Twitch Partnership--Not Necessarily Worth It (Monday Musings 62)

Exhibit A: August Viewers 12

I've discovered during my first two months of streaming that getting Twitch Partnership may not be worth it, but Twitch Streaming is invaluable (this will be a subject for another time).

The requirements for even applying for

Exhibit B: September Viewers 14

Partnership is very difficult. Once you have 75 concurrent viewers, you have the right to apply. However, your application can still be turned down for Partnership.

The question is, is it worth getting Partnership? I'll break down the details so you can make that determination for yourself.

My August average viewers was 12 (Exhibit A) and for the month of September, the average was 14 (Exhibit B). 

Going through the numbers, it seems that the second month gained 2 viewers, but other months, my average can drop, so let's put the average number to 1 viewer/month.

To get to the magic 75, that will take 75-14 = 61 extra months, more than 4 years. I'm always of the mind that it doesn't matter how long it takes you to succeed, as long as you get there. For instance, who cares if it takes you 4 years to lose 100 pounds instead of 2 weeks, and indeed, it's MUCH safer to lose that much weight slowly so your body doesn't go into "shock". 

However, during the 4 years, what if there's a major life event and you need to take time off, you may lose viewers over time. Viewers may look around for you, but after awhile, they might think you're not going to return and move onto another streamer, viewer numbers then plummeting. In fact, I heard a lot of streamers who could be Partner, taking time off, then returning, but viewer numbers decrease, which is very demoralizing.

But, let's say that I can eventually get to 75, and my application is accepted, is getting Partnership still worth it? I think for me it's not because of the sacrifices you have to make. 

For one thing, I haven't been following one of my friend's brilliant health advice, in which he unplugs his computer and ONLY turns it on after he completes all of his day's chores and responsibilities. Instead, as soon as I wake up, I check my Discord server, which is a convenient place to communicate to your viewers, scrolling through to make sure I reply to everyone's comments in a timely manner.

Next I open Twitch, and lurk multiple streamers. What I mean by lurking is that I'd write a comment in chat for one streamer, and then flip from tab to tab talking to chat, while eating breakfast and lunch, doing chores, and exercise. Also while lurking, I write down my Twitch topics and perform my pre-stream rituals. Then I stream for 4 hrs, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

After streaming, while lurking multiple streamers, I eat dinner. If I'm conscientious that day, I read the nightbot chat log to make sure I private message (PM) new viewers thanking them for watching the stream, and thanking those who followed, subbed, gave me bits. I've been getting worse about reading the chat log due to the increasing number of comments.

Does this sound time consuming and potentially tiring? The answer is yes. However, be advised that I have it way cushier than most people who stream since I have a cushy workload. I don't know how anyone can sustain this type of activity if you work 40 hours/week and you must add 10 hrs/week for transportation and getting ready for work.

In other words, Stream Key podcasts are correct that you have to sacrifice a lot, including sleep to gain Partnership.

This is not to mention those who are parents and also work full-time. Whereas with Twitch, you can gain Partnership (if you do all the networking program that I laid out, and that does NOT even include using Twitter and Instagram which I've been ignoring), but will you get the amount of subscribers, bits and ad dollars to net the average American salary of 50K/year? Maybe, maybe not.

The other reason of my wanting Partnership (aside from ego issues) is to give legitimate advice to those who want to achieve Partnership. But given the unhealthy nature and risking health for minor rewards (not even guaranteeing a salary or living wage), I'm pivoting to advising putting in tip jar in your channel panel. 

The Stream Key podcasts are superb in discussing how to achieve Partnership, but already two of the podcasts I listened to mentioned sacrificing sleep, which I think may be a necessary sacrifice to gain Partnership, especially if you have a family and/or work full-time. But am I casting the proverbial stone at these two streamers from Stream Key podcasts and being a hypocrite?

Yes, because to achieve my MD degree, I sacrificed sleep. However, you do obtain your MD degree and net a career at the end of the long haul, with actual salary and benefits. Realize that Twitch doesn't give you a guaranteed salary, so once you're a Partner, your income will come from subscriptions, bits (people buy bits through Twitch and give out bits which are converted to cash), advertisements, and donations from your tip jar.

Be advised that you can make money even without Partnership!

First, you can put a tip jar in your channel panel description and make money that way. The easiest way is to download the StreamElements Extension (Twitch, Dashboard, Extensions) and it will walk you through the steps including adding a tip jar!

Second, you can also gain Affiliation, which is very doable. As long as you have 50 followers and have an average 3 concurrent viewers over 7 broadcasts on separate days totaling 8 hours in a 30 day period (nag your family and friends to watch you), you can get your Affiliation.

With Affiliation, you get the Subscription button as well as being able to accept bits. With the tip jar that doesn't require any sacrifice, and reasonable sacrifice in obtaining Affiliation, why kill yourself over Partnership?

After recognizing this, at the conclusion of this second month period, I made my peace to not pursue Partnership at all! I found I'd rather have fun so I can be more genuine with my viewers instead of being burned out from the work entailed in gaining Partnership.

It's more rewarding to challenge myself to be a better streamer than work towards Partnership. In the meantime, after installing your Tip Jar, I recommend that you get Affiliation which may take sacrifices, but not nearly as much as getting Partnership, so you can get subscriptions and bits.

Conclusion: For all the reasons above, for me, Partnership is not worth it, but Streaming in of itself is invaluable. Rather, get your Tip Jar installed in your Channel Panel Description, and work toward Affiliation.

The How of Happiness Review

Stream Key Podcast: Is Being A Variety Twitch Streamer Worth It?

