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Dad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterThe Dad Logs Revisited - A Dad's TaleToday I wanted to share episode 1 of my Dad Logs Revisited podcast series! I talk about the transition from part time to full time streaming, some of my lessons learned while becoming a full time streamer, and learning how to grow as a content creator. This is a Dad's Tale, and I hope you enjoy!! I stream on Twitch on M / W / F nights from 4 - 10 PM CST and Saturday from 9 AM - 3 PM CST, join us for the fun! ___________________________________________________________________________
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2021-01-0827 min
Dad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterBranching Out - Dad Log - Stardate 12172018Today I want to chat about branching out. It's been a minute since I've created a Dad Log, so apologies for that. When you find yourself getting comfortable in the group of creators you've made friends with, it can be easy to support them and consistently go to them to create content together. And if you're at that point, it's important to continue to support them in those ways. But it's also important to seek new creators to support. It's an opportunity in two ways, the first being an opportunity to see how different creators do things. Inspiration for you...
2018-12-1707 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMotivation - Dad Log - Stardate 12042018Today I wanted to try something different, we did the Dad Log live on our morning cast. And we talked about motivation. As people, it can be really hard some days to get out of bed, to pull your bootstraps up, and to be motivated to do whatever you need to do during the day. This might be going to school, going to work, or creating content. Whatever it is, motivation is usually derived from a core attribute or purpose.
My encouragement for you, especially if you're struggling with motivation, is to focus on your core purpose. What drives you...
2018-12-0404 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterStream Coaching - Dad Log - 11192018Today we're going to talk about the hot topic of the week, stream coaching. This has come up and been fought about on Twitter and even some of the biggest folks in streaming are weighing in on it. Current status? Remains to be seen. There are many variables that impact the success of a broadcaster, from game and platform selection, to personality, to technology expertise, and many other variables that are completely outside the control of streamers everywhere.
My encouragement for you, is that if you are a broadcaster considering getting a stream coach, is to do your research and...
2018-11-1911 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDealing With Chargebacks - DadLog - Stardate11162018Today I want to talk about dealing with chargebacks. As a streamer, you inevitably will end up at some point dealing with charged back tips. There are a few ways to combat those chargebacks though. The first is to make sure in Streamlabs that you don't allow anonymous tips. There is an option to require people who tip to login, which then puts a name with a tip. Another option is to not take tips at all. As a growing stream, you then have the power to ask people to share the stream in lieu of tipping. This can be...
2018-11-1607 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterThe Hard Work - Dad Log - Stardate 11142018Today I want to talk about the hard work that no one sees when you become a content creator. The reality is that to succeed in content creation, you have to put in the time off screen. There are many things that go into being successful in content creation, like editing video, scheduling instagram posts, updating overlays, creating new ways to engage with your community. Many people think that streaming is just firing it up and playing video games all day. But you have to do the not fun things if you want to succeed and do the fun things.
...
2018-11-1407 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFinding Your Purpsose - Dad Log - Stardate 11122018Today I want to chat about finding your purpose. I think as content creators we have a tendency to jump into creation almost like a pipe dream. We dream some day of being a huge star, and don't really realize how much work goes into it or that behind every creator there should be a purpose. We all got started creating content for a reason, whether it was for the love of sharing our video game experiences or to build community or to make money.
My encouragement for you, if you are just getting started, thinking about getting started, or...
2018-11-1204 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterUtilizing Good Ideas - Dad Log - Stardate 11092018Today I want to talk about utilizing good ideas, regardless of where they come from. The saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". And every tech company out there, imitates their competitors in one way or another. Often times, companies like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon aren't the first to market with an idea. But that doesn't mean they aren't successful. As content creators, we should be looking for every opportunity to learn and grow, and that includes figuring out how to take other creators ideas and morph them into something meaningful for our channel.
My encouragement for you...
2018-11-0905 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterBeing Genuine - Dad Log - Stardate 11072018Today I want to talk about being genuine. We were chatting last night about the differences between Mixer and Twitch, and one of my folks commented about how Twitch felt "fake" to them. How many folks put on an act for the sake of making money, instead of focusing on community. I think as a content creator, one of the most important (and often overlooked) traits that a great creator has is the ability to be genuine.
My encouragement for you, is to really focus on making sure you're as genuine as possible when it comes to content creation. Playing...
2018-11-0704 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFortnite Save the World - Dad Log - Stardate 11052018Fortnite Save the World - Dad Log - Stardate 11052018
Today I want to do a State of the Game address on Fortnite Save the World. This side of the Fortnite franchise doesn't get a whole lot of press, and I think it's mainly because it's not a free game. But if you're a fan of the looter shooter genre of games, this is a solid entry into this category. The Save the World side of Fortnite has you diving into the development of heroes on a quest based story mode, and developing your heroes to save humanity from impending doom...
2018-11-0509 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMixer Season 2 Thoughts - Dad Log - Stardate 11022018Today I want to share my thoughts on Mixer Season 2. This includes the updates that dropped like Skills, Sparks Patronage, and the ideas yet to come like Embers and the loyalty system. With Season 2 dropping yesterday, we got a bunch of technical upgrades like automatic bitrate switching, video debugging tools, and site stability improvements. They also released skills, in which viewers can spend sparks to put stickers, gifs, animations and games in the chat. I provide my overview here of all of the new items.
My encouragement for you, is if you're a partner, is to go for the 5 million...
2018-11-0215 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDepth vs Breadth - Dad Log - Stardate 10312018Today I want to chat about depth versus breadth in your community. As a content creator, one of the easiest metrics to measure is follower count. It's front and center everywhere, there are 25,000 different tools that track it, and it seems to be of maniacal focus for most creators. But something that doesn't get talked about often is the depth of your community. How deep are the relationships you've built with your followers. When gaining followers is slow, what do you focus on?
My encouragement for you today, is to focus on the depth of your community if you're at...
2018-10-3107 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSchedule That Works - Dad Log - Stardate 10292018Today I want to chat about creating a schedule that works for you. There are two types of schedules for people, schedules that work and schedules that don't. Creating a schedule that works means creating a schedule that you can maintain day after day, after week, after month, after year. It means you can be consistent in that schedule every week and your viewers can expect you to be live every week at that time. Consistency is what breeds growth, and will always be good for your channel, community and for yourself.
