Chapter 8 : The Positive Functions of a Community

It’s something I realize again and again, but there’s no such thing as an easy task in this world.

I barely finished my debut broadcast, and I was completely exhausted.

The confidence I had as a returnee feels like it’s been significantly reduced.

“Already this hard, can I really keep going smoothly without any issues?”

To put it simply, it feels like the gap between idealism and reality.

The blueprint I had in my head was so perfect.

Today’s project, which I thoroughly prepared for over a month and ten days.

I even went through several rehearsals.

And yet, the pressure of the live broadcast was no joke.

I occasionally stumbled on my pronunciation, and several times I was speechless due to sensitive viewer chats.

There were also physical issues.

People often think talking non-stop is easy, but speaking for 4-5 hours without a break is by no means easy.

Even though I was careful about my throat by drinking fluids in between, I felt a slight pain towards the end of the broadcast.

“Streamers don’t just randomly get vocal cord diseases.”

Vocal cord nodules weren’t just something singers had.

Thinking back to the memories before my return, many virtual streamers who extended their broadcast times excessively ended up getting vocal cord nodules.

Even Lucy, who was my main character, had worsened her throat condition while preparing for a singing competition.

“Throat care is the top priority. I’m tempted, but I should be careful and stick to the plan.”

For now, adaptation is the key.

If my throat feels fine after today’s 4-hour broadcast, I can increase the time later.

[(Newcomer) Debut Broadcast on PangeaTV All-In]

#Newcomer #Stocks #Virtual #Talk

Broadcast Time [04:17] / Peak Viewers [8207] / Candy Donations [7255]

View Details [Check]

These were the details of today’s broadcast.

The first thing that catches the eye is, of course, the peak number of viewers.

A massive number of 8207 viewers.

Although it’s not as much as a large corporation, it’s a number you can only challenge once you’re in a mid-sized company.

Achieving this on my debut broadcast will undoubtedly be one of the shining trophies in my broadcasting career.

“Viewers are important, but the real focus is still on the Candy.”

Candy is the currency viewers use to donate to streamers on PangeaTV.

Each Candy is worth 100 won.

Since today’s broadcast had many viewers, many donated small amounts like 5 or 10 Candies, which allowed me to receive a total of 7255 from my debut broadcast.

“About 730,000 won? With 4 hours of work today, that’s an absurd hourly rate.”

Of course, the 4 hours wasn’t all I invested.

From the avatar and equipment to the PPT and videos created with the help of experts, the investment cost was significant.

Considering the time I spent practicing for today and the fact that I’m still a standard-level streamer, which means I’m getting paid at a 60% rate, the amount I’ll receive is reduced to around 440,000 won.

“Ugh!”

There will be plenty of times in the future where I’ll need to invest and spend money, and it’s not going to be easy.

Of course, if I can maintain this level of donations, I won’t have to worry so much.

“It’s going to be tough. Today was an exception because I got the initial boost. Without special circumstances, the viewer count and donations will naturally decrease from today.”

The best solution would be to secure a large number of passionate fans who can generously donate Candies.

It’s a very blunt and materialistic approach, but in modern society, the value of “money” is undeniable.

Right now, I need money for the basic necessities of life, and I’ll need it in the future to further develop my broadcast.

Hmm? Aren’t broadcasts supposed to be done with effort and talent?

Not at all.

The amount of money invested directly affects the quality of the avatar and broadcast equipment, which is a massive difference compared to streamers who go in with no funding.

In that sense, I think “collecting funds” is also a talent in broadcasting.

Looking back at my memories before the return, I’ve seen many talented streamers who had to quit or saw their growth stagnate because of financial struggles or side jobs.

Of course, if you’re too obvious about collecting funds, people will accuse you of being greedy and materialistic.

That’s a part to be extremely careful with.

You need to know where the “line” is.

“Sigh! Nothing is easy. I have to practice for tomorrow’s broadcast, and I have a meeting with Bebetang from 7 PM. Ah! And I need to talk to the video editor because I have a replay video starting today.”

Bebetang, who would later become an immensely popular writer known as “The All-Rounder.”

Fortunately, at this point in time, there was still some free space in the schedule before the full virtual boom hit.

So I quickly kidnapped them by offering a high payment.

To highlight the charm of virtual streamers, I needed a talented writer.

Grrr.

“Ugh.”

My biological clock is complaining, asking for attention.

When I checked the time, it was already 2 PM.

I had been so engrossed in the broadcast that I had skipped lunch.

“First, let’s eat.”

After the successful debut broadcast, a long shadow looms over me.

The pressure weighs heavily on my shoulders.

FM Community with one of the largest scales among domestic communities.

There were many categories based on the interests of numerous users, and PangeaTV was one of them, enjoying a long history and popularity.

However, recently, its activity had slowed down.

The reason was simple.

As the Star College program began on PangeaTV, there was a massive migration of users within the FM community.

[PangeaTV Board > StarCraft Board]

In the blink of an eye, the user count halved… or even more, making it natural for board activity to decline.

Nonetheless, the influence of the PangeaTV board could not be ignored.

There were fans of streamers who hadn’t joined the StarCraft scene, and many users who moved to the StarCraft board still maintained dual nationalities.

