Readers Are Their Own Editors ft.Aparna Gupta

[00:00:00] Ladies, gentlemen and others, welcome everyone to today's episode of The Reel Deal with Aanam

[00:00:07] C. Today's guest is someone I call a classic media multi-hyphenator. Started out as I want

[00:00:14] to say a journalist because that's how I initially knew her but of course we'll get more into

[00:00:18] her journey. Went into the zone of being amongst the first journalists to get into

[00:00:22] the digital space has her own platform in that sense as well. And now she also consults

[00:00:27] with brands on content and PR. Welcome to the pod, Aparna Gupta. Thank you for coming on.

[00:00:35] Thank you so much, Aanam. It's such a pleasure to be here. I feel like you are one of those people

[00:00:39] who I would say really can do it all right because you do long form content and beautifully so

[00:00:47] how long have you been in the journalism spaces? I started out when I was in college

[00:00:55] so it's been now I'm just counting it's more than two decades. Wow and then from like hardcore

[00:01:02] journalism tell us a little bit of like I may know it but I want the listeners and viewers to also

[00:01:06] get a you know like a glimpse of what your journalism high notes and interests and peaks

[00:01:12] were. So it was very interesting, I was a literature student and in my third year

[00:01:19] of college I was actually thinking what should I do because the most obvious choice I come from a

[00:01:24] family of bureaucrats. So the most obvious choice was to get into the civil services

[00:01:31] but I don't know I just wanted to do something creative but I was not so creative to write my own

[00:01:36] novel to be honest and I was just thinking what I can do and so one of my teachers

[00:01:44] of professors she told me that why don't you get into you know writing in terms of it doesn't have to

[00:01:50] be writing a book why don't you get into newspapers and I said that I'm I don't even read news to

[00:01:58] be honest like I don't read the news and a journalist seemed like a very heavy, heavy word

[00:02:04] you know like so she said that you know there is something called feature writing as well

[00:02:09] which is talking about the positive or as we say the sunny side up of stories so you know you talk

[00:02:17] about so while everything is a reality it's just the POV that you choose so feature writing is

[00:02:24] more of that so I started out in Asian age I was in the culture section actually and then I

[00:02:34] moved to times of India and I was doing entertainment in terms of Bollywood and I was also covering

[00:02:41] page three parties which is something I did not really enjoy because I think it was too late

[00:02:50] night and I used to just I used to just get tired I think and I just after that it was just

[00:02:57] a case of that okay I like certain things of writing what are those things and I also wanted to

[00:03:04] create like a niche or a beat for myself and at that time when it came to feature writing and

[00:03:11] lifestyle right there was spaces there was entertainment and there was food and travel

[00:03:19] and none of these things I was like I mean travel yes to some extent but I was not really

[00:03:25] I couldn't like relate to any one of them to call it my own there was no fashion and beauty

[00:03:31] there was I would say there was fashion right there was no beauty in fact what here are we talking

[00:03:37] about we are talking about 2000 to paint a picture to paint a picture we are talking about 2004

[00:03:44] wow it's almost impossible to picture a scene without yeah because at that time beauty was

[00:03:52] just like one of the stories in lifestyle pages as such beauty was not big you didn't even have all

[00:04:00] your st. lauder brands come into India at that time there was only Lakme and Revlon oh wow so that way

[00:04:08] it was a very you know there wasn't so much to talk about it it's only once that the luxury

[00:04:15] brands started getting into India they started looking at India from that perspective the narrative

[00:04:22] changed and there was so much more content around it so I think coming back to your question my one

[00:04:29] of the assignments that so I was working for Bombay Times and again I was not getting a I don't

[00:04:36] know if this is the right reason to share or not but I was not getting a weekly off weekend

[00:04:41] off right and I wanted like I didn't want to get a holiday on a Monday or a Tuesday I wanted it to

[00:04:47] be a Sunday or a Saturday so then I was I just went to the HR and said that I don't think I want to

