Do the Tips are enough to Get Gamers Streaming on Facebook Live. When it comes to streaming platforms for the gamers, Facebook Live is an afterthought. Sites such as Twitch, YouTube, or Mixer already do a lot better job of hosting gaming content, which is precisely the problem Facebook has been trying to address with new gaming creator pilot program.
With this very initiative, Facebook is implementing new monetization system that is called Fan Support to let viewers on desktop tip streamers, just as long as you are sending $3 or more. Like other platforms that already have similar kind of systems in place, Facebook would take a cut of these tips, TechCrunch reports, although the company has not disclosed what that percentage is till now.
While all this sounds nice and good, it is going to take a lot than tipping to get gamers to care about streaming or about watching things on Facebook Live. In addition to cheering on the Twitch platform or super chats on YouTube Gaming, Facebook’s competitors do offer a wider range of ways to pay content creators for streaming, such as per month subscriptions, affiliate deals, and other more importantly, ad-based revenue sharing partner programs. This does make Facebook’s Fan Support feature feel more like a weird standalone alternative to the traditional PayPal donations that so many streamers already survive on, the only difference being that Facebook will get to take a little slice off the top, sure.
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But that is not all, because Twitch, even with all its recent controversy over booby-streamers on its creative channels, does more than provide better monetization for streamers. On many of the channels, watching Twitch chat is an entertainment on its own, with all memes & emojis that fly by during heated moments & the ability to host other streamers’ channels when you are offline. Meanwhile, over on YouTube platform, many streamers did have adopt the practice of ripping recordings of their streams & reposting them to build up an easily-searchable & monetizable video-on-demand archive. Right now, Facebook does offer almost none of this.
Instead, what Facebook actually have is this guide to their latest service, with general tips & best practices for building up an audience. It does read like a moron’s guide to streaming. Follow these suggestions and you can ‘Broadcast Like a Boss.’
Okay, that is a bit harsh, but if Facebook wants its gamers to take it seriously when it comes to streaming the games, implementing a tipping system is not enough. Just being desperate for content & throwing streamers a tiny bone is not going to cut it.