My encouragement for you is to find a...
2018-10-2907 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMarathon Not A Sprint - Dad Log - Stardate 10262018Today I want to chat about content creation and how it's a marathon, not a sprint. I've been doing consistent content creation for the last year, and as a "young" content creator, it can be easy to wonder when you'll see enough success to go full time. And the reality is, if you look at those that are doing full time content creation, the majority of them have been in the game for at least 3 years. It takes time to build a community that can support you as a full time creator.
My encouragement for you, especially if you're a...
2018-10-2604 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterGreen Screen vs Cambox - Dad Log - Stardate 10242018Today I want to chat about the differences between a green screen and a cambox. I chat about the pros and cons of both, the personal preference side of them, and how to execute the delivery of them. These two delivery methods for broadcasters with cameras can drastically change the interaction and dynamic of the content, but the nice thing is that both of them are attainable and can be interchanged as needed.
My encouragement for you, is to try them both out if you have the ability to. Start with the cambox since it's the easiest to do and...
2018-10-2413 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterInnovation - Dad Log - Stardate 10222018Today I want to talk about innovation, and innovation as a content creator. The top creators are always innovating, tweaking, coming up with new ideas and experiences for their audience to drive engagement. It's important that in the thick of things, you take a moment to step back and brainstorm. Whether it's streamlining your existing experience, or creating something brand new, you have to take the time to innovate.
My encouragement for you, especially if you find yourself in a rut, is to take a step back. Evaluate what makes you and your content unique, and if you're struggling to...
2018-10-2204 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterAffiliate vs Partner vs Sponsor - Dad Log - Stardate 10192018Today I want to talk about different types of agreements. There are many different ways to engage with companies, andy many different ways that engaging with those companies can be mutually beneficial to you and to them. Affiliate agreements are generally the "lowest tier", providing little benefit to the content creator and massive benefit to the company. Partnerships are usually a next step up, and often involve more than just discount codes. Sponsorships are the top of the spectrum, and offer the most benefit to a creator.
My encouragement is to consider long and hard what types of agreements you're...
2018-10-1907 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterEpisode 139Today I have a heart to heart with you content creators and future content creators out there. This is not to discourage you in your pursuits in content creation, but to lay it out there for you. What are you getting into when we're talking about content creation? The reality is that you're in for a LOT of work if you want to see success in the creation space. Expect to put in 2 to 3 times as many hours as you are streaming. You are your own IT guy, marketing guru, sales specialist and owner. You determine your path, so make...
2018-10-1709 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterThe Great Mixer Departure - Dad Log - Stardate 10152018Today I want to chat about what appears to be a departure of droves of creator from Mixer back to Twitch. There are a lot of folks that are upset about the site's stability, about growth on the platform, and many other factors that play into those decisions. I can see where they're coming from. There are many items, technical and otherwise, that need to be addressed by Mixer as a platform. The beautiful thing is, they are addressing them!
So my encouragement for you, if you are looking at leaving (or moving to) Mixer, is to really figure out...
2018-10-1508 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterGetting Back On The Horse - Dad Log - Stardate 10112018Today I want to talk about getting back on the horse. It can be really easy when we slip up and take an unscheduled day off, get sick, or stop doing something, to say it's not worth doing any more. This is especially true in content creation, but applies to things like working out, eating healthy, and any number of other activities we do in our daily lives. It can be really hard to get yourself back mentally to a state where you can perform, pick yourself up by your bootstraps, and start doing again whatever it is you stopped.
...
2018-10-1104 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterShake It Off - Dad Log - Stardate 10032018Today I want to talk about shaking it off. It's one of the toughest things to do as content creators, but it's a vital part of what we do. There are going to be days and times of year that are naturally slower. School starts, holidays, work, it all digs into the time we have to be entertained. When it's slow, remind yourself that it's not because of you or your content.
My encouragement for you, is to look past the bad week of casting. Look beyond the numbers, remind yourself it's ok to have slow times. I'm a content...
2018-10-0304 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTaking Time Off - Dad Log - Stardate 10012018Today I wanted to talk about taking time off. Since I just got back from vacation, and feel recharged and ready to dive back in, it's a really relevant topic for me. After taking the last 12 months and really focusing on being consistent in my creation, I needed some time to recharge and refocus. I think it's an important consideration for every creator to make, and to consider taking time off when you start to see diminishing quality in your content.
My encouragement for you, is to take some time to reflect on where your content is at, and ask...
2018-10-0105 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterQuality Over Quantity - Dad Log - Stardate 09202018Today I want to chat about quality over quantity in content creation. 2 or 3 years ago, the streaming mantra was "Always Be Streaming" if you wanted to succeed in the space. Interesting enough, and based on my personal experience, I feel like that isn't necessarily the case any more. I've made a lot of progress as a broadcaster only putting in around 9 - 12 hours a week, because I've focused on the quality of my broadcasts.
My encouragement to you, especially if you aren't seeing the results you want to see, is to consider reducing the number of hours you broadcast. Focus...
2018-09-2004 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterUps and Downs - Dad Log - Stardate 09192018Today I want to talk about ups and downs. As people, and especially as content creators, we ride these ups and downs like a rollercoaster. It can be really tough to go from hundreds of people in our chat to five, and we all have those days where we wonder, "Am I good enough?". Why aren't people coming back? Questioning our abilities as content creators. When in reality, we have very little control over many of these things. You never know when someone is sick, or has something going on in their life. School starts up, holidays happen, people are...
2018-09-1906 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterCompromising Your Integrity - Dad Log - Stardate 09182018Today I want to talk about compromising your integrity. As a broadcaster, and as a person, integrity is crucial when building relationships. It sets the expectation that you are a good person to work with, that you'll fulfill your side of the deal, and that you're willing to stand for something. Recently, there was a massive uptick in viewership on Mixer, which I wrongly jumped to the conclusion was the result of viewbotting. However, the premise still stands, compromising your integrity for the pure reason of gaining numbers (follows or views) will come back to bite you in the end.