[00:04:54] continue it's not working for me and they said that you know why don't you try and I was working

[00:04:58] in mainstream newspapers they said they said and I was covering like I said people lifestyle

[00:05:04] luxury and all that and they said that why don't you we are starting with a new beauty

[00:05:10] like a new beauty publication within our luxury segment and why don't you shift over to that

[00:05:16] and I was like thinking that okay writing like 120 pages on beauty what all what all can it be

[00:05:24] there how for how many months can I just keep on taking stuff on beauty but I just thought that

[00:05:32] okay it's still a beat that I was interested in and I said yes why not and that's how the whole

[00:05:40] thing started it's been like at least 15 years anyway. Wow aren't you glad you said yesterday?

[00:05:45] I am so glad I'm so glad that I said yesterday and I remember that I had called up my grandfather

[00:05:54] and he is not at all at all into beauty nothing and I told him that this is something

[00:06:00] that has been given to me and then he said and I was like I told him I'm very nervous because I

[00:06:06] don't know how if I can take out so many issues and what will I write about and you know he

[00:06:13] what he did was that very sweetly he sent me a few books on beauty which meant he sent me a

[00:06:21] book on Ayurveda he sent me a book on wellness and I just read it all that was really sweet you know

[00:06:31] and then I also what I did was I went to all the I mean I'm saying before I took up that

[00:06:37] assignment I went and took all the copies of allure I took all the international copies

[00:06:44] just to see what the format was what is it that people talk about and then

[00:06:50] because you know at that time there was no publication which was entirely on beauty right

[00:06:55] now also there is beauty is always a subsection of a lifestyle publication per se.

[00:07:02] But you would find references in today's times right like you wouldn't have found references

[00:07:06] at that time. I wasn't yeah so I was I looked at a lot of international references but based

[00:07:11] it on a lot of local or I would say Indian background in that ways.

[00:07:20] What's your least favorite thing about how much the beauty content space has evolved

[00:07:25] over the last two decades? Least. One of my least favorite spaces is the fact that when

[00:07:33] I see it's the every content creator has a voice right when and every when I say content

[00:07:40] creator I also mean like a publication or anything right any content platform.

[00:07:45] Any content platform I would say if I see the person not being responsible about the way

[00:07:52] they you because the minute you're a platform you have to have that sense of I would say

[00:07:59] responsibility where you don't nurture a feeling of insecurity in the other person.

[00:08:04] But wouldn't you want that for a person as well and not just a platform like a blogger

[00:08:08] should also feel absolutely this is my least favorite thing where you know I'm saying that the same

[00:08:14] content can be said in a different way which can be if you're in a space of beauty and

[00:08:20] you're talking about being comfortable in your skin you can talk about it positively.

[00:08:26] Yes I mean you know this is not something which is I would say I mean it's not a beauty it is

[00:08:33] something which has a feel good value to it and it should have a feel good value to it

[00:08:39] and it should not be on the basis of insecurity. Yeah it should could be on the basis of

[00:08:45] expression it could be on the basis of inclusion fun. Which for such a long time when it comes

[00:08:52] to advertisements in the beauty space have come from a very deep rooted need to make the

[00:08:58] potential customer feel insecure. Absolutely. So editorially one would hope we can empower

[00:09:04] the people reading and following and subscribing and watching and listening

[00:09:10] to not feel insecure. Like you don't have to like it was a very interesting

[00:09:16] conversation once I had with someone like see because for me also it's not that I started out

[00:09:23] with this particular thought it was just been an evolution for me so you know I used to write about

[00:09:28] how to use and I used to write about you know how to banish those things and you know it is

[00:09:33] a very well known fact that editorially or content-wise anything which is negative

[00:09:40] which anything which is negative will garner more engagement. See it is about if I tell you

[00:09:49] five things to make your hair grow just giving you an example right as opposed to I say that five

