It’s Wednesday, which means build stream day, (11am ET on Twitch and YouTube), which means at the top of my brain is usually metrics. How many people will watch today? How many views will the VoD get, and so on.
It’s definitely my least favourite thing about being a “content creator” (ugh, that term), but like many things in this field, it is something I can’t ignore. With limited time and resources it means I need to spend those things where it’ll reach the highest number of people, and I need to temper what I want to do with what the audience wants to watch. They don’t always align.
The builds streams are always fun and are probably my most viewed video work. People like a peek behind the curtain, and I hope I keep them fun and entertaining. Only recently have I thought of a format that allows me to work them into my daily routine so that it doesn’t get in the way of building for the shops, but now that I have it’s all good.
The Frankie Play streams however, are an example of our least viewed content; and this gives me a bit of sad because we really like doing them and always have fun. The cool reception made me hesitant to even try launching the podcast, as the subjects (puppets and gaming), tread in similar waters. Podcasting it seems is a different enough medium that it’s getting decent listens, so it looks like for the moment my fears were unfounded. The Oracle sits somewhere in the middle, definitely not the most popular, but still enough views to keep going–but I don’t devote the time to release on a consistent schedule because the “return on investment” just isn’t there.
It’s really distasteful that I have to think about this stuff in these terms at all. Like I mentioned on my first coffee blog, when you’re a tiny fish in a vast ocean, you measure success differently. The numbers that matter to me are counted in ones, not hundreds. Every person counts.
And that brings us to the inevitable conclusion that yes, once again, I ask everyone to please spread the word about Operation: Puppet. As I try to move away from predatory algorithmic platforms like Twitter and Facebook (the clock is ticking, Facebook), the power of ordinary people becomes paramount. There’s no other way for O:P to reach new people. Every single one of you matters.
And I guess, in a way, that’s good. Considering the alternative (ie, predatory algorithmic platforms), it’s definitely healthier.
Coffee.