Advances in internet capabilities have led to a boom in online job opportunities with sites such as Twitch and YouTube leading the way for streamers. YouTube, the online video-sharing and social media platform, and Twitch, an interactive live streaming service for content which includes gaming, entertainment, sports and music, both provide potentially huge worldwide audiences for streamers.

Successful streamers

Streaming sites provide the opportunity to reach audiences of hundreds of millions around the world. This is exemplified by Richard Tyler Blevins, known as Ninja, who is a professional gamer with popular channels on Twitch and YouTube. He has 17.5 million followers on Twitch, where his streams of the video game Fortnite regularly achieve hundreds of thousands of views. On YouTube his channel has amassed almost 2.5 billion views. Alongside his YouTube gaming channel, he also has a channel entitled Ninja Extended, which features humorous videos.

Ali “SypherPK” Hassan, a 25-year-old professional streamer and educational commentator, has 5.5 million followers on Twitch and 5.85 million subscribers on YouTube. He highlighted the importance of gamers having a healthy lifestyle after losing over 60 pounds: “There’s more to gaming than rankings and scores. I gave my lifestyle a hard look and when I decided to better balance my priorities, I improved my mental clarity and redefined what happiness meant.”

And Imane Anys, Moroccan-Canadian streamer known as Pokimane, recently became the first female streamer to achieve nine million followers on Twitch. She is now ninth in the list of the most followed streamers on Twitch.

Streaming in the entertainment industry

Streaming is popular in numerous other areas of the online entertainment industry, exemplified by the Australian foodie Ayeh Manfre, who became a viral sensation on TikTok with her cooking streams. While the American fashion and lifestyle influencer Monica Awe-Etuk has achieved success with her Awed by Monica YouTube channel. Live streaming is also a hit in the iGaming industry, with streams of table games such as live blackjack proving extremely popular. The streams feature explainer videos and provide interested players with an idea of what to expect when visiting live blackjack casinos. This can be invaluable as they ensure that players know the rules and procedure of live blackjack, for example, so they are not thrown into the deep end when they log on.

Other popular live-streamed events included the 2021 London Fashion Week, Elton John’s 2021 Oscars Party, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket launch, and many fundraisers and intimate concerts. These have highlighted how much live-streaming has spread into the mainstream media.

How to become a streamer

Blevins recently began hosting a course on how to become a streamer and although it is not free, there are some tips on how to do it:

• The most important aspects include ensuring your streams have professional visuals and quality sound, so a HD quality webcam is a must.

• You should also take advantage of social media to build a following and engage in an authentic manner with viewers. This has a lot to do with finding your own voice.

• Play to your strengths and be natural. If you are not an extrovert, you can gain an audience by becoming an authority on games such as Fortnite by providing hints and tips to other players.

• Another tip is that budding streamers should maintain a regular schedule when streaming.

• You should also know the difference between Twitch, where live streams are the norm and YouTube, where videos can be uploaded and viewed at any time.

• Of course, you also need to consider equipment beyond webcams. The essential checklist for streamers includes: a gaming mouse, a gaming headset, a powerful PC, a game capture and a streaming deck.

Advances in internet capabilities has led to a boom in online job opportunities with streaming sites such as YouTube and Twitch giving gamers access to worldwide audiences from the comfort of their own homes.