Is Being A Variety Twitch Streamer Worth It Link

After streaming for about 2 months, GreenChord and SuperV1D were ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, in order to become Partner, you DO HAVE to sacrifice a lot, including sleep, no breaks/vacation! 

The question becomes: is it worth becoming Partner? For me, it's a no so far...

This synopsis was an eye-opener.

At any rate, here's the synopsis:

1. SuperV1D guest, Twitch Affiliate, TruGaming Sponsor
2. He streams pretty much everything when the game comes out
3. He started streaming Minecraft as its the only game that his computer can play, then got new computer and streamed variety
4. When he was 10 yrs old, Youtube started out, and he wanted to make videos, so he combined two things he liked the most which are superman and video games, and combined. He added the 1 for V1D
5. Motivation--he likes hearing people saying that their day is better and not feeling as depressed because of him, that's what keeps him going
6.  Variety streamer--not tied down to 1 game or 1 genre
7. Pros of Variety Streaming:
1. Get to try out everything, find out what you and your audience like 
2. You don't get tired of playing the same game over and over again
3. May prevent burnout
4. Your personality is key, b/c you're not known for just playing one game that might get stale
5. Flexibility in case the game you play dies down  
6. Showing people different games and broadening your viewers' horizon and can reach out to new viewers as well
8. Cons of Variety Streaming:
1. You're not going to grow as fast as an established LoL streamer
2. for instance, some of his viewers come to him for the game, and may leave when he switches games
3. It takes a lot of practice to develop your personality to be a variety streamer than if you focus on one game
4. You're not going to pick up as many viewers when you play a new game
9. Great analogy of Variety vs. Single Game
1. You planted a seed in a lot, and it's already hard enough to focus on that and grow that
2. But variety, you have to plant a bunch of seeds all over the place, so even harder to work on all those plots
3. So you can't focus on that one game that you can be known for, so you have to be known for your personality
10. Creating your identity as a variety streamer:
1. Finding out what works and what doesn't 
2. A lot of trial and error
3. He reports to start whatever he wants, and then keep changing games and then narrow down the games that works based on viewership stats
4. Sometimes hard to tell why your viewers changed, was it due to the game itself, was it the stream, and/or something that's out of your control that increased or decreased views
5. But often, there are some games that draw in more views: so that will tune the personality of your stream
6. SuperV1D loves Persona 5, but found out over time that hs viewers will NOT come to watch him play Persona, so he has to play another game
11.  Controversy:
1. "Just stream for fun, that's all that matters":
2. He disagrees--indeed, he finds streaming inherently fun, but you want to push more viewers. I totally agree with that.
3. Because it's soul crushing to see your viewers plummet no matter how you try to ignore the numbers
4. This is even when you absolutely don't care about making Twitch a career or getting Partner, it's just hard on the ego to see lower audience numbers
5. Analogy is you work at McDonald's but you don't do that for career, but rather, you want to use it as a stepping stone for something bigger
12. You got to play the games that grow your audience
1. So he played Roblox even though he doesn't like it, but it got him viewers. Agree: it's more fun to have more viewers who can interact with your chat. But he made Roblox fun for him.
2. If you want to grow your channel, you have to sacrifice a little and play the games your audience wants
3. "you're only here for the viewers" that's SO true b/c by streaming on Twitch, you're doing it for viewers, otherwise, just game and NOT stream (exactly!). You're inherently streaming for the viewers, that's why you're streaming, even if it's your friends, you're streaming for them.
13. His views can plummet from 30s to singles
14. While it IS soul crushing when views drop, you expect it to happen as a variety streamer, but even more soul crushing for the single game streamer, b/c what if you get a large drop suddenly for what you've always been doing.
15. Guest feels that as a Variety streamer, you have to kind of promise to play the game again b/c your viewers who came in to see you expects to see you play it again
16. He caters more to the viewers than planning out a specific game schedule. He makes his schedule for his viewers, which makes good sense! 
17. He states schedules should be flexible, otherwise someone may only see him on Monday b/c he plays that game
18. He does a general multiplayer game on one day, and then Follower Friday where he only streams the game that they want to see, and all the days in b/w, he plays what he wants
19. He reports that his base watches him for his personality, regardless of the game he's playing, so if you play your most favorite games, then you will have more fun and you'll put on your best face.
20. A game dies in popularity or you get sick of the game, but how do you keep those viewers when you must move onto a new game?
1. He reports that there'll always be a game that will replace it. 
2. SuperV1D reports you can play a game of a similar genre, and find out what chat would like as a backup game
3. SuperV1D replaced Minecraft with Terraria, and then weaning his viewers off those games slower, and then they end up liking him and will stick around and see his other games
21. Variety vs. Single gaming
22. SuperV1D notes he was single gaming b/c of his hardware capabilities, or if that's the only game you like and just stream that
23. Established streamer and you're a single gamer, it's hard to jump to variety, so best to:
1. Start your stream off with your single game, from the very beginning, announce as soon as possible that you will play a game later down the road
2. So when it's time to come to change the game, the chat knows b/c you keep telling them over and over that you're going to do a different game, and it won't be a shock
3. Someone only streamed Destiny had thousands of viewers, then changed game, and his stream died
24. Two he watches mainly:
1. Lirik and Sodapoppin
2. He's trying to mirror what they're doing
3. Sodapoppin is totally random per SuperV1D b/c he can stream whatever game he wants given his popularity
4. Lirik has a niche: survivor games and then will play a random game near the end of his stream
5. SuperV1D reports that he doesn't have a niche like Lirik
25. Finding your identity is very important which is a whole another subject
26. Why did SuperV1D decided to do variety?
1. He plays a lot of games, knows a lot of unknown games.
2. his reasoning is that he's playing games anyway, he might as well stream, that's why he decided on variety
27. SuperV1D's one advice:
1. Don't give up! 
2. so many times when he wants to quit, but then he perseveres, and viewers increased!
3. if you really want to do this, just don't give up. 
4. because once you give up, you fail
5. SuperV1D reports that you can be successful even with 2 viewers, which is true
6. stay committed, you will be discouraged when your numbers stagnate/drop, but he feels that the hard work will pay off

