tl;dr: Open ended streams are hard to watch. Give some structure or goal to what you’re doing
There are a lot of ways to distract yourself. A lot. I personally watch way too much video content and have a few content creators I particularly like. Recently — and by that I mean in the past few years — content creators have started branching out from YouTube and Vine (RIP) into live streaming, which has gained popularity across genres and platforms. Enabled with just a smart phone, virtually anyone can produce or live-stream videos on their platform of choice. The space is exploding with millions of streamers, but with so much content and limited time to consume, it’s up to you — the viewer — to find something to watch, which can be a daunting task. I see streaming having to develop and find them hard to get on board with today. Let me try to explain why and what’s needed to enhance them:
I have trouble getting invested into streams
I’m a big fan of video content creators and what they do, so I don’t mind supporting them (buying merch, paying to subscribe e.g. YouTube Red). I appreciate the effort to create a joke, commentary or narrative; be it for a 2 minute video mocking relationships, a 6 second Vine, or of course gaming videos. But for the most part, I have trouble getting invested into streams.
It may be because I’ve been bred on TV and movies, but I look for and expect some form of a complete story. Some sort of an introduction, a plot, and an end to give some meaning to what I’m watching; beating a level, finishing a painting, meeting a deadline— anything. Sometimes streams will have a vague goal, but mostly you just have to keep watching with the hope and expectation that something interesting will happen along the way. In contrast, when watching a video from the title and length alone I have an idea of what I’m getting into and for how long.
The quality and reliability of the content greatly suffers
From a creator’s side there is definite appeal to stream: you save time and energy on structuring, planning and editing a post, and instead can provide immediate content for your fans. Plus viewer interaction and feedback is instant, so you know what the people like and want as opposed to waiting for a release and the few days for the comment cycle. However what happens is that as a viewer I feel a bit cheated. If I’m watching a popular stream, I want to see the streamer play the game or get deep into whatever activity they’re doing live. Instead I’m watching someone talk to no one, respond to questions at random posted in their chat, and be distracted. As a viewer it’s a tainted experience and as a commenter you’re effectively trying to shout and repeat yourself in the chat to get noticed. Does this audience interaction bring people back? It seems so. Though I believe the quality and reliability of the content greatly suffers.
In contrast videos are just the creator and the medium they’re dealing with. It’s a gamer focusing entirely on beating a boss and being funny while doing it. It’s Bob Ross narrating his painting and walking through what you can do. Just imagine what it would be like if he stopped every few minutes to respond to “@IlikeBobRoss59" about what music he should be playing in the background or suffer through the donation chimes instead of the calming silence of his paint studio. It’s a very different experience.
Structure sets expectations and lets you get excited for a stream
When the stream has an objective then it’s inherently more interesting. If it’s developing a narrative, or following a hunt with the expectation of resolution or payoff, then it holds your attention. I’m on board to watch a team play for hours to get that dastardly COD easter egg, or watch stupid shenanigans to raise money for a good cause. I’d even watch people play Pokemon in pyjamas for hours on end because I know what the end game is and what they’re working towards. Structure sets expectations and lets you get excited for a stream.
This structure is one reason why event based streams do well; you know what’s on the schedule, you can tune in exactly for what you want, and not at the will of a creator’s whims.
New streaming formats go beyond gaming and painting. With the “stream whenever” idea of Facebook Live and Periscope, you get to follow people on treks through new cities, watch congressmen protest in the Capitol, or follow an NYT reporter on a photo investigation. Sure they can draw similar critique of bowing to the whims of a vocal audience and are open to more distractions and open ended distractions, but they allow for greater possibilities out in the open world.
Streaming is only getting bigger
This space is still in its infancy and has a huge runway for development. On the back end, mountains are moving to support the focus on live-video heavy content. Spearheaded by content providers such as Facebook and Google, the internet’s infrastructure is being upgraded to support the heavy focus on video and streaming. Beyond that, video services companies are getting eaten up — e.g. IBM acquiring Ustream signals a shift as even the enterprise tech-giant is moving to support video streaming. Streaming today is only getting bigger.
I really admire streamers and what they do. To be able to talk out loud about anything for hours on end while trying to be entertaining enough for your audience is no simple feat. More than that I am impressed and inspired by successful streams which have had life-changing effects while still being incredibly entertaining for causes such as Extra Life and Tidal X. But there is still a ways to go. Growth brings in more streamers, but to protect the quality of content I believe choosing your format and giving a stream structure sets expectations and greatly improves the quality. So go ahead, take out your phone and stream your heart out, but set out with a plan.
Savar watches way too many videos, and is a huge Rooster Teeth fan. He works in product management as an Offering Management Associate at IBM
