Tag Archives: Gaming

Begging for Money? Subs? Does it work?

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We all know someone who has begged for subscribers or money or whatever have you in the streaming world. To the viral clips that get a lot of attention of streamers calling out their viewers for not saving 5 dollars to subscribe and financially support their channels. Does it work, Maybe. But I know for sure that the attention these clips get these particular channels is actually insane. To the retweets and comments on them is worth it? Today we talk about if begging for money from your viewers or anyone in general works.

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I also want to state that these are my opinions and some of this may sound blunt and insensitive. I am sorry if that is the case however I will not be changing my opinion on this in order to please the people who may be offended by this.

Let’s begin with the “boo hoo” stories. This is where you hear of someone losing their job, or quitting and having no money for rent and things. I have also seen this in streamers who have the desire to go full time without having the means to. Instead of being financially stable before they take the plunge into streaming full time as a profession, they quit their decently paying job in hopes that their community will now fund them. I have no sympathy for people like this. Why? Because they were unprepared by what they set out to do. If you want to take streaming seriously and if you want to do it full time you sure as hell should make sure that you are able to do it full time before even if that means saving money for months to ensure that your “Giving this a Go” is also having the ability to pay your bills and not rely on a community to do so. What is worse or at least in my opinion (Again) Is when you see a streamer attempting the full time aspect of streaming and suddenly you see them with brand new colored hair, new makeup and manicures, but they continue to complain that their bills aren’t being paid. This doesn’t even make sense and if their community is anything like me, I do not want to support someone ESPECIALLY if they are begging for money for bills and using it on luxuries.

Let’s officially talk about those viral videos for money. We know if you actually use twitter remotely related to your streaming that chances are you are able to see all of the different clips of bigger and popular streamers getting essentially “angry” at their community for not giving them money. They may have a sub goal, they may have bills or something they need money for and they are “upset” that they aren’t being consistently subbed to. Why did I use quotes there? Because, Some of these people I THINK make these clips or comments because they know they will end up on a live stream fails list or viral on twitter and it will pull in more people to their streams. Sure, a lot of trolls will also end up going there. That is for sure true. However there is probably a lot of people who may be also going there to “help out” as well too.

Being direct with how you approach your community and your financial goals could really be how you categories the above with viral clips. You are honest and upfront with goals like “I need x amount of money for x bill by such and such date”. Sometimes communities like the direct approach and how honest a streamer is with them. Other ways streamers have set up goals but are super vague with a mini goal in the background of their streams or incorporated in to their overlays as well. Which can equally be effective if they aren’t talking about it but they do see that it and help out when they can.

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Continuously talking about money on stream is probably one of the biggest no-nos you can do though. When you talk about money on stream all the time whether you are broke or have a lot of it you really aren’t making your viewers feel like they are part of the community. You know xQc? He is one of the biggest streamers in the world who probably makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, Do you ever hear him talk about money on stream? Not really. Because it really isn’t anyone’s business and if he was to do that do you think he would be as successful as he is if he did? If you make your viewers seem like the only thing you are interested in is their money they will not want to stick around. This also goes for showing interest in people who subscribe or donate a lot and as soon as they don’t you don’t show much love to them. When I was back working and kid free I too would donate to a few folks. Sure it was great when it was payday and they were excited to see you getting into harmless bit wars with people, But as soon as that money is gone suddenly it is all changed and you barely get a Hi out of the streamer anymore. It certainly does not make me want to stick around when the only interest the streamer had in me was whether or not I could financially support them.

Lastly, how about we stop making streamers who do talk about their financial goals look like aliens? Talking about goals is healthy and a great way to to fill in your community on your aspirations. Whether it is to buy and upgrade your equipment for streaming or you simply would like to buy a new game or toy for your kids. Letting them know your goals and that financial support is an option. Just make sure that your viewers also know that like financial support there is also ways to support that aren’t financial as well too!