...
2018-09-1806 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMeaningful Engagement - Dad Log - Stardate 09172018Today I want to talk about having meaningful engagement on social media. A lot of times we go out on Twitter or Instagram, and we just like and follow and that's as far as the relationship goes. That's like shaking someone's hand, saying "Nice to meet you" and then walking away. Generally speaking, it's not usually socially acceptable to do that. So why then do we do that on social media?
My encouragement for you today, is to take the next step with those that you've followed or liked their content. Take a moment to tell them why you liked...
2018-09-1704 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterLife Update - Dad Log - Stardate 09142018Today I wanted to provide a life update for y'all. I've been a little slow to upload the podcast and Instagram posts, because it's been a very busy week for me. As "side hustle" content creators, it can be tough for us to maintain a stream schedule, let alone all the extra curricular content that we might post on a regular basis.
My encouragement (and hope) for you as consumers of my content or anyone else's content, is to have a little grace when it comes to our creation schedule. Many of us work really hard for a long time...
2018-09-1406 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterShow Your Weakness - Dad Log - Stardate 09112018Today I want to talk about showing your weakness, which seems super backwards from what most people want to project. A lot of times, we as human beings, feel like we have to constantly show strength, be invincible or invulnerable. But something my pastor said that stuck out to me in one of these last few sermons, is that showing your weakness is a sign of humility. A little humble pie never hurt anyone and it gives those in your community an opportunity to get closer to you.
My encouragement to you, is to be vulnerable and show your weakness...
2018-09-1104 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDon't Take It Personally - Dad Log - Stardate 09072018Today I want to chat about not taking unfollowers personally. It's really easy, as the industry puts heavy emphasis on follower counts, to get down about even one person unfollowing you on your channel, twitter, or whatever else. Whether it's intentional, unintentional, a bug, or whatever, it can feel personal. But at the end of the day, we have to do our best to put things in perspective. That person may have wiped their whole follow list. It could be a bug in the platform like on Mixer. It might just be that you're not bringing value to them any...
2018-09-0704 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSetting Expectations for Yourself - Dad Log - Stardate 09062018Today I want to talk about setting expectations for yourself. As a Mixer Partner, I'm afforded and presented with many opportunities I've not had previously, and it's easy to set unrealistic expectations for myself and for my community. With the Destiny Forsaken launch, I think I had some "delusions of grandeur" if you will, and had set an expectation in my own mind that it would be a springboard for the channel and community. When it fell flat, I found myself in a little bit of a rough headspace.
My encouragement for you, is to "plan for the worst, hope...
2018-09-0607 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTaking Shortcuts - Dad Log - Stardate 09052018Today I want to talk about taking shortcuts. As human beings, we're always looking for the shortest path between point A and point B. Whether it's traffic and driving, or trying to make our way to CEO of the company, we want the shortest, easiest, most convenient route. In content creation, there are definitely opportunities to accelerate growth. However, there really aren't any shortcuts. Only hard work, patience, and perseverance. I'm learning that right now as a partner.
My encouragement for you, is to stay the course. Be consistent, stay positive, and always be moving forward. There are going to...
2018-09-0505 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterHarnessing Excitement - DadLog - Stardate 09042018Today I want to chat about harnessing your excitement for new releases. As a content creator, and as I've talked about before, we spend a lot of time on auxillary things outside of playing games. Editing video, creating social media posts, networking, creating stream assets, it all takes away from playing video games. When new releases come out, whether it's a new IP or a DLC, it generates excitement for us as gamers. It also presents us with an opportunity to relate to the greater game community.
My encouragement for you, is to harness that excitement when new games come...
2018-09-0407 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterThe Grind - DadLog - Stardate 09032018Today I want to talk about the grind. When people watch other people playing video games for a living, it's really easy to imagine that the only thing that person does is play video games and get paid. In reality, you see 90 percent of the video games, and 10 percent of the back end work. Last night I wanted to play video games, but instead I prioritized editing clips for Instagram. Because at the end of the day, that is what was going to pay more dividends for the channel and for executing on a multi-platform content strategy.
My encouragement for...
2018-09-0305 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFinding Your Flow - DadLog - Stardate 08312018Today I want to talk about something that I think takes practice and time, and that's finding your flow. As new content creators, it can be a struggle to weave in your every day life into the conversations we have with the people in our community. Everyone has passions outside of content creation, whether that's working out, cycling, reading, whatever. The challenge as creators, is how to fit that into our conversations that we're having when the stream is on.
My encouragement for you today, is to seek out conversation. Have a conversation with someone new, figure out how to...
2018-08-3105 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMaking Assumptions - DadLog - Stardate 08302018Today I want to talk about bad decisions...I mean, making assumptions. Yesterday, amongst the massive increase in viewership on Mixer, I made some assumptions initially that I came to find out were all kinds of wrong. It's easy when you see others doing certain things, or in this case, other things happening to others, to make assumptions about how or why it's happening. So when I saw the massive boost in viewership on Mixer, I immediately assumed it had something to do with people using viewbots. However, as I did research and talked with others, it's become apparent that...
2018-08-3008 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDiversifying Content - DadLog - Stardate 08292018Today I talk about a fear I have with playing one game too much on the channel. From what I've seen in the short time in this content creation space, it's really risky to be a channel on a single game. As we saw at the release of Destiny 2, many channels that built their following on Destiny only, had a hard time recovering from Destiny 2's sub-par launch. And with Destiny finally being in a place that I love, I find myself wanting to play only Destiny for the most part.
My encouragement for you, is to consider, especially if...
2018-08-2905 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFind What Works - Dad Log - Stardate 08272018Today I want to chat about finding what works. As content creators, a lot of times we can get wrapped up in "always being on" that we can forget to take time and have consideration for what works for us. For instance, I finally decided to NOT record podcasts on Saturday. It was taking away already precious family time, and just wasn't working for me and my family. So I decided to only record 5 podcast episodes per week, and to focus on only the stream Saturday night.
My encouragement for you is to consider, and reflect on what's working for...
