Ask Malini Agarwal what she else she wants to do in life and the Founder MissMalini and Creative Director of Girl Tribe by MissMalini says that she would like to be Oprah! “On a serious note, I do want to make a significant difference to women’s lives and enhance their existence. I want to use my decades of work and life experience to help women craft their own and I want to have fun doing it! The dream is to keep building the MissMalini and Girl Tribe Community into a real force for good. Something that makes people happy, inspired, hopeful and kind,” she states.

From starting her own blog in 2008 to having her own company today, Malini says it’s been an incredible journey. Starting out as a professional dancer when she was 17, she has dabbled in digital content, been a radio host, hosted television shows, and of course, blogged. “So, the journey feels a lot longer than 13 years,” she smiles. The multitasker lets us in on her experiences over the years…

 How has the world of digital media and content creation changed since you started blogging?
The digital landscape has evolved and changed significantly since the time I started my blog – from new platforms being launched every day to a massive flood of new creators and influencers joining the ranks on the daily. It is plain to see that digital media continues to adapt and things like the global pandemic have made us even more reliant on our devices for work and play. In turn, there is a race between content platforms to make the most of the current situation and everyone knows the eyeballs are all staring at their screens 24/7. So, it’s a competition for mind space and home screen real estate. When I started, it was all very new and to many, it wasn’t even considered a legitimate career. I feel adapting to the changing face of our virtual reality has been absolutely key for the MissMalini brand. I pride myself on the fact that we have always remained slightly ahead of the game by doing most things first. We were the first to blog and vlog, the first to translate our digital content into traditional TV shows, author books, craft a massive digital imprint across Bollywood, Fashion, Lifestyle, and Beauty and do it platform agnostically. Even now we find ourselves taking new directions as we predict future trends. We launched an Influencer news desk called “MissMalini Trending” for this reason. To extend our celebrity offering from Bollywood to digital creators who are now all the rage. We also launched our own app – Girl Tribe by MissMalini to offer women a safe space to connect, grow, support, and network with each other. So, you can always expect something new from us!

What do you consider your biggest achievement?
Genuinely, my greatest achievement is building a legacy brand that stands for something positive. I entered a world of celebrity content where the norm was to look for gossip or criticize for clickbait. We took a call early on to be a positive voice in the industry. To celebrate the ones who bring us all this big-screen magic and the fact that people have responded to it has been very satisfying. When I look around my own team and see so many young men and women finding joy in what they do, that feels really special. I also love that my team is predominantly women and we were able to launch our own Girl Tribe by MissMalini App to service a massive need for a kinder internet experience as well.

How do you navigate social media? Also, how do you deal with the negativity and trolling that comes your way sometimes?
Social media can be quite intimidating. But the first thing we have to do is stop looking at it like some alien beast that’s come to live among us. We ARE social media. Everything you see on it is a collection of our thoughts, creations, and digital antics and yet we are so quick to blame “Social Media” for all the negativity. I urge you to look within yourself and ask yourself what version of you do you put out online? What is your contribution to this “beast” of social media? My rule has been very simple from the start. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t say to someone’s face. You’ll be amazed at what a good self-check that is. Because as I mentioned in my TedX Talk, for some reason, we are using Social media platforms as a dumping ground for all our negative emotions and then wonder why it’s such an uncomfortable experience. I believe that you can kill them with kindness. So, with trolls I use a simple strategy my therapist once told me. She said to approach the world with a shield of empathy and kindness. Very often trolls are just lonely people looking for some attention and a simple reply turns them from foe to fan.

The other thing I have done to combat any negative feelings I have about social media is creating our own digital community called Girl Tribe. A place where the likes and followers don’t matter and are not on display but rather you earn points for starting a conversation or commenting mindfully. Instead of desperately waiting for someone else’s validation through likes, you can take control of your social media experience.

Can you tell us how you came up with Girl Tribe and what is its main aim?
The Girl Tribe is our attempt at creating a kinder internet, especially for women. I love the digital age and I owe it all my success. But I have always found that there is so much noise and junk out there that is preventing women from living their best lives. A simple way to correct that is by creating a safe and secure environment for like-minded people to really find each other and connect on a more human level. While on most social media platforms you spend the most time on your own pages, trying to gather likes and followers, an app is a place where we encourage you to reach out and have meaningful interactions that will lead to a more satisfying experience. At present just taking men out of the equation has really helped clean up the kind of creepy interactions you find online, perhaps one day we will all be able to live together in one Tribe, till then it’s a wonderful place to connect with other women, feature your business, interact with experts and sign up for absolutely incredible experiences and events you will not find anywhere else and enjoy them with women you would immediately find friends with.

There are so many young people who get influenced by you. What is your advice to them?
My advice would be to stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Because I’ll let you in on a little secret: I used to do it too. And you will always find there are people who have more than you but what if you turned your attention to those who have less? For a moment go and follow, comment, share or connect with someone who has lesser followers than you have. You will make a devoted and grateful fan or friend in the process and you will have uplifted someone else’s energy while increasing the vibration of your own. This is known as the “helpers high”.

Are there any other books that you are planning to write or in the midst of writing?
I am in the middle of writing my second book, which is essentially a guide on how to be a good person online based on the pillars of what I deeply believe. Never post what you wouldn’t say to someone’s face, spark joy with what you give, and remember that followers are people too. I am super excited about this book because I feel it is even more relevant now given how the world has accelerated into a truly digital world with this pandemic. I hope it will help us learn and unlearn the things we need to clean up our virtual reality.