Q/A:

• How SuperV1D handles IRL issues
• Look into mobile IRL streaming when there are days that you can't stream
• If you usually do 4 hrs, at least stream for 1 hr
• PUBG supersaturated with viewers, but he loves PUBG so much should he stream a game that he doesn't love as much
• what if you want to play a game you love so much, but not popular.? He reports to schedule the game and it can be flexible. (my input, or play the game off-stream)
• He has a feeling that Code Vein will be big, and to consider streaming that if you love the genre
• He reports you have to roll with the wave, and once it crashes, make sure you still play it and slowly transition to a new game
• GreenChord mentions book 20 Immutable Laws of Marketing: very good idea to go with a trend! See if your viewers want to see you stream it, and if so, play the trending game
• Twitter how to use it for your channel--GreenChord put out a whole article on it
• you have to post a LOT for Twitter, 4 times a day and you have to comment a lot
• This shows that streaming is HARD WORK! (this is why sadly, I agree, you may have to sacrifice too many things to be Partner, so it may not be worth it for me)
• What games should you stream when you start streaming
• He sees more stream success from bigger, more established games
• Follow what your chat likes
• Play games that get you views
• If you're getting viewers from bigger games, then play those bigger games
• You may be smaller in PUBG directory, but you may have more viewers, but if you play a smaller game, you may be listed higher, but not as many viewers 
• SuperV1D posts twitter that automatically sends to instagram
• "How can you tell if you should do variety streaming"
• SuperV1D struggles with this every day
• the way he gets out of that mindset, play the 1 game for 1 week straight, if you can't, then you're a variety streamer, b/c it'll be hard to play 1 game for years if you want to be a single game streamer
• Stream as much as you can
• He reports to not take breaks in streaming AT ALL (sadly this IS TRUE YET AGAIN to gain Partner, which is why Partnership may not be worth it for me in the end)
• SuperV1D recommends to sacrifice the sleep to get larger blocks or hours to stream (NOOO! but in reality this is TRUE FOR PARTNERSHIP for most people who are working full-time and/or have a family)
• Recommends having some sort of schedule of what games you'll be streaming, but he says it's not the be all, end all

Your Body is Your Barbell Day 1 (Monday Musings 61)

Gaddour's Your Body Is Your Barbell

This is my first day where I did Gaddour's Your Body Is Your Barbell Level 1 Ground Zero Bodyweight Burners Program exercises (pp. 192 to 193), including the calf leg raises x 20, which is 9 exercises total.

I didn't need to time the 15 seconds rest in between each exercise, because by the time I got into position for the next exercise (using correct posture), it takes about 15 seconds, making this program even easier to follow.

I then used iPhone countdown alarm for 1 minute and 3 seconds (the 3 seconds to account for pushing the start button and getting into position).

Indeed, it's easy to follow, but I was wiped out after only 1 cycle, and he suggests 3 cycles. I had the endorphin rush that I get when I do moderate aerobic exercise intensity x 30 minutes. 

Further, I couldn't do the "Hanging Bridge" exercise where you're underneath a sturdy table and hold the top part of the table, with your entire body off the floor. My neck started hurting keeping it straight from my body, so I had my head resting on the floor. My body was only slightly elevated, so I was only lifting part of my upper body.  

For the wall sit, I did squats, and for the single-leg wall sit which I couldn't manage to do, I did the wall sit instead.

The Dead Hang I had to assist myself, so I couldn't hang with full bodyweight for the whole minute.

I know my body will get adapted to these exercises, as is always the case, though it'll take time of course. It's amazing how fast your body can get adjusted to things. 

After resting, I then did the jumping jacks portion of his cardio chapter x 50 seconds since, ironically, my Stairmaster Stepmill died completely (it was on its last legs the past 5 years or so).

Since I was exhausted and didn't want to read what the next cardio exercise entails, I then walked up and down the stairs for about 5 mins.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to do the cardio chapter, learning all the exercises he lists since they're very unfamiliar movements to me, except for the well-known jumping jacks, which didn't hurt my knees as much as I thought they would.

Though I prefer the Stepmill because you can space out the whole time, I'd like to learn the cardio chapter just in case I can't go to the gym.

So, sadly, because of the Stairmaster dying, I'll keep my membership, though I'm hoping I can downgrade to the Basic membership. The only difference between the Basic and Black Card Membership, is with Basic, you can't use other Planet Fitness gyms, the massage chairs/beds, or take a friend with you for free.

I'll update Thursday on how the cardio exercises go, and on Friday (Day 2), I'll update and hope to achieve 2 cycles of Level 1 Ground Zero.

The How of Happiness Review

Bodyweight--Best Exercise? (Monday Musings 60)

BJ Gaddour's Your Body is Your Barbell

Please scroll all the way down for TL/DR to save time!

Sorry for being a day late for this Monday Musings! I was spending the weekend with my parents, then worked on my friend's CV so was pinched for time!

INTRODUCTION  
I purchased BJ Gaddour's Your Body is Your Barbell, as I noticed that even at the relatively inexpensive price of Planet Fitness, the fact that it's less than 1 mile from my house (0.9 miles per Google map), staff and members are friendly and fun to talk to, AND it's open 24 hours/7 days a week, I still wasn't consistently attending. 

