Tag Archives: Computers

Panels, Why should I have them?

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What are panels?
Panels are an image/text that can display a certain part of who you are/your channel. Look at them as titles to chapters with a mini write up underneath or just the photo there with information or a photo that if clicked sends you to a page.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Why should I have them?
Panels are a great way to showcase who you are and the content you are willing to provide. If you aren’t live for example and someone comes to check out your channel this is a great way to show who you are without being able to at the time. It can give them an idea of who you are and can even determine if they give you a follow or not even if you aren’t online too!

How can I get them?
Panels do not have to be expensive or even difficult. Anything is better then nothing when it comes to panels. Below is a website Nerd or die that I myself have used, It lets you create your own panels even if they aren’t something fancy its still something to use until you know what you want or can afford to get a personally created panel set. I have also included the twitter of people I have personally used for some of my designs as well!

Nerd or die:
https://nerdordie.com/resources/free-resources/customizable-twitch-panels/
You can also search Etsy and find some generic pre-made panels there too, though they are normally part of a package there are some really nice ones out there too!

What panels should I have?
– Bio/About Me: Pretty self explanatory. Put whatever you want here about YOU! Make is simple and short and a quick description of who you are! Think of this as a mini intro that you would tell a new viewer if they wanted to know who you are and what you are about!
– Tips: Also known as donations. However donations are more for charities. I myself am guilty of putting donations as a panel however when I get the money for a re-vamp/re-design I will be putting tips instead. This is normally linked to your paypal or other form of tipping site so that folks can tip you for your entertainment!
– Subscribe: This is for anyone wanting to subscribe per month to your channel. This normally directs people to your subscribe page. This is also for affiliate and partners on twitch and a very valuable panel to have especially if someone is on mobile. It can make subscribing a lot easier for someone. If finding where to subscribe is difficult you may be losing out on potential revenue!
– Games Played: This can be valuable in case you play multiple games or do play-throughs often. It can also help if folks to see what kind of content that you like to do. I would suggest to keep this to maybe your favorites though. You don’t want this to become a list of 20+ games and totally throw off the flow of your panels either.
– Sponsors: This is a great spot to showcase if you have a sponsor with anyone. Sometimes the company will create or have their own panel and it is required to have this there as a means to promote them and sometimes a way to make a percent of sales too!
– Socials: These are always important, whether they are twitter, youtube, instagram, tiktok or whatever else you might use. Normally when people follow someone on their streaming platform they are also inclined to want to follow on different socials. They want to see your content across multiple spots. Not to mention, if a person is unable to financially support a streamer they are more then happy to help someone by retweeting, liking a picture or thumbs upping their videos since all of those ways to support a streamer are free!
– Artists: This is a great way to shout out the people who make your channel unique! Some artists have their own panel designed which you are able to use while having the panel link to one of their socials or websites. Others might just have a link which you can use an “Artist” umbrella panel so you can add each artist you use individually with a hyperlink under the panel.
– Shout outs: This can be used for 2 things. Some folks have this to shout out their streamer friends and to hopefully direct the love to them as well. This can also be used for showcasing the biggest supporters. Maybe the tops bits giver or sub gifter. Maybe someone has supported financially for a long time and you want to shout them out too. Again, just like the games played keep the list to the top. It can be very unappealing to the eyes when you see a list of 25+ people who support you and have to scroll down the page in order to see other panels or the bottom of your list too.

Don’t do this in panels
– Do not ONLY have a tipping panel. A lot of new streamers are inclined to have only a tipping panel. This looks SUPER scummy and normally when viewers especially new ones visit a channel and only see a tipping panel they are immediately turned off. It demonstrates to a new viewer that you, the streamer are more interested in them giving you money. Which is not a bad thing, But with that being the only thing it can come off very bizarre.
– Don’t write a book. Keep it interesting and point form. Sure you can write a story about it. But why not write enough to keep the viewer interested and then if you have a story you can use that while you are live to tell stories. If all of your panels have long paragraphs of things then it will be extremely hard to keep a potential viewer interested if they have to read 20 minutes worth of text in order to find out a simple question they might have about you or your stream.
– Don’t make everything all cluttered. There is a flow with panels ie: Making them all the same size, Same style, one side isn’t just panels with links or another filled with texts as well. You do not want to have someone open your channel and start to read your panels when they have to scroll down pages to finish reading text when the other side has been finished long before.

