The Rise of Lifestyle Streamers生活类主播的兴起

As the shelter-in-place restrictions have tethered many people to their homes， livestreaming—broadcasting user-created video in real time—has skyrocketed. Platforms like Twitch， Caffeine， YouTube Live， and Facebook have all been flooded with record numbers of streamers and spectators.

由于居家避疫令的限制，许多人被困在了家里。与此同时，直播——实时播放用户制作的视频——迅速兴起了。Twitch、Caffeine、YouTube Live以及脸书等平台都涌入了数量空前的主播和观众。

Historically， livestreaming has been synonymous with gaming. Twitch and Mixer， for example， are known for turning professional gamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins into household names. More recently， however， a new streaming audience has emerged， one hungry for non-gaming content. Over the past two years， for example， a category on Twitch dubbed “Just Chatting”—in which streamers chat with their viewers in real time—has grown nearly four times as quickly as Twitch overall. And as platforms like Caffeine launch entertainment shows and pop culture streams， that trend is playing out across the industry. Through its unique ability to drive both rabid1 engagement and instant monetization， livestreaming is becoming the future of live video entertainment—and stretching beyond its gaming roots in the process.

从历史上看，直播一直是游戏的代名词。Twitch和Mixer这两个平台之所以出名，是因为它们把像泰勒·布莱文斯（网名：忍者）这样的职业玩家都变成了家喻户晓的名字。然而，最近出现了一个新的流媒体受众群体，他们渴望非游戏内容。比如，在过去的两年里，Twitch上一个被称为“聊聊天”的频道增长迅度，几乎是Twitch整体的四倍，观众可以在该频道与主播实时聊天。随着Caffeine等平台推出娱乐节目和流行文化直播，这一趋势正在整个行业蔓延。直播有种独一无二的魅力，能让大众痴狂，能让人快速赚到钱，正因如此，直播正在成为现场视频娱乐的未来，并在这个过程中超越其游戏的本源。

The dynamics behind livestreaming and engagement

直播和互动背后的态势

Witness the rise of a new class of influencer： the lifestyle streamer. This category encompasses a broad variety of interests， from travel to fitness to finance. The growing pantheon includes celebrities like Drake， who hosts battle rap shows on Caffeine; environmental conservationist Maya Higa， who showcases falconry and endangered animals on Twitch; chef Bobby Parrish， who teaches viewers how to prepare keto meals on Youtube Live; and cosplay artist Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa， who eats， works out， and even sleeps on stream as her 1.4 million followers chat with （or at） her in real time.

见证一个新的网红阶层——生活类主播——的兴起吧。这类人的兴趣范围很广，从旅游到健身再到理财。加入这个名流群的人越来越多，包括德雷克，他在Caffeine上主持格斗说唱节目；环保人士马娅·比嘉，在Twitch上展示驯鹰术和濒危动物；厨师博比·帕里什，在Youtube Live平台教观众制作生酮饮食；还有扮装艺术家凯特琳·西拉古萨（网名：Amouranth），她无论吃饭、锻炼还是睡觉都要直播，140万粉丝实时跟她聊天或连麦。

The common thread that runs through these streams is the focus on the person， not necessarily the activity. Without a game taking up visual （and cognitive） space on the screen， the streamer’s personality becomes the main focus. Why would viewers find it compelling to get to know the lifestyle of complete strangers on stream？ The short answer： loneliness. The best lifestyle streamers engage fans and make them feel like an active participant in an intimate community， rather than a detached2 viewer.

这些直播的一个共同点就是对人的关注，而不是对活动本身的关注。没有了游戏来占据屏幕上的视觉（和认知）空间，主播的个性就成了主要焦点。为什么观众会急切地想了解直播中那些完全陌生的人的生活方式呢？答案很简单：寂寞。最优秀的生活类主播会与粉丝积极互动，让他们感觉自己像是某个亲密社区的积极参与者，而不是一个旁观者。

Lifestyle streamers are often intimately acquainted with their followers—so much so， that many greet returning fans by name and take suggestions for their daily agenda.

生活类主播常常与他们的追随者关系密切，太密切了，以至于他们许多人能叫出铁粉的名字，并在安排日常直播时采纳粉丝们的建议。

Thus， community is the true driver behind the growth of lifestyle streaming， relative to both linear video and game streaming. For millions of people today， watching and conversing with their favorite lifestyle streamer is much more engaging than passively watching Netflix， particularly amid prolonged shelter-in-place orders.

因此，相对于线性视频和游戏直播，社区归属感是生活类直播成长背后的真正动力。今天，对于数百万的人们来说，观看他们最喜欢的生活类直播并与主播交谈要比被动地观看奈飞更有吸引力，尤其是在旷日持久的居家避疫令实施期间。

Lifestyle streams unlock superior monetization models

生活类直播解锁更高级的赚钱模式

The move to lifestyle streaming also offers a promising solution to one of the toughest challenges facing creators these days： making money. Histor-ically， the top 1.2 percent of streamers on Twitch， for example， earned the majority of the revenue on the platform. Superstars like Ninja reportedly pulled in more than $500，000 a month. By comparison， most of the platform’s 150，000 “Affiliate”3 creators， those with smaller followings， earn less than $250 a month. The remaining segment of Twitch’s 2 million creators made little to no money at all.

生活类直播的出现还为创作者们提供了一个很有前途的办法来解决目前面临的最严峻挑战之一：赚钱。例如，从历史上看，Twitch上排名前1.2%的主播赚取了该平台的大部分收益。据报道，“忍者”等超级明星每月收入超过50万美元。相比之下，该平台的15万名“联盟推广计划”创作者（粉丝数量少一些）月收入不到250美元。在Twitch的200万创作者中，其余的人赚钱很少，甚至一分钱也赚不到。

The top revenue sources for live-streamers have traditionally been：

传统来讲，主播的主要收入来源是：

1. Subscriptions

1. 订阅

2. Advertising

2. 广告

3. Donations

3. 捐款

4. Sponsorships

4. 赞助

A deeper relationship with fans， as well as the ability to respond to an audience in real-time for certain types of content， means the majority of income comes from donations.

主播与粉丝建立了更深层次的关系，还能就某些类型的直播内容实时回应观众，这意味着其大部分收入来自捐款。

Lifestyle streamers tend to retain fans better than gaming streamers： whereas the former trades on personality， the latter may lose fans when a particular game wanes in popularity. And with their highly differentiated， colorful personalities， lifestyle streamers make attractive sponsorship targets.