The fact that I don't have nearly as many responsibilities as most people, and still can't go to a gym that's so pleasant and convenient (technically I can walk to the gym), I now know why so many people end up not using their memberships.

Indeed, how can someone who is way more busy than me, one who has a family with children to take care of, with full-time work, make it to the gym 4 to 5 times a week? Especially if the gym doesn't have baby sitting?

Therefore, I researched into home gyms, and the key concept I got regarding home exercises is to use your body weight, instead of purchasing clunky and expensive gym equipment such as benches, squat/barbell racks and the like. I fell upon this book after reading many Amazon reviews on the subject. I wanted to find a set of exercises that you can do anywhere at anytime, with no special equipment.

I believe that a lot of users recommend Gaddour's book because it's so easy to follow, and he has a weekly program that you can follow without thinking!

There are only 8 exercises that he lists, but for each one, he lists ground zero through superhero, and by these variations, you can make things harder or easier. At any fitness level, you can be sure that you can do the easiest. If you can't do the easiest exercise variations due to pain or significant weakness, you must see your doctor to evaluate and treat.

On the flip side, for those who are able to do the hardest variations of all the exercises listed possible with perfect form, without batting an eyelash, then you should move to getting a gym membership to incorporate weights.

To get to that point, you have to be extremely dedicated, consistent and have enough time to get that strong. Surely, if you're at that level, having a gym membership will NOT go to waste and you'll be spending your money wisely.

Indeed, if you're truly that strong and/or want aesthetics, and you have the time, dedication and resources, the ideal situation is to join a gym, incorporate body weight exercises along with free weights, barbells and machines to supplement, as per all the professional body builders' recommendations. But for the average person with children, school and work, who has the time and dedication for that? 

Further, all we ever really need in life is functional strength, so body weight exercises are more than adequate. We may never be Mr. and Mrs. Olympia following this book's program, but who cares?

If you can do the books' program which includes self-assisted single-arm handstand push-ups and pull-ups, single-leg squats with perfect form and controlled breathing, and so forth, you can negotiate anything that life throws at you.

The fact that you can do all of this at home with no cost, there's really no excuse. Further, he even recommends NOT wearing any shoes, so you can stand with more awareness of your weight being equally balanced on your large and small toes, and heels (tripod foot position). It's easier to shift your weight appropriately when you're barefooted rather than with shoes.

In other words, you can do these exercises the first thing you do when you wake up, since you don't need shoes.
  RECOMMENDATIONS
First, read pages 38 to 43 to make sure you have good posture.

The general gist is to do controlled movements, 4 seconds up and 4 seconds down. 

Mr. Gaddour lists many types of programs that you can do that suits your need, but the easiest one to start out with (no planning needed) is on page 192. This is the Level 1 Ground Zero program x 28 days, advancing up to Level 5 Superhero. Each level is 28 days.

For the pull-up exercises, Gaddour recommends using your door, and putting something underneath for support. However, that seems like it may rip the doors off your hinge if your hinges aren't strong enough. I think you can just grip your door frame's jamb. In fact, being able to do a pull-up with just your fingers gripping this thin ledge is much harder than wrapping your fingers around a bar.

However, I can't even do a proper hang with my finger tips, so I invested in a bar like this years ago (no assembly required which is a plus), that you can place over door frame. It's $25.28 on Amazon, which is the cost of 2 months basic membership at Planet Fitness. I believe most Americans can afford, but if you can't, you'll just get stronger than the rest of us using finger tip grip to do pull-ups!

For parents with children and working full-time, don't be a perfectionist! You can squeeze in 1 minute of one of the exercises, throughout the day. There's really no need to do all 9 exercises x 3 cycles in one sitting! I'm sure you can find 9 minutes during your waking hours which will cover one cycle of all the exercises he mentions (including calf raises).

I mentioned 9 exercises (instead of his big 8), because I think calf exercises should be included in the book, which they weren't. I would add calf raises which you can easily do on stairs. I would do 20 each, alternating legs for 3 sets, if time permits. One set is perfectly fine.

Indeed, doing something is better than nothing, and if you seriously can do pull-ups x 1 minute straight even just one cycle, I would say that you have functional strength.

The book recommends doing the routine every other day, such as Mon, Wed, Fri.

Alternatively, you can do an 8-minute workout on pages 212 to 213 if you have 8 straight minutes to spare. Again, Mr. Gaddour has multiple programs to suit your needs.

As for aerobic exercise, go to page 258 for a 20 minute workout, which includes 8 full-body movements such as jumping jacks and other movements that don't seem to stress the knee. I can see people finding jumping jacks might cause some knee pain, in which case, you can skip that and double up on one of the other 7 exercises. 

Because of studies that show 13 minutes of moderate cardio reaps 90% of the cardiovascular benefits of 30 to 45 minutes, you can even reduce this 20 minute workout to 13 minutes. Or take fast walks with your children up and down hills/stairs.

If you have toddlers, merely running after them will do the trick, bypassing any need for routine cardio sessions. I was out of breath running after a toddler who bolted out of my office and into stairwell, and that was just one of many incidents that you'll face as a parent.

With infants, when they're napping, you can squeeze in a cardio session.

Even if your gym membership is $10/month, it still saves $120/year. If $10/month doesn't sound like much, it can pay for 2 Twitch subscriptions of your favorite streamers!

After I finish the Level 1 Ground Zero program (4 weeks), I'll update in terms of results! 

(However, since I'm fortunate enough to have a stepmill bought about 15 years ago--probably my best purchase decision--I'll be substituting that as it's easier to just go on the machine and listen to music).

TL/DR: If you're crunched for time and just starting out, I recommend reading the section on proper posture on pages 38 to 43, and then start your exercise program right away by going to page 192. Add calf raises to do on your stairs, 20 reps each leg x 3 sets (or 1 set if you don't have time), alternating legs.

