New life direction

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

Hey all,


I've been in an interesting spot with my life lately, where I find myself with very few obligations. I separated from the USAF in July, and since then have been trying to figure out what to do next. I'll keep the story short. I'm living with my widowed great aunt and can't take jobs around the world as I would like. My aunt falls and can't get up when she does, so getting a part time job isn't ideal as I'd be away from the house all day. I have an income, so I don't need anything for the sake of supporting myself.

I need some input as to what you all would think about me getting into either streaming or youtube content creation. I would love to use the handle Jolly_Green_Giant but I'm thinking there would be some legal stuff involved with that later on. Right now I'm sticking with Jolly_JGG whereas JGG stands for Jolly Green Gaming. Even that seems like it might cause problems legally. I use the name and the giant because of my Air Force units heritage.

I have a background in photography and use a Sony A7r ii as my capture device. I suck at video games and am pretty quiet, but If I were to give a constant dialogue with the idea that I'm providing entertainment I'm a different person. How did you all know that this is what you wanted to do and where did you start? I can only imagine most of you have been in my position at some point.

I'm obviously not very organized with my thoughts on this right now, but the idea is there, and the ability, I guess I'm just looking for some motivation and reassurance before i jump into the unknown.

 

[Montoya]

I hate to be negative, but I gotta be honest with you.

As captain of our stream team, I have seen streamers come and go.

Its not easy!

To be successful as a streamer you need to either be a) in the right place at the right time, or b) extremely entertaining and unique.

You have probably seen some shmo sitting at his desk playing PUBG with 13,000 viewers and $100's in donations pouring in for reasons you do not understand, yeah, f**k that guy :P

The odds are that he was early on some game or genre, he is either a good player or came from some other social media site with an existing fan base.

If you turn on your camera now and stream, how will people find you? Will they think you are interesting? Will the come hang out with you regularly?

The good thing is it costs you nothing to try it out, the bad thing is that it will take a lot of work to get to the point where you can actually make money.

As for youtube, same story.

Hell, check out my channel, I might make 50c from a video!

If I had 250,000 views on a video, then maybe I could start thinking about being serious about it, but with 5000 or even 10,000 views, I can go buy myself a can of tuna and make a nice sandwich for lunch.

Thankfully I have my Patreon going and the donations from the link at the top here to make up for it, but to start off with the goal of making money on youtube or twitch, you have to have a real marketing plan in place and make it happen in any reasonable time frame.

That said, we will obviously support you in any way we can should you choose to go in this direction!

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

I hate to be negative, but I gotta be honest with you.

As captain of our stream team, I have seen streamers come and go.

Its not easy!

To be successful as a streamer you need to either be a) in the right place at the right time, or b) extremely entertaining and unique.

You have probably seen some shmo sitting at his desk playing PUBG with 13,000 viewers and $100's in donations pouring in for reasons you do not understand, yeah, f**k that guy :P

The odds are that he was early on some game or genre, he is either a good player or came from some other social media site with an existing fan base.

If you turn on your camera now and stream, how will people find you? Will they think you are interesting? Will the come hang out with you regularly?

The good thing is it costs you nothing to try it out, the bad thing is that it will take a lot of work to get to the point where you can actually make money.

As for youtube, same story.

Hell, check out my channel, I might make 50c from a video!

If I had 250,000 views on a video, then maybe I could start thinking about being serious about it, but with 5000 or even 10,000 views, I can go buy myself a can of tuna and make a nice sandwich for lunch.

Thankfully I have my Patreon going and the donations from the link at the top here to make up for it, but to start off with the goal of making money on youtube or twitch, you have to have a real marketing plan in place and make it happen in any reasonable time frame.

That said, we will obviously support you in any way we can should you choose to go in this direction!

Thank's Montoya, I've taken that into consideration as well. I'm not really getting into it to make money (although it would be pretty awesome to be successful). This advice is great for anyone who is even thinking about putting themselves in front of a camera though, for whatever reason. I just have a lot of time spent at home, and need a project, or creative outlet, or SOMETHING that keeps me somewhat productive. Early stages in thought right now, but Streaming / Creating just seems like something out of my comfort zone, but something I want to take on as a challenge. I'll keep you all updated. :)

 

[Montoya]

Hell, if you have time to kill and are sitting in front of the screen and want to stream, go for it!

We add you to the sidebar, you have friends here, its a start.

As for the name, yes, you want avoid anything that is owned by a giant food conglomerate.

Jolly_G is simple and easy. Keep it short and easy to remember.

 

[EpilepticCricket]

It is definitely difficult to make any money at all streaming/youtubing. If you're wanting to do it cause you think you'd like it, then definitely go for it. But if you're wanting some supplemental income that's more than beer money, you might want to look into other avenues.

 

[Montoya]

It is definitely difficult to make any money at all streaming/youtubing. If you're wanting to do it cause you think you'd like it, then definitely go for it. But if you're wanting some supplemental income that's more than beer money, you might want to look into other avenues.

I saw a documentary where this one guy started making blue meth and made a lot of money.

 

[hardroc77]

Hey all,


I've been in an interesting spot with my life lately, where I find myself with very few obligations. I separated from the USAF in July, and since then have been trying to figure out what to do next. I'll keep the story short. I'm living with my widowed great aunt and can't take jobs around the world as I would like. My aunt falls and can't get up when she does, so getting a part time job isn't ideal as I'd be away from the house all day. I have an income, so I don't need anything for the sake of supporting myself.

