Stream from the outside may seem like a very easy thing to do. However you will soon find out after starting if you havent researched anything about it, that entertaining is not as easy as it appears to be. This blog we will talk about a few things that make streaming, well, streaming!
Interaction and conversation are pretty much the backbones of streaming. If you are unable to interact with your chat (In the beginning at least) you will find it extremely hard to grow at all. People go to Twitch for the fact things are LIVE. If they didnt want to interact or watch things in real time they would go to YouTube where they can pause and click through videos at their wish. This also includes making conversations when there is no one to talk to. Whether you are commenting on your game play or gaming with friends, you really have to have the ability to keep a conversation going. This being said a lot of people I have seen who arent normally talkative have found that streaming has also brought them out of their shells. It isnt as direct as talking in person but it does help with growing those skills even if you dont think you have them to start!
Tech Skills or at least having the ability to learn the skills necessary by reading blogs, or tutorials and watching videos on YouTube you will find that it can be very tricky to even begin streaming or continuing to grow in the streaming world. When i first started I streamed directly from PlayStation. I clicked a button and was live. I eventually got a Cam and that too was just plugged in. Now when I decided to use a capture card and my laptop this was a whole new ball game. Thankfully i had a great friend who had already done this and was able to help me out as it was a lot of new technology that I had absoutely NO knowledge for. I would have taken a lot longer to figure it out by watching videos but it wasnt that hard and once you know the general idea of what you are doing it can be easy to learn new things and tweek your setup. This also goes for other aspects like mics, volumes, hardware, devices, etc.
Equipment can be SUPER subjective as well. You could go with the products that have the best reviews, You could also ask your friends or fellow streamers which products they like or even by a trusted name that has other products or go by the price tag too. I think regardless of things when you start streaming you should have the skill set as much consumers do to be able to decide on a product. Like any hobby or interest it is also good to note that when starting out you do not need to have the best of the best in order to grow. In fact starting at a lower tier end and growing in products is a lot easier then starting higher and losing interest or what not. For me, I started directly6 on my playstation streaming, I got the Playstation webcam next and then afterwards I purchased an Elgato Capture card and then I used my boyfriends old computer and saved up for my own. Staring at the beginning for a hobby you may or may not fall out of love with and spending a ton of money on it can be expensive for sure.
Knowledge of Streaming would also be great. Whether you are a viewer or whether you even know anything about the streamer side. As mentioned before watching a streamer can be incredibly simple. It can look like seamless when you are a viewer from the transitions and overlays and alerts but in actuality it could be anything but! Knowing some of what it takes to be a successful streamer even from the mental health side to the demanding schedules and dedication and consistency would save a lot of people heartache if they knew what to expect and understand how difficult making it in this industry can be.
Etiquette would probably be something I wish I had explored before streaming as well. Learning what is acceptable and what isnt is extremely hard and not nessacarly in the rules of someones stream. For example self promo is a big no-no in nearly every stream on Twitch. I had done this thankfully to friends who told me the reasoning behind it but had it been a random stream i enjoyed how awkward would that have been! Another would be the push to talk on discord when you are streaming with another person who is also streaming too. This is something I encounter quite often and it really is a pain when you have someone trying to butt in on a stream or when they are shouting out their alerts over your stream. These are all important things you should know if you decide to take the plunge.
Knowing who YOU are is probably one of the most important things I think. Knowing who you are and not who you want to be can make or break you. Do you want to try to be like Ninja? You may find it a struggle since he is who he is. You want to be family friendly or do you want to be mature audience? Do you want to be a one game stream, just chatting one or even a variety? There is so many things you need to think of even as far as what you want to call your followers or subscribers once you hit affiliate. These things can also come as you stream more and as your followers or subscribers say more they can even help along the way with ideas.
Whatever you decide, know that these skills are forever changing with the trends as well as with the medias and streaming equipement. You may not need to be fully up to date on them but having some sort of an idea would be a great way to start instead of going in blindly!