2018-08-2707 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterBalancing Goals - DadLog - Stardate 08242018Today I admit I was wrong. I let my jaded perspective get in the way of realizing that much of my following came from the Fortnite directory, and that I've been ignoring that part of my community for the last couple of months. As someone who is focused on building community and reaching people, I want the quality of my community to be the best it can be. And for awhile now, I've felt like the Fortnite directory has lead to "empty follows". But looking at people who have spent time in my channel, and in my Discord, there are...
2018-08-2409 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterOptimizing Your Day - DadLog - Stardate 08232018Today I want to chat about optimizing your day. I've been reflecting and projecting on what I imagine a normal day as a content creator would look like. What would my "routine" be, and then last night I had an epiphany. I realized that I should be, every day, executing all parts of that routine with work being my normal "stream" time. So in the morning, I should be posting to Twitter, uploading an Instagram post, going through the previous night's clips, and getting ready to stream. After work, I should be wrapping up "stream", spending some time in other's...
2018-08-2306 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterNvidia Reveal Breakdown - DadLog - Stardate 08222018Today I wanted to breakdown the Gamescom 2018 Nvidia reveal of the new 20 series graphics chipset that they revealed. We'll start off with the absolute stellar: the Turing chipset has no rival to date based on the date that they released as part of the reveal. The sheer number of teraflops of data compute is dumbfounding, and the advanced render, shader and light capabilities are incredible. Watching the live renders of some of the video they revealed showed true cinema quality in gaming engines.
My encouragement for you as creators though, is to consider the cost to value for a card...
2018-08-2210 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterEncouraging Understanding - Dad Log - Stardate 08212018Today I want to talk about understanding, and the encouragement of said understanding. For most of us, this is a hobby or a part time side hustle. We don't do this for a living, and so we are setting expectations and motivating ourselves out of pure love for creating content. But some days, it's hard to do that. It's hard to get motivated, or to get the creative juices flowing to step up and deliver the best content we can.
My encouragement for you today, is to consider the position your favorite creators are in. And know that they, just...
2018-08-2107 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterPlaying Video Games - Dad Log - Stardate 08172018Today I want to talk about something I've missed since I've started creating content. It's called playing video games with my friends. As someone who has limited free time throughout the week, my ability to just sit down and play games is few and far between. When you start getting into content creation, you also give up focusing on playing games for focus on making better content. Updating graphics, interacting with your community, programming bots, fixing technical issues, learning new things. All these take priority over just sitting down and firing up your favorite game and kicking back.
My encouragement...
2018-08-1706 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterConsideration - Dad Log - Stardate 08162018We've reached the end of our discussion on the "4 Cs" of relationship building, what a series! Today we talk about consideration, and what it means to be considerate of others in your relationships. As you work with other people, it's worth taking a moment to put yourself in their shoes. Consider what they're going through, get some perspective from them so you can better communicate your intent, and compromise where you need to. As you can see, the other "3 Cs" are tied in closely with consideration, and form an important part of the overall relationship.
My encouragement for you, is...
2018-08-1608 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterCompromise - Dad Log - Stardate 08152018Today we're on the third of four talking about the "4 Cs" of relationships. In this episode I want to talk about compromise, from two perspectives. The first in about compromising your core values and how that reflects negatively on your character. Never compromise for the sake of follows or money, people will see through it. The second way is in compromising in relationships, or meeting in the middle. It's important to find a balance in any relationship, as swinging too far one way or the other will put the relationship in jeopardy.
My encouragement to you, is to be solid...
2018-08-1508 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterCommitment - Dad Log - Stardate 08142018Here is the second part of our series on building relationships and networking. As my mom talks about, one of the "4 C's" is commitment, which can consist of two different types of commitment. The first is when you make a short term, or event based commitment. If you tell someone you're going to be at this place, at this time, you should commit to being there. This seems like an obvious concept, but the term "flaky" didn't just come to be without purpose. The second, is long term commitment. When you're getting into something, being committed through the ups and...
2018-08-1410 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterCommunication - Dad Log - Stardate 08102018Today starts my 4 day series on networking, specifically on building relationships. My mom taught me from a young age, the key to making relationships work is the 4 C's, communication, commitment, consideration and compromise. I've carried this throughout my life, and it directs the way I build and maintain relationships. Today I dive into communication, especially as it pertains to being a creator. When it comes to interacting with other casters in their channel, it's important to be concise. It's hard to read long messages, since chat generally moves fast.
My encouragement to you, is to consider how you interact with...
2018-08-1009 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterWhat Success Looks Like - Dad Log - Stardate 08092018It's really easy as people and as content creators to focus on numbers as measures of success. They are the easiest to measure, they indicate trends, and they are useful tools to find the general direction a channel or content is headed. However, numbers aren't the ONLY way you can measure success. In fact, it can be one of the most detrimental ways that people measure success, especially when they are first getting started in content creation.
My encouragement to you, is to consider what success looks like for YOU and for your community. Because at the end of the...
2018-08-0906 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSelf Awareness - Dad Log - Stardate 08082018We all have those days. The days where we aren't feeling ourselves, or are in a negative headspace because we're tired, or sick, or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It's really important on those days to make sure that you're aware of those feelings, and to disengage with conversations that may end up hurting you in the long run. There was a situation on Twitter recently regarding another streamer, and I saw a lot of hate getting flung by people who generally are positive folks.
My encouragement for you, is to take a moment each...
2018-08-0808 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterState of the Game - Warframe - Dad Log - Stardate 08072018Today I wanted to cover a state of the game for Warframe. We've been streaming and playing it a ton, and I've really been enjoying the switch to PC. So here are the thoughts on the game in it's current state. Given that this is a FREE to play game, it really is stellar. Digital Extremes continues to invest not only in the game and it's content, but into the community and the creators that surround the game. They have a 3 pronged content delivery strategy (core function updates like melee 3.0, prime access releases every 3 months, and major releases like Plains...
2018-08-0715 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterHaving It All Together - Dad Log - Stardate 08062018I bet you thought based on the title that this was going to be a lecture about how you have to have it all together all the time. It's not. I wanted to take a moment and be a little vulnerable with you. Contrary to what some people have literally told me, I don't always have it together. I have struggles that I deal with, and I don't always agree with people all the time. It takes work, communication, compromise, commitment. And even then, it can still be tough.