I need some input as to what you all would think about me getting into either streaming or youtube content creation. I would love to use the handle Jolly_Green_Giant but I'm thinking there would be some legal stuff involved with that later on. Right now I'm sticking with Jolly_JGG whereas JGG stands for Jolly Green Gaming. Even that seems like it might cause problems legally. I use the name and the giant because of my Air Force units heritage.

I have a background in photography and use a Sony A7r ii as my capture device. I suck at video games and am pretty quiet, but If I were to give a constant dialogue with the idea that I'm providing entertainment I'm a different person. How did you all know that this is what you wanted to do and where did you start? I can only imagine most of you have been in my position at some point.

I'm obviously not very organized with my thoughts on this right now, but the idea is there, and the ability, I guess I'm just looking for some motivation and reassurance before i jump into the unknown.

Like the others have said, it's very hard to get to the point of real income generation. I have a friend who has trying this with a "home repair" channel. But you never know till you try. If you do, good luck and I'll sub as soon as your channel gets posted.

 

[hardroc77]

I hate to be negative, but I gotta be honest with you.

As captain of our stream team, I have seen streamers come and go.

Its not easy!

To be successful as a streamer you need to either be a) in the right place at the right time, or b) extremely entertaining and unique.

You have probably seen some shmo sitting at his desk playing PUBG with 13,000 viewers and $100's in donations pouring in for reasons you do not understand, yeah, f**k that guy :P

The odds are that he was early on some game or genre, he is either a good player or came from some other social media site with an existing fan base.

If you turn on your camera now and stream, how will people find you? Will they think you are interesting? Will the come hang out with you regularly?

The good thing is it costs you nothing to try it out, the bad thing is that it will take a lot of work to get to the point where you can actually make money.

As for youtube, same story.

Hell, check out my channel, I might make 50c from a video!

If I had 250,000 views on a video, then maybe I could start thinking about being serious about it, but with 5000 or even 10,000 views, I can go buy myself a can of tuna and make a nice sandwich for lunch.

Thankfully I have my Patreon going and the donations from the link at the top here to make up for it, but to start off with the goal of making money on youtube or twitch, you have to have a real marketing plan in place and make it happen in any reasonable time frame.

That said, we will obviously support you in any way we can should you choose to go in this direction!

Words of wisdom. No joking, just honest words. good on you Boss.

 

[Printimus]

shoot for the stars! If you are gonna play video games, why not stream it and take a chance of making a little bit of side cash for doing something you enjoy?

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

"if you build it, they will come."

 

[Edgewise]

If you're doing it just to do it and have a bit of fun, then go for it. If you're doing it to make it into a job, it will be extremely hard. The number of streamers for SC vs the number of viewers is very streamer heavy compared with many other games. This is offset to some degree by the SC community being quite generous, but you will likely need a different, 'new' game with few streamers covering it to jump into if you want to go in the 'make it a job' direction.

 

[Nap]

I say go for it. What better creative outlet is there than streaming games? My equipment is just now showing up and am preparing to start as well. If you have any questions or run into any problems contact me and we can figure this out together.

 

[Capt_Baldi]

I've been having the exact same thoughts about streaming Jolly_G. (It has a ring to it..)
I'm usually not a very loud person etc, but when you're "entertaining" you just step it up a notch naturally.

I decided - just like Printimus pointed out.. If you're interested in the whole streaming concept, and you play the games you want, why not broadcast it to the world and get someone to interact with you while doing so?
That's what make me go - "hell with it, let's see how it goes" *click* "GO LIVE".

You're more than welcome to contact me as well regarding stream settings etc, and I'd happily share my thoughts/experiences on the matter. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

/Capt_Baldi

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

I've been having the exact same thoughts about streaming Jolly_G. (It has a ring to it..)
I'm usually not a very loud person etc, but when you're "entertaining" you just step it up a notch naturally.

I decided - just like Printimus pointed out.. If you're interested in the whole streaming concept, and you play the games you want, why not broadcast it to the world and get someone to interact with you while doing so?
That's what make me go - "hell with it, let's see how it goes" *click* "GO LIVE".

You're more than welcome to contact me as well regarding stream settings etc, and I'd happily share my thoughts/experiences on the matter. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

/Capt_Baldi

I'm kinda freaked out at the moment because I've been thinking about this a lot. I recently turned down an absolute dream job because of the work / life balance and how I've been feeling about where I'm at with what I want in life. My current job is interesting, but as well, I'm far away from family, working with shit co-workers and going weeks without a day off. It's not all bad but before I took the job I was happier at home with my elderly aunt and being able to see my little sister and others whenever I want. I can afford to live without a regular job, so I could just come home whenever. I've really been considering it, throwing in the towel and coming home. Once home I still want to do something and content creation has really been on my mind. I'm just tired of working for people. I appreciate all the info and willingness to help. You're awesome man!

 

[Montoya]

Once home I still want to do something and content creation has really been on my mind.

You can stream all the glorious battles TEST will have from the bridge of our Bengal carrier!

 

[Vavrik]

You can stream all the glorious battles TEST will have from the bridge of our Bengal carrier!

... You keep saying all you own is 1700 Auroras, with some missing in the back row - but then you talk about the Bengal Carrier, and I *know* there's a Pioneer in there. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:


In all seriousness. I have a requirement to make training videos that involve screen capture and classroom recordings... What kind of camera would be good for that kind of thing that can record to a PC? And editing software, if they want me to edit the videos too.

 

[RiceMaiden]

Its not easy!

As a person who doesn't stream and spends hundreds of hours building ship models, streaming looks difficult and stressful. I applaud anyone who can do it successfully for more than 6 months.