-StaySeeJ08
Monthly Archives: October 2020
Streaming with other Streamers, Making connections with their Community
Playing with fellow streamers is a great way to mix 2 communities of similar interests. Whether you have been friends before or you are simply looking to make new friends, This can be a fun way to even produce some quality content for your viewers especially if you both play similar games, or are of the same skill level as well too! I myself am not normally playing with friends who stream regularly but I do game with friends normally especially playing Dead by Daylight. Though I am not apposed to streaming and gaming with someone I just tend to be very picky on who I play with due to past reasons. I do this because it helps time to go by and when there is moments of a quiet chat you can still talk and not feel like there is a lot of dead air too.
What is streaming with other streamers? Well this is when you are both playing a game or even doing a just chatting together too. It could be producing any content with another person. You probably have seen streamers like TimTheTatman playing with DrLupo or Ninja together as well. Sometimes people even do this when certain games release.
One of the most important things to remember when duo streaming and gaming with other streamers, and I cannot stress this enough, is respect. Remember before I go into my thoughts about this that respect goes both ways. There is nothing more annoying when you are streaming with another streamer then when they DO NOT use a push to talk or some type of mute function when streaming with someone else. This is just a simple and easy to show respect. It is extremely annoying when you are playing with someone and maybe they have a few more people in their chat, Or you have a few more in yours, and all you hear is them thanking their viewers or having a full blown conversation. This should be a no brainer when it comes to streaming with another streamer but it really isn’t. Not to mention it can be extremely annoying when you are hearing everything they are saying. I had to do this when I was playing on PS4 because there is no function that would allow a push to mute/talk. Now that I use discord to communicate with team members I would ALWAYS use this. Heck, I wont even play with people on stream or live if they wont use this. Another aspect of this would be cross self promo. I have had this a few times and it is extremely annoying and frustrating to deal with. I have had people who subscribe to me feel like they support my stream and content, when in reality that is their way of playing with me and streaming and making comments like “Send some of them viewers over my way”, “Can always check out my stream”. This is not only invasive but extremely rude. Though for me I find it can be extremely hard to speak up against this that I typically never play with them again if this happens. Kind of a lesson learned moment. Respect that each other have their own streams and let things happen naturally. Not only that, But if you are the person who is trying to say things like this then you will look like a total loser to the other community or other streamers. Not to mention as well, If I regularly play with someone and they are a streamer as well, Chances are I will be shouting them out to my community or vice versa at the end of the day.
Being Genuine and having natural connections are kind of similar but so different. Being genuine means to not be fake about why you want to stream with a streamer. If you both play totally different games it may look super suspicious if you want to play a game with them, ie: Maybe the streamer plays fortnite and you play something like Dead by Daylight. You wanting to play with them is fine, But if your only motive is to get some of their viewers to watch you then that might not be a wise decision. Most times streamers will know when someone is being sneaky and trying to play with them for personal gain. If they don’t know right away eventually they will figure it out. I know for me, It was pretty obvious when the people would only show up When I was live or when I had a bunch of viewers in chat. If there wasn’t as many as my regular numbers they wouldn’t be around. And again when the numbers were there they would come back.
Finally, I think this goes without saying. If you are in fact ONLY streaming with someone to essentially try and steal their viewers. It will not work. This is the same reason why people dont ask for raids and things. Because at the end of the day it really does not do anything and will not help you grow. The viewer may look at your stream sure, but they will always go back to the orgional stream they came from even if both of you are live. Chances are they have built a connection already with the streamer and their community and would like to keep looking at their content, though they may check out your stream if the streamer is not online or on vacation or something, Just to fill that void.
So be smart, kind and genuine. I know as someone who follows streamer twitter this can be a very challenging thing to do. And remember as I have mentioned before in blogs multiple times, You cannot rush a friendship and like all good things they take time! And be careful, After all, If something is said or done on your stream by someone who is on it, it will fall back on you. If someone you know wants to play but they swear or use dirigatory words, it may be best to pass up and maybe play with them off line.
-StaySeeJ08
Subtitles in Movies. I’m a changed woman.