My encouragement for you today, is to be ok with not...
2018-08-0608 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterOvercoming Challenges - Dadlog - Stardate 08042018We all have challenges we need to overcome. For instance, I have a baby on my chest in this episode. It was literally the only time I had during the day to record my podcast, so I got it done with a baby hanging off of me. Sometimes, we face overwhelming challenges, sometimes they're small, seemingly insignificant challenges. The important thing is to face them, and overcome them. They are an opportunity to grow, whether as a content creator, or as a person.
My encouragement for you, is to take the opportunity to overcome your challenges. Grow as a person...
2018-08-0504 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSocial Media Strategy - Dad Log - Stardate 08012018Today I wanted to cover how I use the various social media sites that are available today. I'll cover Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, with a focus on how I use each of them as a tool to become a better content creator and grow the community. At the end of the day, these are just tools, same as the software you use to broadcast or the computer you broadcast from. This is my perspective on using each one effectively.
My encouragement for you today, is to get setup on each and to start exploring how each one of these...
2018-08-0110 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterPartner Pushes & Roads to Blank - Dad Log - Stardate 07312018Today I'm going to talk about my opinion on partner pushes and roads to numbers. I've seen a lot of folks put in their stream titles and going live tweets that they are on a "partner push" or on the "road to x followers". My personal opinion on this is one of optics, a PR notice if you will. Instead of putting something meaningful in your tweet or title, you're telling everyone that they are a number, whether you mean to or not.
My encouragement for you, is to consider the message you're sending to your prospective viewers. Think about...
2018-07-3105 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMilestones & Next Steps - Dad Log - Stardate 07302018Today I want to talk about setting milestones and next steps for your channel. This is SUPER important, especially for those of you that want to do this for a living. When you "make it" to partner status on a platform, it's easy to say you've "made it". And there's nothing wrong with celebrating that milestone, because it's HUGE! But, when the partner hype dies down, and the "real" grind begins, that's when you need to make sure you have another set of goals to obtain with your community.
My encouragement for you is to make sure that you have...
2018-07-3009 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterWrite It Down - Dad Log - Stardate 07252018I was talking with a few other casters at GuardianCon about things. And we came to the determination that as casters, we're often times overwhelmed with a lot of stuff, which means we often forget things. Which is why it's super important to write it down. Figure out where your list is most accessible and easiest to add to, and write down your ideas as soon as they come to you. It's super important that you find the best way to keep track of ideas.
My encouragement for you, is to make sure you determine where you can best keep...
2018-07-2506 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMixer Partner Program Updates - Dad Log - Stardate 07242018Mixer released updated partner program requirements and it's causing a frenzy with folks wanting to get in on it. I wanted to address the updates to the program and make some recommendations for those of you considering applying for partner. Mixer has bumped the follower requirements from 750 to 2000, but removed the "across the board" concurrent requirements. They also added a 12 unique casts a month and 25 hours cast per month threshold, and some subjective requirements around professionalism and representation.
My encouragement, is to look hard where you're at. If you're under 2000 followers, I can't recommend enough for you to WAIT to...
2018-07-2412 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterGive Yourself Grace - Dad Log - Stardate 07232018Today I want to talk about giving yourself grace. This is not meant to be an excuse for not getting started creating content, or to take weeks off without purpose. But it's meant to encourage you to know it's ok to miss a day here or there of content, especially if you're working on backend things. Most of us don't do this for a living, but many of us want to. Which means we should be executing like a business. This means creating content every day. However, sometimes things come up that prevent us from doing so.
My encouragement for...
2018-07-2307 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSoliciting Feedback - Dad Log - Stardate 07202018Today I wanted to chat about soliciting feedback from others. I think it's an important part of content creation, and a very useful tool in progressing and improving as a content creator. We all have trusted advisors that help us make decisions, whether we call them that or not. For me, I make sure to debrief after every stream with my mods, who are the people responsible for helping me curate the experience we create each and every stream.
My encouragement for you, is seek out your trusted advisors, and solicit them for feedback. Ask them what went well, what...
2018-07-2006 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterOvercoming Challenges - Dad Log - Stardate 07192018We all have challenges in our life, some are huge and some are small. But no matter what, we have challenges to deal with. As with anything in life, how you overcome those challenges will dictate how much success or failure you see in your life. The biggest thing is to make sure you're taking on those challenges with everything you've got, and to be self aware enough to ask for help when you need it.
My encouragement for you is to focus on your challenges, and to break through them to see the success on the other side. It...
2018-07-2004 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterPrioritizing Self Care - Dad Log - Stardate 07172018I've been back from GuardianCon for a couple days now, and I'm seeing the Twitter talking about the "con flu", the inevitable sickness that people bring back from conventions. It's important, especially post-con, to take care of yourselves. Drink fluids, get rest, and take a day or two to recuperate if you need to, because if you aren't taking care of yourself now, you will be forced to in the future.
My encouragement for you today, is to listen to your body. You know yourself the best, and you know what you are and aren't capable of handling. I know...
2018-07-1706 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterConvention Attendance - Dad Log - Stardate 0716201I'm back from GuardianCon 2018, and all I think is wow. What a conference, and what an amazing experience. Convention attendance is an important opportunity to solidify relationships you've built with other creators, with industry professionals, and is an opportunity to meet new people across the spectrum. It can be challenging financially to get to a convention, so I understand the apprehension. But the potential relationships you can bolster and the opportunity to meet new people is well worth it.
My encouragement for you, is to identify a convention you could attend that has people you know confirmed as attending, and...
2018-07-1610 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterIntroducing Yourself - Dad Log - Stardate 07132018Day one of GuardianCon and I can see people aren't comfortable introducing themselves to others. The anxiety is flaring up, and it can be a little uncomfortable, even for an extrovert like me. But you will regret not introducing yourself to the person you are fangirling over, I promise you that. I had the opportunity to meet the drummer of Fall Out Boy outside of a Noodles & Co at one point, someone whom I very much admired. To this day it's still one of my biggest regrets.
