UT Students Enjoy Streaming

A Newbie Twitch streamer Taesung Tao had a new hobby last December when he turned on his webcam. He now produces content for a fan base of over 139,000 followers, making it his full-time job after only ten months.

Twitch, a popular live streaming platform, is the most popular place for game creators to share their work. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, the platform has made it easier for online communities to grow. Many UT students benefit from the platform because it allows them to establish an online presence and, in some cases, earn a consistent income.

As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Tao, an arts and entertainment technologies freshman, said the platform allows him to spread awareness on a larger scale.

“Until recently, I didn’t talk openly about being a trans man… “I just came out a couple of days ago,” Tao explained.

Despite the backlash, Tao said that sharing his identity with the public was intimidating at first, but ultimately rewarding.

Tao added that if she didn’t have a platform full of people who just want to listen to her, she wouldn’t be as comfortable as she is now talking about the things that concern her.

Many Twitch streamers, like Tao, have turned their passion for the platform into lucrative careers. Edward Chamblee, a computer science senior, said Twitch helped him turn his passion for video games and performance into a job as a paid game commentator.

“I dug up my 2011 MacBook Pro… “And the oldest video I could find on there was of me talking about having a video game talk show in the future,” Chamblee said.

Chamblee said that through streaming, he was able to land his dream job as a commentator for the Brawl Stars World Finals in Romania, a gamer’s dream.

“I was freaking out when I got up to seven viewers on my first day streaming. ‘I can’t believe there are seven people watching.’ “That decision was made consciously by seven living human beings,” Chamblee said.

Emily Daley, a junior in radio, television, and film, said Twitch is where she met many of her closest friends. She is currently employed as a producer for Texas Student Television’s Video Game Hour Live.