Although many media students create content for school and work, Michael Carlini, a sophomore communication studies student, is finding success in creating content for fun. Along with his childhood friend Nicholas Notari, a sophomore in the pre-physician assistant program at Marywood University, Carlini is behind the popular TikTok account @buudie, named as the creators’ interpretation of the pronunciation of “buddy.” The two students make short clips that discuss video gaming culture, particularly emphasizing the culture of the early 2010s. 

Carlini and Notari grew up in Clarks Summit, PA and were always interested in social media and content creation. Carlini initially attended Northampton Community College, but transferred to Temple University after his freshman year to study media and communication. As both students transitioned to online learning and interaction during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to start a shared TikTok account.

Knowing that others would appreciate their insight and humor on the wildly popular platform, Carlini and Notari started uploading videos that featured music commentary under the account name @summitrap, named in honor of Clarks Summit. Although they enjoyed posting music commentary, they were not getting the following on the platform that they desired. They transitioned to posting relatable videos about gaming culture, a niche that they say was not as widely explored on TikTok. 

And their strategy paid off. Notari posted their first gaming video under the new account and it quickly reached around 100,000 views and about 10,000 likes. Now, the @buudie account has close to 80,000 followers and more than 2.9 million likes, with their most popular videos earning millions of views each. According to Carlini and Notari, their content has even been featured on Barstool Sports and they have received offers from other online outlets to participate in deals.

Carlini says that picking the right platform is key to social media success. Because TikTok is both user- and viewer-friendly, the platform was ideal to post their content. Videos from a variety of creators are more likely to be viewed by users than the videos that appear on feeds on other platforms, where users’ timelines are restricted to the accounts they follow. He advises other students who are aspiring content creators to think carefully about what they want to post. 

“You just gotta find your niche and what you enjoy because you can’t post stuff that you don’t enjoy,” Carlini says.

Notari believes that the rapid ascension of @buudie is also due to the strategic approach the two students take toward the content of their videos. In general, they target their videos toward younger audiences who can relate to gaming culture as opposed to discussing topics that may be more serious. 

Both Carlini and Notari say that their schoolwork has slowed down their posts on @buudie, but they plan to approach their content with renewed vigor when they have fewer academic commitments.

“Over break we’re going to try and...produce more than we have been over the course of the semester,” Notari says.

Overall, the two students are aiming to add some brightness to an otherwise difficult year, and they hope that their content inspires their followers and viewers to do the same.