My encouragement to you, is to go in for the introduction. At the...
2018-07-1305 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterUsing Your Social Influence - Dad Log - Stardate 07112018Watching the GuardianCon stream reminds of me of the fact that, as content creators, you have social influence. Whether you're big or small, you have social influence. It's up to you what you use that social influence for. There are a lot of folks out there that use their social influence for nefarious things, toxic things. We have an opportunity to use that influence to make the world a better place. I use what little influence I have to give people a place to belong.
My encouragement for you today is to consider your social influence and how you're using...
2018-07-1106 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterNeeding Help & Asking For It - Dad Log - Stardate 07102018It's really hard sometimes to admit to needing help and then asking for it. But as people, and especially as content creators, it's vital to being successful. We are often times one-man armies, we have to wear every hat in our production and outside of our production to grow. It's absolutely OK to admit when you're in over your head, and to ask people for help!
My encouragement for you, is to reach out to someone who has the expertise you need to get something done, or to get you the help you need. This applies even outside of content...
2018-07-1007 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTaking Chances - Dad Log - Stardate 07092018Today I want to talk about taking chances and calculating risks. As content creators (and people), we always have opportunities to evaluate, both big and small. Usually, small opportunities represent the smallest risks, and big opportunities represent the biggest risks. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but generally ends up being the case. Regardless of the opportunity, it's up to you to decide what opportunities have the lowest risk and the biggest payoff.
My encouragement for you today, is to take a look at your opportunities, and determine what the risk to you, your community, and your content actually...
2018-07-0909 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterNo Means No - Dad Log - Stardate 07072018Today I want to talk about saying 'No'. It's important, especially as content creators, to be able to say no. As you grow, more and more people will ask you for things. Collaborations, information and time. As much as I do my best to help everyone who asks me for things, sometimes you just have to say no. It's always a balance between helping others, and growing your brand / channel or whatever you're working on.
My encouragement for you is to identify when it makes sense to say 'No', and to actually say no. Stick to your guns, because people...
2018-07-0706 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDiversify Your Networking - Dad Log - Stardate 07062018Today I want to talk about diversifying your network. As you begin broadcasting, you always hear from experienced folks that networking is CRUCIAL to your growth and success. I echo that sentiment. But I feel like many people start off strong by networking with 2 or 3 other broadcasters and then spend ALL their time in those channels. I would encourage you to think a little more broadly. Instead of spending 10 hours a week in 3 channels, explore and spend 10 hours in 10 different channels.
My encouragement for you, is to not put all your eggs in two or three baskets, but to instead...
2018-07-0607 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterPatience With Others - Dad Log - Stardate 07052018In a previous Dad Log, I talked about being patient. Which still applies to this topic, but was a little more broad and high level. Today I wanted to chat about being patient with other people. As broadcasters, we have a tendency to need things from others. Advice, commissioned art, responses from support in various capacities, collaboration responses, etc... the list goes on and on. The key here, is to balance persistence with patience.
My encouragement for you (and myself) today, is to be patient with others and give them a chance to respond. They are likely just as busy...
2018-07-0505 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMaximizing Your Investment - Dad Log - Stardate 07032018It's really easy as a creator to blame our hardware for the lack of quality we produce. I've done it far more often than I care to admit. "Oh, if I just had 'X' then my content would be so much better." It's something I learned the hard way, and this time around, I'm pretty proud to say that I've spent the time maximizing the potential of my gear before upgrading. It's a balance of identifying, once you've maximized the potential of an asset, to determine if an upgrade will provide enough value to justify the cost.
My encouragement to...
2018-07-0309 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMinimize Distractions - Dad Log - Stardate 07022018Today I wanted to talk about minimizing distractions. When you're creating live content, you're already taking in so much information. Playing your game, people following, chat interaction, multimedia information, etc.... I've had multiple people tell me that they also watch shows / anime, or are browsing the web, or interacting in other people's chat. This is taking away from the focus you are putting on your own chat. I know some of you might think, "but there isn't anyone in chat to interact with". That's a subject for a different day, but there are a lot of resources out there for...
2018-07-0206 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTime Management - Dad Log - Stardate 06302018Today I wanted to talk just a little about time management. We all wish we had more time in the day, to get done what we want to get done. But unfortunately, we all have 24 hours in a day, so let's talk about opportunity to maximize those hours. When you look at your day, you have choices, every minute of every hour. We all also have times when we're not as busy as others, 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It's how you use those small chunks of time that can benefit you the most.
My encouragement for you is to determine...
2018-06-3005 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterApprehension & Insecurity - Dad Log - Stardate 06292018The most successful people on the planet aren't immune to having apprehensions and insecurities. It's how you move past them that matters. Even the most confident people deal with doubt, fear, uncertaintly, myself included. As we apply for the second time to become a Mixer partner, I still have my doubts and fears. The support and love that I've gotten from the fam, from my friends on the platform, from my wife and immediate family, have been humbling. I'm encouraged for the future!
My encouragement for you, is to make sure that you have the support structure (supernatural or otherwise...
2018-06-2906 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterKeep Creating Content - Dad Log - Stardate 06282018We all have frustrations. Days when nothing goes right, everything breaks down from a technical or other standpoint. But don't let technical or other isues discourage you from creating content. It's important every day, to be creating content, even if it's just a thoughtful Twitter post or a quick Instragram photo showing your frustration. All of that is content, whether it's your primary form of content or not.
My encouragement, outside of taking care of yourself for mental or physical reasons, is to push through technical difficulties or frustrations and continue to make content. You never know when that one...
2018-06-2806 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFocus On Your Content - Dad Log - Stardate 06272018I want to talk about something that is a bit of a tough subject for me, but I've noticed an increase in the occurrence and wanted to address it. When you're streaming, you should be focused on creating the best content you possibly can. It's ok if you have another broadcasters stream up and are lurking for them, that's called support. But if you're active in there chat, WHILE YOU ARE STREAMING, then you're not putting your all into your own content.
It also doesn't look good if you queue up to play games with another streamer, while you are...