You can spread out these weight lifting exercises over the course of the day. But if you have the time to do them in one session, that's ideal. Try to do these weight lifting activities three times a week such as Mon, Wed, Fri.

Alternatively, you can do the 8-minute body weight program listed on pages 212 to 213.

Go to page 258 for your cardio workouts x 13 mins minimum.

The How of Happiness Review

Stream Key Podcast: How Do I Deal With Burnout As A Twitch Streamer (8)

How do I Deal With Burnout As A Twitch Streamer Link

1. Pretty much every streamer burns out
2. itzZ_Paladin guest
1. MMOs esp WarCraft and shooters
2. started Twitch in Xbox360 when CoD: Blackops integrated Twitch in streaming
3. he then became more serious
4. then played Ark which led to burnout
3. Favorite moment was in Ark, met a nice streamer
4. He got up to 60 viewers when he was playing Ark
5. He notes that he ran out of things to do and got burned out
6. Biggest mistake:
1. quit Ark cold turkey, and never went back to the game
2. completely switched over to CoD
3. Did a lot of damage to his reputation as a streamer
4. The community thought he was doing it just for the numbers, and not because he was bored
7. He didn't switch over gradually to CoD
8. Looking back, he felt he should have done Ark and CoD on different days
9. But he said changing to CoD led to less burnout, and he enjoyed streaming
10. Paladin felt that he had to switch to CoD b/c he was so burned out in Ark and it was worth the switch, in the moment
1. however, he felt that it just lasted that moment
2. because he was seeing the growth b/c he could get Partner if he continued with Ark, or gradually switch to the new game
3. he went from 60 viewers down to 2, so it was rough
4. He was sponsored by TruGaming
5. Killed his reputation from his old Ark community when he abruptly changed game
11. He felt that his viewers were abandoned as he abandoned his server, maintenance wasn't there
12. He was actually running the server
13. He agrees that if he forced himself to continue, he may lash out due to burn out
14. But he felt that what he was doing with Ark was unsustainable
15. If you're switching to a different game, what would you do differently?
1. Tough it out and talk to the community about changing to a new game and make sure they're okay
2. Communicate and see how they feel
3. Then maybe start out and play for a few hours, and then go back to the original game
4. Never let go of the game that your community was built around
5. Gradually switch, and go back if there's a new raid and such, unless the game is dead like Battleborn
6. However, don't please viewers if you end up hating the game, you should quit since mental health is important, especially if you get anxiety and depression over it
16. When switching a game:
1. Communicating, let them know
2. weaning into the new game 
3. switch to a game with a similar genre
4. or if you break out of the genre, is that what you really want to do?
5. often your viewers may not want to upset the streamer and not be upfront as to what game they want to see you play
17. Since Paladin made a switch to new game, he feels he has the freedom to jump around 
1. He feels he has not been burned out on WoW as he feels there's so much content
2. He eventually streamed Ark, and the viewer count went way down for Ark, since his community is now WoW and it's a completely different genre
18. Is it worth it looking back, even with the viewer difference
1. Paladin felt happier with his stream because he is now thinking more about it in terms of making sure he communicates more, and he's now more thoughtful of the process
19. He mentions multiple times, you have to take care of your community
20. What are his goals for the rest of the year?
1. Paladin will continue with WoW, and make sure that he gets more of his friends involved.
2. But since a lot of his closest supporters don't play WoW, he may try a different game
3. He wants to make sure he has a set schedule, set days when he plays WoW, and he's thinking of doing MH:W on PC 

Q/A:

• More influence from Whales (biggest supporter) or community as a whole
• Paladin tries to stick with community but sometimes his whale depending on who it is
• his biggest supporter is his mod so if he wants to see something, he would do a 24 hr stream, because he's such a huge supporter and tried to grow his community
• but if someone starts donating a lot of money who may be toxic (because they might just have money to blow), they feel like they own you
•  so it depends on the person 
• Switching games after story is over
• agrees to go for going to a new game with a story 
• there are some people who just love watching the same game over and over again, you might lose some of these viewers
• don't let that get you down because they want to see you play that particular game, so if you change, they may not watch you when you switch the game
• accept that you might lose some viewers as you change game
• What are things he struggles with when streaming?
• WoW, Paladin notes that he focuses on the gameplay, and when he does a Keystone (timed mission), he can't take off his eyes and talk to chat b/c it's a race against time
• He has to be very efficient
• When nothing goes on, just talking, b/c sometimes it takes long to get a team together. Filling dead air while waiting for his team mates
• Paladin reports to avoid burnout, make sure you find a game that you're really interested in to avoid burnout. Pick a game that has a lot of content.
• Paladin sees a Variety streamer as someone who is constantly switching games, almost on a day to day basis 
• Host notes that Variety is how you define it
• Paladin has been mainly streaming WoW for the past year, so there's tons of content
• Going for a variety mindset, that's important to know to avoid burnout later as variety tend to be less burned out
• Paladin's biggest struggles is interacting with chat while he's doing very intensive things
• what steps did he take to improve that?
• Paladin was doing Mythic Raids, and part of guilds 11/11 mythic at the highest tier
• He joined them just before or slightly after their last boss
• He filled in them and can tell when there's less intense spots where he can catch up chat
• A lot of viewers know that if you're doing Mythic Raid, they know you can't talk to chat during intensive parts
• Comes with experience to be able to gameplay and chat at same time

The How of Happiness Review

Stream Key Podcast: Should Streaming Be Your Job Or Hobby? (7)

Should Streaming Be Your Job Or Hobby Link

This is a really great stream with great, actionable tips. I would read this very carefully. EXCEPT for the part where they say you have to make sacrifices. NEVER sacrifice your health, your real job, sleep, relationships for streaming. NO, Gabe, NO, you need at least 6 hrs of sleep!

