For years, savvy marketers targeted women in their advertising as they were perceived to be invisible influencers in household purchase decisions. On the Internet, women have become visible influencers. In this episode of Digital gadfly, hosted by Shubho Sengupta, meet Nandita Iyer, a medical doctor, author, and blogger with a massive following and an influencer not interested in influencing. Calling yourself an influencer is too stressful, she says. “Influencer means that you want to influence people to either subscribe to your beliefs, or buy the products you are endorsing, and I am not so keen on doing that,” says Nandita.

Shubho, an experienced digital marketer, manages to draw out some interesting social media tips from Nandita. In this unfiltered chat, she discusses what makes an influencer, the early days of social media, the creator economy, and building an organic following. “Social media has become a legitimate way to make money and have a career doing the things you love doing. Tinier the niche, the better the scope of growth,” says Nandita. (Produced by Akshaya Chandrasekaran.)