The Exchanges

Q of dig into it a little bit. I mean, you have editors, you've got a manager for your editing team, you've got social media folks, a general manager, business manager, you've got a real team. So walk me through some of the, some of the things you're doing. I mean, obviously you're gaming, you're streaming, and that I'm assuming there's revenue that comes in through sponsorship mainly that way, right?

A Yeah, also a major part of live streaming is something that we call subscriptions. So on YouTube, you can subscribe for free, and it's almost similar to following a channel. Whereas on Twitch, uh, the site where I live stream, you can follow a channel so you see when they're live and you see when they're not, but you can also subscribe for a set monthly fee per month. For example, five dollars, maybe 10, maybe 25. So it's almost like you're pledging that money to that channel. In exchange for certain benefits on the channel. Uh, benefits like, in the chat, you have, like, a little icon beside your name, which shows that you're a paying subscriber. You can have little emotes that you use in the chat, and different streamers will have different benefits of their own. Some of them play games with their subscribers, some of them have subscribers-only chat, so there's all these different ways of kind of making money within the live streaming space or the live streaming website, and then there are An infinite amount of external passive income sources that you can create.

AI assessment note: “also a major part of live streaming is something that we call subscriptions.”

Q So basically you're in college and you, you're starting to amass this following of people who want to connect with you and watch you play. And you realize that you can't actually be a college student and also a streamer because you're devoting so much of your time streaming?

A Um, well, actually, it was just that as the years go on, obviously, in an engineering degree, the classes are bound to get more difficult and more time consuming, so I just knew I quite physically would not be able to maintain a streaming schedule as well as go to all my classes and pass all my classes. Um, luckily this kind of coincided with a time where streaming, I had always seen it as a really fun hobby and something that I could make side hustle money through, but I didn't really look at it as a full blown career because I wasn't making much money off of it. But around that time, sponsors and companies started entering the space and they started sponsoring streamers like me. So for example, They would just say, okay, for 2000 dollars a month, you just need to put our company logo and branding on your stream. You need to use these products this many amount of times. And yeah, more and more companies started entering the space in this capacity. And also agencies and management groups started joining the streaming space so that they could facilitate these deals. And that's when I could really see it developing into a true business and realizing Wait, this is something that I could maybe someday turn into a full-fledged career.

AI assessment note: “I just knew I quite physically would not be able to maintain a streaming schedule”

Q very little abuse because how I built this isn't that controversial, but, you know, occasionally we do, I do, and, and, and it sucks, you know, it's, it's never fun because you want people to enjoy what you do. You want to make content for people that, you Makes them happy and inspired. Um, how do you stay resilient and strong when you're just getting, like, pummeled with just meanness?

A Honestly, um, it's something that can be very difficult to deal with at times, because whether it's a stream or a YouTube channel or a podcast, you kind of want to be creating and dealing with your community, the people that like that, so it's kind of hard to fathom why someone who claims to dislike what you do would berate you with negative comments, right? For starters, I try to just accept that it's okay for me to feel bad about these things. I need, like, no emotions to not feel bad when I read some of these messages. Ultimately, yeah, I try to validate my feelings, but also not expose myself to all this feedback too much. I don't think it's healthy for me, someone who probably gets thousands of comments about me, to read all of these all the time. Now, of course, that doesn't mean that I should Ignore criticism or ignore the negative things that people say, but just to take everything in at an appropriate amount so it's not overwhelming, either positively or negatively. And also, recently I read, um, Daring Greatly, and that book was absolutely amazing, especially I related so much to just when she spoke about also receiving so many negative comments or hate, and someone in her position who's had so much success Also say that there will simply be days where it gets to you and where it feels bad and you cry it out, but then you just get back up and keep moving and keep crea…

AI assessment note: “I try to just accept that it's okay for me to feel bad”

Q waiting for people to kind of follow you. You actually really worked it. I mean, you kind of networked, you talked to other streamers, you tried to kind of get people to talk about your stream, and that's how more and more people found out about you. Did your passion for video games just, was it just something that you kind of naturally and intuitively just loved, just connected with?

A Mm-hmm. So much of my childhood revolved around not just games, but I think a really particular aspect of playing online games is the community part of it all. I remember being 12 and making online friends and knowing I can't say my full name online, but you know, just trying to find a place where you belong, which ultimately I think everybody in life is doing, and I really feel like That's what online communities gave me and being able to make friends from all corners of the world and finding people you connect to. I think that was really a big part of why I loved gaming and stuck with it for so long. So I got really lucky with my brother introducing me at such a young age.

