I actually don’t have a good reason for posting today. I mean, not sure why I said that. Anyway, I’m currently working on improving this website, turning it from a mere blog site to my own personal website. If you have been following my blog, then you should be able to notice the difference between the before and after. Well, the “after” isn’t much right now. I mean, it is clearly still a work-in-progress.
One of those sections/pages that is currently a work-in-progress is the “Gaming & Tech” section of the website. It’s meant to be like a sub-portal to showcase content that are related to either gaming or tech lifestyle stuff. I have already created a suitable layout template to show off my most recent live streams and videos. Clearly, my most recent ones aren’t quite recent. That’s only because I have been on a break from content creation.
Gaming + Livestream = Maybe???
In the months since I went on my lengthy break, I have managed to acquire a number of different PC games in that time. On top of that, some of the games I had bought previously have also received some critical updates, which also irons out those early launch day issues. Which in my view is a perfect timing.
When I woke up this morning, I decided to spend a little time setting up a potential live stream using Gamecaster Pro. Good news is, because I was a part of the early beta testers for Gamecaster, they have given me a Lifetime Pro license. As a content creator, that is actually one of the best gifts and blessings. Having a good streaming software and knowing how to make the most of it can be very helpful. But ofcourse, the software/hardware is not everything, ultimately, as a content creator, I have to be consistent (or at least be a regular streamer).
I was Overthinking It
Just before I decided to stop streaming and uploading videos to YouTube, I was on this whole, “I want to do a daily live stream every day” mission. It felt good for the first week or two. But I remember one day just feeling like it’s so much work and effort. See, I have been overthinking the whole process and I was trying to copy what a lot of professional streamers are doing, which I must admit seemed so cool. But what I didn’t realize was the amount of time and effort required to prepare for those live streams, and the amount of time and effort it would consume to manage that alongside social media posts/updates. Everything that I was doing previously by streaming on a daily basis was just overwhelming me to the point that I felt a little burned out. I was no longer enjoying myself anymore.
It’s also part of the reason why I made the decision to go on this really long break.
Going Back to My Roots Helped More Than I Realized
In the recent months of writing these online journals have helped me to remember why I loved content creation so much (at a time when being a “content creator” wasn’t just a label). I enjoyed it because I wasn’t thinking too much about the how or the what, or the why. I just did it out of a deep passion. It was almost natural. Lately, I was also reminded of the reason why I was really good as a content creator during the early days (just before I was recognized as a featured tech content creator), it was mainly because I was driven by my passion and not because I was trying to achieve some form of “KPI”.
As I make this decision to return to doing gaming-related live streams, I’m adopting the same mentality towards it – I’m not going to think too much about it. If I feel like I want to do a live stream today, or tomorrow, or whenever that might be, I will just do it. Don’t think too much.
One of the key factors to being a successful content creator is to be entertaining. There is more than one way to be entertaining. For some folks, they enjoy tuning into a live stream because they like the jokes the streamer dishes out. Some like it because they find it relaxing after a long day at the office. There are many reasons for them to be tuning into your live stream (apart from being interested in what you’re live streaming). At the end of the day, I just need to remind myself that it is the personality of the content creator that matters. Different content creators will attract different target audiences. Let’s faced it, you can’t make everybody like you. So, just focus on being you.
Closing Thoughts: I’m Just Going to Go With the Flow
Put it simply guys, I’m just going to go with the flow from now on. It’s possible that I could live stream at different timings on different days, it all depends on my mood. And when I feel like I have something I want to record, I will do that. Otherwise, I’ll just stay silent and focus on something else.
It’s really nice to finally feel free from that self-generated pressure of, “I feel like I need to post something today because others are doing that.”
This part of being a content creator became easier for me once I started recognizing and accepting that they have been doing it for much longer, and perhaps they even have a team to help them with other aspects of their social media platforms and so on. It also helps to remind myself that I’m just one person, so it’s okay to just keep things simple and easy for now.
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