Haven for humanity
This next post is written by someone who is an absolute inspiration. She has created a place online that is filled with people that should be the future of humanity. Her name is MopGarden and her community is one place where not only I, but a lot of other people go to recharge from whatever realities they endured. I asked her to share the secrets and her view on how to do create just such a community. You can find her on Twitch, Instagram and Twitter.
Hi there! My name is Ellie, and I go by MopGarden online. I have been asked to write an article about the philosophy of building a community on Twitch. It is my pleasure to discuss a bit about my community and how it has come to be over the years. Everyone that joins seems to comment on how nice of a place it is to be, and how kind everyone is to one another. I personally find it hard to find communities on Twitch where there are true friendships and understandings between hundreds of people. I feel as though my community is one of a kind. I look forward to chatting to each and every one of them each day, and I think it’s safe to say that a lot of them feel the same.
Building this community has kind of come naturally to me, but here are a few general ways that I’ve come to do this. One of the biggest things to keep in mind with building a community is to be true to yourself. Keep your integrity and values. If you are allowing people to join just because they’re a viewer/number you are doing it wrong. I suggest taking a moment to reflect on your current community – who brings positivity? Who is welcoming to new people who join? Who is the opposite of welcoming? Think of your stream as your own home (since that’s where you’re streaming from!) Something I love about Twitch is that it brings back some of those memories of having friends over on the couch watching you play games. Would you allow someone that you don’t get along with into your house, on your couch, to watch you game? I doubt it.
This leads to ensuring that you take the lead over your community and not allow them to make it themselves. If somebody is toxic but they’re a loud, bossy person, get rid of them. They’re not worth your time. If someone isn’t rubbing you the right way, ask them to leave (or ban them of course). I have had many situations where I’ve had to ask large supporters to leave because they don’t fit the kind of vibe I am going for. It’s a tough decision, but my community has only benefited from it. I also have some truly amazing mods that I am able to call my friends. They have mine and the community’s back and they have helped me through so much. Having that stability and support can help you out immensely. It’s also nice to have people that can see what is good/bad for the community – through someone else’s mind other than my own.
I’ve always had the idea that my stream is somewhere where I want to make real friendships. I want people to want to hang out with each other, on and off stream. I know a lot of people have met up in real life and are now great friends, and they met through my community. This makes me so happy!
If people are trying to take the wheel in your community, make sure you take it back. Stand your ground. This is YOUR stream and a place where you want to be happy. I stream for 6-7+ hours a day, and I want to be comfortable and happy while doing that. Provide your community with the roles you look for and be the role model for how you want them to interact. If I am a toxic person, then I will attract toxic people who think that it is okay to be that way. Put out the energy that you want to receive back from your community. I truly believe that positive, kind people meet more positive, kind people. I’ve always wanted a place where people could come after a long, stressful day and feel as though they are home. They are with their second family and can just relax and destress.
I hope this all makes sense! I love the quote
Be the change you want to see in the world.
You could take this on a big or large scale, even down to the roots of a streaming community. Try to be a positive change in one person’s life… or why not hundreds. Present what you want and you will hopefully get that presented back to you.
Thanks for having me, Stealthy!
MopGarden