logo
Your selfie at the famous Key West buoy will soon be changing. A replica is coming

Your selfie at the famous Key West buoy will soon be changing. A replica is coming

Miami Herald05-06-2025
Taking a selfie at the red, yellow and black Southernmost Point marker is one of those Key West must-do's for day-trippers and tourists.
But come August or September and for about a year after, you'll be posing alongside a replica in a different location.
That's because the landmark buoy will be out of commission.
Don't worry — there's nothing wrong with the original buoy. This isn't a repeat of Hurricane Irma's lashing at the concrete marker that led to a month-long closing in September and October 2017 so that the original artists Danny Acosta and Henry Del Valle could do emergency repairs and repaint the battered buoy.
MORE: How did Key West land up with a giant buoy as a tourist attraction? Here's the story
Why will there be a replica Southernmost Buoy?
The giant concrete buoy, which replaced a simple sign at the site in 1983, is fine after its spruce-up nearly eight years ago. But years of storms have undermined the existing Southernmost Plaza where the marker sits.
So the United States' southernmost city has to repair the seawall, redo the roadway and attend to other damage at the corner of South and Whitehead streets, said Key West spokesperson Alyson Crean.
That coming work will require the shutdown of the area for about a year, barring access to the existing buoy.
The replica is being built and painted by Paul Cassidy and Richard Sarver of Key West's Community Services Department.
'It is smaller, but still taller than a person,' Crean said. 'The ocean will still be visible, but the temporary location is farther away from the ocean.'
Compose your camera shots just so, and your Instagram followers may not know the difference.
The temporary location?
The replica will be installed at the Duval Street Pocket Park at 1400 Duval St. That's a block away from the original buoy, 90 miles from Cuba.
Will Key West keep both buoys for double the social media snaps?
That remains to be seen.
'Once it's done,' Crean said, 'I'm sure the city will do something fun with it.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Couple Meets Dog on Trip to Costa Rica—Ends Up With a New Family Member
Couple Meets Dog on Trip to Costa Rica—Ends Up With a New Family Member

Newsweek

time6 hours ago

  • Newsweek

Couple Meets Dog on Trip to Costa Rica—Ends Up With a New Family Member

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. What started as an ordinary trip to Costa Rica turned into a heartwarming rescue story, after a local dog kept showing up at a couple's Airbnb, until they finally made her officially part of their family. A now-viral clip, shared on TikTok in July, under the username @viviancsalama, explains how the couple first met the pup during their stay in the Central American country. The pup initially appeared to be owned by someone, due the collar she was wearing on her neck, but after several more encounters, it became clear that she was actually a stray. "And it turned out that she was a stray dog... With her own Instagram page, with people trying to get her adopted. We found out too late to be able to get her proper vaccinations and flights to take her home with us..." the caption says. Despite not being able to take her home immediately, the couple continued to follow her story, and soon managed to adopt her. "We didn't want to say goodbye. Four months later we finally got to bring her home. And she made it to Canada to her forever home," they said. Getting a pup into the United States can be challenging, depending on where they are coming from. Entry requirements for foreign-vaccinated dogs that come from high-risk countries include the CDC Dog Import Form receipt; a certification of foreign rabies vaccination and microchip form; a valid rabies serology titer report from a CDC-approved laboratory; and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility; among others. Dogs must also have a microchip that can be detected with a universal scanner to identify them; and must be at least 6 months old and appear healthy at time of entry. All required documents and written statements must be in English or have a certified English translation. Dogs that come from high-risk rabies countries and have not been vaccinated will not be allowed into America. A stock image shows a stray dog chilling on a sandy beach. A stock image shows a stray dog chilling on a sandy beach. getty images The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 488,100 views and 67,100 likes. One user, Rachel Ovares, commented: "I'm from Costa Rica and you don't know how much I appreciate this, thank you. I hope life brings you only beautiful things." Adrianassweetlife said: "Me in every country I step foot in. So happy for this baby." Hollanda added: "Usually people go out to find dogs, whether it's adoption or buying a puppy etc but she found YOU and decided you were her humans." Newsweek reached out to @viviancsalama for comment via Instagram messages. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Why Dubai Businesses Are Turning to PPC Advertising for Explosive Growth in 2025
Why Dubai Businesses Are Turning to PPC Advertising for Explosive Growth in 2025