Panels are pretty much a fundamental part of a channel. Whether you make them yourself of have someone make them. Make sure before you even hit the live button once that you have these done! Look at them as an extension of YOU!

Overlays, Good or bad?

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An overlay is a great way to display to your community different things that you want to achieve ie: A sub goal, Tip goal, Follower goal, Top tippers and anything of that nature as well. You can even display most recent followers if you wish too. As simple as it sounds there can be a right way and a very wrong way to do this as well. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you decide to add an overlay to your stream.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels.com

Should I get an overlay?
This should be the 1st question you ask because there are certain circumstances where you will not be able to use an overlay. IE: if you stream from console and DO NOT use a capture card then it will be harder/not possible to use an overlay. I have been told that if you use a console and stream directly from there to Twitch or whatever platform, that if you use the remote play feature or do it through a computer then you should be able to use an overlay. Personally, I have no idea how to use that as I never needed to but apparently it is possible. I used to have an overlay when I did use a capture card though. This is because it runs through OBS and you are able to add the file/image to your scenes. If you stream through a computer then you will have no problem adding an overlay to your streams to make them a bit more personal as well too! I personally never got one until I was on a PC/Capture card. If you are in a position where you are unable to have an overlay, that is totally okay too! You will be able to add one eventually as you continue to progress in your journey!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

What is an Overlay?
An overlay is any type of information or design that you want to display on your stream. In order to do so you need to either be using a capture card or streaming from a PC. Some streamers have different scenes where their overlay displays chat, or the top donators or subscribers and things as well. It really depends on what you are looking to show to your community in your stream as far as how you would like this to be shown. If you wanted you could also display certain types of goals you might have for your channel as well too. It really depends on what you are looking for as a streamer! For myself, I sometimes show the subscriber goals that I have when trying to save for certain things, I also try to show things like followers sometimes. I also have a chat overlay as well sometimes depending on the scene that I am using too.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

How can I get an overlay?
There are places where you can get a pre-designed overlay. This would be the quickest and one of the easiest ways to get one. Another more expensive way would be to commission a graphic designer and ask them to do a one of a kind overlay for you. Keep in mind if you want all the “Bells and whistles” then it will cost some money to get done. I always say when looking for ANY type of graphics it can be extremely helpful for the artists if you have somewhat of an idea. Even knowing which colors you would like on there is a huge help! And if not, that is also okay since your artist should be able to articulate your idea’s for you if you have trouble.

My Overlay
When I decided I wanted to do a little revamp, an overlay was something that I wanted. I knew I wanted it to be simple and I knew I wanted it to be timeless. I asked for my name “StaySeeJ” to be on there and I dropped the 08. Why? Because eventually if I got to the point I wanted a name change I would be dropping the 08 if it was possible. Spoiler alert: Fast forward to now, and I have actually dropped the 08 from my name which is great I thought ahead and am able to continue to use the same overlay! And I felt this was going to be cleaner without the number too. My colors that I liked was blues and white/black. The whole point was to have it slick and clean looking. I wanted it to be very minimal at the top of my screen and that’s how mine was done! Its simple, customizable and easy to add to any streaming software. I have also added through Streamlabs the different information that I wanted at the top. ie: Sub count, Sub Goal, Top Bits, Recent follower, Recent sub. The best part is that if I want to change out the displays I just need to add text and find the different spot in Streamlabs to get it done!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

DON’Ts of Overlays
– Don’t make your overlay too cluttered. People are either watching your stream for yourself or game play. Nothing is more annoying when you click a stream and 75% of their screen is filled with different alerts, text, logos and many other things. Its cool to display things but making your overlay look like a collage board from school is not the way to do it. It also can be very distracting to what you maybe trying to portray. If you are a great Apex player and all everyone see’s is your logos and things flashing on the screen it will make it incredibly hard for anyone to really focus on what it is you want to people to focus on.

– Don’t make donation goals the center of your overlays. Though I think it can be important to showcase a tip goal for your community I don’t think making it the most important thing is going to do a lot of good for people wanting to help out. If you do have one on your overlay make sure you STRESS the importance of your viewers simply being there instead of making them seem like your only goal is to get their money. When streamers talk about money as their goal it can really put a damper on things especially if people in the chat are unable to financially support your stream.

