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On Twitch, you can never log off

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Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#71

Post by ivalm »

imtyler wrote: post #57
Semaphor wrote: post #40

I watch a streamer (cooking) with a bunch of autoimmune diseases. She has a lot fewer people watching than anyone mentioned here (30-100, but a far higher percent than normal donate), but she’s also scared of taking days off, mainly because she knows it’s a job. It makes me sad when I see her stream while one of her diseases is flaring up, but unlike the rich streamers, they need the money.

"...she’s also scared of taking days off, mainly because she knows it’s a job..." At risk of sounding cold, why would anyone think YouTube/Twitch is a job? Honestly confused. Is there money there? Like, for an average person, aside from the platform celebrities?

Sweet Anita (streamer quoted) makes at least in the low 7 figures. She is a celeb, not a normal person.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#72

Post by Semaphor »

whateveracct wrote: post #69
Semaphor wrote: post #40

I watch a streamer (cooking) with a bunch of autoimmune diseases. She has a lot fewer people watching than anyone mentioned here (30-100, but a far higher percent than normal donate), but she’s also scared of taking days off, mainly because she knows it’s a job. It makes me sad when I see her stream while one of her diseases is flaring up, but unlike the rich streamers, they need the money.

Feels like YT is a better fit? Cooking seems better suited to VoDs than streams.

I don’t think you really get donations on YouTube? And her whole stream is very interaction based, there have even been multiple parties where local (= Australian) viewers were visiting and the whole event being livestreamed.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#73

Post by cosmojg »

minton wrote: post #35
geerlingguy wrote: post #19

I treat my media creation as a business. Hours in and ROI are important, especially since I have a family and also try to keep their lives out of my online presence. I looked at adding occasional Twitch livestreams to my output but quickly realized to make it return any kind of sustainable income, you have to practically "become a streamer". There's no slow on-ramp like with YouTube, where you could start earning inc…

A friend wants to start a channel. My instinct was that’s a very long shot (pointless even), but I told them I’d help if I could. Any advice for starting on YouTube?

Same as any other business: give the people what they want, ideally something no one else is giving them.

Otherwise, just do it for yourself, go hard, go deep, and hope for the best.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#74

Post by Semaphor »

ivalm wrote: post #71
imtyler wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"...she’s also scared of taking days off, mainly because she knows it’s a job..." At risk of sounding cold, why would anyone think YouTube/Twitch is a job? Honestly confused. Is there money there? Like, for an average person, aside from the platform celebrities?

Sweet Anita (streamer quoted) makes at least in the low 7 figures. She is a celeb, not a normal person.

That’s who the article is (partially) about, not this sub-thread of mine.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#75

Post by Semaphor »

RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u wrote: post #70
Semaphor wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She doesn’t stream every day (and she has been doing it for 4 years by now), but the schedule is still hard when you are sick.

Sorry I was being imprecise when I said daily in my original reply, when my main point was that consistency's more important than duration. IMHO, once a viewer base is established, one can be sustainable streaming ~3 hours twice a week. If that's still too strenuous due to her illness, then I'm even more sorry for her, and perhaps she should instead -- if not already -- focus her energy on applying for disability ben…

I mean, mostly it works out. Most days she loves streaming. It’s when her diseases flare up that it’s an issue.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#76

Post by cfpg »

minton wrote: post #35
geerlingguy wrote: post #19

I treat my media creation as a business. Hours in and ROI are important, especially since I have a family and also try to keep their lives out of my online presence. I looked at adding occasional Twitch livestreams to my output but quickly realized to make it return any kind of sustainable income, you have to practically "become a streamer". There's no slow on-ramp like with YouTube, where you could start earning inc…

A friend wants to start a channel. My instinct was that’s a very long shot (pointless even), but I told them I’d help if I could. Any advice for starting on YouTube?

Do your thing, use your free time and don't expect anything.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#77

Post by TapWaterBandit »

Semaphor wrote: post #46
diob wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope they live somewhere with good healthcare, this is sad :(

AUS, care for her diseases is pretty much covered. But paid days off of twitch are not a thing.

What's her name? I'd be curious to check out her stream

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#78

Post by CobrastanJorji »

vimwizard wrote: post #53

I think a more interesting story would be about the people that grind for years and years and never make it. You're left without a useful skill and no money, and probably a deficit on your mental health because you didn't go out and talk to people in real life for years. I think its not at all worth getting into as a career because making it big is like starting out as an actor, you have to know people. If you hit it…

The folks who don't make it are an interesting group on their own. Something like 95% of streamers have under five viewers, and the majority of those have exactly zero viewers. Thinking about all those thousands of people broadcasting day in and out to exactly nobody is kind of fascinating. It's not like broadcasting on a ham radio or shouting into the aether or blogging on a little independent site thinking that maybe somebody might be reading it. They know that exactly zero people see it. And they do it for months and months.

There are some interesting articles out there that look at the motivations and experiences of the zero viewer streamers: https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/16/17569520/twitch-streamers...

There are also some websites that send you to streams that nobody is watching: https://nobody.live

Anyway, not really your point, but a fascinating group of people to think about.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#79

Post by hyperhopper »

hypertele-Xii wrote: post #6

Title: On Twitch, you can never log off. Content: Here's some people who logged off Twitch.

And they still make millions a month or year.

Pretty nothingburger article. Millionaires got caught up in the fame and the rat race. Very blurred line between work and personal life. This will happen.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#80

Post by hyperhopper »

Semaphor wrote: post #58
weird-eye-issue wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"we" didn't reach 300-500 viewers, the streamer did. If you want a parasocial relationship then I understand the appeal of smaller streamers

We, the community. If that bothers you, I’m sorry.

I disagree as well. The community didn't do what resulted in the raid. That was the streamer. Yeah you were there watching, but it's like saying "we won" when your favorite sports team wins.
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