Inquivesta X 2023, the tenth edition of Inquivesta was hosted by the students of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research or IISER Kolkata. Inquivesta boasts unique science events for anyone and everyone to have fun and learn something. Be it an undergrad or a high school student, they have something for everyone: from thrilling events to science exhibitions, from Anime and K-Pop conventions to music and dance competitions. The event this time joined hands with Social Nation Campus and there were creators at the event which added more to the event in the most fun ways.
The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata (IISER) hosted its annual college festival which was entirely planned and run by the institute’s students. The team brought this year’s tenth iteration of the festival to life and maintained the youth’s passion for science education.
The Creator Panel by Social Nation Campus stood out among the many activities that were scheduled for the three-day extravaganza. In the past, the festival has hosted social media influencers, and this year they had two incredible content creators who produce entirely distinct but entertaining content- Shamik Adhikary and Preeti Sarkar.
Shamik who is famously known as @yournonsane makes Bengali, relatable content.
And Preeti is known as @prettysheis.official! Preeti is a content creator who will make you laugh with her fashion content with the style that she follows. Preeti tells you how to dress up but in an angry way!
Together at the event, the creators sat for a panel discussion and answered questions that most people are curious about and the facts of being a content creator that are often not looked at.
What inspired you to become Content Creator and any particular movement or experience that pushed you in this direction?
“Since 8th Std, I have been consuming alot of western content especially Vines, watching creators like logan paul, lady Fonzie and many others have inspired me. Since my childhood, making people laugh has given me intense pleasure and that’s how my comedy journey started but performing in theatre helped me pursue acting.”, said Shamik.
When did you start out in fashion and how?
“In 2018, I started out on youtube to make makeup tips videos like eyelashes and soon it got monetized, and this helped me to get a clear idea of choosing Fashion as my educational degree. Although I am a small-town girl, I came to Kolkata to pursue my fashion. This helped me improve my content game and I realized the audience should love the content. Lockdown wasn’t that beneficial for me, even though I tried making so many videos.
It was in December, a friend of mine told me to use comedy, well that’s when I got the boom when I made relatable fashion comedy content. I got a boom on my Instagram, then it was just understanding the locality and continuous viral hits was on my way, but still, my niche being fashion, that’s how comedy & fashion intersected and worked very well for me. The angry creator on my reel is inspired by my teacher who always used to be pissed at me. This character has helped me make my game strong.”, said Preeti.
When asked about building up a personal brand, Preeti said-
“Having a set business is important so that we can start with developing a brand, as social media was a boon for me & the experience I had while education was going on, helped me to grow my brand. But at the same time, I had to check what’s my audience and what market I had to cater to reach and bring users from a small town to get involved in my business. I feel like, clothing plays an important role in boosting confidence. Every color and every cloth has a story and hence personal branding has helped me grow my vision.“
How do you deal with the backlash and the negativity which comes with a huge following?
Preeti said, “My past experiences have helped me overcome & face this kind of problem. At the age of 17, making content was my only escape from the situation and now even these frustrated people or trollers don’t worry me anymore.”
How has emerging social media changed the accessibility for stand-up comedians? And how is AI changing the creative process?
Shamik says, “Even though AI Factor is helping but as stand-up comedy is skill based AI’s can help one a little bit only. Sarcasm and jokes can only be delivered after creative thinking, although sometimes AI can come to the advantage but its not replaceable.”
How to approach collaborators or endorse them or with brands?
Preeti: “My page is my portfolio, initially it started with me pitching for barter deals but now it’s a two-way process & new brands are open for brand deals, but my advice would be to be selective on the brands you will be working with, as your audience should be considered while taking any brand collaborations, one more advice I would like to share is never lie about the brand product & be true to your audience.”
Shamik: “Staying transparent to your audience, as they are the asset we hold as creators, so the trust is everything. Sticking to the ground, and not lying about the brand. As creators we know how some brands can pay for lying but having financial freedom is important for building your own content creation empire. It’s better to use the product, do the review, and then influence your audience.
Fun fact- some creators avoid doing stuff for liquor brands but my being posting about drunk characters, I won’t mind sharing some liquor brand reviews. In fact, making some drunk characters has helped my reels get viral, but now I have created integrations on my profile.
We do something where the majority feel ashamed but it’s the relatability connection which helps me to reach other people but at the same time I also make family-friendly videos as it’s very important to cater to different audiences.”
Also Read: Neeraj making the content interactive: Literally!
How have lives changed for both of you in the journey of content creation?
“Well if I was not a content creator/influencer I wouldn’t be here”, said Shamik.
Preeti added, “I won’t call myself successful yet as I have not reached my goals but my life has entirely changed, from my family asking what would you do in this industry to my family asking me how to open a YouTube channel. Also, the amount of respect & love for creators is overwhelming. Even though I lost some of my friends on this journey but this journey has been amazing and fascinating.”
When asked about a Suggestion to the college students, they said,
“Cherish the friendship and make it more memorable, because once you are out there won’t be anyone to hold you back. You have to fight your own battles, so don’t forget to make memories before you pass out so that you can rewind them 40 years later”, said Preeti.
And Shamik said, “One piece of advice would be to get your own space, as this era is boundaryless, you can make a career out of the things you love. For eg., if you love eating you can be a food blogger.
If the algorithm works, you’ll be a hit. You have to learn to apply whatever you learn from college by yourself. The more you educate people, the more is the accessibility in this era.”
It was an enlightening event for the students. Social Nation Campus is now enabling a strong connection between college students and the digital economy which is content and creators.