Setting Boundaries as a Streamer

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Setting boundaries as a streamer are extremely important. Let’s face it, There are some pretty screwed up people in the world and having a stalker is an all too real thing out there. How much you share with your community is ultimately your choice. However you don’t want to say too much. Remember, It is a lot easier to not over share then it is to over share and regret saying too much. I will also tell you how much I share with my chat and why I don’t share certain things with them also. There really is no right way or wrong way with how much you want to share with your  viewers it all goes on personal preference. I know I have watched streamers share a whole lot and others not even share their real name!

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DO NOT SHARE YOUR LOCATION!
I swear you would be surprised how many people do this. For myself I do not mind sharing a VERY rough location. ie: I live outside of Halifax. This is a huge city and if someone wants to find out where they will have a very hard time trying to find out where exactly I am. You would be surprised and a bit unsettled when you see and hear of streamers getting swatted (Police called to their residence) or having followers/viewers randomly show up at their homes. This is a complete invasion of privacy and can be extremely alarming as well too. Our homes are our space and there is a reason why we need to be careful for this. I would also suggest that this includes where your camera (If you use one) is facing. If you say live near a very easily figured out location, and your webcam is facing a window people can find out where you are located simply in a few clicks or searches. I don’t have anything by the homes that I lived in that would really show where I live but I know just as I have done if there is a window behind me chances are there is curtains that are always closed. Not that I really think about this when doing streams and where my cam faces just that I always had my curtains closed even in other rooms of the house.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Last name
This one can be tricky. For me personally, I don’t advertise my last name however I believe if you tip I do think it shows up and I’m okay with that. Chances are if you are tipping a streamer most times people are supporting the person and aren’t going to spill their name to people. That being said this can also be pointless if you are say a pro e-sports player because more often than not your name is already out there when you compete for your team too. If you have a lot of trolls then you might not want to share this also too. However remember if you are making a username or email and you use any part of your name that can kind of defeat the purpose. I know a few folks on twitter who have their full names there which can be a bummer. Especially if they want to keep that side of their real lives personal.

Any type of personal information can be used to trace where you are. Therefore it is extreme important especially as you grow to manage what you say to your community. It can easily slip out and once it’s out there it can be extremely hard to get it back. If you have a few viewers it can be easy to forget and as you grow that not all viewers can be kind. Or if you have the same bunch of folks in your channel regularly you can easily grow close to them that when new people come in to chat it can be hard to adjust what you have said or shared.

It is also important to know, the more personal you are with your chat the easier connections will be. Chats love when a streamer makes them feel like a friend even if they are not that friendly. Making a streamer seem real with real issues and stories is a lot better then a streamer who is a wall and has no connections with them. For me, as a viewer I will watch streamers who connect more on a personal level then ones who don’t. Why? Because if I wasn’t looking for a personal level connection I would simply watch youtube videos. I like the real time interaction of Twitch and a streamer who is personal even without spilling all of their personal information. It also seems that (From what I can see) The more personal a streamer is the better success they have. If someone is all robotic, shares very little, starts stream and just playing games, a person cannot connect it will be hard to bring new people in for sure.

For me. I would like to think that as a streamer I am a personal one. There are things I never mention though have slipped up before. My Bf for example does not want me to say his name on stream. We refer to him as “Space” Mind you there have been times that I have slipped up and said his name but that is not a HUGE deal though. There are also times when I tell stories about my family or friends and most times especially when referring to my brother and sister I don’t say their names either. My camera is pointed at a wall and not a window so that folks cannot see anything outside of my house. Not that I live near any landmarks but it is better safe than sorry in these types of situations. I want to be open and honest with my stream because I treat them as I would my friends. Even if we are a streamer/viewer relationship I want them to feel like it is a safe space. If I wanted it to be a production and totally planned out then I would have a green screen, keep chatter to a minimum and not connect at all.

Be safe out there and remember, setting high boundaries in the beginning is okay, because when you set them low and want them higher, It may be a lot harder to reign them back in if you want to change them!

What Got Me Into Gaming

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A lot of people or kids growing up, I would assume can relate to video games in some way, shape or another. Whether you were a casual gamer or given a time limit from being obsessed with gaming from the start (this was me) can understand why there is such a vast appeal for gaming even at a young age as well. And if you were not as fortunate as some to have a console chances are you had friends who did have some that you would check out whenever you went there for a sleep over or after school fun!

