4 ms·

You could replace this title with "Programmers who spend years creating a SAAS app that no one uses" and it would be the same article. All of these streamers w

by nickjj 8y ago

You could replace this title with "Programmers who spend years creating a SAAS app that no one uses" and it would be the same article. All of these streamers who are bothered by not having an audience seem to have started for the wrong reasons. If all they care about are subscribers and viewers, then you're going to get really burnt out when that doesn't happen. Most of the popular streamers who I've come across do it because they enjoy it. The same can be said for the people who create successful SAAS apps. It's a mix of enjoying what they do, combined with making something that no one else has yet. It's not to get rich quick.

Shivetya 8y ago
It would be even simpler to replace it with "Bloggers who have no audience". There are countless blogs out there and more everyday and few if any ever gain traction. However we must see it also from the small business perspective. How many start a business versus how many succeed? I remember when coffee shops, cupcake shops, and more, were the fad, and they vanish with regularity.
- nickjj 8y ago
  Yes for sure, right after I posted that reply I thought about blogging too. It definitely is the same story. It took me almost a year of regular blogging before I got some type of readership on my site, and even today, 3 years later, I wouldn't consider it popular. My intent was never to get make money on the site. It was to create documentation for myself (and anyone else who wants to follow along).
- mkirklions 8y ago
  I have a website that broke past the 'no-one cares' blogging stage. The most important thing was being unique with quality. While other people parrot the best credit card rewards, we did serious research into finding the best Calories Per Dollar, Protein Per Dollar, Vitamin A per dollar, etc... But like the other person mentioned, I dont like shoving it in people's faces. I'm finally at the point that I get hundreds of googles a day and Ive meet people IRL that have been on my website. The biggest deal is to provide value that no one else is. Most people are wayy to lazy. They would rather spend 4 hours on a blog post instead of 20.
- CM30 8y ago
  Yeah, this is basically the norm for a lot of artists and creators in general. You start out with no audience, and unless you somehow become a viral hit quite quickly, it's likely you'll spend months or years building up your work to the point it attracts one. You could write the same story about YouTubers, bloggers, artists, musicians, business owners and software engineers. Many try, most either fail or struggle in relative obscurity.
H1Supreme 8y ago
Yes, but creating a SAAS app from the ground up still gives gives a valuable skill set. Even if no one uses your app.
- corobo 8y ago
  My on again off again wander into the world of streaming/letsplaying/podcasting improved my ability to speak infinitely. Before I started I was the guy that spoke in mumbles or from behind a hand in front of my mouth
  - cf498 8y ago
    LegendOfTotalWar said something similar about how the tone of his voice changed by just talking a lot more while recording campaign after campaign.
    - corobo 8y ago
      Yeah I think it’s a combo of straight up talking a lot but also really listening to how you talk when editing together a video I found myself really disliking how I spoke when editing the videos because it was a real pain to make my voice heard using all sorts of compression and volume normalisation It was a decent insight into how others may be hearing me (or not, as the case was)
      - nickjj 8y ago
        That could also be your microphone set up too. My voice changed -drastically- in 3 years of creating online video courses, and while things like confidence levels have gone up (tone / etc.) there's also been technical improvements too (better mic / audio settings). My audio settings now are very basic. I just speak at a casual volume straight into the mic and do very little audio processing (just a noise gate and a tiny amount of compression). A good gauge for improvement is how long you can go in a single cut. I still script a lot of my content just to gather my thoughts (I feel it makes for a better end result, even if I don't stick to the script 100%).
- 8y ago
mettamage 8y ago
Deleted my comment and resposting it here, since it belongs to this topic. Is the analogy made to failed startups already? Let me steal a couple of things mentioned in the article and just replace the topic of Twitch streamers with startups. I am now a self-proclaimed startup guru for the remainder of this comment by using this article as my source :D Reasons for starting a startup other than being financially successful or successful through social impact are: (1) it is a form of self-improvement, (2) you will connect with people and (3) you can express your political views. Note on expressing your political views: create an amazing product that helps your political views like starting a hospice clinic that is pro or against euthanasia. Don't try to get fake likes for your marketing campaign, or fake emails for that matter. Related, buying into reciprocal deals is dangerous (e.g. you like someone and they'll like you). Oh, and if you're able to be comfortable being lonely, not taking rejection personal and keep a work rhythm that you can stick with then you may have a chance of success. However, it all comes down to quite a bit of luck still, didn't I mention you need to be comfortable being lonely? I wish there were more articles like this. Despite the fact it's not a post-mortem it shows how tough these things (Twitch streaming or startups) can be. Where does the analogy break according to you? I am having a bit too much confirmation bias in my thinking.

