Interview with Thanuja from Experience This Next, Toronto Blogger and Content Creator
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Thanuja/TJ and I am the creator behind Experience This Next, my digital platform to highlight local experiences, businesses and products in Toronto and abroad. Born and raised in Toronto, I was exposed to diversity at a very young age and have always been drawn to exploring different places, cuisines, one of a kind shops, experiences and services. As a creator I share my lens on what there is to do and see locally (both at home and abroad) and help promote and drive shopping and supporting local through my involvement in various communities such as Yelp, Localhood, Meetup, Instagram, Tiktok and Google Local Guides.
What do you focus on in your work? Any favorite topics?
My content creator platform primarily focuses on sharing about local experiences, products and business in the realms of food, travel, culture, wellness, and events. I have created another separate platform, @snapture.the.moment, to focus on my photography. It will never be a dull moment on my feed with my varied interests, this year will be all about experiencing local with others as a community and I am hoping to share the stories of those I interact with throughout the year.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I hope to expand beyond content creation and curate experiences to be shared with others. I would ideally like to house these experiences in a social + wellness community hub space with the premise of supporting local. I also plan on expanding my photography, blogging and vlogging skills and would love to get into documenting. I cannot wait to see where the journey goes and what experiences will come about for 2022. As my feed has mainly been about my journey of experiencing things as a content creator, I also cannot wait to go in the direction of curating experiences and building community and I will be hosting some events this year, so stay tuned. I feel that life is about sharing experiences with others and I’d like to add a bit more of a human element to my platform by sharing the story of who I interact without throughout the year.
What gear do you use? (camera, computer and any related tech?)
I primarily use my Iphone 12 and occasionally the Samsung 12 Pro and Sony A7C . I do most of my editing on my Iphone and love using Lightroom and InShot as supporting/editing applications.
Do you have any tips for your followers and our readers?
Everyone begins somewhere. For a long time I did not join social media as a creator because I saw so many pro accounts out there and thought my content could not do justice. My biggest tip is to let go of self-doubt and make an effort to practice and sharpen my skills. I also recommend engaging with others on social media to build relationships, especially if you are looking to build a platform or community. Although I have been creating content for a while now, I consider myself still fairly new to photography as an art form and remind myself to enjoy the journey. My tip is to be consistent and know what your focus is and in my case it is supporting, exploring and experiencing local. I cannot to wait to experience what is to come next.
Thanuja/TJ (@Experience This Next)
Instagram: @experiencethisnext
Website: experiencethisnext.com