2018-06-2706 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterMisplaced Ownership - Dad Log - Stardate 06262018I want to talk a little bit about misplaced ownership. A few weeks back Skyan covered a topic like this, and I've noticed recently a bunch of posts about this on Twitter as well, so I figured I'd address it from my perspective. Misplaced ownership can take a few different forms, but most often I find it taking place when financial contributions are made. It seems SOME viewers get a sense that they can have certain controls when they tip or sub. This is NOT every viewer. But what usually happens is that they feel they should have special control...
2018-06-2508 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTwitter Etiquette - Dad Log - Stardate 06242018I've noticed an increase on Twitter in the use of irrelevant hashtags and the mass mentioning of large broadcasters as a tactic to gain exposure for smaller broadcasters. I wanted to address this head on, and to encourage you as content creators to look past the numbers for a second and see what's actually resulting from the use of hashtags such as "#supportsmallstreamers". It's not helping your cause, and may actually be hurting your brand.
My encouragement for you, is to change tactics and start bringing value to your Twitter interactions in a few different ways. One, in your go...
2018-06-2410 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterTime Investment - Dad Log - Stardate 06222018As broadcasters and as people, we are always strapped for time. So it's important that you identify a few things when it comes to time investment. First, identify the items that you're going to spend the time on that will yield the most value for your time. People like to focus on things that add polish to your stream (hardware research, graphics & overlays, etc...) instead of core content items (distributing content everywhere, video game research, etc..). Determine what adds the most value to your content, and spend your time there.
The 2nd part of this is to determine what you're...
2018-06-2208 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterFirst Impressions & Second Chances - Dad Log - 06212018Today I want to talk about making first impressions and giving people second chances on THEIR first impressions. As content creators, we all have bad days. I challenge any content creator that has been in the game for more than a few days to tell me they've never had an off day. The tough thing about those off days, is that those first impressions to people brand new to your content are now stuck with that impression of you.
That leads to point number two, be empathetic of first impressions! If you stop by someone's channel and it feels like...
2018-06-2107 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDealing with Being Overwhelmed - Dad Log - Stardate 06202018Sometimes we end up in a situation where we are unbelievably overwhelmed by everything going on in our world. Take me for instance, now not only was I lacking sleep because of my stream schedule, but now we have a 3 week, adorable little boy that we are looking after for the foreseeable future. Which means bottles, middle of night feedings, and even less sleep. Sometimes we're handed a lot of things to deal with at once.
My encouragement for you is to make sure that if you're in a situation where you're just overwhelmed with everything, take a moment (or...
2018-06-2009 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterSharing is Caring - Dad Log - Stardate 06192018Today I want to talk about sharing information and expertise. Every single person on the planet has some expertise in something. As we grow up and get into the working world, we develop relevance and expertise in the fields we participate in. As content creators, we have an opportunity to share that expertise with others on a regular basis. And we should be sharing that information to push each other to be better, and to push the content creator space forward.
My encouragement for you today is to share the knowledge you've been building up with another content creator. Even...
2018-06-1906 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterShow & Tell - Dad Log - Stardate 06182018I want to talk today about showing people rather than telling them. I had this conversation the other day about how I want to encourage my son regarding chasing dreams. So many of us tell our kids, family, and friends to chase their dreams. We offer them guidance, advice, and encouragement along the way, but when the going gets rough, we haven't SHOWN them how to chase their dreams. We need to be doing it ourself (or have achieved it) so that we can draw on that experience to really help them.
My encouragement today is to DO rather than...
2018-06-1807 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterShowing Gratitude - Dad Log - Stardate 06162018I've been working really hard on a lot of backend stuff for the stream lately, and have been taking that opportunity to catch up on the #AskBroman podcast lately. And it dawned on me, that while I rep the podcast on socials and reference it in some of my content, I've never taken the moment to formally talk about how grateful I am for that particular content.
We are all influenced by people and content every day, but how many of us take the time to say "Thank You" to the creators of that content? My encouragement for you today...
2018-06-1606 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterBuilding Community - Dad Log - Stardate 06152018Today I wanted to talk about building community. A lot of content creators out there talk about how they want a thriving community, and they're creating content with that focus. It's a great goal to want to build community, people are what make the world go round. But in order to build community, you have to go beyond interacting with them ONLY when you're in your stream. You need to genuinely invest in those relationships to help them grow, and that takes a lot more effort than just talking with them during streams.
It's why we use Discord and I'm...
2018-06-1509 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06142018 - Rough DaysYesterday was one of those days for me. Where it felt like no one at work was interested in helping you out, but pushed against everything you were doing. Makes you just want to quit your job and pursue your dream full time. We've all had those days, but we still have those pesky adult responsibilities like putting food on the table and roof over the heads of yourself and family. So we trudge on until the day we don't have to anymore.
The silver lining here is that I have a job. A good job, with good benefits. God...
2018-06-1405 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06132018 - Expertise In Your NetworkYou never know fully what expertise lies in your network. We all know the importance of building your network, but a lot of times we compartmentalize our networks to "business" or "friends" or "family" without realizing the potential ACROSS those networks. I just met with a good friend of mine, who I built a relationship with long before I got into streaming. When I found out he did screen printing for t-shirts, I realized he might be a good person to chat with about options for shirt and gear printing.
Because I fostered that relationship as a friendship and not...
2018-06-1307 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06122018 - Enable DiscoveryAlways make sure that people can see you when they want to. Yesterday I sent out the third wave of stream team invites. It's always exciting when you get the chance to discover new creators, or get to check out content for the first time from someone you've started a relationship with. A lot of times though, you don't get to check that content out live, so you go back and watch VODs. And here in lies the problem, some live content creators haven't enabled their VODs!
My encouragement for you, if you're a live content creator, is to make...
2018-06-1207 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06112018 - Challenge YourselfToday I want to talk about challenging yourself. It's really easy when things are working like a well oiled machine, to get comfortable and complacent. Especially as content creators, when things are working, we're seeing the growth and relationship we want to see with our community, it can be scary to think about changing anything up. But at the end of the day, you also need to be careful not to let your content get stale. It can be something as simple as changing up the game to a genre you've never done before.
My encouragement to you, if you...
