An I.R.L. Streamer.

I actually know a IRL streamer, a real good friend of mine Joey. He's been able to create a career out of sharing his personal life with the rest of the world at any given moment. He started off by showcasing his breakdancing skills to his audience (he's a world-class break dancer). He'd garner heavy support from viewers of his channel by offering to do a backflip live when a user followed him. He later changed it to when someone subscribes (paying to support the channel). It’s something I pretend was birthed when he joined me on an Instagram live I did almost 2 years ago. A follower of mine asked Joey to do a backflip while I was streaming us walking through a park. He kept the tradition going when he launched his Twitch channel with the help of our mutual friend Ray who coincidentally manages partnerships at Twitch.

Joey is easily on his way to a 6-figure year in 2019, as 2018 was his first year of streaming full-time. It's interesting to me how popular live streaming has become over the past several years. People of all ages and backgrounds can make a career by simply broadcasting their lives and personality online, and the hordes of viewers pour in subscribing and donating money.

I've actually thought about how I would situate myself as a streamer, and I actually tried it for a few weeks. It didn't hold. I decided to focus my stream on photography and interviewing creatives. It was an idea I had a lot of initial motivation to start, but I couldn't keep the fire burning for it. Streaming was tiresome and unrewarding. I've since been keeping a running brainstorm in the back of my mind of what type of content I would be able to share online as a live streamer. If I were to get more frequent freelance gigs as a photographer I could do a few highlight streams including some behind the scenes, etc., assuming the work I was doing didn't have an NDA. I'd focus it towards a viewership of artists and curious minds. Maybe one day a proper theme will strike me and I can re-launch it, but that's something that's just going to have to happen organically, if it even does.

As for my friend Joey, I put together a few clips from his stream that deal with some of the problems IRL streamers have. The way streamers are treated, and the content they're forced to create are both unappealing to me. Joey has made it to the famed Reddit LiveStreamFails thread a few times.

You have to keep in mind that the live stream coverage is their actual life. And one story that gets me when I think about it is how he was dared on a stream to flirt with a girl in a coffee shop. That girl ended up becoming his fiancé, and with the help of some friends at Twitch, Joey was placed on the front page of the platform when he surprise proposed to her. Here's the heartwarming moment caught on his stream (you can actually spot me in the background snapping photos for him in the moment):

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/ScrumptiousInterestingAlfalfaSMOrc

There are other not-so happy moments though in the life of a streamer, such as the way locals may dislike the new technology.

Guy being aggressive with Joey publicly in a restaurant in Taiwan:

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/CourteousPolishedEelPunchTrees

Joey's reaction to a man that had a problem with his stream:

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/AnimatedAstuteHamburgerYee

However, we can't forget the lighter moments, and the little messages.

Joey getting trolled by his dad:

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/ModernBlushingScorpionTBTacoRight

Joey on respecting elders:

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/ExcitedWealthyCobraArsonNoSexy

Joey doing a backflip for a new subscriber with his fiancé going crazy in the background:

https://www.twitch.tv/joeykaotyk/clip/GeniusDirtyFennelHeyGirl

I actually was tuned into Joey’s stream while writing this paper, chatting with my friend and seeing what he’s been up to. All in all, I'm marveled by the invention of live streaming and really excited to see what becomes of it. I think it still has a lot of room to grow and become better, it's definitely here to stay, and with platforms like Twitch, becoming a professional streamer is a real possibility.