Keila Doyle, Founder of Golffily, explains that community is becoming the primary driver of digital platform growth in the Middle East, helping businesses boost trust, engagement, retention and social commerce as digital adoption reaches saturation.
For years, digital platform growth was treated as a numbers game: downloads, clicks, impressions, active users and acquisition costs. The logic was simply to get people onto the platform, keep them moving through the funnel and hope the product was useful enough to bring them back. That model is becoming weaker, particularly in the Middle East.
The region is no longer in the early stage of digital adoption. In the UAE, DataReportal’s Digital 2026 report stated that there were 11.3 million internet users at the end of 2025, with internet penetration standing at 99%. The UAE was also home to 12.5 million social media user identities in October 2025, equivalent to 110% of the population, reflecting the intensity of multi-platform digital behaviour. Saudi Arabia tells a similar story with a report that found 34.4 million internet users in the Kingdom at the end of 2025, with internet penetration also at 99%. It also recorded 38.6 million social media user identities, equivalent to 111% of the population. These numbers matter because they show that the next stage of platform growth in the Middle East will not be driven simply by getting more people online. Most people already are. The real challenge is how do platforms make users return, participate, recommend, transact and stay.
That is where community is becoming the real growth engine. Community is often treated as a soft marketing idea, but for digital platforms, it is increasingly a commercial structure. A strong community turns users from passive consumers into active participants. They create content, share recommendations, answer each other’s questions, build trust, provide feedback and bring others in. In other words, they help the platform grow from the inside. This is particularly relevant in the Middle East, where trust, relationships and word-of-mouth have always played a powerful role in how people discover products, services and opportunities.
Digital behaviour may have evolved, but the underlying human behaviour has not disappeared. People still want to know what others think, trust recommendations from people they relate to and want to feel that a brand or platform understands their context, culture and needs. The difference now is that this trust is being scaled digitally.
The rise of social commerce is one clear signal. The UAE social commerce market is projected to grow from US$3.21 billion in 2024 to US$6.41 billion by 2030, driven by smartphone usage, e-commerce integration and platform-led purchasing behaviour. Across the wider Middle East, social commerce is also growing strongly, with market reports estimating the sector reached US$9.92 billion in 2025. This points to a broader shift that content, commerce and community are no longer separate lanes. They are increasingly part of the same growth loop. A consumer may discover a product through a creator, validate it through peer comments, ask questions in a group, see user-generated content, and then make a purchase directly through a platform. The transaction is commercial, but the decision is social.
This is why platforms that invest only in acquisition risk building shallow audiences rather than durable ecosystems. Paid ads can bring users in, influencers can create visibility, features can solve a practical problem, but community gives people a reason to stay. That distinction is becoming more important as digital categories become crowded. In fintech, wellness, education, fitness, beauty, travel, food delivery, real estate, gaming and founder-focused platforms, features are often easy to copy. However, trust is harder to replicate. A competitor can build a similar tool, but it cannot instantly recreate the relationships, conversations, identity and behavioural habits that form around a strong community.
The strongest platforms will also be the ones that understand what their users are trying to become, not just what they are trying to buy. A golf app, for example, is not only selling score tracking. It is selling progress, confidence and connection. A financial wellbeing platform is not only offering tools. It is helping people feel more informed and less alone. A founder platform is not only offering networking. It is creating access, visibility and momentum. This is where the community becomes commercially valuable. It creates emotional and practical reasons to return. It gives users status, support, recognition and accountability. It also gives platforms better feedback loops. When users are actively engaged, platforms can understand pain points faster, test ideas more effectively and turn customer behaviour into product intelligence.
However, it is important not to romanticise the community. A WhatsApp group is not automatically a community, nor is a follower count, or a comments section. Many brands use the word because it sounds warm, but real community requires design, moderation, consistency and value exchange. For platforms, the question should not be, “How do we build a community?” It should be, “What value can our users create for each other that makes the platform stronger?” That value could take many forms, from peer advice, product reviews, founder referrals, and local recommendations, to creator-led education, challenge-based engagement, user-generated content, member-only access, accountability groups or even feedback circles. The format matters less than the function but a real community helps users solve a problem, feel part of something relevant, and see value in returning.
This is why a community should now be seen as part of a growth strategy. It can reduce acquisition costs by increasing referrals, improve retention by making users feel invested, strengthen trust by giving customers visible proof from other customers, create content at scale and make platforms more resilient because users are connected to more than the product itself.
The platforms that win the next phase will not necessarily be the ones with the most features or the loudest campaigns. They will be the ones who understand that growth is no longer just about acquiring users but about activating them. In the Middle East, community is not replacing technology. It is making technology feel human, trusted and worth returning to. And in a region where everyone is already online, that may be the difference between a platform people try once and a platform they build into their lives.
TOPEKA (KSNT) — Skateboarders of all ages gathered in Oakland on Sunday, June 21, to celebrate National Go Skateboarding Day, a worldwide event that brings riders together and introduces new people to the sport.
Mousetrap Skatepark was filled with action as skaters, from beginners to experienced riders, took to the ramps and rails throughout the day. The event included competitions for multiple age groups, a best-trick contest, and prizes from local and national sponsors.
National Go Skateboarding Day has been celebrated around the world since 2004, highlighting the culture and community surrounding skateboarding.
“I think the days of skateboarding being a niche for outcasts are gone,” said Christine Stoner, a Topeka native. “It’s more mainstream, but it’s just as athletic as any of the ball sports, and it’s really great to have this in our community.”
Organizers said the event is about more than landing tricks or winning prizes. It also serves as a way to welcome new riders, support local skate shops and strengthen the connections that make the skateboarding community unique.
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“I’m feeling great,” Faus told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims outside the stadium. “It’s the first time watching Spain live for the first time ever. It’s also the first time watching a World Cup game, so it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
It’s Spain’s second appearance in Atlanta since the World Cup began. On Monday, Cabo Verde – a World Cup debutante – held the powerhouse at bay with a scoreless draw.
Omar Khan is a fan of Saudi Arabia and traveled from New York City to attend the match, his first World Cup experience.
“To say I’m excited would be an understatement, it’s been a lifelong dream of mind,” he said. “To go watch the boys go out there and perform in a statement game, it’s like no feeling I could ever explain.”
The streets around the stadium are a great crosscurrent of cultures, with fans showing off bright national colors and drinking in the camaraderie that soccer fosters.
“Everybody forgets about everything,” said Nick Jaramillo, a fan of Spain who lives in Orlando. “The atmosphere everybody has, the enjoyment everybody has, just how this game brings everybody together is phenomenal, and I think that’s just a great thing.”
The World Cup match is about more than goal kicks and blocks and tackles. Memories are being made, bucket lists are getting checked, and dreams are coming true. Seventeen-year-old Sophia Gonzales came with her dad, Martin Gonzales, for Father’s Day to attend their first World Cup game ever.
“It’s very special because I know he’s always wanted to come to a match, so to be able to celebrate this day and to take part in this day with him and to surprise him with so many surprises I have in store for him after the game, it’s just very special,” she said.
Fahd Alabban, a 14-year-old Saudi fan from Washington, D.C., summed up the mood.
“It’s wonderful, it is,” he said. “Look at the atmosphere, it’s, like, great.”
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