Time Business News

time11 hours ago

  • Time Business News

Why Dubai Businesses Are Turning to PPC Advertising for Explosive Growth in 2025

Dubai's business scene is crazy competitive. Every day, new companies pop up while established ones fight to keep their customers. In a city where everything moves fast and money talks, you need marketing that works – not someday, but right now. That's exactly why smart business owners across Dubai have started using pay-per-click advertising. Whether you're running a small startup from your home office or managing a big company in Downtown Dubai, PPC can change how much money you make. Walk down Sheikh Zayed Road and count the billboards. Scroll through Instagram for five minutes. Check your email inbox. See what I mean? We're drowning in ads. Your potential customers get hit with hundreds of marketing messages every single day. The old tricks don't work anymore. TV commercials? People skip them. Newspaper ads? Most folks read news on their phones now. Social media posts? Good luck getting anyone to see them without paying. This puts Dubai business owners in a tough spot. You've got a great product or service, but how do you get people to notice? How do you cut through all that noise? Here's where things get interesting. When you work with a ppc agency in dubai, you're not just throwing money at advertising and hoping something sticks. You're putting your message directly in front of people who are already looking for what you sell. Think about the last time you searched for something on Google. Maybe you typed 'best burgers near me' or 'Dubai car rental.' The first few results you saw? Those were probably PPC ads. Here's the beautiful part – the business owner only paid when you clicked on their ad. If you scrolled past it, they paid nothing. If you clicked and then bought something, they made money. It's advertising that actually makes sense. You can target people by what they search for, where they live, what language they speak, even what time of day they're online. For a place like Dubai with people from everywhere, this kind of targeting is gold. Google handles millions of searches every day from people in Dubai. When someone types 'Dubai wedding photographer' or 'business setup Dubai,' PPC ads show up first. You're catching people at the exact moment they want what you're selling. Dubai has some unique things going for it that make PPC work really well here. Almost everyone has internet – we're talking 99% of people. Everyone has smartphones. People shop online more every year. The city never sleeps, which means your ads can work around the clock. Unlike a radio ad that only plays at certain times, your PPC ads are always ready to catch customers, whether it's lunch time on Monday or 3 AM on Friday. Dubai's international crowd creates interesting opportunities too. You might run Arabic ads for local Emiratis while showing English ads to expats. PPC platforms handle this kind of multi-language targeting without breaking a sweat. The city's rhythm is different from other places. Tourist seasons, Ramadan, summer months when people travel – these all create chances to adjust your advertising and catch customers when they're most likely to buy. You can't just throw up some ads and hope for the best. Good PPC starts with understanding what people in Dubai actually search for. Someone looking for a restaurant might search 'best Lebanese food Dubai Marina' while a tourist might type 'where to eat Dubai mall.' These different search terms need different ads and different approaches. Your ads need to speak to Dubai's mixed crowd. What works for a British expat might not work for someone from India or a local Emirati. Smart advertisers test different messages to see what clicks with different groups. Your website better be ready when people click your ads. If your site takes forever to load or looks terrible on mobile phones, you'll waste every dirham you spend. In Dubai's competitive market, people will just click back and choose your competitor instead. Money matters too. Popular search terms like 'Dubai real estate' cost more than specific ones like '2-bedroom apartment JLT for rent.' Smaller businesses often get better results focusing on these longer, more specific searches. Running good PPC campaigns takes time, knowledge, and constant attention. Most business owners have better things to do than stare at Google Ads all day. That's why many companies hire professionals. Good PPC managers know Dubai's market inside and out. They understand cultural differences, speak the local language (literally and figuratively), and know which competitors to watch out for. The trick is finding the right team. The best ppc management companies in dubai don't just know how to set up ads – they understand your specific market, your customers, and what makes people in Dubai tick. Look for people who've actually worked with Dubai businesses before. They should understand things like Ramadan advertising, how to target different emirates, and why your Arabic campaigns might need completely different messaging than your English ones. Good PPC managers will explain what they're doing and why. They'll show you clear reports about how your money is being spent and what results you're getting. If someone can't explain their strategy in simple terms, find someone else. Clicks are nice, but they don't pay your bills. You need to focus on numbers that connect directly to making money. Cost per customer tells you how much you spend to get one new customer. If you spend AED 50 to get a customer who buys AED 500 worth of stuff, that's good business. If you spend AED 200 to get a customer who buys AED 100 