Streaming has Changed
Streaming isn’t what it used to be. In the early days of Livestream, you could boot up Procaster at any time and screen cap your entire desktop to show a small emulator window. Playing Pokemon and streaming in 320p was enough to get by with 20-30 viewers.
Today, streaming is much more complicated. Competing for viewers’ attention are thousands of live streams, doing much of the same thing you do. You need the best hardware, software, designs, personality, game popularity, the list goes on. Earlier on, being live as much as possible was very important, but now that’s not a viable approach. You can’t be live all the time, and there will always be someone else live when your channel shuts down for the day.
Recently, I have asked those streaming on the Vidya Shorts channel to consider using their own channels for most streams, and saving big group events for the Vidya Shorts channel. I was planning to stream the majority on the Vidya Shorts channel, but have since changed my mind on that. I will now also be streaming on my own channel.
In many respects, the “main” channel philosophy has worked against us. The channel having a website name has made anonymous the person streaming. New viewers don’t identify who is streaming, just where they are streaming. Additionally, with multiple games and faces, there was no chance for any one person to establish an identity. Further, having a “main” channel on the hub that was considered “more important” threatened the sense of community we strive for on the website.
Today with thousands of streams running at all times, you can only hope to stand out by making a name for yourself and having a “thing” that makes your streams your own. You have to bring something unique, something consistent, and something fun every time you stream. Giving a lasting impression to a viewer will have them follow, and letting them know that when they come back they’ll have a similar experience is the only way they will return.
Going forward, I ask that you find your niche and make a name for yourself. I will be striving to find the same thing for my stream. In doing this, I believe we will find that our viewers will become interested in joining our community when they know better who represents it. The Vidya Shorts channel will remain for tournaments, competitions, group streams and charities. Additionally, our leaders, myself included, will continue to network and grow our community as we always have. I will remain a resource to you for streaming help or anything else. I will also share here overlays and streaming tips as I develop them for my own channel, as I want everyone’s stream to thrive. If you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected]. Have a great stream!