The early days of my gaming were spent with my brother and sister and occasionally my mom trying to get the furthest on our Nintendo. My mom had another daughter who had passed away from a disease called Fanconi’s anemia. I wont go into detail in this post but you can read more about that here. We would all try to see who could get the furthest in an afternoon (remember there is no saves!) And try to get to Bowser than rescue princess peach! We also would try to play games that my dad had like a boat racing one that I cannot for the life of me remember as well as duck hunt. We even had the bright orange almost neon gun that was made of plastic and you used to shoot the ducks. If you missed be prepared to be taunted by the dog popping up over the tall grass too.

After playing this for years and seemingly being the only games my mom could kind of play with us, we received the original play station from Santa. And our family friends had gifted us destruction derby and Spyro the dragon (I know this really ages myself eh?). We played this for hours and hours. And as our friends got different games we would trade them for a week or two til we met them again. This was a good and free way for all of us to get different games without paying a rental fee or buying new games. And if we liked it we would end up saving our allowance to buy it. We ended up saving for the Crash Bandicoot’s and Spyro’s once they all came out as we loved those games a lot.

As we got older, my sister kind of fell off the bandwagon of gaming. Unless it was a classic she did not really want to be interested in them. My brother would slowly trade in the consoles he had as time went on getting a Nintendo game cube, then the ps2 when it came out. As well with games we would do the same thing. Trade them in for different ones at a local video game store. I normally got the same ones as always being the Spyro and Crash Bandicoots. They would be my top favorite and occasional other story games also too. My brother would trade them in for the newest resident evil games. I liked watching him play but even that gave me nightmares so I never played them myself. And he would always get the newest Super Mario or Mario Sunshine Games as well too.

As I got older and was in collage I jumped on the guitar hero bandwagon. I loved playing them in my dorm with my friends however it was always a joke and good time. Though my ex who was an absolute piece of garbage would smash them and replace them when he was mad at me. Thankfully he is out of my life since I was 20 and I have my current boyfriend of 10+ years who appreciates gaming as well too.

When my currently boyfriend and I first got together I did a bit of dabbling in call of duty on his ps3? Or maybe ps4? I’m not entirely sure I am nearly positive it was the play station 3, but I did play a bit due to not working a whole lot and when I stayed at his house he would be at work and I would have nothing to do. This was short lived because I eventually got a second job and had nearly no time left for anything let alone gaming.

Fast forward to when my boyfriend started playing Rainbow Six Siege. He was playing with someone who would be streaming. I was not really back into gaming however I did download a game on my laptop called Stardew Valley. It was such a fun game and reminded me of Harvest Moon from way back when I was a child. The more I watched him play Rainbow Six on his computer the more I thought that I could do that. Since he was on the PC I wanted to play but decided to start on the PS4. I found a few people from his friends stream who also played on console. And here we are today. I barely game on my (his) PS4 and I have my own computer. I did use his old potato after he upgraded but that was short lived due to it being so old and slow.

Now as of today, I would say I am a semi regular streamer streaming 3 days a week and trying to grow my community to include people from all around the globe. I know the impact and friendships that I have made streaming are some of the closest people I am in contact with today. So much so I probably talk to them more than my own family at times. The bond we have and the way you can disconnect from reality when gaming is incredible.

That being said, As silly as I thought it was when I was a child. I will more than likely limit screen time with my own children. There is nothing wrong with gaming or having some time on the screen however I do believe that an hour or two can quickly turn in to too many and then it becomes an addiction and a root of a lot of fights. I seen that with folks who had children far before I did. Sometimes it can be hard growing up with so much technology to remember that when I was a 90s kid there really was not a whole lot of technology around we had to essentially make our own fun!

What consoles did you have if any growing up?
What is your all time favorite video game?

Let me know in the comments below and I cannot wait to hear all about them!

  • Stacey

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December Update

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December is a month I am looking forward to the most this year. Why you may ask, Because it means that HOPEFULLY next year I will be on my way back to Nova Scotia and away from Quebec. This province is actually a different country INSIDE of Canada. A blog in the future will be coming out about that though. Not to mention my favorite holiday is also in December which after is my Birthday month! More blogs coming as well for the holidays I just have to really think about them and type them up this week! Now that my house is decorated and things as well too!

