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The 1 Way to Succeed on Twitch and YouTube

Monetizing a live stream is seen as a legitimate career. Simply set up an account and just be yourself. It’s…not that easy. Here's one way to make it work!

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The 1 Way to Succeed on Twitch and YouTube
Monetizing a live-stream is seen as a legitimate career these days. Simply set up an account on Twitch, YouTube, or both, and just be yourself. It’s…not that easy. For those who assume acting is easy, simply ask any aspiring actor if they think acting can be done by anyone. Hopefully, they’re not offended and will just laugh at you. The same with comedy. To quote the great Robin Williams’ “Of course you have to know comedy. Because if you tell a joke and they don’t laugh, then you know tragedy.” Streaming content is the newest version of creating entertainment. The upside is that it’s easy to get into. The downside is that this creates a saturated market. Voices are easily lost in a market that’s brimming with people trying to get attention. To get those coveted followers it takes a lot of time and effort. Without a direction, however, even time and effort can be wasted.

Know Your Topic

I’ll admit, I have no skills when it comes to playing online games. The last time I touched a Halo game I barely scored one kill. When it comes to researching, organizing, and telling a story, that’s where my real abilities lie. Thus, I’ve given up on video games and instead have focused on reading books, reading about writing, writing, talking with other writers, editing, and writing some more. The upside of all this is that I’ve now landed a job where someone pays me to do this all day. It’s still a challenge. Putting words on the screen every day requires hard work and discipline. Working through horrible drafts is just part of the process of getting to the right one. Now let’s replace writing with live-streaming. The same advice applies; keep working at it. You’ll also learn some surprising things about yourself. For example; my boss asked me how long it would take to complete an article consisting of 800 words. I ballparked it at four hours. He blinked at me and said, “You’re the first person to use a number.” And I got the job. You don’t have to be an expert, you just need to know more than the average person.

Create Genuine Connections

This one has always proved difficult for me. Since I’m good with writing and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting, talking to people face-to-face can be daunting. It may seem obvious, but making friends wasn’t my forte as a child. When I worked to make people like me, I came across as a fake. And worse, desperate. No one wants to be friends, or do business with, a desperate person. And those that do are going to take advantage of you. Instead, working to find a personae or a particular schtick helped make it easier to interact and relate to strangers. It was subtle at first, and at times overblown. With time I honed it. It’s not as difficult as it used to be and I still work on it from time-to-time. By being genuine you create genuine relationships. Genuine relationships lead to a solid fan base.

Do Your Research

Once you’ve discovered what works for you, hone it, develop it, work on it. This means, as bad as it sounds, that you much do research. Yes, research. Looking for relevant information and data that are relevant to your topic takes time. If you’re at least interested in the topic, then researching it will seem less arduous. In fact, it may even be fun. I enjoy reading books not just for the stories, but to see how the author tells them. Soon I plan on taking Malcolm Gladwell’s Masterclass on writing. If you neglect research, you run the risk of losing your audience. This links back to the “being a fake” mentioned earlier. The best comedians still do it. Jerry Seinfeld, when his hit sitcom ended, went back to doing standup. It helped him figure out new material, find what worked for him, and as he says, get back to his roots.

Then You Can Think of Monetizing

Technology, though amazing, does lull us into this false belief that things will happen quickly. We stream movies and music instantly. Every time you tap an icon on your smartphone you get a little dopamine rush from completing a task and completing it quickly. Getting into writing has taken me years. There were times I considered quitting. Thankfully, I’d started, and quit, a lot of things before then. I'm tired of repeating that process. I’m also a father now and constantly “searching for myself” does not work well with trying to raise a child. It also helps that I enjoy telling and sharing stories. I’ve also been told I’m good at it. And now someone is paying me to do it. Took about three years to get here, but better late than never, right? So if you decide that a career as a streaming personality or entertainer is for you, then go for it. Be prepared for a long road filled with tough times. In the meantime, to ensure your connection is fast so you can stream uninterrupted, check out Spectrum internet bundle deals.   “You can start any ‘Monty Python’ routine and people finish it for you. Everyone knows it like shorthand.” —Robin Williams

Who Killed Your Wi-Fi?

It's Friday night,you turn on your favorite streaming service. Only to find your TV is stuck on the loading screen. Someone has killed your Wi-Fi. But who?

