Stream Wars

This week we speak with Lindita and Izzy, two amazing live streamers from the platform Tagged who will be sharing with us how they have incorporated live streaming into their careers as creatives and entertainers.  Lindita is a singer songwriter, originally from Europe and now based in the US. If you’re a fan of American Idol you may recognize her from season 15 where she made it into the top 25. Over the past year or so Lindita has started using live streaming as a way to gain exposure to new audiences and develop closer relationships with her fans. In our interview she shares how live streaming benefits her career and why she thinks all entertainers need to be doing it.  Then I speak with Izzy, a poet and radio DJ. Izzy originally started using live streaming as a way to get over a bad breakup and after performing spoken word one day discovered that it really resonated with her viewers on Tagged. Now she hosts weekly poetry slams which have become very popular on Tagged, so much so that she got recruited to become a radio DJ in Atlanta where she lives. It’s an incredible story.  Follow our guests:  Lindita -   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tagged: @linditaworld Izzy - Twitter, Instagram and Tagged: @IzzDoesItBetta To submit music to Izzy for her radio show, email her at IzzDoesItBetta@gmail.com The name of the app/radio show is Highly Unique Radio, the sokoldaffair Check out more podcast interviews and articles about the livestreaming industry at: www.themeetgroup.com/blog

Today my guest is Peter Yang, Senior Product Manager at Twitch. Peter has been in the Western live streaming industry for more than four years, starting out at Facebook working on Facebook live, then jumping over to Twitter where he helped develop Periscope after Twitter had acquired it. Most recently he has joined Twitch, where he works specifically to develop tools for streamers (or creators as he calls them) to improve their streaming experience, help them grow their followings, and monetize better. We start out our conversation talking about some of Peter’s opinions on the Western live streaming industry, it’s differences with China, the future of the Twitch IRL category and the potential for the audio only live streaming vertical. Then we dive into his role at Twitch and discuss some of the specific products that he has worked on including Raids, Achievements, and Squad Streaming. There are a couple terms that Peter uses quite a bit that you may not be familiar with. The first one is IRL, which stands for “in real life”. Video game live streaming is the main type of streaming content on Twitch and anything outside of that such as painting, dancing, a talk show, etc. is referred to as IRL content. The second is Subs, which is simply an abbreviation for subscriptions. As we discuss in the interview, subscriptions are one of the ways that Twitch streamers can monetize their streams. viewers are able to pay a small fee to Subscribe to a Twitch streamer’s channel. This unlocks special privileges for them and the streamer earns money from each subscription. The last one is Emotes, which are essentially emojis, stickers, and gifs used in the Twitch viewer chats. As Peter explains in the interview, the vast majority of Twitch emotes are what's known as subscription emotes. Fans of a particular broadcaster can unlock a bespoke set of emotes when they subscribe to that particular broadcaster. And broadcasters earn the ability to have a greater number of their own emotes by racking up more subscribers. If you enjoyed this episode and would like to learn more about Peter, you can find him on: Twitter @petergyang And on Medium at: https://medium.com/@peteryang About Stream Wars: This bi-weekly podcast will explore everything there is to know about the global live streaming industry, covering the latest trends from the top platforms both in China and the West (including YY, Huya, Inke, MeetMe, Twitch, Live.me, Bigo and Younow) while also addressing basic questions such as “what is livestreaming and why would anyone watch it?” Stream Wars will feature interviews with top streamers who share their tips and tricks for hosting a popular stream, what motivates them to stream, and how live streaming has impacted their lives. We’ll also talk to engineers and product developers to learn what it takes to build a popular livestreaming platform. Learn more about live streaming at: www.themeetgroup.com/blog

This week’s guest is top MeetMe streamer Holly. If you’re a MeetMe user or streamer, you probably know who Holly is. Holly is not only A top streamer but THE top streamer on MeetMe in many ways from virtual gifts earned, number of viewers, contests won, and more. Last year, Holly, a self-proclaimed socially awkward loner, hopped on MeetMe to make friends and discovered live streaming. She gave it a try and immediately became hooked. She has streamed every day since, and that was over a year ago! In this episode we talk about her streamer journey and some of the things that have made her successful, consistency being one of them! From this episode it is obvious how seriously Holly takes her streaming career and she reveals the amount of effort that goes into planning fun, entertaining, and original content for her viewers. To learn more about Holly, check her out on MeetMe or follow her on Instagram @HollyCalifornia27

In this episode McKenzi Troyano and Anthony Lario, two of our talent specialists at The Meet Group, share tips, tactics and mindset shifts specifically for Youtubers and other content creators who would like to start live streaming. Of course, current live streamers are sure to find their suggestions helpful as well. Some of the things we talk about include: What does it feel like to live stream for the first time? The difference between live streaming on Youtube, Facebook Live and Instagram Live vs. a pure live streaming platform Why developing your emotional intelligence can help you become a top streamer Why you need to stop overthinking and just be yourself

