Digital content creators all around the world have been making vlogs ever since social media became popular. In Bangladesh, the current scenario is full of creators who are often placed under an umbrella term — influencers — putting up a wide array of content trying to catch the attention of netizens, one post at a time.

Bangladeshi content creators did not come into the limelight until the early 2010s when YouTubers started putting out videos that were often just funny and urban-centric. From there on, it branched into a wide variety of topics like food vlogging, travelogues, educational videos and many more. With sites like Instagram and Tik Tok joining the fray, it's harder than ever before to come into the limelight, all the while adapting to constant changes in social media platforms.

So, how are influencers working in the current situation? We spoke to some of the winners at the Blender's Choice-The Daily Star OTT & Digital Content Awards 2021 to find out.

Mahathir Spondon, Founder and CEO of The Big Content Ltd., who won the Best Content Creator Award in the Health and Wellbeing category spoke about how he started his journey in making creative content.

"I had a job at an ad agency. In 2016, I left that position and got involved with a production house where I saw first-hand how the film and ad market is going, and how the scope will be in the future in terms of short video content. So, after gaining experience from that I founded The Big Content Ltd. in January 2021," said Mahathir Spondon.

'Men will be men,' the thought-provoking awareness ad by The Big Content starts off as a celebration of toxic behaviour that's associated with men, like false bravado and recklessness, but at the end of the video, it lands a gut punch, showing how women, children and elderly people can be victims of such men who promote toxic traits in life.

Firoz Hasan of Free Motion by Firoz Hasan, who won the Best Content Creator in the Social Cause category also spoke about what triggered his interest in content creation highlighting social causes.

"I originally started as a travel vlogger, but along the road, I saw ordinary people in despair, suffering yet soldering on with life. Witnessing such raw emotions, I could not help but capture them and as I started uploading the videos, they became popular and people found them quite relatable and inspirational," he said.

Firoz Hasan's videos have a knack for pulling on your heartstrings, as he presents the hardships that people face and it just immediately puts you into perspective about leading a better life, but it's not all doom and gloom, as he also highlights the resilience of everyday people and their sense of goodwill and determination that absolves them from greed, corruption and every other negative thing associated with humanity.

Bagging the Best Content Creator Award (Food & Recipe), Iftekhar Rafsan, also known as Rafsan the Chotobhai, said, "We have come a long way since the beginning of our content-making career. People used to judge us just because we did what we loved. But now award shows are being held to appreciate the hard work content creators have invested in their craft."           

Rituraj and his father Shuvashish Bhowmick (Bap ka Beta) won the Best Content Creator (Kids). Shuvashish shared his thoughts by saying, "We love the fact that along with Rituraj, other young content creators are doing their best to create with their heart's content. It even makes me prouder that the Blender's Choice-The Daily Star OTT & Digital Content Awards 2021 has recognised the hard work of content creators."

Sadly, even with such quality creative content creators earning recognition, there's a certain stigma about being a YouTuber as a full-time job. There's this perception that being an influencer is just having a higher number of followers than normal.

"Content creation can be a viable full-time job, but you have to understand the market and the reason behind making the contents first," remarked Mahathir. Frequent negative instances from many creators who will do anything to be viral certainly add to that reservation. But as it has been with every field, the first steps are initially met with hurdles and criticisms. And as it has been with so many other fields, all it needs is time, and pioneering individuals to pave the way.