1. Guest TomCruzMomShoes, Gabe, streams:
1. The Division
2. PUBG
2. Single favorite streaming memory:
1. Hosted by official Division channel x 3 PogChamp
2. 1 year anniversary, IRL stream, drawing in MS Paint
3. Gabe sees streaming as hobby for him
1. He takes it very seriously but doesn't see this as a FT job
2. Not even a PT job
3. Minute you think of it as a job, you'll stop enjoying
4. Do it for fun and grow a community, meeting people
4. Do people have unrealistic expectations? Yes!
1. with streaming, it looks "easy"but not everyone can be a Ninja or Lirik
2. only a few can break out
3. so don't be crushed if you can't get to the level of a Lirik
4. but does NOT mean you should NOT take streaming seriously
5. still put effort into it to have fun
5. Gabe's stream revolves mostly around Division
1. It's like the guy who plays golf on the weekends
2. He's still super competitive of his golf game on weekends
3. He gets best equipment, always at golf course
4. so Gabe makes sure he has quality content
5. he makes sure he networks and engages with others outside his stream
6. Gabe is live 12 hrs/week
6. You can put the effort into something without making it into a career, and feeling like you MUST be a success
1. This is the best way of viewing stream
2. Gabe understands as Gamers tend to be competitive, so they may start comparing to others: how come him (being a success), how come not me
1. that becomes a problem
2. b/c there's always someone 1 step ahead of you
3. If you depend on streaming to pay your bills, it's extremely stressful
4. Can definitely cause tension with your family if they're dependent on your streaming income
7. Benefits of seeing your stream as a hobby rather than a career
1. No pressure with paying bills
8. Gabe breaks down the math:
1. Avg US income is 50K, that comes out to over 2,000 Tier 1 subs/month! (affiliates get 50%) .  
2. That's a lot of subscriptions!
9. Gabe discusses burnout issues even as a hobby
1. Not sure what he wants to do in stream leads to burnout for him
2. If you're burned out, but see this as a hobby, you can take a break
3. You can't do that when you're dependent on the money
4. Any income he gets from streaming, it goes right back into his stream, supporting other streamers
10. Host explains streamers when they go FT, and it becomes detrimental, b/c of wrong expectations
1. It shifts into trying to bring in more money
2. Gabe sees that, and sees people overstepping boundaries
3. you play pickup basketball, and then expect to be as good as LeBron
4. Gabe feels that people don't educate themselves about Twitch, even though they don't know the basic etiquette, or even know how to use OBS
5. Gabe feels that people move too fast
6. Gabe finds that you should only go FT if you notice that you already are there with your subscription level
7. Otherwise, you start worrying about money
8. Patience is importance
9. Host sees someone streaming a couple of months, and then jump into FT which leads to disaster
10. Host notices that people don't do the math
11. Downsides of seeing your stream as a hobby instead of a job
1. Gabe finds that if he treats stream as a job, he'd be more successful
2. Gabe notices that he initially gets 15 viewers and then after 3 to 4 hrs, he hits 50 viewers, and wonders if he streams longer, can he get 75 and get partnership?
3. Gabe reports he never streams past 4 hrs because of other obligations, so he can't answer that question, but has a feeling, he can be more successful, which makes sense logically
12. Gabe puts in a lot of time networking, putting money in equipment
1. He definitely takes it seriously
2. He's a community manager of a Discord server
1. started with a few streamers who were trying to make Affiliate
13. Gabe notes that all sponsors care about is the viewers numbers
14. Gabe reports that having a try-hard hobby attitude doesn't hold him back (he works very hard)
1. he asks his viewers for feedback
2. success of his stream won't affect him like if it were a job
3. he's able to adjust his own goals any way he wants
4. if a job, you need to measure it by whether you can pay your bills
15. Those who are deciding b/w Job or Hobby
1. it's a numbers game
2. if you crunch the numbers, and you're very close to paying all your bills and lifestyle, go for it
3. but ONLY if you have the numbers
4. i.e. if you have 10 subscribers, you can't do this, b/c it's hard to go from 10 to 1000 subscriptions in a couple of months, necessary to pay your bills
16. Gabe also notes that you MUST enjoy it, you MUST love it, never feel like it's a burden
1. because if you make it a FT job, it's going to be disastrous if you do NOT love it and find it a burden
17. Gabe's best advice to new streamers:
1. Focus on educating yourself on stream as an art form:
1. Watch as many streams as possible
2. find great community that you can engage with
3. be friends with streamers where you are to grow together
18. Host asks Gabe's long-term goals
1. Plays Division on PS4 mainly, sometimes PC
2. If you're interested in a game that has so much content, do it, because you can teach, educate, answer question

Q/A:

