‘Booming Digital Stars’ was ideated in 2018 at Gurugram’s Galleria Mall; Authors Harsh Pamnani and Manish Pandey share BTS anecdotes

The book, ‘Booming Digital Stars‘ was launched in December 2021. Although, the buzz refuses to budge. Authors, Harsh Pamnani and Manish Pandey aimed to pay tribute to the digital creators and present the quintessential 11 inspiring Journeys from India’s creator economy.

Describing the book as one of a kind, the author duo get up, close and personal with Bhuvan Bam, Ashish Chanchlani, Kabita Singh, Nikunj Lotia,Prajakta Koli, Ranveer Allahbadia, Madan Gowri, Team Naach, Yashraj Mukhate, Abhi and Niyu, Ujjwal Chaurasia. Each of them have made

The description reads- ‘There are many books about becoming the CEO of a large corporation or a fast-growing start-up. But not much has been written about creating and managing a single-person brand in an emerging Creator Economy. The size of this economy is humongous, and the available opportunities are immense.

However, in the crowded market of creators, the chances of getting lost are higher than those of getting noticed. If you want to be part of the Creator Economy, the lessons derived from the 11 journeys of India’s leading Creators, covered in this book, will help you carve your niche and build a strong brand.’

In conversation with Social Nation, Harsh Pamnani and Manish Pandey give us a sneak peek into the making of Booming Digital Stars and reminisce the days of writing the book and conversations with the content creators in vogue.

Creators Covered

Excerpts:

Describe ‘Booming Digital Stars’ in a hashtag

#PassionToProfession

From where and when did the idea for Booming Digital Stars originate? 

The idea of Booming Digital Stars originated in 2018 at Galleria mall in Gurgaon over breakfast. We discussed the rise of content creators and content-related businesses in India. We thought that something should be written around them. Then, both of us got busy with our work.

In 2020, during the lockdown, we revisited our discussion of 2018 and decided to work on this idea. Then onwards, it took 400 days to create Booming Digital Stars.

Please brief us about the journey of your association for the book and how was the experience penning it down? 

It’s been a memorable journey of over 400 days, and both of us witnessed many ups and downs together. Both of us have complementary skills and different spheres of influence. So, in a way, coming together helped us share the load and doubled our abilities and reach.

Respect and trust are the two essential criteria for any partnership to work. We respect each other’s personal space. Patiently listen to each other’s ideas and trust each other’s decisions. So, we never had conflicts on minor issues. And even if some difference of opinion was there, we discussed and came on the same page through open-minded conversations.

In a nutshell, all the things worked in our favor because we both had a shared dream, and we both were equally passionate about it.

How did you go about selecting the content creators/digital stars for the book? What were the set criteria like? 

We were focused on creating a mix of journeys in different creative spaces (dance, music, comedy, cooking, etc.) so that our readers get a portfolio of learnings. We created a list of 30 to 40 leading creators from different fields. We are thankful to the ones who gave us their time and hope that others will give us their time for our future books.

How does the book reflect the ongoing creator ecosystem and the rapid evolution of content creation through the lens of digital stars featured in it?

In the introduction chapter, we have given an overview of the creator economy along with details of various players in the creator ecosystem.

Then, you will find 11 stories of leading Indian creators and gain insights on how they started from scratch, how they achieved popularity in a highly crowded and competitive market and how they identify new ideas for content creation and brand collaboration.

While the pandemic may have been instrumental in driving traffic to the digital channels, we do not expect their popularity and importance to slow down after the pandemic when the world returns to normalcy. Indeed, the tide has shifted and we see room for exponential growth.

Also Read: SN Spotlight: Following trends is the new normal but being real and authentic stays classic forever- Ramsha Sultan

Please share some interesting anecdotes from throughout your journey of putting down the stories of these creators on paper. 

We started writing this book in 2020. During this period, on the one hand, traditional entertainment sources such as Bollywood and events were breaking under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, and on the other, the new entertainment sources such as YouTube channels and video games were proliferating.

So, many digital creators were super busy. It was hard for us to get their time.

So we had to be patient and persistent in our follow-ups. However, once we got their time, they all shared their journeys with a lot of patience and passion. Their journeys inspired us very much and have been inspiring the book readers too.

What was the objective of Booming Digital Stars? How is the response so far? 

Today, youngsters are being drawn to become YouTubers the way they were once attracted to becoming engineers, doctors, and lawyers. One key reason for this rising interest is the financial windfall digital creators achieve, especially those with million-plus followers. The market will inevitably see an inflow of a lot of creators.

Consequently, the chances of creators getting lost in the crowd are higher than the chances of getting noticed.

In crowded markets, customers use brands as quality-guarantee shortcuts to making choices. There have been many books written about becoming the CEO of a large corporation or creating a fast-growing start-up, and business schools teach how to analyze and manage product and business brands.

But it is hard to find a book or business school course on creating and managing a single-person brand in an emerging Creator Economy. Hence we wrote Booming Digital Stars to fill the void.

Name your favorite content creator from the bunch you interviewed for the book and why? 

Honestly, all of them are our favorites. They all have very inspiring journeys. And we admire all of them.

Who among the Gen Z content creators do you think could be the next Digital Star?

There are many promising GenZ content creators and we wish them all the best for their journeys. To name a few – Ganesh Prasad (Think School), Shlok Srivastava (Tech Burner), Mithilesh Patankar (Mythpat), Naveen Singh, Sourav Joshi, Aastha Shah, Devishi Madaan, Tarini Shah, Ishika Bhargava, Anahita Karanjia, Devishi Madaan, Avanti Nagral, Neha Nagar, Taneesha Mirwani and many more.