And lastly, As I have mentioned with lots of other posts. Be careful who you get to commission your work! Make sure you do your research before putting your trust into another person. Word of mouth when it comes to designers is a huge way to see how they are and if they are worth your time and money. If someone is known for copying other artists or not getting back in a timely fashion then they may not be worth you giving your ideas to. If you aren’t sure with what you want and are not in a rush post on your twitter, discord, ask in streams, or even check reviews if a person has an online portfolio in order to make sure you choose the right person for you! Go with your gut too, If you have a feeling that the person may not deliver what you expect then don’t go with them! This is something for YOU to showcase your brand and you shouldn’t take anything but the best for that!

4 Things You Need For Streaming in 2021

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you are unaware about what streaming is which is totally possible, you might be living under a rock, respectfully of course. Streaming is a way for people to connect with the world right from the comforts of their own homes. Whether or not they are playing video games, chatting, doing art or anything they want really. There is a few basics that you should do though if you want to take the plunge into streaming. In order to give yourself the best shot at success at least. Remember also, you do not need the most expensive equipment in order to be successful however having any of these is better than none. Even if you start with a lower end item you can always upgrade and get the higher end models as well when things are accessible.

The 1st two things can be debatable however way you want to look at it. Get yourself a solid camera. They have cheaper ones and they have higher end ones. For me, I started on PS4 and had to use the camera that they offered. However I moved up to a bit better one which was about 80 dollars and now I used the Logitech c922. This is a lower end/mid tier camera however it can go on sale quite a bit so you can watch for that and save yourself a few dollars also. Then you have the higher end cameras that you need special hook up’s and cords to be able to charge the camera while using it and set them up. I have no idea how to do this as it is far above what I make streaming. Though if I wanted to upgrade I would ask my boyfriend for them for holidays as a gift or I would save the few dollars that I make streaming in order to upgrade my equipment also. Having a webcam will immediately set yourself above the streamers who do now have a webcam. At least starting out. If you see streamers who do not have a webcam and are successful that is fine. However chances are they did start by using a webcam and grew their audience. At some point they would have realized having a camera while streaming does not add any value so they stopped. One of the main reasons besides being live that people want to watch live streams is the interaction. You can see a streamer getting scared, laughing, facial cues and other things also. Personally I never started with a webcam I waited to get my Playstation 3 one after I hit 250 followers because I wanted to be able to know I was serious or semi-serious about this before dumping money into it.

Next which interchanges with having a camera is having good audio quality. That being said, Do not go out and buy 300$ headphones because they will not make you a better streamer. For a long time I started using headphones that were just ear buds from a gas station. Then I upgraded to a pair of razer krakens when I got a capture card and still used the earbuds but I used it for myself to be able to talk to my chat and razer krakens for the stream. You do not need to have expensive headphones. Not to mention, there are plenty of things that you can also do in order to make your sound more crisper, clear, etc. This being said. If you are planning to stream, Remember that having a quiet environment, relaxed, and peaceful can sometimes be great also. No one wants to sit there in the middle of a stream when you have your kids running around and yelling, if you are unable to find a time to stream that accommodates this maybe putting this dream or hobby on hold is best. Another thing to be mindful of is that stream/game audio is not louder than yourself or vice versa. Check clips or vods to make sure that your sound is the best it can possibly be also.

Scheduling streams is important even if you are just starting out. The only way scheduling is not important is if you have absolutely no desire to grow or maintain anything don’t worry about this. However if you want to grow somewhat I would suggest starting with a schedule, even if this is only 2 days a week. On top of that, if you have a job that doesnt allow for a set schedule you can always start and post a stream schedule once a week to update it every week. You have to let people know when you are live even if it changes or else people won’t want to find you as easily. Play around with times maybe you have more viewers different time zones, or times of the day even. Maybe evenings are worse than mornings for you. Or maybe you only have very specific times due to prior life commitments. For me I stream evenings once my son goes to bed, However once I have my second child I know they will change slightly but I will still do my best to try and be consistent though!

Lastly, streaming more will not make you more successful. You need to be putting content out to many different platforms in order to be successful. There are millions of streamers that go live daily from hundreds of thousands of countries across the world. If you are only streaming on twitch that is just not enough to be successful. Whether or not you try and put content out on twitter, or tiktok or instagram putting content on other places other than twitch would do a lot of good in terms of growth.

So there you have it. Streaming really does not have to be hard. Whether or not you are streaming on a playstation or you are streaming directly from a PC or even an xbox, you only need to do a few things in order to set yourself apart and begin the journey.