2018-06-1107 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06092018 - "Try Before You Buy" DreamerHave you heard of the phrase "Try Before You Buy"? It's a phrase that guides you towards trying out things before you actually buy them so you know they fit, whatever it happens to be. I would also say that this phrase is a good way to think about dreams as well. If you say that your "dream is to do X" but you've never done X at any level, then you're dreaming about something that you don't even know if you like.
My encouragement for you today, if you are a dreamer, isn't to NOT pursue your dreams. But...
2018-06-0905 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06082018 - State of the StreamI've never done a "State of the Stream" type update on the podcast before, so I wanted to take a moment and chat about all the things that are being worked on. What you guys and gals see on stream, is only a small part of what goes on behind the scenes. It's the culmination of all the time and effort that goes into it. So for the stream, the last 3 weeks have been incredible. The amount of support both inside and outside the stream have been amazing.
I've been working on a few different things on the back end...
2018-06-0806 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06072018 - Playing With ViewersSomething, that a lot of broadcasters are struggling with is managing viewer games. It can be stressful to play with viewers, especially when you manage a queue that gets large. With a game like Fortnite, people are constantly looking for people to play with and especially look to streamers since they think streamers will carry them to victory. Here are a couple ways to set expectations.
Play solos or with a set group of friends. Set the expectation that you don't play with viewers. Not the ideal option for community focused players in my opinion. The next option is to...
2018-06-0708 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06062018 - Getting Business With ItI don't often talk about the backend, or business side, of what I do on a weekly basis, so I thought I'd take a stab at it. People look at content creation, or streaming, as the "dream job". Many times, because they only see the resulting content, they think it's as simple as hitting "Go Live". Build it and they will come sort of mentality. For every hour of content you create, there are 2 to 3 hours on the back end that make it happen.
I am spending hours every week making friends in the space (networking), hanging out with other...
2018-06-0610 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06052018 - Platform Comparison & BreakdownToday I wanted to cover something that a lot of creators are making decisions on and provide you with a breakdown of the various live streaming platforms you have a choice to make content on. I want to cover the pros and cons (from my perspective) on Twitch, Mixer, Youtube and Facebook Gaming. I'm not covering platforms like Periscope or Caffiene because I have no familiarity with them.
My encouragement to you is to make sure you really evaluate what your purpose for content creation is, and then compare that against the pros and cons of each platform. That will...
2018-06-0523 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06042018 - Exhaustion & MotivationI was asked the other night, "When you're exhausted and not motivated, what helps you to maintain your high energy and go live?". I initially answered with coffee and Gamersupps, but after reflecting on it, I realized I probably misled them a little bit. I love what I do and I feel a sense of responsibility to deliver content to y'all on the schedule I've set. I grew up in a time when your word mattered, and if you say you're going to be live at this time on this day, or be here at a specific time, or deliver...
2018-06-0406 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06022018 - We're In This TogetherWith all of the announcements on Twitter about people moving platforms, it can be easy to get anxious about the influx of creators and the "competition" it creates. I let it get in my head a few days ago, and felt like I was going to fall way behind with the influx of large content creators. But what I realized, is that the Mixer and Facebook platforms aren't near at viewing or creator capacity yet. And the opportunity for the platforms to continue growing from a viewer standpoint is immense.
My encouragement for you, is to welcome everyone with open...
2018-06-0207 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 06012018 - Big Brother is Always WatchingNo, this isn't a topic about Big Brother always watching. Well, it kind of is, but not in the menacing sense. Today I wanted to talk about the fact that as a broadcaster, you never know who is watching. At any point, someone could be in your chat, perusing your Twitter feed, or watching how you interact with others to evaluate your ability to represent them. It's important to bear that in mind as you interact with others and create content.
This isn't a scare tactic, or a topic I'm covering to put fear in you or to have you...
2018-06-0106 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 05312018 - Self Evaluation and ReflectionIt's important as broadcasters, and as people, to take a step back every once in awhile to self-reflect and evaluate where you're at. When you're in the day to day grind of life, it's easy to get lost and to lose focus on what truly matters. If you don't take the time look inward, you will lose your why outwardly too.
So my encouragement for you today, if you're at a low spot, is to take a day off. Take some time to put away the phone and the devices, and reconnect with your significant other or your friends. Take...
2018-05-3107 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 05302018 - E3 HypeI wanted in this episode to cover some of the hype that has been swirling around one of the biggest conferences of the year, E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is one of the largest events of the year, and there are always a ton of announcements and introductions made at this event year after year. New games that are coming out, updates to hardware, new technologies and disruptors to the industry.
The games I'm most looking forward to getting more information about are Anthem, The Division 2 and Battlefield 5. Anthem is probably the most exciting, as it's a brand new IP...
2018-05-3011 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 05292018 - Online SecurityFaye_Vrit wanted to know about securing yourself and your family online. There are a couple different things you can do, but unfortunately it will always be a balance between putting yourself out there to grow (and giving up some privacy in exchange) versus approaching security with common sense. Some things you should never do: put your full legal name out there, personal info like social security number, full physical address, names of family members, information around where you'll be physically traveling to, etc. These are easy things to temper and can avoid making it easy for people to put...
2018-05-2910 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 05262018 - Persistent SimplificationIn the pursuit of always being better, it's easy to get focused on creating content without taking the time to learn new skills and pursue the simplification of our setup and processes so we can make better content. If there is anything in your setup that is keeping you from doing things better, you should continue to be persistent about making sure that you optimize and eventually resolve those items.
My encouragement is to be persistent, even if it means temporarily creating less content, to get better, to learn new skills. It will pay off in the long run, and...
2018-05-2709 minDad Logs - A Glimpse Into the Mind of a BroadcasterDad Log - Stardate 05252018 - Effective Self Promotion - AgainToday I want to add on to a podcast I did a little bit ago about effective self promotion. In that podcast I talk about making sure that your link to your primary streaming site is on EVERY profile you operate on. In addition to that advice and making sure you have your link on everything, there are a few other pieces of information that are vital to have everywhere you operate online.
The three pieces of information you should have in every profile, are who you are, what you do, and why you do what you do. Now, there...
2018-05-2507 min