[00:09:56] mistakes which are leading to your hair loss. So do you think that sometimes that could be a

[00:10:02] deliberate effort when it comes to the way the media is today? I mean if you want to have

[00:10:07] when we are looking at sales when we are looking at other things it is definitely a thing but I think

[00:10:12] to a large extent that's where you have the editorial voice and you have the content creators

[00:10:18] voice where they do try to be and that's how I think they are different from most of the brands

[00:10:24] and to some extent brands are also changing now and that's why you have the new

[00:10:28] hybrid brands if you look at it a lot of beauty brands they're very positive in the way

[00:10:33] they even have the captions they have the packaging you know a lot of new age founders are very very

[00:10:41] you know they would probably have like a little affirmation on the flip thing and you know I think

[00:10:46] they are coming from a very secure place. And reinstating that force. Reinstating that.

[00:10:53] Yeah I feel like when it comes to both media beauty and just this entire world of content

[00:11:01] and you know all of this coming together I've obviously been in the space for a lot shorter

[00:11:06] than you have but mine has been a very very digital journey so I feel like I've noticed yes for sure

[00:11:13] when a content creator says something that's controversial it definitely gets them more views

[00:11:18] more engagement. And today with what you've said it makes me kind of go back in my head and think

[00:11:23] and say have I been naive are people doing this strategically going back to the point

[00:11:28] of sales and views and just having more eyeballs right I mean that's something that so many people

[00:11:33] it can be a strategy towards whatever works for you. It is a very you know like those are things

[00:11:39] like for example even if you're saying in terms of content right if you give something a number

[00:11:45] you will see that again works more right like if you say eight ways to fix your XYZ or

[00:11:52] five ways to make your skin glow. So what happens is that as a reader your journey is made easier so

[00:12:01] even if one or two things are not working out for you the other three would be you're looking

[00:12:06] you're going for it's literally like following a map. But do you feel like the way this

[00:12:14] landscape is today do you think that it's better for the customer and the reader today or do

[00:12:20] you feel like because again there's this obvious not saturation because I keep saying I keep feeling

[00:12:26] like there's room for everyone but there's definitely so many more media platforms today

[00:12:30] so many more content creators today so many more voices right noise let's just call it noise

[00:12:35] some of it you have to filter out and see what works for you and what doesn't. Do you feel

[00:12:39] like that has gone in the direction of well or not so well for the end consumer reader

[00:12:47] like do you feel like it is going to benefit them in the long run because when I'm looking at it from

[00:12:52] your lens it seems like oh my god now the industry is 20 000 fold right whereas where what I've always

[00:13:00] assumed of it has been a slightly more only digital lens. Okay so I would say that content

[00:13:08] is just a evolution I wouldn't say it is better or it is worse it is just an evolution it is

[00:13:15] the way it is like how people used to read probably listen to radio first then they would

[00:13:21] read newspapers right and there was a time when reading was not considered like it was

[00:13:29] you know I'm not talking about newspapers but someone who's reading novels at one particular

[00:13:33] time it would be like oh you're wasting time you know that kind of so I'm saying

[00:13:37] the way one assimilates content I mean you know for all you know after 10 years people

[00:13:41] will be like oh my god you know you're swiping reels like that's so cool like right now what you might

[00:13:47] feel oh this is the distraction and all that but that's a way I think the way we are able to

[00:13:52] assimilate content is much higher than what it was a few years ago that's also I feel the way

[00:14:00] the whole evolution of content of generally how things are has been right now even if you

[00:14:07] look at a YouTube video if you want to let's say make a dish if you want to make a dish right

[00:14:13] if you want a particular thing don't you want it to be as short as possible you just want to get a gist

[00:14:18] and get on with it as opposed to let's say watching a series which you're doing it just for leisure

[00:14:26] so you know I think what depends here is what's the intent of that particular content do you

