Experiment: My (short) Time as a Twitch Streamer (Entrepreneur)
This was difficult… and I do mean difficult.
Finding Twitch
For those who don’t know, Twitch.tv is an online streaming platform where gamers allow others to watch them play video games. At first thought it may sound dumb, stupid, or any other negative connotation I’ve heard when telling others about it, but it’s surprisingly entertaining. These streamers make a living off of the ad revenue, sponsorships, appearances, and subscribers. It’s recently become more known in mainstream with the tremendous success of Tyler Blevins — aka Ninja. E-Sports (professional gaming) is predicted as one of the next big things (see Dan Gilbert’s, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, deal with Matthew Haag — aka Nadeshot), and streaming will grow along with it.
I came to know about Twitch during law school. I was required to write a paper for my copyright course, and needed a subject matter. I knew streaming was the new wild west with hundreds of these streamers violating copyright laws by blasting their Spotify, iTunes, other videos, etc. To be honest, I got caught up watching certain streamers like Summit1G, and TimTheTatMan. It sounds a bit odd to watch others play video games, but it reminds me of a time sitting at a friend’s house and passing the controller back and forth. It was entertaining to watch them play then, and it’s entertaining to watch the streamer play now.
Twitch became my background noise during my long study sessions during law school, and my long nights working at a law firm. It’s been a few years since finding Twitch, and I still tune in — and yes I do subscribe.
My “Stream Career” — Beginning
I find that to fully understand something, you need to dive right in. Sure, from the outside perspective these streamers appear to be propped up behind their ~$10k+ gaming setups, sitting in their gym shorts, and doing nothing of apparent difficulty. It looks very simple. It actually probably is for the big streamers, now. However, I can tell you the journey to get to their level of success, is a long and very difficult journey — the grind.
During law school for some extra cash, I used to flip gaming PCs. If you don’t know what differentiates a gaming PC from a regular one, then I’m referring to higher GPU power, cooling power, faster processing speeds, more RAM, etc. A bunch of expensive things you don’t need if you’re just playing around on the internet and solitaire. I’d go on CraigsList, find undervalued setups, and just add a touch of magic to increase the value. Side Note: CraigsList is a sketchy, sketchy place.
I decided at one point to give streaming a shot. I did my research, downloaded streaming software (I used OBS), built up a PC with enough power to handle gaming and streaming, and logged on.
That image above… can be a bit depressing. What you’re seeing is ‘0’ live viewers, and ‘0’ total views. Now, I entered into this as merely an experiment with no intention to make it a career, or even a side hustle, but man… I still wanted someone to check out my channel.
I’m a Streamer — My first (and only) Followers
I told very few friends that I was doing this. It felt like an odd thing, like maybe I’m a cam girl (if you don’t know what that is, I’m not getting into it. You can pop into incognito mode in your browser and check it out for yourself). You feel exposed.
So my first viewer comes in. It’s not pleasant. The gaming community is sometimes described with one simple and disturbing word — toxic. With the anonymity of screen names and not having to show your face, people feel they’re able to say any negative thing that comes to mind. I can tell you that if you ever want to know whats wrong with your face, voice, personality, intelligence, etc., then just pop on a webcam and interact with chat.
The good news is, is that I knew of this, and have thick skin. It never bothered me. As my short time streaming carried on, I found people that I did like to interact with. We’d interact through chat, and even game.
The streaming software is set-up to show onscreen notifications. So when someone clicked the follow button, it’d appear. This was exciting. I actually was creating content that certain people enjoyed. Once they followed, they were notified when I’d start up my stream, and I began to have some loyal viewers.
Streamers are Serious Entrepreneurs
I had to stop. I had a job working at a law firm, and a difficult one at that — prosecuting patents, and continuously finding new clients. Becoming a streamer is a major grind. It requires consistency, because people depend on you to be logged on at certain times. If you’re not, then they’re off finding another streamer for their entertainment.
The major streamers have dedicated schedules, and keep in constant contact with their followers on every social media platform you can imagine. They fear taking any time off, because doing so could result in the loss of subscribers, meaning loss of revenue. They also have YouTube channels and are blasting every avenue to get their name out as possible. They’re marketing, finance, business development, the sales force, etc.
What’s amazing to me as I listen to my favorite streamers is that they tend to not have formal business education. However, they’re running what I would consider to be successful businesses. They are some serious and successful entrepreneurs. I was thoroughly impressed by the poise and intelligence Tyler Blevins (Ninja) projected during his CNBC interview. He showed the world how serious the world should be taking streaming and streamers. As you can see below, some billionaires are taking notice.
So I implore everyone to check out Twitch, and understand that there’s more than meets the eye with these entertainers. It’s just in its infancy, and there’s no telling where it will go.