Do you know what streaming is?
Would you give it a shot or are you completely not interested in it?

Let me know in the comments below!

– Stacey

Want to be given the opportunity to win some free art? Every 10 subscribers will be a piece of art, and email subscribers will be eligible to win! Also you can help in choosing characters for upcoming novels, stream behind the scenes, or help in choosing blogging topics or rants! Plus, IT IS FREE!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Twitch, They continuously miss the mark.. Time and time again.

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think its safe to say that people who know of the streaming community can agree that twitch is dropping the ball in terms of their many misses in recent months. From their emote add ones to running ads in the most absolutely wrong way, here is some specific things as well as suggestions from the community. Just because Twitch is the biggest streaming platform whose rival appears to be YouTube gaming OR Facebook who recently worked to get their Partners free from some DMCA claims, the way Twitch is NOT handling situations is really making them stand out for all the wrong reasons.

First let’s begin with their ever so invasive ads that would essentially force the streamer to either run them on their own or be forced for a picture in picture experience for the viewer. Why is this bad because they happen at the most inopportune times for the streamer, From beating a boss or an epic kill in a battle royale game, it really is not helping the viewer experience in any way, shape, or form.

A particular streamer is also not happy with these ads and rightfully so. Quiltoni is a quilter and educator on the platform. While streaming and running a family friendly PG stream twitch decided (Or whatever the algorithm is) to run a Trojan (Condom) Ad during this time. This is a detrimental part of their stream due to the fact that it can and is broadcast in quilting supply stores as quoted by;
Quiltoni:
“They also may have just killed my relationship with a store that has me live.”
Quiltoni also mentioned that their channel does not have the 18+ (Mature Audience) Filter on either. However by having that type of system in place Twitch can use that to help filter ads that can be damaging to a streamers channel. And I couldn’t agree more. If Twitch is going to force ads on the streamers we should at least have a say in what type of ads are shown on their also. An 18+ channel would be better suited for the beer and condom ads instead of a family friendly stream for other types of things.
( You can find their twitter here for all links: https://twitter.com/quiltoni )

Then there was the emote add-ons by twitch to celebrate the Hispanic Community on the platform which was met with IMMEDIATE backlash due to their extremely stereotypical designs. Now, I myself am a White Female and have never been met with racism before therefore I obviously am not going to speak on that. However I will say this, Why is it that it took a community backlash to prevent/remove these from being released? How many people did this particular change have to go through in order to have them approved? I feel like as a company as large as Twitch or even Amazon that there are some obvious marks about cultural appropriation that have been missed here. Why are people not informed on these particular issues OR better yet, why was the community not all asked on what they think could be a great way to start in terms of adding content to the platform that showcases this.

I also would like to mention that after year and year and year on the platform why has the support system not been updated? The ticket system is flawed at best and there is 0 live support for something that might be needed such as the hate raids that have been popping up in streams more and more frequently. This is where particular streams are targeted with bots or actual people and spamming hate speech where the mods are banning and constantly trying to rectify the situation and making chat safe again. There still are MANY MANY user names that are coming out and “beating the system” so to speak with their way of being written so that they are still allowed in chat. I feel like as a company there should be better ways to make this change happen to prevent so many names from being allowed on the platform. This would go along the lines of why are people who are banned from the channel still able to search and view the channel? (This was mentioned by a tweeter saying that Mixer when it was live actually had a feature that you could not see a channel had you been banned from it). Let along do we need to talk about view bots and how they are still around the platform CONTINUOUSLY!

I think the most frustrating thing from a streamer perspective is that Twitch as a company appears to be a) all about money (as most large company’s do), b) They appear to be more and more about “Smoke and Mirrors” in terms of trying to make it seem like they want the community involved when they really arent involved at all. Case and point would be when they wanted to bring a diverse group together as part of this Safety Counsel however all it was doing was to protect the company by creating policies, Oh and did I forget to mention how one prominent member thought they would go on a bit of a rant about how they were protected from anything and were near “God-Like” due to being on this counsel.

As for streaming asking for things something as seemingly simple as discoverability for the content creators on the platform Twitch doesn’t really do a whole lot their. They took away the “Communities” feature and decided to go with tags which is still again, extremely challenging to find up and coming creators. Why is something that could greatly benefit the streamer community as a whole something on the back burner or not even thought of?