Once upon a time, There was a person who absolutely HATED subtitles. If something had to be watched with subtitles she wouldn’t watch them. She would find something new to watch and move on with her time. The culture and different movies that I am sure were great she would pass up and not watch because reading the scenes and lines instead of just listening and watching was a lot for her brain to handle. That person was me! Seriously, I HATED watching movies with subtitles. It was extremely difficult for me to follow along when I have to read the lines and not “focus” so to speak on the movie itself. Until one movie changed that!
One day I was watching Netflix and it became idle (Mom Life). One of the pictures that had popped up on the screen was of this movie that was seemingly horror called “The Platform”. Naturally being a horror and spooky film lover I decided to check it out. I read the mini bio of the film and thought ” WOW THIS IS GREAT!”. It was unlike any film I had seen before and thought it would be a great idea. Well, Guess what. It was not in English. I thought this is going to be a nightmare now I have to read the lines and story to actually understand it and I am not going to enjoy it. Yet the plot was so convincing and vague that I was still drawn in even if there was subtitles. So I watched it, and you know what? I FREAKING LOVED IT. This particular film was about a “punishment” centre where there were different levels where people change after 30 days. There is a platform of food that starts at the top and everyone in the spot is placed 2 people per level. They also write down their favorite food before they enter. Someone even chose to go to this place so they could quit a bad habit. Regardless this film has changed my ENTIRE view on Subtitles in films and series!
Since discovering this new world I have watched so many shows. More or less with my boyfriend once my son has gone to bed since watching a show or movie in a different language AND reading subtitles can be quit challenging when you are looking after a little fella as well. So most of the shows in different languages we watch are when he is in dream land. Now I will say, We have watched some shows in French. Such as, Marianne which is SCARY as anything and totally worth the binge. It only has one season currently but it is for sure worth the watch if you want something creepy. Coming from someone whose boyfriend absolutely HATES horror movies, or anything that is creepy, This was a winner for both of us and made us feel gross after watching it! Another show that we have also watched in French is Who Killed Little Gregory. Again another show in French and even though I do know French it was a lot easier to follow with subtitles mostly because France French is slightly different than Quebec French and I would miss certain terms and saying. This was a mini series about a boy who had gone missing and later was found killed. The whole story was easy to follow and the subtitles really helped.
Another show that we watched which is on Season Number 4 (I Think) which is currently being filmed is Elite. This show is in Spanish which neither my BF and I know but again, subtitles were huge and we really were into the entire series. I even liked it so much that I re-watched the entire thing with a friend online. It is more of a teen drama I would say,talking about rich kids and the slums and murder and scandals but it was a great show none the less though. We started watching an episode here and there once my son was born and we were doing the feeding before bedtime as well too.
My only downside I would say for subtitles is that there were times when they were delayed. Now Im not sure that it would be a connection issue or netflix themselves but I think if that could be a little bit better. It mostly has someone talking and by the time they are finished you have a flash of a subtitle and that fills the story in. However, If you are paying close enough attention you would know kind of what they were saying, But if it was an inside joke or something it would make things a bit more challenging and harder to pick up. Again, I am not sure the cause of this and which end it is. It also doesnt happen THAT often so I dont think it is a huge deal myself but it was worth mentioning though, Maybe some folks dont have this issue at all while others have it more!
Overall, If I am being completely honest. I have NO IDEA why I waited so long on subtitles. It was hard for me to wrap my head around having to read AND watch a show at the same time without missing what was happening or what was going on in the scene as well. I feel bad that I waited so long and probably missed out on a lot of things as well. I will say that I have a butt load of shows now on my Watch List waiting to be watched. With more than just French and Spanish on there as well too. and between you and I, well also my boyfriend because he agreed with what I am about to say too, We have probably enjoyed the shows that were NOT English more than the ones that were. I know, Super strange right, But when you are quarantined due to Covid-19 you really have to open up your horizons if you want to not get bored of the same shows over and over and over again!
-StaySeeJ08
Stacey J. Girard 