Streaming, such as the live broadcasting content seen on Twitch, YouTube and other platforms, has drastically skyrocketed in popularity since the start of the pandemic. In wake of this, a Stan State alumni and students share their experiences as Twitch streamers.

As a streamer that has made content throughout the pandemic, former Stan State Gamer Club President and alumnus Daniel Ching has had an interesting experience. While streaming during this time, he noticed how incredibly popular streaming had become. 

“I noticed everyone started doing it and it’s cool, you know, the more the merrier,” stated Ching. 

Currently, Ching has over 2,600 followers on Twitch, and loves spending time chatting with his followers. He spends most of his time streaming on the Just Chatting category on Twitch. When he isn’t in this category, Ching loves playing games that his followers can immerse themselves in, while watching him play. 

“I like playing hard games, like games that take a while. One of my favorite things to play is Hardcore Minecraft because that took me like a month to do but [my followers] were along for the ride and getting all hyped about it. So when I finally beat it, everybody was going crazy,” describes Ching. 

However, it wasn’t always like this. Ching remembers when he had barely started streaming in late 2019. If he were to give any advice to any streamers looking to start, it would be to feel comfortable with yourself and your abilities as a creator as well as to have fun while doing so. The hardest aspect of streaming for Ching was putting himself on a public platform for all to see and judge, which is something that still naturally lingers in the back of his mind every now and then. 

“I always have my stuff on the other monitor, and so I always have to look at myself and sometimes I’m just like- ‘damn why does my hair look like that,’” jokes Ching. 

Another Streamer with similar experiences as Ching, is current Stan State Business major Kevin, who for the sake of keeping his streaming life separate from his personal life, will only be referred to as Kevin. 

Kevin had initially started streaming in 2017 after being inspired by his friends that were streaming around the same time. He noticed that he had the spare time to dedicate to streaming and wanted to see if he would enjoy it. 

“I’m a variety streamer so I basically stream whatever game I feel like streaming but I mainly play Osu, Apex Legends, and Gorilla Tag,” explains Kevin.

However, during the beginning of his streaming journey, he had struggled to get viewers and build an audience of his own. He would have viewers who would join his chat to say hello and then leave as soon as they had joined. 

“Through my 2-3 hour streams, I would be talking to myself the whole time and I just got used to it and that was the hardest part because I wanted to interact- I don’t like talking to an empty audience,” describes Kevin.

Though this discouraged Kevin a great deal, he loved streaming and continues to do so and would advise beginner streamers in similar circumstances to treat streaming as a fun hobby rather as a way to make money.

“I know a lot of streamers try to go into it like ‘oh wait- I can make some money out of this’. And to those people I say: Stop right there, don’t think about that because it won’t get you far,” advises Kevin.  

This is a sentiment that both Ching and Kevin share. They believe that to go into streaming with the sole purpose of making money dampens your experience and furthermore sets unrealistic expectations as to what it means to be a successful streamer. 

“People will start streaming and go ‘oh I can make a lot of money’ and you do make money, but if it’s not fun then you’re just not going to have a good time with it because it is hard starting off, you’ll start off with nothing,” expresses Ching. 

As these two streamers continue to grow and expand their channels, their hard work ethic and dedication can be a testament as to what great things lie ahead for each streamer’s future. If you wish to support Ching and Kevin you can do so by following them on twitch using the links provided below and within the article.  

Kevin’s Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/rukairi
Ching’s Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/hotline_ching