Should we even mention the Sub-tember that focuses on new subscribers and not old ones. I get it, From a marketing perspective you want to bring new viewers in to subscribe for you to make money, And the people who continually sub already will keep doing so, But why not please both? Is that a difficult task to do? Or is it still about money here?

Not to mention, Kudos to Twitch for doing SOMETHING among the sexual abuse accusations that are happening. My only thing is I believe they should be more transparent with what is happening here. They are banning permanently people who have a lot of evidence for them and the crimes that they have committed. They have taken the accusations towards people seriously. I do believe that people are slipping under the radar because they are “bigger” streamers and pulling in viewers. Not to mention their viewers are also harassing the people who have proof and accusing them. The fact they are doing things I will say is progress for sure. Especially for such a delicate issue.

I guess as you can tell there really is some major flaws with Twitch and the direction that they are going. When it comes to listening to the streamers across the platform they really aren’t doing a whole lot to keep them around or offering anything more that other platforms are now. I hope that they do see this and the suggestions and work towards trying to make Twitch a safer place. Also Twitch, Remember, Just because you may be the leading platform in streaming currently, Doesn’t mean that you are going to stay there OR that you can and should slack on what the greater community would like to see.

-StaySeeJ08



Connecting with followers outside of streaming

Streaming, , , , , , , , ,

Connecting with your community outside of streaming is so much more than just posting in a discord server an hour before you stream. There are many ways you can connect with your community without having to be live. That being said, you don’t have to just open all of your DM’s up in order to be connected with your community!

Social medias is a great way to connect with your followers and community. Chances are if people are connecting on those platforms they are helping your reach as well too. There are some folks who will be die hard dedicated to connecting on socials and will like/share/retweet all of your stuff! Even commenting on posts as well too. In order to really connect, (provided you dont have hundred and hundreds of people commenting) reply or like every single one of these responses! Seriously. A little interaction goes a long way. I know for me, I follow a dude from Sweden named Orb. He is one of the most connected people to his community. He connects on twitter and Instagram, he likes replies and comments back. He is able to do this and as a viewer it makes you feel important because the person you are following and interested in is showing  you are significant. Like you aren’t just a viewer to them. Not all streamers are like this but Orb is great for really showing he appreciates his viewers and community!

Discords is one of the best ways to connect with your community on AND off streams. Whether you are commenting in the morning or commenting after you are live, or even just jumping in to conversations it is a great way to bring the community together even by having viewers and viewers chatting together! the more active a discord is and the more involved you are, the stronger the connection grows. If you create a safe space with you viewers then you will see more people want to stick around because they have made friends with the people in there. I know sometimes I cant always make streams, But I will check in their discord server in the morning, See if the streamer said anything important and connect with the community. When you really get into a community and connect they become more like family than friends. You all talk about your lives as a place to vent or talk about popular topics and the latest news. Especially if everyone is from different countries around the world too. look at the Covid Crisis, How different different places around the world are handling the situation!

Playing with viewers is a popular and easy way to build a stronger community. There are a first ways to do this successfully. You can do it by playing with subscribers first, that is something people who have an establish community do so that subscribers can have another perk. If you are smaller and growing  this might deter people from wanting to watch you and give the appearance that you are just in it for money. For me, I dont mind playing with viewers/subscribers and am actually in the process of bringing back designated days for this! However using a mic for voice communications can be the question. I know some streamers who don’t use ANY voice comms, one is for fear that a person will say something on their stream like dropping the N-bomb or whatever else. Another stream who doesn’t use voice comms but this is because they have sooooo many viewers that it could get hectic. Then there is another streamer who uses voice comms in any game possible with their viewers since most people are subscribers and know that there are some things you just don’t say. For me, I use voice comms with friends and regulars. If it is someone who is in the stream for the first time chances are I’m not going to be using voice comms just in case. Some people can be jerks and try to say things negatively over a stream.

Community days are a super fun way to get a bunch of folks together. Another thing that ties into viewer games. I have seen some streamers do them on stream and others who have done them off. This is where they just hang out in discord and play games or they stream. I would suggest, If you ware playing with a bigger streamer/partner streamer.. and you MUST stream, Then it may be wise to have your push to talk on. Nothing is more annoying then hearing someone play with a partner streamer and be talking to their couple of viewers. Have some respect! For me, if I’m playing with a few partners that i watch and do viewer games I don’t normally stream while playing with them. I want to really focus on games and have a fun time! Also, it looks SUPER annoying and cringe-y if you are playing with a partner/much bigger streamer and you change your stream title as a touch of click bait like “Playing games with XXX” because it looks like you are using that person in order to get clicks or views on your stream.