worth, you need to fix something. Return on ad spend shows you how much money you make compared to what you spend on ads. This number needs to stay positive, or you're basically paying people to take your products. Quality Score affects how much you pay and where your ads show up. Higher scores mean Google likes your ads, which means better positions at lower costs. In Dubai's expensive advertising market, this can save you serious money. Different areas of Dubai respond differently to ads. An ad that works great in Business Bay might flop in Deira. Good PPC management tracks these differences and adjusts accordingly. I've seen businesses waste thousands of dirhams on PPC mistakes that could have been avoided easily. Using broad keywords is the biggest money-waster. If you run a Dubai restaurant and target the word 'food,' you'll get clicks from people looking for pet food, food delivery jobs, and food poisoning information. None of these people want to eat at your restaurant. Ignoring mobile users in Dubai is business suicide. Most people here use their phones for everything. If your ads and website don't work perfectly on mobile, you're throwing money away. Cultural mistakes can hurt your reputation and your wallet. Dubai has strict cultural norms, religious considerations, and social expectations. Get these wrong in your ads, and you'll not only waste money but potentially damage your brand. Skipping Arabic campaigns limits your reach. Yes, lots of people in Dubai speak English, but Arabic campaigns often unlock huge opportunities with local Emiratis and other Arabic speakers who prefer browsing in their native language. The 'set it and forget it' approach kills PPC campaigns. Your ads need regular attention, testing, and updates. Markets change, competitors adjust their strategies, and what worked last month might not work this month. Once you've got basic campaigns running smoothly, there are some advanced strategies that can boost your results even more. Remarketing campaigns target people who visited your website but didn't buy anything. These campaigns often work better than regular ads because you're talking to people who already know your brand. Dynamic ads work great for online stores. These automatically show products that people looked at on your website, creating personalized shopping experiences that often lead to more sales. Dubai's unique calendar creates special opportunities. Ramadan campaigns need different timing and messaging compared to summer promotions or tourist season strategies. Using multiple platforms together amplifies your results. Combining Google Ads with Facebook advertising creates visibility across different places where Dubai customers hang out online. Location extensions are especially powerful in Dubai. When your ads show your address, phone number, and directions, local customers are more likely to click and visit your business. Dubai's push to become a global tech hub means new advertising opportunities are coming. Artificial intelligence is making campaign optimization smarter, while new ad formats give fresh ways to grab attention. Voice search is growing as more people use smart speakers and voice assistants. Soon, PPC campaigns will need to work with conversational searches like 'Hey Google, find me a good Dubai dentist.' Video ads are taking over across all platforms. Dubai businesses should start exploring video PPC options on YouTube and social media to capture attention in more engaging ways. New technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality might soon offer advertising possibilities that are particularly relevant to Dubai's tourism, real estate, and retail businesses. For Dubai businesses thinking about PPC, the question isn't whether to start – it's how to start smart. This city rewards businesses that approach PPC strategically, not those who jump in blindly. Start with clear goals and realistic budgets. Whether you want more website visitors, sales leads, or online purchases, having specific targets helps create focused campaigns that deliver real results. Be honest about what you can handle internally. If you don't have PPC experience, working with the best ppc agency in dubai often costs less than learning through expensive mistakes. Begin small and focused rather than trying to target everything at once. Success with one product or service can then expand to your full range of offerings as you gain experience and confidence. PPC advertising gives Dubai businesses something traditional advertising never could – the ability to reach exactly the right customers at exactly the right moment, with complete control over spending and detailed measurement of results. Whether you're a startup trying to get noticed or an established company looking to grow faster, PPC campaigns offer the flexibility and precision needed to succeed in Dubai's intense business environment. The key is approaching PPC strategically, understanding what makes Dubai's market unique, and staying focused on numbers that actually drive business growth. Whether you handle campaigns yourself or hire professionals, success comes from clear goals, smart execution, and constant improvement. Dubai's digital landscape keeps evolving, but businesses that master PPC advertising now set themselves up for long-term success. The city's characteristics – everyone's online, diverse population, round-the-clock economy, and fierce competition – create perfect conditions for PPC campaigns that deliver real business results. The opportunity is sitting right there. The tools work. The only question left is when you'll start using strategic PPC advertising to transform your Dubai business. TIME BUSINESS NEWS