[00:14:32] want to educate do you want to entertain or do you just want to engage that's interesting that's a

[00:14:38] very interesting so where are you consuming and how are you consuming content today how different

[00:14:43] is that from how you used to okay so I consume so very interestingly when I had joined Times of India

[00:14:53] and on the orientation day and that's what the person over there had told us that you know

[00:14:59] the future of news will be in unbundling the reader will be their own editor so what happens is

[00:15:06] as a reader you have the choice to curate the kind of information that you want so you know while

[00:15:11] you can say that oh you know I'm getting overwhelmed I mean whether to never has it been easier for you

[00:15:17] to choose the content that you want now let's say the way I would say is I read some stuff

[00:15:26] which is on Google it's mostly digital the way I consume information and the second thing would

[00:15:33] also be my Instagram feed so I it's a mix of people it's a mix of interest it's also of

[00:15:40] course a mix of brands because I do want to follow that's again something I do it from a point of

[00:15:44] view of knowing what everyone is doing right but I also follow art I also follow you know so

[00:15:51] it's basically like my own newsletter that I have created so that when I open my inbox or sorry not

[00:15:58] inbox when I open my feed it's something that I like I love the line you said that the reader

[00:16:04] will be their own editor also somewhere along the course of your journey you launched lavender

[00:16:09] room yes right and I want you to tell me a little bit more about that because I feel like

[00:16:14] just the idea of having not your just your own platform which was with writers who contribute

[00:16:19] towards lavender room yes so you want to give us a little bit of a gist on your space lavender room

[00:16:26] has also evolved in the last five years so it was again when I left being a part of

[00:16:35] a publication house as and on the mast head one of the reasons why I left was that

[00:16:40] was that I wanted myself to have a voice I didn't just want to be the spokesperson for a

[00:16:48] particular publication because also at that time there were a lot of new homegrown brands

[00:16:53] which were coming out they were a lot of interesting founders I was meeting right but

[00:16:59] would they have gone in the traditional realms of publication probably not you would say oh you

[00:17:06] know do they have the credibility they are so young you know they are not luxury

[00:17:11] but my point was that I wanted to kind of make my little effort of if not educating is too serious

[00:17:20] a word I don't want to educate I would say to make the reader aware of the choices and that

[00:17:26] was the reason I mean that's the reason why I started lavender room because I wanted it

[00:17:32] to be a platform on all things beauty and wellness when I say wellness I don't just mean spas

[00:17:38] for me wellness mind is a very important component right like when I say affirmations when I say

[00:17:45] manifest they are not like woohoo words you know I mean you can work your way with them and

[00:17:53] having the I wouldn't say healthy mind but because that's something which doesn't exist to be

[00:17:59] honest but having a space where you can hold that kind of space in your head for yourself

[00:18:08] is also a part of feeling looking and being beautiful so that was the whole idea of lavender room

[00:18:16] and that's also the time when I started my so it is very interesting to mostly promote

[00:18:22] and talk about lavender room I started my page called a partner rights beauty

[00:18:29] I just wanted it like okay it has to be it has to have something which has

[00:18:33] the beauty reference to it it was my name and it was like okay because it was very obvious

[00:18:37] like because I was writing on it I didn't want it only to be lavender room because I was also

[00:18:42] contributing to different publications I wanted to have all those things and and I also wanted

[00:18:49] to have it like a gateway to the different experiences I have and I always feel that though

[00:18:55] I have been I've been trained as a writer I'm more of a visual person like if I go for an event

[00:19:03] or if I go for a thing the first is not what my years here first is what my eyes travel

[00:19:10] and I felt that you know like Instagram was like a great platform because I could take

[00:19:15] capture that kind of content and what social media help I wouldn't say help like what made me

[00:19:23] realize was that when you're writing for a publication you're you have an imaginary reader in your

[00:19:29] head you have a target audience you have everything in mind right but it's a it's someone whom you

