Amyra Dastur Tech Magazine Exhibit Archives

Born to Ride | Automobile | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started your journey? How has this space evolved?

Lakshay: It’s been quite a long and treacherous journey and it definitely hasn’t been a bed of roses for me. Many things have changed in the sphere of digital blogging. Honestly, the biggest change that I’ve seen is that many young, talented individuals are coming forward and starting channels and profiles of their own. The digital blogging space is becoming more creator-friendly day after day and I hope that it will bring in a lot of new talent as we move forward.

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe?

Lakshay: Well, to be honest, I don’t think I’d have done anything else apart from moto vlogging. I am extremely indebted to this as moto vlogging and the world of social media influencing has made me what I am today. So, I guess that the Lakshay in a parallel universe is probably vlogging on a Battlestar Galactica Gunship! 😀

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

Lakshay: I honestly wish I could invent a motorcycle that would make gasoline out of thin air. I would never have to stop for gas that way!.

Ex: What does success mean to you?

Lakshay: For me, success means seeing my parents being proud of me and being happy with my work. It also means the happiness that I find in the thing that I do. I still maintain the principle that no matter how successful a person is, if they aren’t happy with the work they do, then there’s absolutely no point in all that success.

Ex: What is your dream car or motorbike?

Lakshay: Well, I’d love to own an RV someday and travel across continents. That would definitely be a dream come true.

Ex: As the current pandemic has seriously impacted the automotive industry, what does the future hold for automobile bloggers?

Lakshay: The current pandemic has hit us hard. As a matter of fact, every single industry is suffering huge economic losses in the lockdown. India, as a country is also suffering badly. So, I feel that for automobile bloggers the future is a little uncertain as of now, but like everything else this too shall pass and we will ride again and travel to the various corners of the country as soon as this pandemic blows over.

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Prajakta Koli | Editor’s Choice | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?

Prajakta: I think the sheer magnanimity of the platform speaks for itself. When I started 5 years ago, we did not see this coming. Nobody knew the digital space would boom like this in every corner of our country. That is the biggest change I have seen. Now there are more consumers and even more creators coming on to the platform everyday.

Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?

Prajakta: Know what is the best time to post that’ll give you the most engagement. Consistency is key and content is king at the end of the day. Also, engaging with your audience makes all the difference.

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

Prajakta: An app that deletes your account if you baselessly spew hate at people on the internet.

Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)

Prajakta: Running into viewers at malls and airports or reading the amazing letters they write to me is by far the best thing about my job. But I remember, a viewer once came up to me at an event to talk about how she gave up on waxing her legs and accepted her body as is after listening to my song ‘SHAMELESS’. That was such an accomplishment!

Ex: What does success mean to you?

Prajakta: Seeing the people that matter to me happy.

Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?

Prajakta: Influencer marketing is definitely not a fad and is here to stay. Over the years brands have seen the connect influencers have with their audience. The brands are keen on tapping this bond and maximising visibility for their brand. So it is definitely here to stay wherein many brands are actively focussing on influencer marketing over mainstream conventional marketing techniques.

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Mehak Ghai | Top 100 | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?

The quality of the content has changed a lot! InflueMehak Ghai (Beauty Influencer)ncers think 10 times before they post a picture on social media. The edit on the picture needs to be perfect, the caption needs to be appropriate to the picture and the feed should be on point.

Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?

It looks like a really easy and fun job to be an influencer. It is a lot of funnn but you don’t know and cannot even imagine the kind of effort you need to put in while creating content. There’s just so much competition now, you have to constantly brainstorm about how to standout!

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options) If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?

I always wanted to be an actor and I am an actor now, so I guess I’d just be doing that full time!

3 gadgets – Mobile, Camera, Speakers

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

A feature or an app that can read your mind & can write what you think in seconds! That would be such a savior!

Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)

It is always sooooo good to meet people who follow my work! But my favorite has to be when at my first meet and greet, I met a girl and she cried hugging me and told me how much I inspire her. I’ll never forget her.♥️

Ex: Social Media is known to expose vulnerabilities, with influencers being at the epicenter. How do you deal with the dark side that comes with the medium?

I feel you just gotta be really careful with what you’re putting up and selling your audience. Honestly, I have been really lucky with the audience on my profile, they have been really loving and encouraging. Of course, there’ll always be one or two people who would spread hate but they’re negligible in a crowd of people that love you!

Ex: Social media trolling is seeing an upward rise. Do you think this only increases with the popularity of an Influencer? How does one tackle this situation?

They’re always going to people who will try to bring you down, no matter how good you’re doing. PLEASE, and I cannot stress on this enough, DO NOT let it get to you! Maybe 10% percent people are hating on you but the other 90% love you and appreciate you for inspiring them everyday! Do not get demotivated, you’re doing amazing!

