In the past few days since Threads, the “Twitter-killer” app by Instagram debuted on the app stores, Oladapo-Ogunsanya Segun, the famous tech content creator who you might know as KaganTech, has somehow dominated the platform, with videos of his how-tos, quips on the new app and the occasional clap back on those who might cross him.
It was a strategy that had worked for him in the past, focusing on utilitarian value when creating content.
Kagan had been on YouTube and Twitter as far back as 2017, posting reviews of gadgets like other tech YouTubers, making under $500 per month. By his own admission, he got very little traction. So he folded it up, sort of. And channelled his energy to short-form content, on Instagram and TikTok.
Sometime in May last year he downloaded the TikTok app.
“The first thing I noticed on TikTok is that there were mostly girls dancing, showing body parts, doing like trending TikTok sounds,” Kagan told Technext recently. “There wasn’t really any like Nigerian tech content on TikTok. No real value added for people to not watch the girls that were dancing and actually learn something.”
So he gave them something to feast on, and in three days he grew his followers from 20 users to over 130k. He did tons of content on how to shop on eBay, how he protects his iPhone from theft, and how to generally manoeuvre the internet. His video on how he bought a 350,000 naira laptop for 40,000 naira was what first drew people’s attention to him.
“They were surprised by the content, and so it just created a pandemic of tech content where everybody was just creating tech tips at some point,”
But what does he even think of the twerking videos he met on the platform?
“I think nothing of it. There is no reason why your physical advantage shouldn’t be something that you can’t take advantage of,” he said. But he added that there are people who however would be looking for something more than physical appearance.
“Personally I don’t have a choice. I have to add value beyond my physical appearance because I’m not a very attractive person. And if I met something that is ugly like me, I’ll advise them ‘You have to have a skill,'”
KaganTech
That has become a huge part of his brand, advocating for everyone to learn skills. He has done multiple series on TikTok on the subject, and partnered with startups that teach skills for discounted prices for his followers.
Himself, he has learnt UI/UX design, SEO, web design, graphics design and even mastering and mixing from his days as a young rapper.
“I make videos about people learning skills almost every eke market day, and I do it because some people don’t understand that in most cases, you have to do more than one thing to be what you need to be,” he said. “It’s a message I preach very aggressively because it could change your life.”
Another thing that he is passionate about? Helping people see the dangerous cycle of fraud, or “yahoo yahoo” as we call it. He has heard all kinds of arguments in favour of yahoo yahoo, but he doesn’t see how it will not end badly for everyone that chooses that path. On one hand, are people who cry wolf that the failing Nigerian government has given them no other option but this path. Then there are the people on the other hand who see it as a path to start businesses and live better lives in the future.
“There are so many pointless sideways arguments that these people like to have that just absolutely make no sense. Society has kind of warped people’s perceptions and their sense of morality,” he said.
“If you decide to do fraud now and you see some money, that money will come and go, always in very lapse intervals. And you are going to waste your best years doing this cycle of trying to steal money from people, and turn up and carry women. But when you are older and you can’t hustle like that anymore, you’re useless to your family,” he added.
It was the skills that he had acquired that helped him forgo the life he was living before YouTube.
In university, he had been a rapper, jumping on stages whenever a social event was on in school. When he learned that he needed a producer to make music, he downloaded the software, FL Studio and Adobe Audition and started making them himself. He learnt mixing and mastering. Started collecting studio equipment. He still has some songs on Spotify, under his secret alias.
But the realities of the industry dawned on it. It will be hard to make money in Nigeria without being an A-list or B-list artist. He moved away from it. But took with him the skills. So yeah, he knows what he’s talking about when he says learn a skill.
KaganTech’s thoughts on Threads
That was why he was one of the people that shook the Threads home page with his posts on how to grow a following on the platform.
So far, he likes the Threads app. But he isn’t sure the platform is ready for the creator economy. “We don’t have access to creator metrics,” he said. He would like to know how each post does and understand what works for the platform. Those data are not yet available.
But Twitter is not his cup of tea.
“I’ve always been done with Twitter,” he said. “Twitter is not a place that inspires growth. It’s sort of like, if you don’t know how to drag people, fight or just be the type of person that ends up on YabaLeft or Instablog, you’re not going to get a lot of traction.”
He has also called himself the biggest tech content creator in the country. What does he think of people who say, if he has to say it, maybe it’s not the case?
“That is not my problem. Numbers don’t lie. I work with the numbers,” he said.
He has 61k followers on Threads, 208k followers on Instagram, 431.3k followers on TikTok, and 27.9k subscribers on YouTube. And he makes over $20,000 per month from monetising his content.
“People watch my videos because it’s relatable. It’s fun. And it’s not just a bunch of gibberish, reading spec on paper. It’s a different thing if you’re creating content for people who already love tech. But the demography in Nigeria is small. We have to touch every corner,” he said.
“I do believe that without the changes that I made to tech content in Nigeria, so many people would have been left out. And this is a fact,” he added.
Right now, he’s working on a big project. But he won’t say what it is just yet. “Just expect something big. And something that will shock TikTok,” he offered.
Rapid fire question with Kagan
How can one grow their following on social media?
It’s important you take account of the audience. I’m an active problem solver and I’m not looking to make selfish content.
What do you think of Andrew Tate?
I actually think I kind of like Andrew Tate. But I don’t agree with everything he says. He says a lot of things that are uplifting for young men, to hustle and things like that. But sometimes, he could say something that comes off as misogynistic. In those cases, I’m just like, even the smartest people in the world can say stupid things.
Is there any validity to the Alphamale movement?
There is plenty of validity in it. There is so much forcing everybody to be more feminine. It’s a thing that is genuinely irritating. It’s important.
Favourite movie to watch?
Big Bang Theory
What are you currently watching?
Young Sheldon [a Big Bang Theory spinoff]. But these days I don’t really have time to binge shows.
Favourite book?
The Unfair Advantage: How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba
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