• Variety vs 1-game (Gabe)
• Gabe has dabbled in variety as he has taken breaks from Division
• for Gabe, he's more of a community streamer so he knows everyone
• he likes to know his core people
• he notes that when you play different games, most follow b/c of the game you play so you'll get different viewers as you change games
• he notes that 50% is interested in him, and the other 50% is interested in him playing Division
• Work/Life balance while staying consistent
• When should people go FT?
• when you're young, when you don't have kids and you think it's sustainable
• you have to be efficient, don't waste time
• he sacrifices sleep (my input: this is NOT a good idea), he only gets 4 hrs/sleep
• if you have downtime at work, you should network, do your Discord
• if you want to get somewhere, you have to make sacrifices per the host
• I do NOT think this is a good idea at all (my input)
• You do NOT want to sacrifice your relationships, your health (my input)
• Networking is just making friends
• find people you like and who likes you, and become friends with them (my input: excellent idea)
• Gabe ends up knowing his viewers as much as his friends in IRL
• they are his true friends
• my input: this is researched, and shown that internet friends are still friends and social supports as IRL friends
• Gabe mentions joining communities. He found TruGaming and became sponsored by TruGaming 
• do NOT be self-serving
• don't do things to get things in return
• but watch out for those who keep taking and never giving back
• my input: I agree, cut off users who don't help despite your always helping them, those aren't true friends but rather leeches
• Be a nice person, be a person that you'd like
• How to get new viewers
• Gabe engages with the Division community a lot, including other Division streamers and viewers
• Gabe engages with the Division developers too! PogChamp
• At least be known in your game's community such as sub-reddits
• Gabe notes that he can't tell how many times he would go into Division stream and would get PM from that streamer saying he's honored to have met him b/c they know him in Division
• Talking to viewers end at the stream, what do you do to encourage people to come back?
• Gabe mentions he needs to improve on that, as he doesn't really think about ending the stream
• Gabe has good mods who give him constructive criticism such as "you suck at raids", so he improves
• Gabe would tell when he's going to be back--discuss your schedule
• He might mention his Discord as this is a place where you can keep in touch with him at all times
• What do you both think about looking into a Facecam directly when talking to chat
• Gabe mentions he's bad at that
• Gabe reports that he looks at the chat text instead
• Gabe would say to pose this to your community, he doesn't have a problem when other streamers don't look at the Facecam
• Gabe reports that you really need a Facecam
• Host feels that if you look at the Facecam, a viewer may feel more engaged
• LOOK at Facecam directly more, whenever you can!
• My input: however, I feel that I always need to look at chat to see if any comments show up to address immediately, so I'm not sure how to do that

The How of Happiness Review

Quick Twitch Tips (1)

Here's the first of a series of streaming tips that can improve streaming with minimal time, as so many are pressed with time between family, relationships and work.

Note: These are for beginners like me who are starting out and aiming for Affiliate, but I'm assuming you already have a mic, and down the road, Facecam when you feel more comfortable.

Best Twitch Tip: Put Out Content, Just Do It
Do not worry about having the perfect setup, the perfect branding, the perfect mission statement. You can always change these things. 

Turn on Store past broadcasts

Quick Tip 1: Turn on Store Past Broadcasts

As a newbie, I thought Twitch automatically stores your past broadcasts. It doesn't. Go to the tab under your Twitch name, click on "Dashboard", go to "Settings", click on "Channel" and turn on "Store past broadcasts".

Quick Tip 2: Profile Picture
Make sure you have a profile picture. I can tell immediately who is who by just your picture, so it's easy to distinguish you from channels that have similar names.

Quick Tip 3: Channel Description
Edit your channel description panels. So many streamers who are starting out and attempting Affiliate don't have description of their channel, so their page is blank. A viewer may not know what the channel is about.

Therefore, I would just write something, anything in your channel description page, and you can easily edit these panels whenever you want! You don't need any fancy artwork.

A simple, "My name is John/Mary and I love RPGs/FPSs" and maybe list your favorite games/franchises, is better than a blank page.

Of course, you'll come up with something better and more personal down the road, including artwork and such, but this is an example of not being perfect and coming up with some content, which is better than no content.

If you have a schedule, by all means add your schedule, and again, you can always change this when your schedule changes.

I appreciate Ashnichrist's suggestion in one of the Stream Key Podcasts about having Channel Values section, rather than Channel Rules. One of your values can be "We're against racism, sexism" as opposed to "No racist, sexist remarks". Indeed, Values are more uplifting and positive than the dire-sounding Rules.

Again, you can always change your channel's information page at any time!

Quick Tip 4: Catchy Stream Title
Each stream, come up with a catchy title, because first impressions count! Initially my title was just Monster Hunter: World, which was nondescript so your first impression would be that this broadcast is going to be boring.

I initially had Monster Hunter:World in the title, as I didn't realize that underneath your video broadcast, the game you're playing will be listed as long as you set up the game in Categories.

However, if you have a humorous or intriguing title, in terms of first impressions, people will think that you're going to be an entertaining streamer.

I would use alliteration, rhymes, memes. For instance, when my broadcast was about using bow against Barroth, my title for that stream was Bowing to the Barroth God. As you can see, this isn't brilliant by any means, so you can come up with better stream titles!

This should only take 15 minutes at most, and can possibly bring in more viewers.

Quick Tip 5: Read Chat After Stream
I would use logviewer which is very easy to set up. You just type in your Twitch Channel name and you're good to go.

After stream, logviewer keeps a log of your chat. When you first start out, you're not going to get as many comments, so you can quickly read through your chat log to see if you missed anything, and it really doesn't take much time.

Because my memory isn't that good, reading through the log was extremely helpful in remembering what my viewers said that session, so I can extend the conversation next stream. 

Further, it's amazing how much I missed, even though I thought I was diligently reading chat. Or, incredibly enough, there are some instances when I read aloud someone's chat comments, but it didn't register since I don't remember saying it, and in the video, I didn't remark on the comments I just read! But I was able to address this later after reading the comment in Nightbot log.

I also note that if there's a new person in the chat, I whisper a thank you in Twitch PM (Private Message) system. And certainly, if anyone followed, sent bits and subscribed, I also thank them as well.

However, this may not be feasible when you grow and you get so many comments. But starting out, when I didn't have that many comments, it really doesn't take that much time and it may help retain your viewers!

