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I've recently been getting a few requests to stream and I have mixed feelings about it. If you don't know me I am a High Masters level protoss player on NA server. I have mixed feelings because quite frankly, I don't know if its even worth it.
there are so many streams nowadays and so many of them straddle the 3-7 viewer count that is probably so discouraging to the streamer. I dont know if i really want to just stream for nobody. So ive been thinking of maybe doing it once i get to grandmasters since then i would be more appealing and the stream would be more worthwhile. not to mention, i dont know how interested people would be in a high masters stream. even though i play low grandmasters players all the time, the name carries so much weight.
back in brood war days, when you streamed you were doing a huge favor to the community. when all this started if you streamed you were servicing the community and it was even used as a reasoning to be more or less lenient to players in tournament rulings. but now, now that people are trying to make their dollars and cents from justin.tv it seems like the vast majority of streamers dont stream for the community but stream for themselves - which you cant really blame them for.
so even if i do start streaming, what of it? i dont even know what people want to see. if i did. some people talk about doing replay analysis or talking about what theyre doing while theyre playing. some people play music and some people play starcraft music. ive seen some streams even that go soundless.
this is no moral dilemma, but simply a situation where i dont know if im wasting my time and wasting stream-space if i were to start streaming. i simply wonder if i would be really benefiting the community like streaming used to always do or just be another weak attempt to benefit no one but myself.
 
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Calgary26003 Posts
People seem to view the situation as
No one will watch my stream, so it's not worthwhile
as opposed to
If my stream is worthwhile, people will watch my stream
If your stream is good, people will watch it. If your stream is good, it will be featured.
Edit: Given the tone of your post, I wouldn't stream. You made streaming sound like a big burden to you and you're only entertaining it because some people asked you about it.
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On June 13 2011 05:20 Torte de Lini wrote:
Why don't you just stream it and find out? Some people do speedruns of Yoshi's Island, they don't ask if people are interested in watching, they just stream it and those interested can watch it if they want.
Doing it the other way around is just asking to be disappointed ):
Also, the DS ver. is boss.
I said this in a Mario Kart inquiry, wondering if he should stream it and who'd be interested in watching.
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Every 10 to 11 p.m on weekdays and weeknights (I try), I stream whatever game I am playing. Right now it's Bulletstorm but before it was Amnesia, Dead Space 2, Sim City 4, etc (and of course StarCraft 2 and BW when I feel comfortable D: ).
I get about 1 viewer, his name is Alakabon and he's a really nice guy and generally interested in my stream. On occasion, I'll get Pandain, Fiveaces or Astroorion, but that's if I'm lucky.
Just stream dude. The only reason I'd tell people not to stream if they're on limited bandwidth (I am, but I do it anyways). There are a lot of services people don't use in the world, but sometimes, once in awhile, someone will need it or will rely on it to achieve or benefit some part of their life.
Consider your stream like that. Even if no one is watching or you feel rather stupid for doing this, at one point or another, someone will see your stream and truly benefit from it. Last night, I streamed for about 2 hours and I got 2 viewers and a new one who said that he'd never seen Bulletstorm before and now that he has, he might try it and I'm truly glad I convinced someone about a game they were unsure about with just raw gameplay and petty commentary from yours truly.
Bottom-line: just stream and stop focusing on the outcome or if people will like you/it/the idea. What's the difference between you playing without streaming and you doing it while streaming?
P.S: A lot of grandmaster players don't get featured and don't get recognized. Isn't JEcho an example of this (unfortunately).
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Hey man, I always see that people who basically have a high quality mic and good social skills and/or gamesense who live commentate their play get a alot more viewers. Look at someone like sterling, he got literally about 2-5 viewers a month ago and I guess he got a break on reddit where everybody was praising how good his commentary was, and now he is featured and reguraly gets about 400 viewers.
Basically, what im trying to say is just start streaming and keep at it and you will eventually get your big break man! ( also if you do start streaming pm me the link I will be sure to check it out )
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On June 18 2011 03:23 Chill wrote:
People seem to view the situation as
No one will watch my stream, so it's not worthwhile
as opposed to
If my stream is worthwhile, people will watch my stream
Pretty much the theme of TL. Part of the fun will always be reading people's comments and having people pay attention to your work, but before any of that you should enjoy the act of trying to create a quality product.
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On June 18 2011 03:23 Chill wrote:
People seem to view the situation as
No one will watch my stream, so it's not worthwhile
as opposed to
If my stream is worthwhile, people will watch my stream
If your stream is good, people will watch it. If your stream is good, it will be featured.
Edit: Given the tone of your post, I wouldn't stream. You made streaming sound like a big burden to you and you're only entertaining it because some people asked you about it.
i dont think its a true statement that if your stream is good, people will watch it. First and foremost if your stream is featured, people will watch it. If your stream is featured and you are a good player, more people will watch it. I can see right now many high level players and high quality streamers that arent featured right now and have near zero viewers. would you say, then, that all of those 0-5 viewer streams in that non-featured zone are not worthwhile to watch?
and if i stream its not a huge burden but i dont consider it a pleasure. its not "oh i cant wait to stream, streaming would be so fun." but rather if i think i can help people and actually benefit people with it its something i want to do. from there, with a few people requesting that i stream leads me to really think who else it might benefit.
thanks to the other posters here though giving me a little encouragement xD
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Chill so smart <3
You shouldn't do it if the motivation comes from outside.
But do stream if YOU want to, no matter the reason; curiosity, teaching people stuff, sharing stuff, etc.
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On June 18 2011 03:56 JiYan wrote:Show nested quote +On June 18 2011 03:23 Chill wrote:
People seem to view the situation as
No one will watch my stream, so it's not worthwhile
as opposed to
If my stream is worthwhile, people will watch my stream
If your stream is good, people will watch it. If your stream is good, it will be featured.