[00:19:34] don't interact with sometimes some people will so be read your article and you know PR people

[00:19:39] of course and all that but on social media what I felt was that if you're talking about

[00:19:44] something even if it's story or it's a post there are people who actually ask you questions and

[00:19:50] like for example if you're writing for a publication you're kind of thinking that okay

[00:19:53] my publication like it's a luxury kind of an audience and it's 18 to x y z and all that

[00:20:00] but when you look at real-time Instagram this thing you realize that as much as we wanted

[00:20:07] it to be streamlined it is not streamlined and that's how it all started and the evolution

[00:20:14] of lavender room because I was in touch with so many readers and all that I realized that

[00:20:20] if I want lavender room to be a space for all things beauty and wellness your go to space

[00:20:26] I don't want it to be just my voice I wanted it to be different voices so if someone is

[00:20:32] talking about let's say if I'm giving you a if I'm giving you an article on curly hair girl

[00:20:41] you know a curly girls then I would want someone with curly hair to write about it because I

[00:20:48] want that kind of relatability like if I'm talking about let's say if someone is if a

[00:20:54] if there is an article on acne prone skin or what works for acne I would actually look for

[00:21:00] someone who has personally gone through that thing yeah so I mean that's just my way of also

[00:21:09] and also my thing was that a lot of times people would say that we want to become beauty writers

[00:21:15] and for me it was like okay like it seemed very nice right like because so and they were like

[00:21:20] we don't know where to write we don't know so I also feel that eventually I want lavender

[00:21:25] room to become like a space where I will edit I will guide I'll have a team to do that but it could

[00:21:32] be a space where if you want to share your voice it could be a platform like that that's amazing

[00:21:38] because I feel like in the inner in a time and age where everyone wants to be a content creator

[00:21:44] there are very few people willing to mentor guide and there are very few people that are

[00:21:48] willing to offer their platform right which is really which is really rare in general and I

[00:21:53] feel like more so when it has to do with credibility in your someone that would make that perfect

[00:21:57] package to be able to offer so many people to be able to come and qualitatively contribute to

[00:22:02] contribute yeah do you often compare the media space but how it used to be to how it is now

[00:22:09] when it comes to business the time we live in is definitely a lot more interesting because you

[00:22:13] don't have to be a condenassed or a times of India you know or an India today to be able

[00:22:19] to monetize from a brand is that something is the business side of it that you find easy to adapt to

[00:22:25] it I wouldn't say if it is easy or not at least it may gives you a chance to even try to be that

[00:22:32] because earlier you didn't even stand a chance like if you look at a content creator also what

[00:22:38] is a content creator content creator is a mini publication house is a self independent publication

[00:22:45] house because what all do you have you have your content team you have your marketing team even if

[00:22:51] the content creator is doing it all by themselves they're still looking at all those aspects when

[00:22:56] you're talking about the media landscape changing yes of course it is I wouldn't say easier but at

[00:23:04] least it's still possible to dream to be able to stand a chance I find it very humbling and

[00:23:13] also very gratifying experience when you know I go to an event and I feel like I've been invited

[00:23:18] along with the editor of so-and-so magazine and I feel like the fact that today that's even possible

[00:23:24] like you said which wouldn't have been possible if this was 20 years ago yes and I feel and

[00:23:30] I'm so glad that's happening because sometimes there was this editorial resistance to content

[00:23:40] creators like they would be like oh you know oh that resistance was around for a while let's be

[00:23:47] honest I was amongst the first creators to like I remember begging to like be allowed to go to

[00:23:54] fashion week and be invited to fashion week and I would have those FS bosses at the back

[00:23:58] the fact that I get to sit in front row today it's taking me to mean my experience it took

[00:24:03] me about seven eight years to get there right but I think is also because if you look at the

[00:24:07] whole evolution of media people also understand like you know like you can no longer be like that

[00:24:14] high brow kind of an editor who just comes walks in and you know I'm gonna be honest and say they