I’m quitting weed. Ok. Let’s not get too crazy here. I’m not really quitting but I am drastically cutting back. That is for sure. The reality of weed and me is that when I smoke I get lazy, as in I’ll stop the stream earlier than I would like, not helping me grow or be consistent. I already stream at a peek hour in the evening which is not ideal for someone who wants to grow or see any type of improvement since so many heavy hitters are also on as well. I am ending the stream after an hour which I am not happy about doing since it doesn’t really get people who know the stream to really get involved too! Not to mention I then beat myself up about it because I know ending a stream early is not helping any thing I am looking to achieve. I also have no self control high. I literally will eat and eat and eat til I feel like crap and do it all again the next time. From here on out no more high streams and only smoking on Friday and Saturday. However when I see results with pounds being gone I’m sure it may be even less. Though there will be a special time when I probably have a puff or so on stream it just wont be in the way of my goals for the channel too! Not to mention it doesn’t help my weight AT ALL either!

Stream schedule will be adding back Sundays as an art stream. I used to do those every Sunday morning last year as part of an emote re-creation wall. Then the year was over and I didn’t know what to do. I’m bringing this back in part for myself. I miss crafting and art. So by putting it in the stream I’m a little forced to do it. Mentally I think it will help me have a creative outlet while being cooped up inside due to Covid.

Blog direction will be steering away from streams or streaming subjects. The support I received from the weight loss struggles has been overwhelming, not to mention after nearly a year of blogging, it made me realize that obviously streaming topics were complete misses. I’ll be keeping it to  a more personal and open subject, just life to parenting to my opinion too. Sure maybe streaming subjects will pop up from time to time but it won’t be anytime soon! I think we will also be trying to re-vamp the blog a bit and make it more personal. To really lean away from the whole streaming section. Make it more appealing and more interesting for people to want to read it. Not to mention I have to think of a catchy name for the blog as well too. Which can be challenging in itself since it can sometimes make or break a blog! I want it to be captivating and capture what the blog is really about! And obviously a touch of humor too!

YouTube will be changing in part with the weed thing. I can’t record baked beauty if I’m barely smoking weed maybe once I get a handle on my eating I will bring it back, but for now a mini break. I have 2 video ideas for uploads in January. it will be still Monday and Fridays. Mondays will be the crafting or creating section but sped up and put to music like a satisfying video. Friday’s will be a stream highlight video. Both should be fairly easy to edit. I need to really manage my time and think about how I can not spend a lot of time editing one video. I need to really think about ways to not spend a long time on a video, when I spend a long time on a video I find myself being extremely lazy and unmotivated to keep going.

Content Overall I think will be taking a major step forward with planning the next year to be successful. I really am trying to plan my blogs and videos so that I don’t miss anything and I can be consistent. I am my own biggest critique. When I plan big things and I dont do them right or I slack I then spiral and slack even more about it. I need to set myself up for success and I think with me planning and having a clearer mind it will really help in the long run for sure!

Crafting and Me time as much as I didn’t want to schedule this I think adding it back into the streams will be great. I really enjoyed when we did the emote artwork on my channel every Sunday morning. Mind you, with a baby they will be in the evenings but I think it will be a great way to have a little creative moments and self care for myself to start the week. Sometimes I find myself getting lazy when it comes to things that I enjoy. I don’t have to do a full stream of it but if we just hung around with members of my community and did artwork and what not I think that will be a great start to some good growth and pulling in viewers who just want to relax without game play.

The reality is I say all these things I just hope I can really stick to them! I have a good feeling that this could be a good month and here is hoping I keep the momentum going though! I need to remember that if I slip up though to not be so hard on myself and when or if it happens not to let the one day snow ball! That is a downfall I have where I let one slip up continue and I shouldn’t be like that!

See you at the end of the month for another update! And prep your belly’s for some sweet blogs this month!

-StaySeeJ08

Streaming with other Streamers, Making connections with their Community

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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.

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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

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

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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

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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

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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?

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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