We is better than me when streaming

 We is better than me when streaming

A shocking number of streamers make the error of referring to their channel in the first person. Utilizing the singular form in statements such as “I reached affiliate” or “I completed the game series” although factual doesn’t build a sense of community. Although both statements are factual since you own the channel that reached affiliate status, and you controlled the game, this way of thinking is unfavorable. Assuming that anything done in streaming is solely on one person is inaccurate. While you are the person on camera, you need others to view, like, and interact with your content to help you grow your channel. Therefore, you should always think of streaming as we rather than me as your community is the reason advancement is made. 

Becoming detached

When you first start streaming it can be very lonely. You are working hard and putting effort into your channel with little to no viewers and very little return. It is going to feel like you are doing everything yourself and by definition you are, but what happens when someone follows or once you gain your first 100 followers? It is easy to think that your subscribers/followers simply pressed a button and that effort pales in comparison to all the sacrifices, hard work, and hours you have put into your channel. Thinking you are the only person responsible for your success once you have achieved some, will make it difficult for you to break that mindset. If you keep thinking of your channel as yours alone, you will hurt both the growth of your stream and the happiness of your community because, in essence, you will alienate them.

The almighty lurker

Now, what happens when your audience is filled with the all-important lurkers and the times' majority of your viewers tune in without chatting or interacting? This puts the responsibility solely on you to entertain and quickly reinforces the detachment viewpoint. In this instance, it is important to remember that if you are still gaining followers or your viewer count is increasing, you can’t discount how important your community is in reaching this point. The people who are watching but not chatting are still in fact watching your content and are your community.  They enjoy your content enough to be there and support you but do not want to chat, or they might be at work/school multitasking, or maybe they have social anxiety and do not want to speak up but all these people are still watching and are contributing to your success even if you can’t see it. Lurkers are an integral part of any stream, don’t discount them. 

We as streamers, never have a channel full of chatter or one filled with just lurkers, but rather we experience a combination of both. When starting out on your streaming journey, it is common to have one of two things happen: streams full of interaction or streams where no one is participating. You might go long stretches where chat is quiet, but you have to remember not to dwell on these frustrating moments. You have to appreciate all the moments when people are present and interacting. 

Community Support

Never underestimate the power of your community’s support. Those whose main focus is on viewer engagement will have an easier time identifying how their community helped them achieve success. There are obvious ways of showing support for instance allowing your audience to provide input/recommendations for the games you play, participating in planned events, or maybe simply keeping the chat going. Viewers can also help by interacting in streams, following, subscribing, cheering, and donating, but there are other far more valuable ways to support you that you may never know about unless someone tells you, as their endorsement is not always obvious.  People who enjoy your stream can share it with friends, family, and other streamers who are looking for someone to raid. They can follow your other socials and interact with you there and share your posts for all to see. You may not always be aware of the support, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. Each individual follower maybe not have been in all your streams at the same time but as a collective, they have all been there for you in some aspect and have all played a role in getting you where you are currently.

Final thoughts

Make sure you are always thinking in terms of we when you are streaming or creating content. For example: “We reached our follower goal” “we are playing Fortnite” and so on. It is the community’s channel and everyone has a role in making the streams what they are.  I am grateful for everyone who engages with my content and humbled to think that someone chooses to spend their time with me. Every achievement should include everyone because they all contribute to making a great community.