LOS ANGELES—Day 1 of Chaturbate’s platform-based celebration of its 10th anniversary started a little late, but when the stream came into view, I shot back in my chair, stunned at how great the video looked. This was a live stream? Each of the four participants and their environments sparkled like jewels in their windows, courtesy I presume of genuine 4k technology and the equipment needed to render it to near perfection. Having experienced a lot of streamed video over the past year, my immediate thought was, ‘How the hell do they do that?’
Lucky for me, answering that question was the subject of the first of four extremely informative and entertaining panels organized by Chaturbate to mark its decade of existence. It was of course to be expected that the operators of this perennially inventive platform would devise a program both fun and focused on the task at hand – namely, to make the next 10 years more productive than the first.
Chaturbate’s longtime Chief Operating Officer, Shirley Lara, kicked off the broadcast with brief prepared remarks welcoming everyone and letting viewers know what they could expect to see over the next four hours. “We have lined up some of Chaturbate’s top broadcasters and content creators to help give you a crash course on how to make the master Chaturbate, what equipment to use, and tips and tricks on getting tokens and inexpensive show ideas,” she said. “It’s a great honor to celebrate 10 years of Chaturbating with you all, and here's to the next 10 years.”
The first panel, "Streaming for Success in 4K," looked at the equipment necessary to make the video of the same quality we were all viewing. It featured Lara as moderator, along with panelists Kai from HannahJames710, Zoe from CanBeBought, and Ro from WhippedCreamy. The strength of the panel was being able to hear from experienced broadcasters who’d made the journey from novice to experienced Chaturbator, along the way learning about and acquiring the right equipment for their level of expertise. Basically, it boiled down to a handful of necessary components: camera, lens, microphone, OBS software, and lighting.
A person could obviously spend as many thousands of dollars as they wished on video, but participants came ready with lists of 4k-ready starter packs as low as around $200, and up to $1200 and more for better quality gear once the necessary budget and experience has been reached. Lots of camera models were mentioned, along with why they are favored (features, agility, quality), but hands down Sony was deemed to be the only brand of camera to acquire for the express type of video these broadcasters and their fans are looking for. However, the Logitech Brio also had its share of fans, especially for beginners, while zoom lenses seemed to be the glass of choice for these discriminating panelists, Sigma 24-70mm and Gmaster 16-35mm mentioned by name.
In addition to what equipment to consider purchasing — or having fans procure — the panel also addressed the challenges of upload speeds and configuring the proper signal strength, offered up as a master class, courtesy of Kai. It went right over this head, but Chaturbate wisely offers excellent tutorials on the platform on just these subjects for newbie and advanced alike, said Kai.
Panel 2, "Pushing Traffic to Your Chaturbate Cam Room," spoke directly to the goal of attracting enough people to the platform to pay for all your stuff. Moderated by Lily LaBeau, speakers were Mary Moody, Love_Raquel_xo, and Callum and Cole, a nice mix representing a range of experience on the platform. Indeed, one of the charms of the day was being able to get a real sense of growth that people go through as they learn the Chaturbate ropes, and how essential the community is in making that happen. Time management, focus, and consistency were the main pieces of advice given for driving traffic efficiently without going mad, as well as making sure that you communicate with your fans to let them know your schedule. Favored platforms varied – Mary favored Twitter as a driver, Raquel used Twitter, Snapchat and OnlyFans – with all agreeing that maybe 50 percent of fans will follow you to whatever platform you use, while half will tend to stick with the platforms they like.
The journey of Callum and Cole from total chat newbies to successful Chaturbators, clearly the result of their enthusiasm and openness to connect and evolve, offered a case study of how to use the platform, while Mary and Raquel brought the wisdom of experience to the table. Their advice was sound: each platform is different, so research the level of shadow-banning, because it does happen. Retweeting is not appreciated by Twitter, for instance, and Instagram will toss you for using suspicious hash tags like #model, warned Mary, who does not use them at all on IG for that very reason. Produce a lot of content, she also suggested. More is more, even if quality suffers a little. And what time of day you post is less important by far than having a set schedule and sticking to it. The worst is having people show up to a scheduled show and you are not there. But above all, advised Raquel and the others, abide by platform terms and conditions. Driving traffic will not happen if you’re not around to drive it.
The third panel of the day was titled, "LGBTQ+ Focus: Creating a Space for Yourself in the Cam World." Moderated by Angela Jones, PhD, it featured Chaturbators Iwillbeyourmuse, RubyFiera, and Jacob and Harley from Twinkzz101 in a surprisingly moving segment that underscored the importance of community in the success of LGBTQ+ broadcasters. Acceptance and collaboration are keys to success on the cis-heavy platform, but the experience seemed to be even more meaningful for trans models Ruby and Muse, each of whom spoke at length about how much Chaturbate had helped them navigate difficult times.
