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Why does it matter? Why should I bother?
Greetings everyone and welcome to another Splinterlands post. This time I'm going to be talking about twitch, streaming culture, some dos and don't, and some recommendations for both audience and viewership. Now keep in mind a most of you are doing an objectively awesome job at this sort of stuff and these critiques may not apply, but if they do do not take them as personal attacks. They are just some tips I've seen that benefit the categories you stream in more heavily than otherwise. Why this post? Because I care. It really is that simple. I want everyone to make it and us not to all be crabs in a bucket keeping each other down. Real life has too much of that anyway, no need to have streaming be that way too.
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Recommendations for streamers
Less "Multitasking" Streams: Some of you might be wondering what I mean by this so I'll explain. A multitasking stream is where you have many things happening at the same time in the overlay simultaneous ie TwitchyTides, Grubfish, Splinterlands, a movie, etc etc. are all playing at the same time in the same overlay and competing for attention. This DOES NOT apply to people breaking away to do giveaway games etc. this is moreso applicable to "in one corner there is twitchy tides, in another there is grubfish, in another there is my SPL gameplay, in another there is a movie I'm watching, and in another there are marble races". This sort of stream layout is viewed as "overwhelming and spammy" for most people and typically only viewed by people farming giveaways/channel points etc. on average (not a bad thing persay but if you want a wider audience appeal I would recommend doing one or two things at a time). Many of the streams you will see like this outside of web3 are exclusively giveaway streams with interactive viewer games. There are SO MANY of these it's pretty hard to generate exposure for your channel in this way compared to actually just playing your game and having it on screen. Again it's "overwhelming and spammy" to most folks on twitch.
Consistency is the key to growth: You have to keep streaming if you want people to keep tuning in to watch you. I know this is a simple sort of rule of thumb but it is probably one of the most important aspects of streaming. Even if you feel like you aren't pulling in good numbers you will never pull in better numbers by not trying.
Work Together and Collaberate: It is always a good idea to collaberate with other streamers in your category or outside of it when presented the opportunity. The stream together feature and raiding is a good way to do this. Pay it forward.
Recommendations for viewers: Support your streamers
Hit the follow button: Don't just lurk, hit the follow button. This one click helps more than you know.
Follow those who regularly stream: Some suggestions I have for this are EhmayWuntee, Ofgplays, El Marel, and BunsBagsandCaps. And of course me too I guess. I know there are probably others in the category aswell but these are some of the folks I see streaming the game the most consistently (put other streamers in the comments and I'll add them here too). But toss them a follow and don't just lurk for rewards. It helps us all grow and provide content for you to enjoy.
Engage with the streamer: Talk to them, tell them your thoughts on the game. It's a SOCIAL media, act like it is as such. It makes it a lot easier to play the game when everyone is into it.
A note on Drops/Giveaways and organic viewership
Drops and giveaways do have people tune in to receive them, but eventually this sort of engagement can become organic viewership. Support your streamers by lurking and watching and engaging when they are not ONLY doing giveaways or drops streams. This makes them feel like by engaging in this community they are actually garnering value in their stream and not just "farming drops and giveaways". Tune in to your favorite streamers even if they aren't playing your favorite game to show your support when you can. This helps them feel like engaging in this community is worth it. This is purely optional, I get a lot of people are lurking on twitch just to get the drops and not for the streamers and that's ok. This is moreso a note on the value of across the board engagement and how it makes the streamers feel.
Talking Tidbits: Why I don't ONLY Splinterlands
The reason I don't only play Splinterlands is that I'm a variety gamer. I don't like just mainlining ONE game forever and ever. And when I'm playing games I'm live with all of you, whichever games those may be. It also helps bring new content to audiences that might enjoy it. People who watch me for Gods Unchained see some Splinterlands and other games. And people who watch for splinterlands get the same effect. All the support and engagement is a blast no matter what I'm playing (usually with my viewers). It's a fun time and I don't think I can limit myself to just one game when there is so much fun stuff out there. Anyway this was just a quick post with some advice and is moreso a "Call to support your Splinterstreamers" give these people a follow. They are holding the category down on twitch and deserve your support.
Thanks for reading this post everyone. You all rock and are what make HIVE a fun experience. As per usual one comment on this post will receive 1 HSBI sometime after the post pays out. The winner will be notified via comment after the HSBI has been gifted. Thank you all for the support and I will see you in the Splinterlands battlemages.