AI assessment note: “I think that was really a big part of why I loved gaming”

Q shops. One person, it's just one person in their store. But really, I mean, you know, you've kind of developed a business around your brand and And your ability to influence people. And do you have brands coming to you saying, Hey, we want you to promote this. We want to sponsor you on that. What, how do you sort of pick and decide who you want to work with?

A That's actually a really good question. Early on in my career, I felt like I was doing a lot of resume building. Obviously when I'm in college debt, I'm kind of taking any deal that I think is good or where I enjoy the product and there's no conflicts. And then I got into a phase where I was making some money, but I knew I wanted to work with larger companies, but in order to do that, I kind of had to almost, like, build credibility by working with similar brands that maybe aren't as big, even if those sponsorships were perhaps a bit more difficult, or I wasn't as interested. I feel like that was the resume building part of my career. Luckily, I've kind of put in the work. I have a name and brand of my own, and so I can be really, really picky and choosy. Um, so I guess the saying I have now is, if it's not an F yes, then it's a no. So I kind of just try to work with the companies that I'm really, really excited to work with.

AI assessment note: “if it's not an F yes, then it's a no.”

Q questions coming in. This is from Pamela Stauffer. I hope I'm pronouncing her name right. She asks, what advice do you have for young women who deal with threats and sexist behavior online? I know that you've faced this. You've borne the brunt of some of this. And you're so nice. You're so kind. I mean, I just, the idea that somebody would, anyway, how do you deal with it?

A I mean, for starters, I just want to say sorry, and that I really empathize with anyone that is going through something like that. It can be a very, very scary and difficult thing to go through, especially when you're new to an industry or scene like this. It'll be very off-putting as well. I think one of the biggest pieces of advice that I can give you is to find a community of women that can support you that has truly been one of my, just like, absolute saviors. Uh, being able to talk with people who understand what you're going through and empathize and share tips and tricks and really feel protected in that sense helps tremendously. I don't think I could have gone through the things that I've gone through if it was just me alone. And if I didn't have the friends and support system that I had, especially other female streamers. Um, and also to document everything for safety purposes and try to ignore as much as you can. It sucks to say, but a lot of these people really just want your attention. They don't know how else to get it. They don't know how to get it in a positive manner, and so they will go the complete extreme opposite route because typically Obviously, people do react when they're scared. Do your best to obviously be as safe as possible, but if you can avoid reacting to these people, that's what I'd recommend as well.

AI assessment note: “biggest pieces of advice that I can give you is to find a community of women”

Q So, such great advice. A great book, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. There's a question from Jax via YouTube. Jax asks, how do you keep a balance between your live streaming career and your personal life? You know, considering almost everything you do is creating content in some form.

A Absolutely. I think things can get very complicated when you are the product that you are selling, basically. And that's kind of what being a content creator is like, or being an online personality or a public figure. Setting clear guidelines for myself for when I'm working and when I'm not has helped a lot. Reflecting on what I want my boundaries to be has been really, really important. I used to struggle a lot with just the sentiment of if someone asks me this specific, um, very intimate or personal question, what am I going to say? And it, it feels so overwhelming in that moment of like, oh, I don't know what to do. Do I answer? Do I not? But if you reflect on these things prior and just kind of tell yourself that it's okay to say, I don't want to talk about these topics, I don't want to talk about this, and I hope you respect that, everything kind of just deflates. And things that feel like a massive problem can stop to be if you are ready and willing to set those boundaries yourself.

AI assessment note: “Setting clear guidelines for myself for when I'm working and when I'm not”

Q is from Stuart Symington. I think the Stuart Symington we know. Hello, Stuart. He asks, um, you know, there's been a lot of talk about the challenges of broadening representation and live streaming. You were born in Morocco. It's such a cool story. Um, I mean, do you kind of feel a pressure or be a desire to kind of help lead the way to broadening representation in live streaming?

A Absolutely. And when I got into it, I didn't consider any of these things at all. I was just a seventeen-year-old girl having fun playing video games. Um, but now that I recognize my position within the gaming industry, sometimes I do feel a pressure that is a bit difficult, which is to kind of Represent a lot of women in gaming, and also I absolutely want to uplift more women, um, people of color, LGBTQ, just, I just want there to be so much diversity in gaming, and one of the biggest reasons why is because to me it's always felt like a place where I can belong just based off of the things that I love, regardless of my gender or anything else, and I want the same thing for everyone else. I feel like it's the perfect thing that anybody can bond over.

AI assessment note: “sometimes I do feel a pressure that is a bit difficult”