The moment that John Hopstad first descended into the virtual world of Dark Souls in 2013, his purpose was to save the deteriorating world. The game is renowned by its violent and gruelling gameplay, Dark Souls is a popular game to live stream: if you're going to be killed numerous times in the game, you might as well perish with some digital corporation to brighten the mood. What Hopstad did not know was that this would be the start of an even more challenging journey to establish connections with other people. Hopstad has been streaming to virtually no one for the last 5 years and isn't alone in this pursuit.
Twitch, the leading live streaming platform where people play games, create crafts, and showcase their daily lives, draws over two million broadcasters every month. The number grows each year, thanks in part to how easy it is now to live stream and also platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube also increasingly encourage people to share and watch live stories. By pressing a button on your game phone or console you can share what you're doing at the exact moment with strangers and friends alike. The rise of popular (and profitable) influencers on platforms like YouTube and Twitch has made the concept of being an influencer online aspirational. Parents have reported that their kids play with toys in front of a nonexistent crowd and that teachers have reported that their students frequently say they want to pursue YouTubing? as a profession. But when seemingly everyone wants to take video or stream live the content, who actually watches the content?
In a world where everyone seems to record footage or the live streaming, but who actually ends up watching the content?
Making a name for yourself on platforms such as Twitch usually requires you to broadcast to absolutely no one. Discoverability is an issue: when you log into Twitch, the most visible users are those who already have a significant following. While there are tools available to locate less well-known streamers, most people starting out with no audiences built-in from other platforms, or supportive friends and family end up staring at a big big zero on their viewership counter. The lonely stream hell could last from several days, weeks, months, sometimes even years, depending on how luck plays out. According to people who have experienced it, not having an audience is among the most demoralizing things that you will experience on the internet.
"It's kind of exhausting playing in a room that is empty all day long without any results," one Redditor wrote on a thread now deleted on the r/Twitch channel.
"It's difficult to remain optimistic when you're doing this 5 every day when it seems like no one drops in the next few minutes," another Redditor wrote in a separate thread, after spending months streaming to nobody. "I've come to the conclusion that streaming isn't working for me."
"Been streaming intermittently for 4plus years, and each time I come back , I go through weeks where the majority of time I'm not streaming to person," another Redditor wrote. "It's tough."
Sean Burke, a streamer who spent a full month broadcasting popular games such as Overwatchwithout any viewers It's easy to get carried away in the event that no one attends your show. "It was disheartening at times," says Burke, but he managed to keep live streaming throughout.
If live streaming is an option, the person behind the camera is what is being produced. While there are many things that you can learn and master your stream's popularity, the success of a streamer comes down to how many people love you or find you interesting. "I initially kept internalizing the viewership numbers to mean that I was the cause or that I was not funny enough, or that I wasn't skilled enough at games." After an entire year of dedication and dedication, he estimates that he has around 10 concurrent viewers per stream.
The lack of an audience is one many of the demoralizing experiences you can experience online.
Experienced streamers typically have an arsenal of talk points on-hand to help out newbies, one I've seen repeated over and over again across social media platforms. The way to do it is Be yourself. Have some fun with it. Create a schedule and adhere to it. Be sure to have a well-constructed technical setup. Practice your commentary, and then speak your thoughts. Try playing games that aren't crowded with other streamers already. You can trick your live stream with plug-ins and overlays that can make it more enjoyable for viewers, such as mini-games where viewers have to keep a virtual pet active. Get on social media and tell people about your stream. Connect with other users' streams and becoming their friends. The most difficult advice to follow is the idea that streamers who are aspiring need to be on the move every day even when no one is watching, just in case someone happens to appear.
iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GBIb0SpWEfc" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>https://mooc.elte.hu/eportfolios/1617798/Home/When_Streaming_On_Twitching_Always_Do_Something Think about it like you're recording an interview show, and you're the host." Redditor Neon_Nazgul wrote in a thread offering advice to frustrated streamers. "Sometimes there's an audience in the studio or you're recording something the audience will watch later." Although this is certainly true, it's also a part of what makes streaming without a significant audience difficult to do in the first place. It's a solo practice in which you must pretend that someone is listening, with no idea how it will take until anyone is there, or if they ever will.
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Broadcasters can follow all the conventional advice and still not build a fan base, being lost among other hopeful streamers. Some end up turning to strategies that offer an appearance of success: You can pay bots to stream your stream, thus pushing your profile higher in the Twitch directory or even collaborate with other marginal streamers to increase each other's subscriber count through "follow4follow" communities. Streamers even create broadcasts where the only purpose is to allow hundreds other viewers beg each other for a follow in their chat. More often than not, this method doesn't work out for anyone in the process, since no one gets a genuine viewer , even though the numbers say otherwise.
"I used the follow4follow method... But no one ever went on to the next stage and viewed my channel," Twitch user Flummoxkid states. "Nothing other than a few hollow follows. Even the streamers who created the F4F channels that I watched did a 180-degree turn and tried to get legitimate once they joined forces, and they don't even get any views. I was naive enough to think that people would return the favor."
Despite the psychologically demanding nature of trying to get noticed on Twitch, some continue to persist despite the harsh criticism by the twenty-nine. The reasons for this are diverse: some people I spoke to believe that sharing games is so simple, they might as well play it while playing a game. "It's more enjoyable than being in a dark, dark room alone in silence," wrote Twitch user jostlingjoe in an Reddit discussion about how to deal with having no viewers.
