Grace and Peace Blerd Fam! If you didn’t know, Twitch is the platform for everything gaming related and creativity. Whether its gaming, music, or art you can just about find what you’re looking for on this platform. You can find some of the biggest names in the gaming community there. I wanted to create a spotlight for growing Twitch streamers and content creators that I know you will enjoy. Especially for those that have been affected by the ending of Mixer, I wanted help with their transition to Twitch. 

Mixer, owned by Microsoft, was a popular live streaming platform for gamers. It was launched in January 2016 as Beam. Some would say that Mixer was in competition with Twitch when it came to the treatment of their partners and business deals. On June 22, 2020, Mixer was scraped by Microsoft because they were unable to compete with other services. Mixer was in an agreement to collaboration with Facebook Gaming and redirected their users there, but most of them decided to go to Twitch. Partnered Mixer streamers were offered opportunities to Facebook Gaming programs. 

I want to introduce you to imitchalot! So “What’s Their Twitch?”, you can find him at www.twitch.tv/imitchalot. He streams Monday through Thursday starting at 8:00 pm CST. You can find imitchalot on Instagram and Twitter at imitchalot, and on Youtube at imitchalot954. 

Round 1: 

Give us an introduction to who you are and the in and outs about your broadcast. Share with the class about your Twitch channel and your community. 

Hi, I’m imitchalot. My brothers helped me come up with this name when I told them I was getting into streaming. This name came from me “mitching” a lot during games where we would lose. My broadcast revolves around laughter and community games (Overwatch, For honor, Smash Bros, etc). My aim is to ensure when someone joins my community they’re able to play with me and have a good time. Life is hard, everyone needs an escape. I want to be that place where people find comfort and laugh the day away. 

Tell us about your former Mixer community. 

Mixer love!!! If you know, you know!! Most of my mixer family has joined me on twitch. Although it is now gone, I’ve learned a lot about streaming, community building, and I’m nowhere near done with my pursuit of greatness! The same energy I had on Mixer is the same energy I have on twitch. Same streamer, different platform. Good times and good laughs. 

How do you feel about the changes from Mixer to Twitch? 

It sucks! Plain and simple! But we keep it positivity around here. Mixer was a smaller streaming platform, Twitch has no ceiling. Growth is endless on that platform so we’re here to bring the noise!!! 

Twitch is all about games and creativity. What type of content do you stream on your channel?

Currently, I stream games that involve my community and leave them something to look forward to on a weekly basis. I am brainstorming new ideas to keep my content fresh (cooking, exercise, etc) but we will see in the near future what I decide to bring to the channel. 

What made you start this journey in streaming and when did you start? 

Having a stable job in the military allowed me to have the time to pursue extra goals. Since I put a lot of time into gaming, I thought to myself, why not let other people watch you play. Especially because I do some off the wall things that are either hilarious or dope. Have you ever beat a game and felt like “Wow, I just spent 14 hours of my life on this.”. That’s me sometimes. So if I can put 14 hours into a game while entertaining and uplifting others, I consider that a great use of my time. 

What are some of the issues and challenges that you’ve faced on Twitch and how did you overcome them? 

Twitch and Mixer are two different beasts. As I stated, Mixer is a smaller community and it’s a lot easier to be discovered. Twitch, on the other hand, is terrible at discovery. So I’m utilizing more of my other social media platforms to get my brand out. I’ve been blessed to have this as my only problem on Twitch. 

What are some of the resources and support that you use, that’s out there for creating a broadcast on Twitch? 

YouTube, Youtube, and Youtube. I’m always looking up ways to improve. From video and audio quality, commentary, and more. There is always room for improvement! 

Blerd is all things nerd and geek through a people of color culture lens. What makes you a blerd? 

I eat breath video games, drink anime, and I am the Slimekage of The Hidden Slime Village (my community). Need I say more? 

Round 2: 

You’ve only been given 3 games to play for the rest of your life, what are you playing and why? 

Smash bros, For honor, and Overwatch. These games are one of a kind and are great games to play with any community. 

What’s a game that you absolutely hate but everyone else might like? 

Valorant. It’s boring. Fight me. 

Your favorite person is making your favorite dish, who is it and what is it? 

My wife. Baked mac n cheese. 

If you could be any superhero who would it be and why? 

The Flash. Hardest superhero out. @ me!! 

Round 3 Final Boss Battle: 

-Playstation or Xbox?

Playstation 

-Pepsi or Coke?

Coke 

-Night or day?

Night 

-Summer or Winter?

Winter 

-Cat or dog?

Cat 

-Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network?

Cartoon Network 

-Fresh Prince or Martin?

Martin 

-McDonald’s or Burger King?

McDonald’s 

-Super Mario or Sonic?

Sonic