Broadcast yourself, this is a common tagline for many content creation websites. The idea is simple, anyone can use a camera to create content that others will enjoy, getting clicks, getting followers, getting monetized. Suddenly before he/she knows it they are sitting at a dinner table with others like them. Being paid thousands of dollars for doing something as absurd as entertainment. It would be an understatement to say that this is many people’s dream job.
Twitch, is a live streaming platform with over 2.84 million concurrent viewers watching the people of Twitch make content. The gimmick with Twitch is that everything comes in a completely live format, which requires the streamer to keep the content fresh. Viewers on Twitch are like flies and tend to bounce from streamer to streamer, so it’s difficult to truly capture the attention and earn a follow from the viewer. That’s the game, capturing a viewer’s attention and putting on a show.
Creators are the building blocks of Twitch, beaming personalities with a little something for everyone. Mizkif is a considerably popular streamer who is the embodiment of everything “Twitch culture.” He always manages to do something above and beyond with his many events and game shows that he hosts himself, raking in the viewers. That along with his witty commentary and constant collaborations have easily placed him in the Top-10. He is a sort of “streamer’s streamer” to say the least.
But not every creator can be like Mizkif. Unfortunately, the ceiling is incredibly high, most won’t even see the summit, let alone fathom the height of it. An aspiring streamer has to be incredibly talented to make it in this industry and even then, their chances are low. They need drive and creativity, making something completely out-of-the-box to get clicks.
Take Jerma, who was already a decent sized streamer with just under half a million followers, well known around the internet, with a tendency for the kookiest jokes. It is not uncommon for Jerma to end up setting up a bit for 15 minutes just for it to fall flat on its face, but what sets Jerma apart from the rest, no matter what, he runs with it. He is a breath of fresh air and one day he created something so absurd that it was guaranteed to work.
The Jerma Dollhouse stream, arguably one of the greatest set of streams in Twitch’s short history, operates off a basic concept. Jerma is put in the dollhouse and the audience makes every decision for him. There are multiple bars at the bottom of the screen to indicate his need for food, fun, even to shower. Imagine a high budget, improv game of Sims. His decisions are determined via polling the chat with decisions like “eat food,” “shower,” “watch TV.”
All the whilem Jerma stays completely in character through unpredictable insanity. The point: you must be different in order to grow. This series of streams averaged almost 300,000 viewers. And perhaps with some creative thinking and wit anyone can accomplish Twitch fame.