“The amount of love and support that I've had on here, the number of compliments and everything like that, has built my confidence up from nothing,” said Ruby, adding, “I've got quite a lot of viewers that are also trans, that might be asking me questions about my transition and all of the surgeries and everything that I've been through. So, not only have I got my normal viewers, I’ve also got a platform that allows me to educate and help other people in similar situations that I've gone though. I didn’t realize that would come from Chaturbate.”
For Muse, the experience was life changing. “It was like a super boost in self-esteem,” they said of camming. “Before I started canning, I definitely dealt with dysphoria. I actually started streaming under the female tag, and when I came out as trans, people were surprisingly supportive. I was overwhelmed with my regulars being insanely supportive. And it’s become a safe space for me to be me and accept myself for who I am.”
Exploring gender identification was not something Jacob and Harley were expecting, but it happened. “We really didn't realize we were fully pansexual until we started communicating with other cammers,” said Harley. “We were like, ‘Oh, we’re definitely into all genders.’”
Indeed, the qualities these Chaturbators value most in the platform seem to conform with their evolution as people; namely, its ability to help build self-esteem, the robust and supportive community and the platform, great mods, lots of affirmation and the ability to make money while having fun. The challenges include finding a work/life balance, fitting into a cis world, not always feeling sexy set against the pressure to make everything sexual, setting boundaries, and being too self-critical.
The last panel of the day was one Shirley Lara surely looked forward to the most, focusing as it did on "Utilizing Chaturbate Features to your Advantage," a subject she seems to obsess over every minute of the day, with the result a platform chock full of fleshed-out features. Speakers were Lexi_Luv, Casey from Casey Kisses, Drizzy from Drizzys_Room and Captain of The_Capt88. With varying lengths of time on Chaturbate, they each had developed their own personal way of interacting with the feature-rich platform, the point being that because no two cammers have the same goals, being able to configure features ensures a customized experience for everyone.
The first feature up for discussion was the Bio. Asked to “discuss the importance of a bio design and how to make money off of it,” Casey talked about hiring a third-party bio designer off Twitter (GreenBrick19, by name) to redesign the Casey Kisses page and add a tip menu, a token pool, a MyTopLovers list, plus other bots that, all-importantly, don’t require a lot of upkeep but make the bio “one of the most lucrative aspects of Chaturbate.” The other panelists appeared appropriately agog at the cleverness in which Casey had reimagined the bio in order to improve interaction while maximizing tipping, a subtle art of seduction if ever there was one.
“And what bio would be complete without an Amazon wish list,” added Lara, segueing into a discussion by Captain of the importance of keeping a P.O. Box separate from one’s residence, which seems obvious though a lot of people must not think of it. Gifting is a whole world unto itself, of course. For Captain, whose visual theme is an anchor, “My people like to get me anchor things, like, everything anchor,” he said. “I have anchor blankets, curtains behind me, all the way down to socks and silverware with anchors on it.” Gifts are always unwrapped live, he added.
Other features discussed included PMs (private messaging), adding equipment to their cam shows like Bluetooth keyboards (yes!), and the all-important use of apps and bots, a complicated but necessary skill set to acquire. “Utilizing apps and bots is one of the more difficult things to get going at first because there are so many different options, so many different ways that you can tailor your show, and it all it all kind of depends on you,” said Casey. The discussion further clarified that the strategy used to employ bots – when to employ them, in what order – is equally as important as which bots to use.
Lara re-emphasized that Chaturbate is an open-source platform. “It allows the community to build the apps and bots that they want to see on the platform,” she added. “Oftentimes, when you're going through the app and bot list, it's a fan! So, if you have the opportunity to get with a fan and they want to create an app or a bot for you, go for it. That was one of our goals with Chaturbate. How can we create the community feel and allow people to add on to the platform that they want to see?”
Other features addressed included a newish cam-to-cam feature, which allows up to five people to open their video stream to the broadcaster but not to one another, and the private show feature, each of which provides plenty of individual customization to maximize revenue. As with everything, it is complicated. “I do have quite a few regulars who will consistently come back to me looking for privates, and then I also do find a bunch of new people who also do, and for me, privates can be kind of tricky,” said Lexi. “Some days you go on expecting to hit [your] goals and you have a bunch of people asking you to go private, and sometimes you go on hoping for a private and nobody comes through. So, it's really about reading your room.”
With five minutes to spare, Lara squeezed in quick but informative insights on Chaturbate’s email and promoted spots features, as well as the use of affiliate links, a really important subject that led to a passionate response from Casey, who stressed, “I see so much value in this, especially if you have a following. It’s not just for models.” Especially those rev-share links, added Lara, which are good for the lifetime of the spender.
Great stuff, but all good things come to an end, and after a few quick questions from the chat room, so too did Day One, but not before a final treat for the virtual audience, a fabulous 30-minute performance by Peppermint, who, with nary a prop and unable to move about, brought the house down belting out awesome renditions of “When You’re Good to Mama,” “Call Me Anytime,” “Disco Inferno,” and originals “The Best Sex” and “Shady Phone,” to name a few.
