49 THE LIVE LIFE IRL Streaming
Choosing the right platform for your stream is important, Inthavong says. “Twitch has more visibility and discoverability for streamers, whereas as YouTube already has so many different kinds of streamers that IRL can get buried.” Inthavong visited a well-established streamer “Ice Poseidon” (his real name is Paul Denino) during his IRL stream, which meant he immediately connected with thousands of new viewers and upped his following instantaneously. If you don’t have access to these celebrity streamers, consistency is key. Ice Poseidon was banned from Twitch last year when one of his fans called in a fake bomb threat to an American Airlines flight he was on. He formed his own IRL streaming network, Cx Network, as a home for him and his fellow IRL streamers. “You want to create content that’s true to you and that people will enjoy,” Inthavong says. “IRL is about building a connection and community with the viewers.” This audience interaction is also one of the few ways to make money from IRL. Donations through auto-pays or open
broadcast applications like Steamlabs mean viewers can give money to a streamer to read a promotional message or other partnerships. Other ways of making a profit can be through sponsors or monthly subscription fees. Inthavong has live streamed three more times since his initial week-long IRL marathon. “I missed my viewers,” he admits. “That’s a testament to the power and beauty of IRL, that I genuinely missed that connection. I probably will live stream again at some point, too.” WILD AND WONDERFUL Inthavong warns anyone who might be considering IRL streaming to “get ready for perhaps the wildest and most wonderful and unpredictable parts of the Internet. Do your research and be ready for what you’re getting into. You won’t have a big audience at first, but build your community and tap into what’s great about IRL – the people and the connections. “IRL is a blend between real-life and recorded life. You can edit the best and
worst parts in normal videos, but with IRL you can’t do that – it’s true and raw.” Inthavong doesn’t think the future of the IRL genre will explode suddenly, but we will see it continue to grow. “There’ll be a point where it’s so much more commonplace to see people live stream, it’s already happening on platforms like Instagram. The kids of today are growing up with this technology and they’ll implement it into their future career paths. And I can definitely see it being used in medical or scientific fields.” At the moment, Inthavong is struck by how IRL builds deep connections with complete strangers around the world, and does it digitally. “There’s definitely a cause for discussion about some of IRL’s potential issues, but ultimately as a streamer you’re building a community. And as a viewer you’re tapping into someone else’s world that could be thousands of miles away. That in itself is incredible.” n Check out highlights from Aria Inthavong’s IRL video: https://youtu.be/tTPVNncnv0Y
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