How these young content creators are breaking the age barrier to create the right content
Gautami Kawale (Slayy Point) and Mansi (Magsplay) talked about overcoming age barriers as content creators and staying true to themselves, at HerStory’s Women on a Mission summit.
Content creation is the new hip. It has become one of the most lucrative jobs, irrespective of age, gender or background. Among those who are making a mark in the world of content creation are Gautami Kawale and Mansi Gupta.
While Gautami and her friend Abhyudaya Mohan make millennial-friendly content on their channel Slayy Point, Mansi goes by the name Magsplay who makes fun gameplay videos and vlogs.
Keeping it authentic
The chances of losing originality in the presence of thousands of content creators are pretty high. But Gautami believes in finding her niche by understanding her audience, to be able to stand out from the crowd.
“It requires a lot of balancing to keep the old audience intact while trying to gain a new audience. We also don’t talk about all the trends that are out there, but we pick and choose. For example, we can’t always crack jokes that carry references from earlier videos, because only a handful of the audience will understand it. You need to stay true to what you are and what you talk about,” says Gautami.
Mansi stressed that competition should not really bother a creator. “Be original and consistent and things will follow.”
Being young and creative
While becoming a content creator and earning at a young age might seem fun, it comes with its own set of challenges.
“Creator’s space is the only one where you can start at any age. There are people in their teens or even in their old age making fun content. But for teenagers, this is also a difficult time as there are changes taking place in their minds and bodies. They feel competitive and often crib about peers who are probably achieving more. I feel people need to stop comparing themselves with others. Everyone has their own pace of working,” says Mansi.
Gautami adds that being a teenager also comes with some external baggage.
“This age is very tricky for everyone. Especially when you are a content creator at this age, you will have people questioning you and your plans. The only trick to get over this phase is to ignore these voices. This is the age to experiment and try everything to find who you are,” she says.
Learning from the challenges
For young content creators, YouTube can be both fun and exhausting. At times, a few laughs from the audience can put one’s mental health at stake.
“YouTube tests you…It has hit me on my weak spots. Content creation for YouTube can be really hard-hitting for mental health. But it also has the scope of personal growth. At least, that’s what I observed,” says Gautami.
According to Mansi, “One of the biggest challenges that you have to face as a content creator is that when you make a mistake, you are making it in front of a large audience. But those mistakes teach you a lot. There has been a lot of learning for me too, so far.”
The ever-changing landscape of content
Maintaining the popularity of their content has been both challenging and insightful for Gautami and Mansi. They feel the audience has become more observant and critical.
“In the initial days, we (Slayy Point) were trying to understand the direction the channel was going. We were competing in different categories and picking up so many topics. But the space is brutal right now. Today, in comedy, you cannot be too artistic. People have started counting the number of laughs you give them in a video. There is no longer value for the depth of jokes, their intensity, or the level of sarcasm. So, you have to tread carefully and make content that your audience might like to see,” says Gautami.
Mansi feels Indians are slowly but organically adapting to new definitions of entertainment as live streams of gameplays become popular.
“In foreign countries, YouTube is not just a source of music and entertainment. There is a good proportion of YouTubers dedicated to gaming. During the lockdown, people got more time in hand and that’s when they started seeing the potential of gaming becoming more than a hobby. People don’t realise this but gaming helps in mental growth and sharpens your reflexes. Many big brands who develop games have started focusing on India because they understand the market potential. I think gaming will become the biggest genre on YouTube in the next five years,” adds Mansi.
Creator economy and its future
Gautami and Mansi predict that people will become more adaptive towards content creation as it would transcend beyond the traditional forms of entertainment.
“In future, consumers would become the creators. They will watch the content creators and try to do the same. I also feel that our older generations would be more adaptive to this kind of entertainment and profession. They would understand the efforts required to make content and how difficult it can be as they themselves would hop on to this trend,” says a hopeful Gautami.
Mansi says, “I feel creators will become entrepreneurs in the future and build their own brands. Moreover, influencer marketing would gain traction in India. In countries outside India, major brands often collaborate with young content creators and influencers because they understand the kind of interaction and following they have. In India, only small and young brands collaborate with young content creators. But I am hopeful this will change in the near future.”
Mansi suggests that future content creators need to be patient and take the experience of creating content for YouTube or any other platform as a learning opportunity.
Gautami adds, “Your first 10 to 20 videos are not going to be representative of your future videos. But consider them as your practice sessions. These are necessary to create quality content in the future. You also need to develop a thick skin for people who will be mean to you in this field.”
A shout out to the sponsors of Women on a Mission Summit 2022, an Initiative by HerStory, by YourStory - BYJU’S, the presenting partner, and other sponsors - Kyndryl, Sequoia Spark, Zilingo, Atlassian, Akamai, Freshworks for Startups, and Netapp Excellerator.
Edited by Ramarko Sengupta