Budget-friendly spin on classic summer treat goes viral: ‘Road trip luxury'
Budget-friendly spin on classic summer treat goes viral: ‘Road trip luxury'

New York Post

time14 hours ago

  • New York Post

Budget-friendly spin on classic summer treat goes viral: ‘Road trip luxury'

A budget-friendly recipe is going viral for channeling an Italian delicacy with just two ingredients that can be found at most roadside rest stops: coffee and an ice-cream sandwich. 'It's July and you know what that means: It's gas station affogato season,' New York-based travel expert and television host Samantha Brown recently posted on social media. Advertisement An affogato, which means 'drowned' in English, is typically served with fresh espresso poured over vanilla ice cream. But Brown, host of the PBS show 'Places to Love,' was forced to improvise while on a recent road trip stateside. 'You're seeing everyone in Italy, Positano, the Amalfi Coast, but you're at a Gulf station off the [Massachusetts Turnpike],' she said. To make the experience 'fancy,' she grabbed a cup of black coffee and an ice-cream sandwich from the gas station. With her ingredients resting on top of an air pump, Brown dunks the frozen treat into the cup and takes a big bite. Advertisement 'Delicious,' the mom of two exclaims. 'Back in the car,' she adds. 3 To make the experience 'fancy,' she grabbed a cup of black coffee and an ice-cream sandwich from the gas station. TikTok/@samanthabrowntravels The dessert 'blends a high-brow treat with the realities of an American road trip,' Brown said on Instagram and TikTok, where her videos had gotten over 3.1 million views and counting. Advertisement Many followers commented that they loved the relatable tip. 'A little road trip luxury,' one woman said on Instagram. 'Got to love that!' Advertisement 3 An affogato, which means 'drowned' in English, is typically served with fresh espresso poured over vanilla ice cream. kapongza – 'Road trip across Ohio and Pennsylvania coming up,' another woman wrote. 'I need to try that!! And dream of the Amalfi Coast.' 'As someone who's crushed I couldn't go to Italy this summer, this is priceless,' a TikToker commented. Brown said she prefers to enjoy the snack with the most basic ice-cream sandwich: the kind wrapped in paper. 3 'As someone who's crushed I couldn't go to Italy this summer, this is priceless,' a TikToker commented. TikTok/@samanthabrowntravels 'I don't use a Klondike bar or a Chipwich,' she told 'It's the quintessential ice-cream sandwich.' The idea came to Brown while on a road trip years ago with her two young children. She had a hankering for coffee-flavored ice cream, but there was none to be found. Advertisement 'So I was like, 'Wait a minute, why don't I make my own?'' she said. 'Desperate times called for desperate measures.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store