Movie Nights is something I  offer to subscribers once a month and I’m part of a community that also does them once a month. However with Corona Virus I have seen people also opening up to Discord Movie nights. Something I may look at getting into but I’m not entirely sure I was thinking about putting it up to a vote on twitter actually! This is when they use a streaming service like Kast or even discord streaming because they have upped the participants and how many can watch. I would only say don’t do this too often or it might lost it’s appeal but once a month is a great time to do it! I know some streamers mute their mics during this time (My preferred method!) and they have a text channel and then another who just has open mics/push to talk and they talk during the movie. This is another fun way and once you get into the habit you’re viewers will really enjoy and look forward to. you can even vote on different movies or subjects as well to get the community more involved!

As you can see there is many ways to connect with your community outside of streaming. Find out what works for you and look at what other channels are doing also! Do what you feel comfortable with and watch how your once divided or quiet community could become busy and exciting!

-StaySeeJ08

Do’s and Don’ts of Self Branding

Streaming, , , , , , , , ,

Self branding can be something people struggle with when first starting out as a streamer. Why? Because they don’t know where to begin! Do they want to be a Just Chatting streamer, a game streamer, Mature or Family Friendly Streamer. There are so many directions that one can take in this that it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out who YOU want to be! Hell, Myself it took a while to really begin to start to establish who I wanted to be. When I first started streaming it was directly off my PS4 and I just started playing. I didn’t know or think there was any type of direction that I wanted to go until I was graduating to streaming from my PS4 via capture card and then continuing all the way to PC.

Having a direction when streaming can help you in feeling a bit more relaxed (In my opinion!). Knowing where you want to go and what you want to do is something that can help in growth. When I first started streaming I wanted to be a gaming streamer. I wanted to eventually have a web cam and then I wanted to grow no games. At this point I knew very little about just chatting streams but now as I am learning more and more about streaming I slowly want to introduce myself to bringing more of the laid back style of just chatting instead of the fast paced FPS games or what not. I wanted to be friendly and welcoming to new people but like I am in real life I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take crap from anyone and was treated nice. I don’t put up with stuff in the real world like bullies and what not I wasn’t going to do it in the virtual one either. That also being said, I knew I didn’t want to be someone who showed a lot of cleavage on stream either. Not that there is anything wrong with that but a) I lack confidence to show that much skin on stream let alone to anyone and b) I was in a committed relationship and I couldn’t bring myself to do that because I felt like I was betraying my boyfriend who i was in a very committed relationship with. It was just not the image that I wanted to have for who I am or becoming as a streamer.

Having a family friendly stream vs a mature audience stream can be tricky to navigate. For me, I wanted to have a mature audience. I swear WAY too much and knew that when I was gaming I did not want to be babysitting anyone. Mind you now that I have my son I will eventually have to be more careful with swearing (Unless I switch my schedule now to an evening one when the little fella sleeps a lot better!) but overall I do not want to be a family friendly stream. I know there are streamers who do run a family friendly stream and I respect that. They want to have a safe space and want to welcome people from all different ages. For me, I want to watch streams who are mature. With a kid especially I feel like I will see more than enough kids programs that I will need an escape with actual adults. That being said if someone comes into my chat (Which Yes, I do have the mature audience filter on too!) and they say that they are under 18 I simply say we don’t talk about ages in my channel and move on.

Stick with it! As hard as it might be. Whatever you want to do for self branding stick with it and test it out for a while. Establishing who you are and what you want to represent will take time and energy as well as dedication as well too. Rome wasn’t built in a day you know! Sure, For my situation I could have easily went and shown a bit of skin and maybe I would have had it a bit better on growth or whatever else but I didn’t want to do that and stayed true to myself. If it doesn’t work then cross that bridge when you get to it!

What if you want a change? Is there a right way or a wrong way to do this? This was something that really stuck out to me from AshniChrist’s youtube video. If you want to change change slow enough that your viewers do not notice and fast enough that they stay interested. If you do this too slowly you may lose viewers because they don’t want to stick around waiting and waiting. And if you want to do it slow enough that it is not a major change. If you consider yourself a family friendly stream which primarily plays FPS games and suddenly you switch to a MOBA and are mature content, that is quite the change between! You may lose people who were once dedicated along the way because you have done a legit 180 for content.