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Who Killed Your Wi-Fi?
It’s Friday night and you’re simultaneously turning on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu to catch the most recent binge-worthy show. This week’s flavor is...crime dramas. Yet, the TV is stuck on the loading screen. Someone has killed your Wi-Fi. The screen will only show the spinning wheel that never stops. Instead of loading your show it simply taunts you. Thanks to having watched a few police shows already, you’re confident in your detective skills to assess the evidence, round up suspects, and deliver the perpetrator to justice. It’s the Internet Service Provider. Plain and simple. Cue the end credits, no need for further investigation. Right?

Bring It Out Into the Open

Your badge isn’t on the line, but admit it, you jumped straight to the conclusion that your ISP killed your Wi-Fi. Stop and look around the room. Locate the Wi-Fi router. Is it tucked away in the corner? Set high up a shelf with books? Hidden behind your TV because you’re ashamed that it doesn’t fit with the overall aesthetic? Now is the time to move it somewhere closer to the middle of your house or apartment. Wi-Fi, like a sprinkler, does its best when it’s in the middle of the space and can be seen from each corner easily. An optimal location for it would be to install it on the ceiling. Obviously, this isn’t an option for everyone. There’s also the concern of having your Wi-Fi router hanging from the ceiling like a bat. While this option may not be feasible for most, work to locate a spot near the middle of your living space. Be it an apartment or home, there should be a spot near the center that you can use to set your router. Also, try to get it up as high as you can. Going back to the sprinkler metaphor; sprinklers cast the water out and it falls to the earth. So the higher the sprinkler, the greater the coverage of the lawn. Same with a Wi-Fi router, though the signal doesn’t fall like water, you’ll notice better reception when it is placed higher.

Appliances Are An Accomplice

Your Wi-Fi router, while sitting still and unassuming, is constantly being accosted as it tries to do its job--send and receive signals. Some of these suspects may be surprising to you.

Home appliances

This may seem obvious. Most appliances plug into the wall and are made out of metal. All that metal and electricity interfere with a Wi-Fi signal. In a way, they create their own little signals. They don’t mean to do it as they’re just doing a job as well. The problem can be exacerbated further with appliances now coming with their own Wi-Fi signals in an attempt to make homes “smarter.” Think of the refrigerators with touch screens and cameras inside. While these are meant to work with your personal Wi-Fi network, they can also end up taking more of the bandwidth and leaving you sitting there staring at the pinwheel of boredom.

Blinds

Some blinds are made of plastic or compressed board. And a lot are manufactured out of metal. Again, the metal is what will affect your Wi-Fi signal. On the flipside, there may be a new market here- “Interior Design that is both stylish and won’t kill your Wi-Fi!”

Mirrors

The reflective coating that gives mirrors their...mirror-ness, also bounce Wi-Fi signals off in haphazard directions.

Reinforced Concrete

The rebar inside of reinforced concrete will affect the Wi-Fi signal, as well as the dense nature of the concrete itself. This time it's not just the metal, but the concrete too.

Fish Tanks

Yes, there are comprised of metal too, but also a lot of water. So while Nemo is taking laps and plotting his escape, the water he’s swimming in is also making it difficult for your Wi-Fi signal to get through. Of course, you can’t take out all the metal in your home, nor can you leave the windows uncovered and tear down any walls. There will be obstacles to your Wi-Fi, but you can eliminate or lessen them by placing your router somewhere up high and near the center of your abode. There are also ways to extend your Wi-Fi signal.

The Butler Did It!

Those smart home devices mentioned earlier? Yeah, they could be the ones who killed your Wi-Fi, or they may be taking up a lot of the bandwidth. Earlier this year, it was revealed that these smart home devices were actually bogging down your home's Wi-Fi signals. A bug in the system caused a lot of data to be sent at once, impeding the Wi-Fi. Most of the kinks are being resolved right now, but don’t be surprised if your Wi-Fi is slow after you plug in your newest smart home device. There is good news; patches have been sent out in updates to fix the problem. So if you haven’t updated yet, this may be the reason. Or maybe those little boxes just got tired of you shouting at it? Maybe.

It's an Open and Shut Case

Thanks to buddy cop movies and police procedural shows we can solve the case of "who killed your Wi-Fi?" with confidence. But do not, and this is important, start trying to solve murder/arson/robbery cases on your own. Leave that up to the professionals! What it all boils down to is understanding the technology you use and how its affected by items in your home. This knowledge will ensure a proper solution to these “crimes.” The next time you see the spinning wheel of doom, take a moment to assess the room and figure out if the router just needs to be moved or if you have an appliance in the way? 
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