Five Things We Learned From the Streaming Panel at Summer in the City 2019

There’s more to streaming than meets the eye! From treating your viewers like friends to learning the value of moderators, Summer in the City 2019’s Streaming panel had the tips you need.

The panel featured Liam “Ace Trainer Liam” Scott Edwards, Hannah Witton, Liam Dryden, Gee Nelson and Raven Delgado from The Cyber Nerds, who discussed the skills needed to make a brilliant streaming channel.

1. Learn the basics

Hannah admitted that still feels new to the streaming community. She’s found it helpful to learn the basic set up and how to be able to play, talk aloud and engage with a chat all at the same time. “I genuinely didn’t have an appreciation for it until I started doing it” she confessed to the other panellists.

Liam Scott Edwards added that it can feel more natural to fill silences and that when you first start out, however watching other streamers can help, as you slowly learn what you like about them.

2. Build a community

Raven said he treats his viewers as friends and always feels that they’re there to help him out when he’s unable to do something (e.g. too busy to get rid of trolls in a chat).

Liam Scott Edwards added that communities can form within the community. It’s a lovely thing as everyone respect and watches out for one another.

“At the end of the day, we’re dedicated to showing our audience that it’s ok to be geeky,” said Raven. “So when they see someone who’s similar to them – they instantly relate to their personalities and often get highly involved with the stream.”

3. Remember your viewers are real people

Unlike YouTube videos, Twitch and other streaming services allow chats to be spoken live. Because of that, the panellists find it easier to get to know their audience through having actual conversations with them, rather than relying on their comment sections.

Hannah added that her Twitch followers have equal rights to her Patreons, which allows them to contact her directly and actually get to know her. With that, Liam Scott Edwards proclaimed “you’re all not just numbers on a screen!”

4. Find games you enjoy

Several of the panellists all shared what their favourite games are. Liam Scott Edwards loves shiny Pokémon hunting, whereas Gee‘s favourite is Dead by Daylight and Liam Dryden‘s is Stardew Valley.

Raven simply stated that his favourite is always: “anything that we can play with our streamers.”

They agreed that finding games you like to play means you’ll be more engaged, so it’s often more entertaining to watch. Although it does also help when the community can get involved too.

5. Remember the importance of moderators

To quote Hannah: “they know more than me”. To which, the entire panel nodded in agreement.

The panel concluded with Tom Burns coming on stage to give Gee her Streamer of the Year Summer in the City Award, that she sadly couldn’t pick up in 2018!

Photos by Christy Ku.