East. I quickly started picking up fans once I was live. People seemed to like what I was talking about and also how honest I am, plus the Q&A function is good to talk about fashion and beauty. I think most of the YouNow users tune in and wait for someone specific to go live so they can watch or chat with them. Many of them are already fans of them somewhere else."
"I've only used YouNow a handful of times and the broadcasts have been successful I can say and the interactions were high. But it's not my full time job and so far I am not making too much money out of it. My full time job is being a fashion blogger which I get paid for."
"People now have a lot of famous influencers to follow and it's hard for them to choose which one is like them, who is being real and who is not. So videos or live broadcasts reveal a lot that's why people like them in my point of view."
By David Light