Lastly, BE CONSISTENT! If you are one way on your stream, say Family Friendly, but on Twitter you are 18+ and on instagram you are pg-13 then you will find you will get a bunch of people in the wrong places at the wrong times due to all the  mixed messages you are sending. If you are going to be family friendly, do that across all of your social medias. And if you choose to have different sides of your brand then separate them. There is a streamer who mains Dead by Daylight who is family friendly. He welcomes anyone and everyone and is super wholesome. It would be a bit whacked though if you were to click on his twitter link to see a bunch of nearly nudes or F-bombs around in tweets.

Whatever you want to do or decide to do, There is no right or wrong way to brand who YOU are! As long as you aren’t being fake I think anything goes in my eyes!

-StaySeeJ08

Should I play the newest game?

Streaming, , , , , , , , ,

With games like Valorant on the Horizon it can be quite the task to pick a game. We touch base on this before with the one game vs variety streaming, and even recently on the choosing a game to play, but this is going to focus more on the newest games and whether or not you want to play them immediately when they come out or old off for a while to play them. So often you hear the bad side to streaming the newest game when the larger streamers are also going to be playing them. It can be a tug of war with thoughts when trying to decide if you should play it or wait out the craze. Here are some pros and cons and some questions you should ask yourself before committing to playing this or put it on hold for now!

Do I choose the newest and latest game?

Choosing a new game like Valorant when it comes out can be a bit damaging if you haven’t properly grown a following. Why? Because 9/10 times every single partnered/big streamer is playing these games. And most of the times this is in part due to the fact that gaming company’s reach out (Or streamers reach out to the company’s) and they are essentially “hired” to play this. This is why you might see the #Ad or even #Sponsored in their title and are playing it for a certain period of time. They may even play it a few days after the release as well too depending on how their contract/obligation is. This could be playing so many hours per day til/after release or even just the initial day it is released as well too.

Should this mean you shouldn’t play the game? Of course not! If you want to play the newest game of course you should. However, to go in to this and expect growth could be a bit disheartening though since you are in fact competing with the biggest streamers more often than not when a new game releases. If you think that you will enjoy the game don’t let that stop you from playing it.

What if I want to play the newest and latest game?

I would strongly recommend that if you decide to play the newest and latest games to PLAN PLAN PLAN! The more you plan (In my opinion) will ultimately show in the end of your stream whether it was a success or not. Ask around too, Maybe others were going to play it themselves so they wont be available to be in chat. Therefore you might be playing the game to nobody (In case that matters to you). If you make this an exciting thing then people might even want to hold off watching someone else to watch you! I know for myself, I have held off watching a streamer play a game that looks interesting to me because I might not have the money to get it at release but I do want to play through it at some point without having everything spoiled and no surprises for myself. I also know that I have been in some chats as a viewer and have seen different people ask the streamer if they are planning to play through a game because they think it would be really entertaining to them and they don’t want to miss it. Which as a streamer, Is a great feeling to know that people are excited to see how YOU will play a game through!

Getting on the hype?

Don’t wait too long! That would be something I would say to anyone. Look at when Fortnite came out and how drastically things have changes as well with building and things. If you are falling in love with a game I would totally say start from the beginning. I have seen a few streamers who are bigger not start playing Fortnite til the learning curve was so steep that they were left behind. If you see a new game or you want to jump on the latest fad don’t hesitate! Take this opportunity to get on the bandwagon and become an expert! Look at people like Myth, Before he played a game called Paragon (I think!) which was shut down. Fortnite came around and he started to play that full time and really became an expert to the point he was showing the actual pros tricks when they would cross in lobbies! Same with Ninja, As far as I know he didn’t wait til a few months after Fortnite came out. He started playing with it and really dedicated himself to the game and now he is one of the biggest Fortnite streamers on the planet!

How can I make this a big event?

Well that\s easy! Make something on your social media. If you are able to, make a picture and spread it across twitter. Have a timer in your chat that lets them know how excited you are and plan on streaming it as well. If you want to use a small giveaway or something as well (Though set it up to reward your regulars not bring in people  only there to win something). Make an announcement on your discord so everyone is getting hyped about it as well too. If it is a multi player game then you are also able to connect with fellow friends and streamers and try out some multi streams. This can be a great way to connect across a few communities and work on building a connection with others if you want to.