Are Youtubers good live streamers? While your gut reaction might be yes, It turns out that oftentimes when Youtubers go on live streaming platforms, they just don't perform as well as pure, homegrown live streaming talent. So why is that? And why would Youtubers be interested in live streaming in the first place? To answer those questions and many more, I invited Keven Gungor, program manager at The Meet Group to join me for this week’s episode. As a program manager Keven is essentially a talent manager working with our top live streaming talent on a daily basis. Prior to joining The Meet Group, Keven worked for another large live streaming platform where he often dealt with talent recruited from Youtube, so he has a first hand perspective on the topic we're discussing today. We cover: - How creating content for Youtube is different than live streaming and the different skill sets they require - Examples of mistakes the Youtubers frequently make when they try to live stream - Why Youtubers should consider live streaming and tips for those who want to start If you have any questions for Keven, feel free to reach out to him on Instagram @villagekev

Streamer Series interview with Captain Catch, a top streamer on the social networking platform Skout, who also happens to live and work in Japan. Captain Catch, who’s real name is Chris, shares why he ended up in Japan, how he incorporates his life in Japan into his live streams, and the ways that streaming has positively impacted his career as an actor and teacher. We also discuss what makes a good live stream and he shares his tips for becoming a better streamer. Listeners will be able to tell how much Chris cares about his fans. He shares how they have been a support system for him as he navigates the ups and downs of life and how he was nervous to meet some of his fans in real life because he was afraid he wouldn’t live up to their expectations of him. He also shares that he’s constantly trying to come up with new streaming content because his goal is always to keep things fresh and exciting for his fans. If you would like to learn even more about the live streaming industry, check out our blog at themeetgroup.com/blog

Short Video, Gaming, and E-commerce Live Streaming Platforms in China. This is Part 2 of my overview of the top Chinese live streaming platforms you need to know going into 2019. In the last episode I focused on five platforms in the entertainment live streaming category. Today I’ll be discussing some other categories. First we’ll talk about three short video platforms that are also known for their live streaming features, Then I’ll go over the top video game live streaming platforms (aka the Twitches of China). And lastly I’ll talk about the trend of e-commerce + live streaming that is going on in China. For those interested in learning more, there will be a corresponding article with all the information cited in this episode so keep an eye out!

Streamer Series interview with Will Smith. Today we chat with a popular streamer who goes by the username Will Smith. Will is one of only 2 streamers who’s successfully maintained a Top Streamer badge across three of The Meet Group’s apps, MeetMe, Skout, and Tagged. In our interview, Will candidly shares his tips and tricks and gives advice on how others can become top streamers too. Some of the highlights include: -How he incentivizes viewers to give him virtual gifts -What he does to get more viewers -What does #litfam mean and how has it contributed to his streaming success -Why it's important for streamers to develop genuine relationships with their top gifters and how he does that -How live streaming has benefitted his career and other areas of his life Will is a ball of positive energy who truly loves connecting with people, and he seems to have found his perfect medium with live streaming. If you would like to learn even more about the live streaming industry, check out our blog at themeetgroup.com/blog.

MOMO, Huajiao, YY, Yizhibo, and Inke. An overview of the current top players in China’s live streaming industry. A Deloitte report titled “Live thrives in an online world” shared that China is likely to remain the largest market for live streaming in 2018, with forecast revenue of $4.4 billion, a 32 percent increase over 2017, 86 percent higher than in 2016. Viewers are likely to reach 456 million. There are so many Chinese live streaming platforms that I have broken it into two episodes. Today’s episode will covers the five platforms that I think are absolutely essential for you to know about and then in a future episode we will cover another five or so platforms that you should be aware of as well. The five platforms we cover today include MOMO, Huajiao, YY, Yizhibo, and Inke. For those interested in learning more, there will be a corresponding article with all the information cited in this episode so keep an eye out for that at themeetgroup.com/blog

Geoff Cook, the CEO of The Meet Group, chats with us about The Meet Group and how it’s becoming a key player in the Western live streaming industry. In the interview, Geoff shares with us: -Why The Meet Group got into live streaming -Why he feels it is important to pay attention to live streaming trends in China -How The Meet Group got the nickname the “MOMO of the West” and what that means -The advantage of the dating/social networking + live streaming model vs. the traditional pure-play live streaming model -The future of the live streaming industry in the West If you’d like to learn more about the topic of today’s interview, check out the article: “MOMO of the West" (https://medium.com/themeetgroup/momo-of-the-west-9abd688145ed) and to stay on top of global live streaming trends, follow our Medium blog: https://medium.com/themeetgroup

This mini episode gives a brief introduction to the podcast and what you can expect from it. Reach out to us at: streamwars@themeetgroup.com Learn more about live streaming: www.themeetgroup.com/blog