Ex: What does success mean to you?

If you’re happy as a person and proud of your accomplishments, you’re successful!

Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?

A lot of people think that Influencer Marketing is only a trend and it’ll fade away after a point of time. Well, I have been in this market for over 5 years now and I’ve only seen it grow. This space will only grow bigger in years to come!

Ex: When was the first time you bought your dream makeup product and which one was it?

I was really excited about Huda beauty products before they were made available in India. So I went on a crazy shopping spree in Dubai and bought a lot of Huda Beauty makeup products from Sephora.

Ex: What would you tell young girls when it comes to ideals of beauty that our society has set up?

You do you, girl. Please don’t care about what others have to tell you about your fashion sense. You’re the only one who can define your style. You’re beautiful just the way you are, so keep it going!

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A “Noteworthy” smartphone: The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra reviewed

I have used the Note 10+ and have really loved it until it slipped my hands and the screen developed a crack. This happened twice and the second time with the plastic cover on and both the times a bullet went through my heart. Before we continue, the biggest complaint I had with the Note series had been its delicateness, and since the form factor is bigger than the average making it rests in your palms more than your pocket. Naturally, when I unboxed the Note 20 Ultra the first thing I noticed was the camera bump and the super-premium feels that it gives you top-notch material almost like a Swarovski crystal showpiece. It’s carved to perfection but comes with its share of flaws and its more of a gadget than a smartphone because it is a lot more than just a smartphone.

The Samsung Note 20 Ultra is the most expensive conventional phone that was launched at the galaxy unpacked event. It gets all the bells and whistles that Samsung has to offer, minus a foldable screen. Because a foldable screen this big would mean bent phones everywhere!

The large size is decently complemented by the curved sides otherwise handling the phone would require a bodyguard 24/7. Naturally, It is difficult to fit into your pockets, although its premium feel would make you hold it in your hands and that is a different story. At 208g, the weight is also slightly on the heavier side, though it did not bother me much. I liked the 8.1mm thickness of the phone but the massive camera bump, which also sticks out another 2mm will get some time to get used to. This also prevents from keeping the phone perfectly flat with the screen up and also makes it top-heavy, surprisingly the bump does not come in your way of typing it while placing it on your desk, I was assuming it will wobble but that’s where Samsung engineering kicks in.

The camera bump is not only for size but also comes with a beefed up 108MP primary camera that it has borrowed from the Galaxy S20 Ultra. It offers an amazingly vivid colour spectrum and also clicks clear pictures in low light. Accompanying it is a 12MP ultrawide camera to click huge group selfies, as well as a 12MP periscope telephoto lens, that offers a 5x optical zoom and a 50x hybrid zoom! Well, 50x zoom might not give you the best of pictures, but the quality is still pretty decent up to 20x digital zoom. However, using the 50x zoom might make you feel like you are using binoculars to look far into the horizon, though the future is still not clear with the times we are in. Videomakers will be very happy with the phone’s quality, as it can shoot up videos up to 8K resolution!

Sticking to the Note series culture, the smartphone continues with the S-Pen Stylus, but why it has shifted sides from the note 10 series from right to left is a mystery. Almost 95% of the human population is right-handed, taking the stylus out from the left side will appeal to left-hand side driving. But this is trivia and should in no way come in the way of buying decisions. The gigantic screen, coupled with the latest hardware takes it notches up from being labeled as an understated phone. The 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display offers 2K resolution with 496 PPI density. This, coupled with a 120Hz refresh rate offers an experience like driving a Mclaren on a racetrack.

The phone offers a variable refresh rate for the screen, which dynamically scales up to 120Hz but also has the ability to scale down to 30Hz or even 10Hz if it detects purely static content on screen. It is set to run at 1080×2316 resolution by default but also supports HDR10+ display. It also has an optional QHD+ resolution of 1440×3088. In layman terms, the screen quality is extremely crisp, clear and immersive!

The phone runs on an Octacore Exynos 990 processor and gets 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage. This lets you run any application or software without much hassle and is mated to a 4500mAh battery, which will last for more than a day with light use but will drain faster as the usage increases.

With that, we come to the part that I don’t like, that is the battery capacity. It should have been 5000MAh, and to make the package wholesome the Samsung buds should have been thrown in.

Only the most serious buyers will make the best use of this phone as the large size and lack of compactness might hinder others. Also, extended usage leads to some heating up of the body, but it is nothing significant. This phone is perfect for those who are accustomed to the size of the Note series or have a clear intention of using all its features, stylus included. Casual buyers will find their money heavily invested in features that they won’t have much use of. As an entrepreneur, this phone was perfect for me as I could share, save, and edit my work flawlessly. If you are someone who cannot choose between taking great pictures on the go and signing and reading documents, then the Note 20 Ultra is your soul mate.