Playing the newest game doesn’t have to be hard or rough for smaller streamers. It just takes some planning and some hard work into it though. Look at all of the big streamers, some get new overlays, some get new alerts or sounds, they make a big production about a hyped up game they are able to play. Look at yourself regardless of viewers in the same way and I’m sure you may also find some success too!

-StaySeeJ08

420, A stoned blog post!

Life, , , , , , , , ,

As many of you know, I do smoke weed. Call me a hypocrite though as I’m writing this on April 13th and I am in fact not stoned as it is 12:30pm. I don’t normally smoke during the day through the week Monday-Friday only in the evenings and I do write these out to be scheduled in order to save time! Not to mention, if I schedule them I am able to not miss out on a week too! Being a new mom takes responsibility and I cannot be high all day every day like I was when before I was pregnant. Before I had become pregnant with my son and weed became legal in Canada I was smoking weed any chance I got! After school, wake and bake on the weekend, and all night and day long! It was easy when you didn’t have to look after a tiny human that’s for sure! Here is my take on weed, and if it is legal where you are, enjoy a toke too!

I first started smoking weed when I was 16 years old. The second time I smoked it in fact, I nearly got caught! I was over at a friends house and his uncle was the husband to my moms friend. Needless to say he basically called us out and I had to lie to my mom saying that I was not smoking weed at all. And after that I just had to be more careful when it came to getting high! I probably did a lot of stupid things too though. My best friend and I used to say we would go to the store. We never did. We would bring wrappers of candy and use those and tell my parents or hers that we ate the candy on the way home. What we actually did was go to the woods up from my house along the path and smoke weed. Rain or shine we were there, no joke! Not to mention the countless hot boxes and Jamaican rains that have been done over the years also too!

Now as most think, or seen to think, weed is as you would expect anything to be that is “drug” related to be controversial. Here where I live, in Canada, Weed is legal everywhere as long as you are of age in the province where you live. Though there is debate to raise the age to 21 due to the fact that weed effects the growing brain and in teenagers the brain does not stop growing til you are above the age of 20 or so. Which I can understand why it is such a taboo subject.

As someone who does smoke weed regularly except for the odd times when I would go a month or two without smoking (And of course, I never smoked when I became pregnant with my son!) I am a firm believer that weed should be treated just as alcohol. You should be of age and you also should be responsible as well. No driving or whatever you wouldn’t do while drinking. Responsibility is key when consuming these type of things as well too. I think as far as Canada is there seems to be not a MAJOR rise in weed related offenses in the eyes of the law as well. Which I think is a good thing.

For me personally, I prefer smoking weed over drinking. Not that there is anything wrong with either if done in moderation of course however for some reason smoking a joint has just appealed to me way more then getting drunk off my face. Maybe it is because |I feel like I am in more control when I smoke weed (Don’t let that confuse you with thinking that I feel like I am invincible!). The way I see it is this. If I smoke a joint at 4pm, Relax and hang out, by 10pm or so I should be good enough to go anywhere if I wanted to, ie maybe drive home from a friends or maybe to the store or whatever. If I was to start drinking at 4pm I really can only have ONE drink and that means basically nothing because I wont be able to catch a buzz, and anything more I wont risk at all due to the fact if I am pulled over and asked to take a roadside sobriety test then I could be in very deep crap!

That being said, I wasn’t always making smart decisions. When I was a teenager (Like most!) I would drive around with friends as we smoked weed. I never had my license but would be a trusted shot gun comfort. Sure looking back that was an extremely stupid thing to do. Was there a lot of Red Flag” moments? Of course there was! Would I change it? Possibly. But it was fun none the less and I would probably be upset if my own kid was doing the same thing when he grows older! As my mom always said, Do as I say not as I do.

Weed was probably something that helped me to connect with a group of people not to mention when I was a teenager it probably helped me stay sane while I was in an abusive relationship too. Though weed was also one of the many reasons we fought it also was something I used to connect with friends and what not too.

I guess what I am trying to say is don’t be stupid if you wish to smoke weed. Enjoy the art of what it is to get high and embrace the journey you are about to take and create some memories! And if you don’t agree with that, It is okay too!

Before I end this wacky and fun to write blog post Ill leave you with this, when I was in college there was a girl who had a saying on her Facebook page. And I firmly believe it. “Weed, For making the bad times good, And the good times better!”

-StaySeeJ08