[00:24:20] would be if they could be they would be if they could be but the point is you can't any longer

[00:24:26] be yeah but it's fascinating to me how and this is no shade to like a specific person but because

[00:24:34] you're mentioning how you know it's changed when I look back the same kind of people who would wonder

[00:24:41] why a content creator is being seated front row now wanting to collaborate with content creators

[00:24:46] are now content creators themselves it's very fascinating to me like when I look at

[00:24:52] X editors and I think it's great first of all so like no shade but I feel like they jumped the

[00:24:57] gun on so many of them not all of them but so many of them jumped the gun on their opinions

[00:25:02] on the content creator space and I guess they've now seen that there is value to the side of the

[00:25:09] business and the side of the system and much like any other industry there are you have to filter

[00:25:15] and you have to pick and choose like you said be your own editor create your own algorithm

[00:25:20] of things absolutely it is literally you know it really works like an exercise you can actually

[00:25:26] see just see your explore feed and you want to say that okay I don't like what I'm seeing

[00:25:32] consciously engage with the content that you want to see yeah just do it for five days and that

[00:25:39] will show up yeah so I love that if you had to give a tip to anybody out there who isn't aspiring

[00:25:47] beauty writer whether in the mainstream or the digital realm what would your advice to them be

[00:25:52] my advice to them would be to not just try the products right like trying the products is the

[00:26:01] basic thing it would also be to read up on not just the you know it's not about like okay I just

[00:26:09] try this blush and I pass an opinion on it like learn if you want to be a beauty writer right if

[00:26:17] you want to be a beauty writer beauty creator then I'm talking about otherwise I mean it's not

[00:26:22] a hard and fast truth but you should know the different categories research on them if it's

[00:26:28] a blush what is the function of a blush what are different types of blush what are the different

[00:26:33] textures know a little bit of history before you go gaga over one product know that is it like a

[00:26:40] path breaker or is it actually like the change or you're just saying it because that's the first

[00:26:48] product you have tried be more authentic be more research oriented I would say you have that

[00:26:54] information available so easily so I would say is that to have a little bit more discerning

[00:27:02] because then you have to be that little one up than a consumer so be a little more discerning about it

[00:27:09] you can of course google if you're a beauty writer or if you're a beauty creator I would

[00:27:16] really advise you to go and meet as many people as possible go and meet the founders

[00:27:22] go and go for the event because you know mostly over there not just do you network and all that

[00:27:29] that's a secondary part you get to hear the story from the people who are behind the story

[00:27:36] from the makers themselves and that's why any kind of an event or any kind of a press meet

[00:27:42] is important that's such valuable advice thank you for taking us through your journey

[00:27:49] thank you for walking me through this I feel like you're one of those voices that

[00:27:53] has stood the test of time clearly and has always been very authentic I feel like I can when I'm

[00:27:58] reading a piece um and even if I haven't seen the byline in my head it would automatically

[00:28:03] start to like maybe sound like you I love your desk updates when you're working on a piece

[00:28:11] so when you're sampling uh you know and reviewing and in the process that has done

[00:28:16] so well and I'm like you know I I feel that there is no desk influence so I can totally like sign up

[00:28:22] for that so many people say that you know they feel so motivated after seeing my desk and is it always

[00:28:28] like that and I'm like no it's not it's just that when I write or when I want to because I work a

[00:28:34] lot out of my home but I can't to settle myself I need to settle things around me it's very

[00:28:41] motivating um but I inevitably feel like and I'm quite an organized person but inevitably when I

[00:28:48] see your desk stories it makes me feel like I do not have my life together thank you so much for

[00:28:54] coming on thank you so much for talking me through your journey I think it's been great and I

[00:28:58] really hope that Lavender room knock on wood looking forward to see that 10 years from now even

[00:29:04] yes thank you I hope I have a huge team inshallah inshallah