A look into what we’re doing for communities with streaming

Here at https://adjourn.audent.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/4.-article-hero-1.jpg, the last couple of years for us have been so critical in building our future.Thousands of hours have been poured into building community tools, refining our principles into a set methodology that we apply to each and every project that we do, and launching our products and services to better serve communities.

We’ve built so many cool things for communities but one facet has been missing — streaming. Communication in real-time has become paramount for communities, with industry giants like Twitch and YouTube being that solution for them.

You’re probably asking us why we want to build our own streaming & chat solution when so many other options already exist. We’re about to get into that, so keep reading to understand why it’s not such a crazy idea for us to build a streaming solution in 2021.

First, what can it do?

Our initial build was focused on the core functionality absolutely needed to meet the expectations of those who would use a streaming platform. We’re catching up to the other streaming platforms — and because of that — we need feature parity with the fundamental features that users come to expect with streaming. Here’s a breakdown of what will be included in the core functionality.

Stream:

• Record to VOD
• Support for co-hosts
• XenForo integration/OAuth
• Optional ad-free experience (Twitch and Youtube force this)

Chat:

• Chat and chat moderation
• Message and emoji
• Members-only chat mode
• Slow-mode chat
• Polls
• Filter chat
• Chat rules
• No limits on emotes

Monetization:

• Donations and donation alerts
• Donation goals
• Subscription model
• Paid chat messages
• Single integrated subscription with your existing community

That’s cool, so what sets it apart from Twitch or YouTube?

We’re not saying this competes directly with industry standards such as Twitch or Youtube, but that wasn’t our main goal when developing this.

Our primary goal is to give communities the ability to easily add streaming to their platform with more control over their brand and monetization without the heavy percentage cuts that both Twitch and YouTube take from creators.

On top of that, our streaming solution will be a perfect companion to our community app with just a few clicks. You’ll be streaming to your community members exclusively without them needing to have an account with Twitch or YouTube, ensuring the engagement between you and community members stays on your own platform.

In short, here’s a few takeaways on what makes our solution different:

• Since we support oAuth with your forum, you’ll have a single integrated subscription model and one payment to manage.
• With oAuth, users will have a unified account between the community and streaming so achievements and experience can be consistently shared.
• You own your audience. No longer will you be at the whim of YouTube to send push notifications or get in direct contact with your audience.
• More control over your brand and features. No longer have third-party logos like Twitch and Youtube present on your streaming platform.
• No limits on the number of emotes you get based on your audience size.
• Receive a larger share of subscriptions compared to YouTube and Twitch (they take 50% or more)

Let’s take a tour of some other cool features we’re planning for our streaming platform.

Viewers will have their avatar display in a slider that will highlight certain individuals when they do something noteworthy like subscribing, donating, being a subscriber for a long time, etc.

As viewers watch the stream, they will be continually earning points for a spot in the chat leaderboard. At certain milestones, these users will be awarded achievements for watching the stream longer.

Before the stream starts, viewers will see an overview of what the upcoming stream will cover, be able to support creators pre-show, and conveniently add the event to their calendar.

We’re especially excited for the experience after the stream. We want to make sure viewers get a chance to be highlighted and have some competitive fun seeing how they stacked up in the chat and global leaderboards. We’ll also collect some interesting stats to show after each stream.

Our community app gives communities a companion app that has a forum list, thread discussion, and native push notifications. Even better now, the app will have streaming integrated so if a community manager, owner, or admin wants to stream to community members, they can do so quickly with a few clicks.

So how can I get started?

If I’ve done an adequate job of explaining our product, you might be interested in seeing if our streaming solution is the right fit for you. Our developers are hard at work polishing the details but our team is here to start learning about you, your community, and your goals. Perhaps we find that, after some discussion, streaming might not be the best option for you. We may actually recommend spending a little extra time reworking your subscription model, or suggest giving your website a new design refresh, and we can help with that too. That’s why we are here after all — to build and nurture communities and bring people together for a more productive and human digital experience.