Many new twitch streamers are concerned that swearing on their stream might prevent them from growing and gaining new followers, is this true?
Today, we will look at the 3 types of twitch streams out there and how cursing might help or harm your growth.
First up, you can certainly swear on twitch and there is even a special “mature content” setting you can hit if you’re trying to play adult games or plan on swearing like a sailor.
Steam recently allowed players to stream with Stream Broadcasting and in their guidelines they call for “no abusive language, including swearing” which is hard to police, especially when in-game characters are dropping F-bombs! (Company Of Heroes)
Is someone who doesn’t swear, morally better than someone who does?
Absolutely not, the entire point of a stream is to either “educate or entertain” and both of these can still be accomplished with cursing. Many streamers might say that it is “low brow” and act pious, but if you want to swear, go ahead.
Key Things To Consider:
Will it hurt your share ability? Can a video that has a giant F-Bomb in the middle of it still go viral?
Yes, in this day and age, people are just less effected by it and will still share it if it makes them laugh. If the swearing doesn’t add to the video, it may slightly hurt the share ability but, overall a well-timed swear might be the sole reason it is shared.
This video has 10+ Million Views and contains swears, so don’t worry too much.
3 Types Of Swearing On Streams
1. Full Swear – These streamers use swearing as their main wording and really drive it home. They are looking for a more mature audience and don’t care about kids or offending anyone. They build up an audience that enjoys this kind of entertainment and know there are plenty of people in this category. They want to be as authentic as possible and since this is how they talk, this is how they stream. The haters may say that they can’t “articulate” themselves well enough, but that is an old person’s argument. It can be very funny if not forced and done well.
2. Occasional Swear – You use swearing as a weapon and really mean it when you say it. Everyone likely swears in their day to day life. Obviously people know the correct situations like hanging out with friends, instead of a family party, but overall we all drop some heat. If you don’t overuse swearing, than an in-game death can be the perfect time to unleash one. Make a big mistake, let it rip! Most people who watch you won’t mind since you rarely do it and since it is during an authentic moment, it will add to the broadcast.
3. No Swear – If you are looking to maintain a professional stream and are looking for bigger brand opportunies, it may be wise to go this route. If you want to get into commentating big e-sports streams with sponsors etc, your channel is your highlight reel. Assume that an employer is absolutely going to look at your history before letting you go in front of a huge crowd with an open mic. This isn’t everyone’s goal and being in category 2 may not hurt, but why risk it. Keep your stream professional and accessible to as many people as possible. The problem is that you still need to come off authentic, if you sound like you are forcing it, or swear off camera, people will smell the bologna.
Overall, the key takeaway with swearing is to be authentic. Your audience will be spending tons of time with you and will be able to tell, so there is no point in hiding. Don’t try and keep clean, if off camera you are going to be a different person, it won’t last long.
You will build an audience that likes you for you.
Comment: Do you swear on twitch, why or why not?
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