Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one • Hacker News Board

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#91

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:32 PM UTC

metalliqaz wrote: post #60

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I play Heroes of the Storm, so I sometimes open their esports tournament stream and keep it playing on the side. If a match looks interesting I'll pay attention or note the teams that are playing so I can revisit the VOD later. For big StarCraft tournaments I sometimes tune in to major events as well. You can always watch the VODs later, but it's fun to chat with people during the games, or posting your thoughts whil…

Yeah tournaments I get. Like sports, it's a big event. I was referring mostly to the nightly gamers that were featured in the article.

[deleted]

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#92

Post by emodendroket » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:35 PM UTC

Twisol wrote: post #29

metalliqaz wrote: post #14

What I don't understand about Twitch is how anyone has time to consume this content. When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model. Twitch is a step in the other direction, where if you faithfully consume content from any Twitch channel, you have to sit down and watch for hours every night when the streamer is online. Who does that? I imagine it'…

Twitch has offered VODs ("videos on demand") for streams for a number of years now, and people who can't see all the streams generally have at least a week to catch up on any content they particularly wanted to see. Skimming works particularly well if you just want the high points. Where Twitch's live model works really well is in having a community of people all watching together. Streamers often engage with their a…

Some of them also do Q&A. Fighting game streams have that a lot.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#93

Post by brootstrap » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

Tactic wrote: post #42

metalliqaz wrote: post #14

What I don't understand about Twitch is how anyone has time to consume this content. When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model. Twitch is a step in the other direction, where if you faithfully consume content from any Twitch channel, you have to sit down and watch for hours every night when the streamer is online. Who does that? I imagine it'…

As someone that views Twitch every day I can say I never watch the entirety of a stream. You drop in and view when you have time. It is less akin to watching a TV show and more like going to your friends house and hanging out to watch some of the game. For the record I'm a 51 year old professional.

Yeah this is close to what I do as well. I have a few people that i've found on twitch and like to hop on for a little while to say what up. The only time i seriously watched twitch for hours was when hob was doing the dark souls trilogy no hit run. I was watching for hours lol my wife really grew to hate that haha.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#94

Post by eeeuo » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

theNJR wrote: post #84

degenerate wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same boat. I find a chill streamer that doesn't talk much and plays a game I like. I set the TV to 30 minute timer and watch for ~10 minutes before falling asleep. This is similar to people that fall asleep to shows they like -- see https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurama_Sleepers/

Whoa. I am a The Office sleeper and had no idea that was a thing. There's something comforting about knowing I'm not the only one.

The entire ASMR sleep community is built around this premise as well, fwiw.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#95

Post by bumholio » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

jcfrei wrote: post #17

Very interesting article. I have nothing substantial to add I just want to point out how "cyberpunky" the lives of some people have become. Twenty years ago this would have fit right into the storyline of a dystopian cyberpunk novel about poor streamers who spend all day in front of a computer screen trying to become the most popular "gamer in the online gaming community".

It's a story as old as the world: trying to get noticed while doing essentially the same thing as the successful kids, but lacking that essential element of luck or genetics, that last second on the chronometer, that "in" preexisting social circle.

It's the life of all those trying to enter into high risk, highly coveted careers that afford celebrity: authorship, sports, politics, music or film. The field might be changing but the game remains the same: humans mostly value what other humans happen to value, the other 99.99% comparable but unknown products are simply discarded.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#96

Post by Twisol » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:39 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #88

metalliqaz wrote: post #14

What I don't understand about Twitch is how anyone has time to consume this content. When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model. Twitch is a step in the other direction, where if you faithfully consume content from any Twitch channel, you have to sit down and watch for hours every night when the streamer is online. Who does that? I imagine it'…

I moderate a Twitch channel that has about 800 viewers for any given stream. (1100 paid subscribers or thereabout.) I don't do it every day, but I do find the streamer entertaining and I play the game he streams, so it's a somewhat educational (you can apply what you watch to your own gameplay) way to zone out and not do any thinking. Sometimes you feel like watching, sometimes you feel like playing. Since I started…

As a once-moderator for a smaller stream, I can definitely confirm that there is gold in them Twitch chat hills. Community shaping is important and often overlooked, and it really does help to have a moderation team that cares! It helps that my streamer is more of a variety streamer than someone who sticks to a single game or two, so he has a large core of viewers who are there for him and his friends, not just for the game at hand.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#97

Post by welly » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:41 PM UTC

izzydata wrote: post #64

com2kid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and each Twitch stream attracts over two thousand viewers. It's not a good way to make a living. To contrast with that, I know twitch streamers whose channel averages out at around 300 viewers a time, and who make a very comfortable living. Having a properly run channel that encourages donations, cash and bits, is a huge part of it. I've seen streamers who pull an easy $200 a day in donations. Add in 500 or so subs…

Trying to win the lottery is not a good life goal.

Is aspiring to being a top Twitch streamer any different than those aspiring to be a top musician, artist or actor?

You'd have to be fantastic at your particular game or whatever they stream on Twitch (I know absolutely nothing about this platform) and great at self promotion. Not unlike wanting to be a rock star or movie star.

I fail to see how it's any more like a lottery win than being in other forms of media, other than it's a very new platform (in the grand scheme of things).

It wouldn't be for me but I'm sure plenty of people are making plenty of money and Twitch has its own Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus (or whoever is the pop star of choice today. Yeah, I'm getting old).

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#98

Post by mileycyrusXOXO » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:41 PM UTC

Tactic wrote: post #42

metalliqaz wrote: post #14

What I don't understand about Twitch is how anyone has time to consume this content. When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model. Twitch is a step in the other direction, where if you faithfully consume content from any Twitch channel, you have to sit down and watch for hours every night when the streamer is online. Who does that? I imagine it'…

As someone that views Twitch every day I can say I never watch the entirety of a stream. You drop in and view when you have time. It is less akin to watching a TV show and more like going to your friends house and hanging out to watch some of the game. For the record I'm a 51 year old professional.

I always have a hard time explaining why I enjoy Twitch but I think you just encapsulated it.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#99

Post by mbesto » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:42 PM UTC

metalliqaz wrote: post #14

What I don't understand about Twitch is how anyone has time to consume this content. When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model. Twitch is a step in the other direction, where if you faithfully consume content from any Twitch channel, you have to sit down and watch for hours every night when the streamer is online. Who does that? I imagine it'…

> When it comes to sitting on your butt and watching something, the traditional TV show is moving to an on-demand model.

Just b/c it's moving that way doesn't mean that behavior is going to go away. People watch CNN/FOX for hours straight (usually not attentively watching it mind you). This is no different.

Re: Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

#100

Post by nickjj » Mon, Jul 16, 2018, 4:42 PM UTC

You could replace this title with "Programmers who spend years creating a SAAS app that no one uses" and it would be the same article.

All of these streamers who are bothered by not having an audience seem to have started for the wrong reasons. If all they care about are subscribers and viewers, then you're going to get really burnt out when that doesn't happen. Most of the popular streamers who I've come across do it because they enjoy it.

The same can be said for the people who create successful SAAS apps. It's a mix of enjoying what they do, combined with making something that no one else has yet. It's not to get rich quick.