On Twitch, you can never log off • Hacker News Board

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#101

Post by langsoul-com » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:29 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #28

dmonitor wrote: post #10

Seems like a lot of streamers think that streaming = not working. By the time they realize streaming is a job, they're burnt out. I respect the hell out of Ludwig for this. He treats streaming like a business, and his success speaks for itself. He doesn't foster parasocial relationships, and he avoids as much of the petty streamer drama that he possibly can. He's now transitioned towards large productions that draw i…

Fame is often fleeting which pushes people to try and save for a rainy day even if they are pulling in 6 figures. Adam Ragusea a quite successful YouTuber mentioned being quite burned out because he was doing almost everything for his videos, but said he’s also got 1 million in savings from a job that could go away at any time. For a 40 year old with a family that means a lot if things fall apart. At the other end Ha…

Hacksmith isn't the best counter example. Because he accidentally built himself a business and team that can fully operate without him. And he, the business owner, would still earn revenue.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#102

Post by Atsuii » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:30 AM UTC

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.

The problem here is that no job will cover enough paid leave for a person's chronic health issues. We get 10 days of personal leave a year in Australia outside of our annual leave. I use almost all of my personal leave just to go to medical appointments for my chronic issue let alone take a day off because it's flaring up. It's safe to assume that being able to host a stream within your choice of working hours and in your own space is already making work far more comfortable than what most people with chronic health issues experience at work.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#103

Post by ehnto » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:30 AM UTC

hyperhopper wrote: post #80

Semaphor wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Without the community there's no one to use in the raid, Twitch with no community renders streamers entirely pointless.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#104

Post by holler » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:32 AM UTC

holler wrote: post #96

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 may…

> https://nobody.live Something about that name is hauntingly sad.

Just spent past 20 mins talking to a guy who seemed in great distress! Seems happier now :)

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#105

Post by jatins » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:33 AM UTC

holler wrote: post #97

jatins wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think a more interesting story would be about the people that grind for years and years and never make it. I wonder the same for athletes. Was recently reading Nadal's biography and parts of book describe his routine in childhood and teenage. And my first thought on reading that was "what if he hadn't made it to the top?" because he essentially had no semblance of a regular childhood/teenage. Being out on the fie…

Seems like this could apply to startup founders as well.

Startups are much more team work as compared to success in sports. And success of many startups can be attributed to being in the right circles rather than founder's skill/grit. The modern day founder hero worship is exaggerated imo.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#106

Post by langsoul-com » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:34 AM UTC

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…

This is basically true of any creative endeavour. It takes an insane amount of time/effort with very high opportunity cost.

I guess it's just a question of risk/desire. Are you willing to risk it for a chance, or opt for something more stable like an office job or the like.

I think the world is shifting towards more stability, like how uni degree is for getting a job.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#107

Post by urbanmiffs » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:38 AM UTC

holler wrote: post #96

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 may…

> https://nobody.live Something about that name is hauntingly sad.

I didn't want to click on it. Feels so exploitative.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#108

Post by prox » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:43 AM UTC

holler wrote: post #96

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 may…

> https://nobody.live Something about that name is hauntingly sad.

I like to go in categories I like (a game or passtime like music) and randomly dish out subs with few viewers -if I like it of course-

It’s a great way to support and meet people.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#109

Post by yreg » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:45 AM UTC

Sips (of the Yogscast) is smaller compared to the today’s big names and he has no problem taking vacations or impromptu days off any time he needs to do something else.

And he always said that Twitch ended up working far better for him than YouTube ever did, since the income is more predictable, he doesn’t need to care about editing the videos or worry about demonetization.

Of course on the other end of the scale are people like Amouranth, who IIRC is not only the most watched female streamer, but also the one who streamed the most hours (at least in some given year).

So perhaps it depends whether one treats it as a job - good paying, but a normal job nonetheless - or as an opportunity to grind for a chance to earn tens of millions of dollars.

Re: On Twitch, you can never log off

#110

Post by emodendroket » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:50 AM UTC

ehnto wrote: post #99

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 may…

The stats are a bit skewed I think, because you have to have an account on twitch to participate as a consumer on twitch, so all those 0 view streamers are very possibly people who are actually consumers and had no intention of streaming themselves.

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.