by nickjj 8y ago

Shivetya 8y ago

It would be even simpler to replace it with "Bloggers who have no audience". There are countless blogs out there and more everyday and few if any ever gain traction. However we must see it also from the small business perspective. How many start a business versus how many succeed? I remember when coffee shops, cupcake shops, and more, were the fad, and they vanish with regularity.

nickjj 8y ago
Yes for sure, right after I posted that reply I thought about blogging too. It definitely is the same story. It took me almost a year of regular blogging before I got some type of readership on my site, and even today, 3 years later, I wouldn't consider it popular. My intent was never to get make money on the site. It was to create documentation for myself (and anyone else who wants to follow along).
mkirklions 8y ago
I have a website that broke past the 'no-one cares' blogging stage. The most important thing was being unique with quality. While other people parrot the best credit card rewards, we did serious research into finding the best Calories Per Dollar, Protein Per Dollar, Vitamin A per dollar, etc... But like the other person mentioned, I dont like shoving it in people's faces. I'm finally at the point that I get hundreds of googles a day and Ive meet people IRL that have been on my website. The biggest deal is to provide value that no one else is. Most people are wayy to lazy. They would rather spend 4 hours on a blog post instead of 20.
CM30 8y ago
Yeah, this is basically the norm for a lot of artists and creators in general. You start out with no audience, and unless you somehow become a viral hit quite quickly, it's likely you'll spend months or years building up your work to the point it attracts one. You could write the same story about YouTubers, bloggers, artists, musicians, business owners and software engineers. Many try, most either fail or struggle in relative obscurity.

H1Supreme 8y ago

Yes, but creating a SAAS app from the ground up still gives gives a valuable skill set. Even if no one uses your app.

corobo 8y ago
My on again off again wander into the world of streaming/letsplaying/podcasting improved my ability to speak infinitely. Before I started I was the guy that spoke in mumbles or from behind a hand in front of my mouth
- cf498 8y ago
  LegendOfTotalWar said something similar about how the tone of his voice changed by just talking a lot more while recording campaign after campaign.
  - corobo 8y ago
    Yeah I think it’s a combo of straight up talking a lot but also really listening to how you talk when editing together a video I found myself really disliking how I spoke when editing the videos because it was a real pain to make my voice heard using all sorts of compression and volume normalisation It was a decent insight into how others may be hearing me (or not, as the case was)
    - nickjj 8y ago
      That could also be your microphone set up too. My voice changed -drastically- in 3 years of creating online video courses, and while things like confidence levels have gone up (tone / etc.) there's also been technical improvements too (better mic / audio settings). My audio settings now are very basic. I just speak at a casual volume straight into the mic and do very little audio processing (just a noise gate and a tiny amount of compression). A good gauge for improvement is how long you can go in a single cut. I still script a lot of my content just to gather my thoughts (I feel it makes for a better end result, even if I don't stick to the script 100%).
8y ago

mettamage 8y ago

Deleted my comment and resposting it here, since it belongs to this topic. Is the analogy made to failed startups already? Let me steal a couple of things mentioned in the article and just replace the topic of Twitch streamers with startups. I am now a self-proclaimed startup guru for the remainder of this comment by using this article as my source :D Reasons for starting a startup other than being financially successful or successful through social impact are: (1) it is a form of self-improvement, (2) you will connect with people and (3) you can express your political views. Note on expressing your political views: create an amazing product that helps your political views like starting a hospice clinic that is pro or against euthanasia. Don't try to get fake likes for your marketing campaign, or fake emails for that matter. Related, buying into reciprocal deals is dangerous (e.g. you like someone and they'll like you). Oh, and if you're able to be comfortable being lonely, not taking rejection personal and keep a work rhythm that you can stick with then you may have a chance of success. However, it all comes down to quite a bit of luck still, didn't I mention you need to be comfortable being lonely? I wish there were more articles like this. Despite the fact it's not a post-mortem it shows how tough these things (Twitch streaming or startups) can be. Where does the analogy break according to you? I am having a bit too much confirmation bias in my thinking.