Edit: Given the tone of your post, I wouldn't stream. You made streaming sound like a big burden to you and you're only entertaining it because some people asked you about it. i dont think its a true statement that if your stream is good, people will watch it. First and foremost if your stream is featured, people will watch it. If your stream is featured and you are a good player, more people will watch it. I can see right now many high level players and high quality streamers that arent featured right now and have near zero viewers. would you say, then, that all of those 0-5 viewer streams in that non-featured zone are not worthwhile to watch? and if i stream its not a huge burden but i dont consider it a pleasure. its not "oh i cant wait to stream, streaming would be so fun." but rather if i think i can help people and actually benefit people with it its something i want to do. from there, with a few people requesting that i stream leads me to really think who else it might benefit. thanks to the other posters here though giving me a little encouragement xD
Do it because it might benefit a few people, not because you know who it will benefit. I really think you're looking at it the wrong way and setting yourself up for disappointment. If you ask people straight-up if they'd watch you, most will say yes.
You'll soon find out that half of those yes's will not actually be a viewer whatsoever.
Additionally, we all have to start somewhere. If you're hoping for a shortcut to the top by being auto-featured due to your stance or skill as per noted in your league or division, you're equally going to be disappointed.
edit: I realize that's a bit accusatory, but your view of how things work in the world of streaming might be a bit skewed. I'm not naive to say that being "featured" on a very popular site doesn't have its benefits, but the whole process is different than what you seem to be lead to believe.
That's my amateurish opinion. Though as a FYI, featured doesn't give you 50 minimum viewers, some still get 3 to 5.
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On June 18 2011 04:00 niteReloaded wrote:
You shouldn't do it if the motivation comes from outside.
But do stream if YOU want to, no matter the reason; curiosity, teaching people stuff, sharing stuff, etc.
wouldnt teaching people stuff / sharing your gameplay be part of getting motivation from the outside? the way you guys are wording it, it sounds like you guys think streamers should stream primarily for themselves where i was trying to say in my op that at its foundation streaming was not really meant for the streamer but for the viewers and thats kind of how im seeing it right now too.
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On June 18 2011 04:07 JiYan wrote:Show nested quote +On June 18 2011 04:00 niteReloaded wrote:
You shouldn't do it if the motivation comes from outside.
But do stream if YOU want to, no matter the reason; curiosity, teaching people stuff, sharing stuff, etc. wouldnt teaching people stuff / sharing your gameplay be part of getting motivation from the outside? the way you guys are wording it, it sounds like you guys think streamers should stream primarily for themselves where i was trying to say in my op that at its foundation streaming was not really meant for the streamer but for the viewers and thats kind of how im seeing it right now too.
We're saying to do it purely because you think it might help others and because you enjoy doing the charity. Consider a typical volunteer, yes; he likes to help others and that is a strong motivator, but doing it because it makes him feel good and because someone, out there, might ultimately need what he's just accomplished or done, is probably an equally strong motivator.
In my view, streaming is meant for someone who feels they have something to show. You believe that this "something" is determined purely by the numbers/viewers and never at the discretion of the person providing.
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With that kind of attitude you will probably complain a lot, so I don't think you should do it. It is always asinine no matter how good the product is when the creator complains about how it inconveniences him or her.
Create something good that people can learn from, that should be your goal. No matter what, everything you do on this site is a hobby. Do it because it's fun, not because you're really helping everyone out.
Does the community enjoy reading newsposts? Sure. Do the people who write those newsposts feel like they're doing a huge favour to the community? No. They just do it because they wanna be a part of something awesome. So really, don't do it if you think it's a waste of your bandwidth or inconvenient or it's not enjoyable for you, because no one is gonna like it when you tell them what a huge favour you're doing them by broadcasting yourself playing a game. If Let's Play is a pseudo-hobby at best, streaming is even further below that.
edit: I guess the short answer is: No, you're not doing a huge favour to the community. There's a million streamers already, and unless you're willing to put in a lot of effort your stream will be just as mediocre as the rest, another random option. Don't worry about 'streaming for yourself' like it is some kind of crime. That's exactly what you should be doing.
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thanks torte de lini, perhaps when i start streaming ill post something on this blog again
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On June 18 2011 04:07 JiYan wrote:Show nested quote +On June 18 2011 04:00 niteReloaded wrote:
You shouldn't do it if the motivation comes from outside.
But do stream if YOU want to, no matter the reason; curiosity, teaching people stuff, sharing stuff, etc. wouldnt teaching people stuff / sharing your gameplay be part of getting motivation from the outside? the way you guys are wording it, it sounds like you guys think streamers should stream primarily for themselves where i was trying to say in my op that at its foundation streaming was not really meant for the streamer but for the viewers and thats kind of how im seeing it right now too.
In my opinion, it's internal motivation if you like the feeling of sharing and teaching people even if no one explicitly acknowledges you.
It's external motivation if you're expecting approval/showing of appreciation for what you're doing.
Torte and Chef also said well.
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JiYan.... Shoulda talked to me about it last time I was online  . Gotta go now but I'll talk to you about it later
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I stream my diamond level games, and I'm lucky to get anybody while I play, but I still do it. Sometimes I'll have people that talk in the chat, bronzers asking questions, and I enjoy answering them, but there's also many times where a single person will watch for a game, then just turn it off if I loose, or maybe stick around for another. The only real reason I stream is so that I know people miiiiight be watching, and so then I am a lot more mannered in game.
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Lol i don't think your crappy laptop can handle streaming!
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On June 18 2011 10:28 blabber wrote:
Lol i don't think your crappy laptop can handle streaming!
it can't. but a new desktop might :D
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you should stream because there are still people who don't know how to play and would benefit from watching (like me)
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EPT