The How of Happiness Review

Gaining New Twitch Followers

I didn't realize in my previous post, How to Cheese the Twitch Affiliate, how difficult it is to gain followers, since I've been a Twitch member since 2014, and was able to collect 50 followers over the natural course. Therefore, when I first started broadcasting, I already have the required amount of followers.

I got very lucky and found amazing streamers off the bat during the height of the Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne era, as featured in this post of recommended Twitch Communities. I found out about quite a few of the streamers I follow simply by asking my Playstation friends. So I would start there, and ask your gaming buddies which streamers they follow.

Soon, you'll find like-minded communities that you can further join. Indeed, this post needs to be updated, as I've found so many other wonderful communities along the way.

Once you find a streamer through friends' recommendations, you must spend the time chatting and socializing with the members of that community. There's no shortcut to that, you need to put in the time. Indeed, you can't just stop in one day and just say hi, leaving it at that, and expect the whole community to follow you.

However, it shouldn't feel like work spending time, because you're having fun with these streamers and their communities. If it feels like a chore to socialize with that streamer, then the community isn't a good fit for you, and it's time for you to move onto another one. But eventually, you should be able to find quite a few communities that you enjoy being with.

Going through this rather long process, once you already have 50 followers, you can easily Cheese the Twitch Affiliate. Since you're very close to a few communities, and you're a part of their Discord channel, most streamers have a Stream_Share channel where you can announce that you're streaming, and your friends there will watch you, gaining the necessary 3 concurrent viewers.

The How of Happiness Review 

Extreme Behemoth--My Most Hated Boss Of All Time (Monday Musings 60)

I was able to defeat Monster Hunter: World's Normal Behemoth enough times to get the Hunter

The Hated Behemoth

and Palico armors, and the Insect Glaive. As soon as I got the last materials, my immediate reaction was relief that I never ever have to fight normal Behemoth again! 

This is the exact opposite reaction that I had when fighting Kulve Taroth. Even after getting two of her weapons that I wanted, her Diablos Charge Blade and her Crest Claw Lance, I continued to fight Kulve because she's fun. She's also very fair, because you can literally solo her on your own (albeit it has taken me 1.5 hrs). And certainly with COOP, you can beat her faster. 

Further, with Kulve, any weapon is viable against her. The Kulve Taroth Raid is in the spirit of all the past Monster Hunters. You can fight any monster solo with any weapon, as all weapons are viable, and (if you have a competent team) you can kill the monster faster in COOP, regardless of weapon composition of your team.

However, with the new Extreme Behemoth (Extremoth), the spirit of Monster Hunter is thrown out the window. The most effective and best weapon against him is the HBG, and in fact, 4 extremely skilled hunters were able to kill him under 5 minutes with HBG Cluster Bomb method:



Other weapons are certainly viable if you're extremely skilled, but for the average gamer, HBG with shield is the way to go.

Indeed, the normal person doesn't have the skill to pull off an under 5 minute Extreme Behemoth win. In fact, you have to be way better than average, and actually be quite good against Extreme to even have a fighting chance of beating him. But you also need to have an equally good team. Please allow me to explain:

Extremoth can now spam up to 8 Ecliptic Meteors. If you:

1. don't hide behind a comet (often there's no comet and/or the lone comet gets destroyed because he may have dropped it on lava)
2. don't run out of the area, or
3. don't perform the gesture Jump in time (and the window is very small)

then you automatically cart! Sadly, Guard UP (blocks otherwise unblockable attacks) doesn't protect you from his Ecliptic. 

As you all know, three carts and you've lost the mission. You can see how a party can easily wipe to Extremoth's Ecliptic. He also has a new shoulder bash attack that 1HKO in phase 3. I believe that even if you have Guard UP (blocks otherwise unblockable attacks), that specific melee attack can 1HKO as well, leading yet another possible cart.

I feel that I can beat Extreme Behemoth but only if I can pull off the Jump gesture in time. I have very poor positional awareness to be close to a comet or exit. However, to practice this gesture, you can only do that while facing Behemoth.

Often the team wipes (and then leaves if there's so much as 1 faint in the 1st phase), even before he does his Ecliptic attacks. I've also seen party members leave when they notice that there's not an ideal composition (preferably HBG, but also support/healer, tank builds). Therefore, I won't get enough practice in to learn how to perform this jump, unless I dedicate many, many hours.

However, let's pretend that after 100 hours of practice, I finally get this Jump timing down to perfection.  Next, I need to be lucky to be in a team with three others who can also flawlessly execute. This part is purely random and logically, you may never even beat Extreme Behemoth even if you can avoid all his 1HKO moves.

Technically, you may end up having really awful luck and end up with a party that wipes all the time. Therefore, even if you can flawlessly execute, you still may never beat Behemoth because you end up with a team that carts all the time due to pure bad luck.

Now, there are those who can solo Extreme Behemoth, but that's only a handful out of a million players out there. The developers made sure you only get 30 minutes and they increased his health to a whopping 50,000.

If I do sound salty, I am indeed! Due to streaming and wanting to improve my content, I don't have the time to practice against Extremoth.

Even so, I think it's accurate to say that Extreme Behemoth is unfair based on what I discussed above, as victory even for the skilled person, is dependent on others, unlike Kulve and all the monsters I've faced in all the mainline Monster Hunter series. And again, this goes against the spirit of Monster Hunter.

Youtuber, DarkHero, did a superb job explaining exactly why Extreme Behemoth is unfair in even more detail than I put forth, since he actually beat the mission! See his video discussion here:



DarkHero is clearly NOT salty, because here's his Extreme Behemoth win:



Conclusion: Due to the unfairness of Extremoth, and the fact that he goes against the spirit of what Monster Hunter is all about, he's my most hated boss of all time. 

The How of Happiness Review