Streaming: Share your experiences

Hi All,
I started live streaming toward the beginning of the year, mostly playing games, but also doing some pixel art illustration too, and I like doing it more and more - it definitely helps that I will typically get at least one person interacting with me in chat when I do stream. I mainly started streaming as an extension of my podcast, but at this point it seems that anyone who does watch is just a fan of the podcast - so not sure that streaming is doing the job . Anyway wondering what if any, my focus should be for the stream which leads me to asking you all:

Streamers

• Why do you stream?
  
• How much time do you devote to streaming?
  
• What do you typically stream, i.e. games, creative, IRL?
  
• Do you have a preferred platform to stream to and why that over any others?
  
• What is the link to your stream, i.e. promote yourself  ?
  
• If you are on Twitch or Mixer, want to exchange hosting info?
  

Stream Watchers

• What do you like to watch in streams?
  
• Do you care more about who you are watching or what they are playing/doing?
  
• Any streams you schedule time to watching?
  

Thanks everyone for your insight!

Well some of this you probably know already, but I'll chime in to get the ball rolling:

fxruizx wrote:
[*]Why do you stream?

Because I know that some Christian Geeks enjoy watching live streams, so it's a unique potential point of connection/engagement. It also helps me to create regular video game-based content for the youtube channel in the long term.

fxruizx wrote:
[*]How much time do you devote to streaming?

I'm on a roughly "once every three months" schedule, usually doing 6 hour streams on Friday nights when I do. The average stream takes about 1-2 hours of total prep time.

fxruizx wrote:
[*]What do you typically stream, i.e. games, creative, IRL?

Video games.

fxruizx wrote:
[*]Do you have a preferred platform to stream to and why that over any others?

I started with Twitch but changed to youtube. As a viewer I've had better quality viewing experiences with youtube live streams over twitch. Youtube is also reportedly much easier for people to sign up and join in the chat. I definitely noticed a bump up in chat engagement on youtube, but that also may have been due to having an active youtube channel in place when I started streaming there. It also helps me keep my small audience more unified in one place.

Hope that's helpful!

fxruizx wrote:
Stream Watchers

• What do you like to watch in streams?
  
• Do you care more about who you are watching or what they are playing/doing?
  
• Any streams you schedule time to watching?
  

1. I like to watch video games, Q&A discussions, pro wrestling matches...don't have much experience with anything else. I've seen stream announcements from Albert Mohler and RZIM appear on my YouTube subscriptions, but I haven't actually attempted to watch any of them yet.

2. I think I care more about who I'm watching, especially if it's a Q&A.

3. I schedule time for Paeter's streams if they happen at a time I'm not working or sleeping.

Reed Benson wrote:

3. I schedule time for Paeter's streams if they happen at a time I'm not working or sleeping.

Thanks, Reed! So great to have you for those!

With the exception of my SNES Classic unboxing I haven't really streamed in a while but hope to start again probably in January

Streamers

Why do you stream?
I like Video games and I like chatting. I also hope to eventually use it to promote my YouTube and make some money with it

How much time do you devote to streaming?
Once I get back into it I hope to eventually do it 3-5 hours a day 5 days a week

What do you typically stream, i.e. games, creative, IRL?
Video games I might try creative sometime

Do you have a preferred platform to stream to and why that over any others?
Twitch simply because I think its the biggest Streaming site

What is the link to your stream, i.e. promote yourself  ?
https://www.twitch.tv/rugged_Warrior

If you are on Twitch or Mixer, want to exchange hosting info?
Not sure what that is but maybe

Stream Watchers

What do you like to watch in streams?
Video games I watch a lot of speed runs or games that I would like to know about but wont play

Do you care more about who you are watching or what they are playing/doing?
Both there are some streamers I watch because I enjoy the streamer and sometimes I'll watch a stream because of the game they are playing

Any streams you schedule time to watching?
Not like oh I have to stop everything to watch this streamer but if I'm not busy there are a few I watch regularly

Not sure why I stopped receiving notification emails from this post but thank you everyone for sharing their thoughts so far

Responding/asking more from what some of you have said:

Paeter wrote: I definitely noticed a bump up in chat engagement on youtube, but that also may have been due to having an active youtube channel in place when I started streaming there.

Paeter do you think if you weren't making YT only content and just used it for streaming, it would still be your choosen platform?

Reed Benson wrote:I schedule time for Paeter's streams if they happen at a time I'm not working or sleeping.

Me too

Rickster wrote:If you are on Twitch or Mixer, want to exchange hosting info? Not sure what that is but maybe

From how i understand it, is that you can set certain channels to show in your channel when you are not streaming. For example, if I have mine setup to host my brother's channel, so if I am not streaming (which is most of the time right now) and he is streaming, my channel will show my brothers stream. And he does the same for me.

fxruizx wrote:

Rickster wrote:If you are on Twitch or Mixer, want to exchange hosting info? Not sure what that is but maybe

From how i understand it, is that you can set certain channels to show in your channel when you are not streaming. For example, if I have mine setup to host my brother's channel, so if I am not streaming (which is most of the time right now) and he is streaming, my channel will show my brothers stream. And he does the same for me.

Sure I'll do that What's your channel and I'll add you

fxruizx wrote:
Paeter do you think if you weren't making YT only content and just used it for streaming, it would still be your choosen platform?

Gosh, I don't know. As a viewer I've had better quality stream experiences with youtube. But if I did research and just found that Twitch would draw a larger crowd for me then maybe I'd switch.

Rickster wrote:Sure I'll do that What's your channel and I'll add you

Awesome thank you, I am at twitch.tv/retrorewindpod. And I have added you to my Host list

fxruizx wrote:

Rickster wrote:Sure I'll do that What's your channel and I'll add you

Awesome thank you, I am at twitch.tv/retrorewindpod. And I have added you to my Host list

Thanks I added you and followed you as well