A lot of people are searching for something different. A streamer that I talked with who spent three months without an audience, MaverickRPDM, says that they kept live streaming games with no viewers because they believed it was a method of self-improvement. "Streaming has helped me become more engaging and sharp-witted, more outgoing and extroverted," MaverickRPDM says. "It has helped me feel more comfortable being me, and, as a result, has helped me become more myself, more often, out of the stream."
The most important reason of people who stream for prolonged periods of time with no viewer is the chance to meet like-minded people."The reason I began streaming was that I was kind of looking for connections with other people," said Richard Szelesy, a streamer who's been mostly broadcasting hardcore games to no viewers. Szelesy claims that he grew up being lonely, and mainly sitting in front of the glow of a computer. "[I streamed to] get rid of loneliness and depression," he said. Although he's mostly streaming without an audience, occasionally an errant person will drop by and stick around. Even if that person never comes back -- and they usually do not -- the little spark can be enough to keep Szelesy moving forward.
"I was sort of seeking connections with other people."
"Weirdly being an adult,, I have an easier time creating romantic connections than making new friends," Szelesy says. "I don't know where to start! How do I approach someone and say "You like Dark Souls?'" Twitch also gives the possibility of removing himself from disgruntled people. "[It's] way easier to just call out or remove the kind of people who seem cool, but say racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/etc shit."
Hopstad who has spent many years streaming to virtually nobody, claims that he's a socialist who cares about the minimum wage. Twitch gives him an outlet to talk about his beliefs that he doesn't have in his real life. "I'm not one for socializing, so I don't seek out occasions to discuss things such as message boards, especially stuff like politics, I'm comfortable doing my day without talking or interacting with anyone," Hopstad said. "Twitch certainly has helped me to break out of my introvert character, but I'm beginning to think I'm getting more comfortable being completely alone for the rest the time."
While the barrenness without any viewers Twitch may be depressing However, those who remain to it are pleased that they succeeded. Many streamers can remember the exact moment their view counter was able to go from zero to one.
"The first viewer was like a dream," Szelesy said. "Twitch is set up to boost those with a good reputation which means that if someone comes across you, they've been looking and thought you might be someone they would like to follow. Although these views or interactions don't always lead to even connections, let alone deep connections, it's still cool, cause hey they came across me in my hidden little area and decided to meet up."
After months of being without an viewers, finally getting an audience to watch your show can be nerve-wracking as well as exciting. You've prepared for it, sometimes for dozens of hours ,and now it's time to show. Someone is on the other side. They're waiting for you. What are you doing?
"I am able to recall the first time I was a time watching and the moment it happened," said Reddit user TheWhiteLatino69, a streamer who initially started stream on Twitch to get through the rough times. At first, TheWhiteLatino? broadcasted without an audience to help create the illusion the appearance of hanging out with others. "I streamed Subnautica for zero viewers and then I glanced at the chat room to get the occasional 'hey.' When I saw that it was all of a sudden came to me, I was no longer alone I noticed that there were people watching me. I became increasingly nervous as the stream went on and I nervously chatted with the other viewers. It's one thing to act like you're talking to someone , but it's a different thing to actually talk to a human being ..."It did quite the number on me."
Based on my conversations with streamers from all over the world taking that first plunge in the event that you're not certain who will watch it is as if you're throwing your message in bottles into the ocean. It's possible that someone will come across the bottle. Perhaps the bottle is at the bottom of the sea. Everyone gambles in their individual ways when we reach out online, whether using Tinder or using a hashtag to look for others with the same preferences. We might end up feeling more alienated than ever before or we might meet people who make everything worth it.
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Lolimdivine, a Redditor, who estimates that they've spent around eight months streaming with no one, but they're thrilled with the community they've formed after they've gotten over the initial hump.
"My regulars and I always talk about our lives, and we're all aware of things about each other," lolimdivine said. "It's like we're our own little internet family of sorts. I consider these people to be my family and not just as viewers. We greet all who join us from all over the world, and recall things about those who can only stop by every month. It's amazing that Twitch can do for people's lonely or friends groups." A lot of streamers I spoke to stated that they first became interested in Twitch when they discovered a person who entertained them during difficult times for example, losing a beloved one.
Khryn_Tzu, an Twitch streamer who went for days without viewers and is approaching their one year anniversary on Twitch. It's an important date, since without Twitch the streamer wouldn't have been able to connect with a particular viewer.
"Lots of days with 0 viewers. I doing my thing, and discovered what works, and still am" Khryn_Tzu wrote. "Then it happened. There was only one person watching. And they continued to watch. They didn't even say anything for a couple of streams, but they kept coming back. Then one night I had the urge to get AFK which is why I put on some Metallica. Then out comes a song that says 'Good selection of music. I like Metallica. It was a thrilling feeling to have someone completely unfamiliar to me, to stay in my world for MY content. It was a tough push."
Although many dream of an audience in the thousands, that one person made an impact on Khryn_Tzu's life. "We began talking, and then began chattering, and she was sure that she was welcoming everyone and even talking to them when people would show in," says Khryn_Tzu. "Soon people would stay... and it became so much more than that. These viewers that come in? They become your friends. Sometimes more. That first viewer? We're dating now, and I am so happy."
A majority of people don't wind with a partner on Twitch However, for lots of others, that's not the point
