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On Twitch, you can never log off

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Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#141

Post by Kiro »

brailsafe wrote: post #43
quequeque wrote: post #8

Twitch has become a much lower risk more rewarding place for many creators who want to make "low effort" content in respect to edited/curated videos. Earlier this week a content creator with ~4,000-5,000 average concurrent viewers (~300th biggest by follow count) leaked his "bounty board" of advertisements he could show to his viewers, this included a $1195 "bounty" to watch a 1 minute trailer and a $7365 "bounty" to…

Was that Asmon?

Since when does Asmon have 4000 viewers? Last I checked he had 75k.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#142

Post by BlargMcLarg »

Farow wrote: post #124
thefz wrote: post #114

Quoted post unavailable.

A streamer has to compete with every other streamer for viewers/income. They're basically trying to sell their personality / themselves to the audience. As other comments mention, the vast majority of streamers cannot do that as they have literally no viewers. The take that it's an easy job seems very weird to me. If it's so easy, why don't you quit your job and start streaming instead?

Because whether it is easy is entirely dependent on who you are and what perspective you look at it from.

If you're a nobody with average skills, see you in a few years with sub 10 viewers, maybe. A nobody with some particular skills, still going to take a while. Exploiting a niche as a particularly charismatic nobody, you'll break through maybe in a few months. Happen to strike rich with a few clips, there is your momentum to make it happen. The vast, vast majority falls in the first category.

Oh, you're already a somebody (500+)? Yeah just play the meta, sellout a few times a year and do what you want mostly. At that point you can do the bare minimum and make it work, as long as you don't self-destruct entirely. Or actually try and make it even more difficult for newer streamers while working to 7 figures. Bonus points, all the positivity will reinforce you to do special things. Almost any problem has a solution in the form of hiring a third party, drowning it out or ignoring it at this point.

Looking at the top makes it seem like the easiest job ever, and to a degree, that is true. Looking at it from the bottom, even retail seems better.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#143

Post by Kiro »

weird-eye-issue wrote: post #27

Surprised this doesn't mention Asmongold. He just took months off from streaming and just came back like last week, and already just hit over 50,000 paid subscribers again. (In those months off he was streaming on his non-monetized alt channel where he doesn't feel any pressure with streaming and earns nothing.) Streamers have to also be doing YouTube or creating alternate revenue streams because live streaming will…

Wasn't he streaming on his alt (zackrawrr)?

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#144

Post by ilyt »

esskay wrote: post #121
pocketarc wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the same kind of thinking that leads to people saying that sitting at a computer isn’t real work, couldn’t possibly be exhausting. It’s not back-breaking work, after all. Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about.

Genuinely curious here as I dont think I have ever watched anyone on twitch. Compared to software dev as an example - a very mentally taxing job, what comparable challenges do twitch streamers have?

Well, it's essentially one man entertainment show, you can't "just play the game", you need to provide entertainment to the viewer.

That can be anything from "just" playing the game well and commenting on what is happening, why you're doing this or that etc, thru roleplaying (in games that allow that) to essentially using gaming as background for a bit of comedy

Something akin to TV host.... with no guests to bounce the jokes off, and having to do production themselves, for hours at end. And figuring out what people like and how to promote yourself.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#145

Post by knaik94 »

trap_goes_hot wrote: post #94

Not being able to take a day off sounds horrible. Is it possible to pre-record and queue up videos or is it always live?

It is always live, there have been doubts, but a common joke/trope is a streamer calling out a specific chatter by name saying "is this prerecorded? no _name_, this is not prerecorded".

Queuing videos is okay and when streamers have to take a break to fix equipment or use the restroom they keep it up. As long as chat is actively moderated, you can do anything for the most part. I don't know if there's an unwritten rule about having to show yourself on screen at least once though. I imagine a lot less people would show up or stay if they couldn't see hear or see the streamer.

There's things like study with me streamers where they just read a book or study in front of the camera. There's even sleeping streams where some people sleep on camera. Sometimes they are doing a 24/48 hours stream challenge.

Ludwig, a very well respected creator, did a subathon where each new sub extended the time he continuously streamed by a little. He ended up streaming for 30 days.

I think prerecorded is the only real taboo culturally. There's streams where a creator will say, chat send me things to watch, and they just watch with chat for hours and react. There was a time during which streamers were pushing the limits of DMCA striking and some streams watched seasons of master chef and other popular shows on stream.

This article does a poor job exploring the nuance of the situation or even the diversity of content people make.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#146

Post by kennyadam »

hn_user2 wrote: post #137
thefz wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about. You can't be serious. Streaming yourself in a hot tub playing with an inflatable ball is a job? Then it's softcore porn, at best. These people are paid to be literally playing video games .

Whether it is softcore porn or "playing video games", I don't doubt it is work. It might not be as hard as writing a database, but neither is as hard as digging a trench on a construction site. They are being paid to be entertainers. A majority of people streaming don't get any noticable viewership even though they "play video games" every day. The people getting paid are entertaining (to some segment of the populati…

How much money have you given to Pokimane? Be honest.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#147

Post by knaik94 »

emodendroket wrote: post #7

It seems like operating a channel shared between a few people might alleviate some of these concerns.

There is an example of a shared channel, BotezLive is a channel where Alexandra Botez Woman FIDE Master and Andrea Botez, sisters, make chess content. They are usually making content together though.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#148

Post by kaashif »

thefz wrote: post #123
pocketarc wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the same kind of thinking that leads to people saying that sitting at a computer isn’t real work, couldn’t possibly be exhausting. It’s not back-breaking work, after all. Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about.

> Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about. You can't be serious. Streaming yourself in a hot tub playing with an inflatable ball is a job? Then it's softcore porn, at best. These people are paid to be literally playing video games .

Playing a competitive game like League of Legends at a high level for 12 hours a day while engaging/entertaining viewers is more stressful and mentally taxing than most software engineering jobs. And the median streamer isn't paid much.

You probably don't have the skills to do this - as the article shows, even the vast majority of streamers can't make it work, let alone non streamers.

This isn't an argument that applies to softcore porn streamers, that's a different kind of work altogether. The dynamics of watching a good player to be entertained is different to that of lonely guys donating to someone attractive.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#149

Post by elevader »

esskay wrote: post #121
pocketarc wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the same kind of thinking that leads to people saying that sitting at a computer isn’t real work, couldn’t possibly be exhausting. It’s not back-breaking work, after all. Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about.

Genuinely curious here as I dont think I have ever watched anyone on twitch. Compared to software dev as an example - a very mentally taxing job, what comparable challenges do twitch streamers have?

I'd guess it's similar to a job in the entertainment industry, like being a host of a TV show. You won't get very far by just sitting there playing some games, you have to be entertaining, engage with the audience, provide commentary etc. And do all of this with a happy face/mood for 6-12 hours, preferably every single day. And when you're not streaming you most likely do social media stuff.

I know of a streamer who got "big" (enough to earn a living) by playing factorio. At some point he burnt out on the game and tried different things but his audience didn't really care for that and income broke down substantially, so it wasn't sustainable anymore. So he continued playing factorio without actually enjoying that so that he could make a living for his family. Just like a "real" job.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#150

Post by johannes1234321 »

ilyt wrote: post #134
emodendroket wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another possibility is just using it to capture your own play, for instance if you want to review matches later to try and analyze flaws in your game.

That's massive stretch. Why would anyone do that? Twitch player isn't that great if you want to seek around the video

It works easily and keeping hours and hours of video locally still requires quite some storage space
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