And this flow was a positive factor for virtual streamers who were switching platforms.

Before the return, ‘Lucy’ had gathered information about the related communities when switching platforms.

Pangaea TV has a general atmosphere of excluding non-cam streamers.

It’s not a strict rule that non-cam streamers should never broadcast, but they make sure to create conditions where non-cam streamers can’t be part of the main stream of Pangaea TV, using all sorts of reasons.

This raises a question.

Why were virtual streamers who switched platforms after the 720p incident accepted relatively easily?

In some ways, virtual streamers can be seen as an extension of the non-cam streamers.

I found one of the reasons in the FM community.

The fanbase of StarCraft is generally older in age.

It makes sense since the game was released a long time ago.

The most closed-off and anti-non-cam group in Pangaea TV is the StarCraft group.

These people all migrated to the StarCraft forum.

Naturally, the remaining audience is younger and more moderate.

Although the average age of Pangaea TV viewers is still higher than other platforms, so you can’t say they are all young.

Still, it was true that it felt “younger” than when the StarCraft older generation was around.

Although the numbers dropped, they became more active, and the rate of content regeneration remained at a decent level.

Moreover, these viewers didn’t stay on Pangaea TV alone.

With the youthful freedom of the younger generation, they wander around YouTube and even visit Rabbit TV like it’s a hangout spot.

So, many of them were already familiar with virtual streamers.

This was why ‘I’ wasn’t excluded from the Pangaea TV forum.

In fact, people were eager to embrace the fresh material and attention.

• First sponsorship response of Virtual Streamer Seo-A

[Video] Enlarged eyes gif

“How did they do that? The character has expressions? Like, the corners of the mouth even go up, just like a real person.”

“Is this a new technology? It’s on a whole different level compared to just a picture like a Dullahan.”

“Hmm… Is that all?”

“What’s everyone reacting to? In foreign countries, virtual streamers are already common and trendy, but here everyone is still like cavemen.”

• Seo-A’s debut broadcast PPT edit cut

[Photo] Self-introduction

[Photo] Likes and dislikes

[Photo] Status window – Self-proclaimed hexagonal talent

[Photo] Things to do in the future – Concerts, forming a crew, various content

[Photo] Message to Pangaea TV viewers

“Hey? Looks like you found the wrong forum, this is Pangaea TV, not Rabbit TV.”

“What’s with that previous comment? What were you doing all day to suddenly say nonsense? Seo-A is the virtual streamer debuting on Pangaea TV today.”

“What? Pangaea TV is doing virtual streaming? When did this person start broadcasting?”

“Started around 9 AM, and the replay is still up, go watch it. I was shocked too.”

• “Wow~ everyone is watching virtual streams.”

Hololive and Nijisanji, Churai Churai

[Video] Hololive 1st Anniversary Concert

“Ugh! What the hell is this?”

“The real deal showed up!”

“Wow, haha, come on, Sensei, you gotta chill, these are just newbies who just started drinking milk, and you want to feed them rice.”

• Seo-A PPT Mid video

[Video] Magical Girl Seo-A appears!

“Haha, this is such a crazy vibe.”

“I still don’t fully get what virtual streaming is, but I started with full stock buying and watched the PPT and videos, laughed my ass off, they’re doing well.”

“But when you hide behind a board like that, is that supposed to be your face? Haha.”

“Downvoted and wasted all those precious points;; If you’re going to do that, why not donate them?”

“The video was a bit meh haha, is this a parody of Japanese magical girl shows?”

“What’s meh about it? I spent 800,000 won on that video just to make an impact for the debut broadcast.”

The meeting with the video producer ended, and today’s schedule was finished.

Dragging my exhausted body, I looked around the community.

Even before my return, I felt that communities were dangerous spaces that devour your life.

They’re so addictive that you end up logging in without realizing it, swayed by public opinion, and before you know it, you spend the whole day staring blankly at the screen without doing anything productive.

But it has its merits too.

You can quickly catch up on platform issues, and it’s also helpful when you want to gauge the mood of the general public.

However, the important thing is that you should only “reference” that public opinion, never treat it as an absolute indicator.

Communities, after all, are places where people without any responsibility just dump their thoughts.

“Still, if you use it right, it can be a powerful tool. Especially if promotion is the goal, it’s the best.”

With the vast number of users, nothing can match the promotional power it brings.

I accessed the community with an account bought through backdoor dealings and wrote a post.

My original account had already been exposed during the first promotion, so I gave up on it cleanly.

It was obvious that a streamer would get a “community addict” image if they were too active in a community.

“I’ll just copy and paste the notice I’m going to post soon…”

I copied and pasted the content for the broadcast announcement into the Pangaea TV broadcast notice board.

If you had passionate fans, you wouldn’t need to go through this trouble, as they’d spread the word and promote for you, but it’s hard for a newbie like me to have fans like that.

So, I decided to do the hard work myself for a few days.

• Seo-A broadcast announcement (post copy)

“Tomorrow’s broadcast will start after a delicious lunch!

The time will be 1 PM!

The content prepared is ‘New Streamer’s Guide to Pangaea TV!’

We’ll cover common chat slang, popular content, and famous streamers who represent the platform.

There will be more, so be sure to come and visit!”

The response was explosive.