Darren Watkins Jr., popularly known as IShowSpeed is one of the biggest, if not the biggest streamer in the world. With high viewership and a reach across the globe, Speed’s content spreads into all genres, sports, gaming, reactions and even irl (in real life) streams.
Ishowspeed’s most recent stream didn’t disappoint as over a 3 hour stream he produced viral moments.
One of the biggest clips that has emerged from his stream is of his new robot pet dog, that shoots flames for some reason.
Speed is up to his usual antics, jumping around doing backflips, he then decides to bark at his $100,000 robot dog, in return it was not an automated bark noise, instead it was flamethrower blasts directed right at speed, not much like a real dog then.
In another segment, unboxing signed jersey plaques and memorabilia, Speed managed to rip open a $15,000 signed jersey, he decided it was too cool to stay in the frame, hence deciding to rip it open and give it a try.
Speed uses the popular streaming platform called Streamlabs that helps streamers customise their streams and improve the efficiency of the entire process using its variety of features.
One such important metric is the live viewer count that provides streamers the data on the number of people tuned in to watch them.
At one point in Speed’s most recent stream fans noticed a bit of white tape on Speed’s streaming monitor covering some part of the screen.
This bit of tape is covering the streamers live viewer count, ensuring that he is not able to view how many viewers he has at any given point during the stream.
Interestingly, the idea of having your live viewer count displayed has been hotly debated in the streaming world and Ishowspeed has a clear stance.
Even though there are features on Streamlabs to hide the viewer count, Speed decides to do it manually thanks to some tape.
So why does Speed hide such a key metric?
By disabling the count, IShowSpeed removes the potential pressure of fluctuating viewer counts. This allows him to focus entirely on the content and interactions without the distraction of metrics that could otherwise influence his mood or performance.
Not seeing a number fluctuate over the span of 3 hours allows Speed to not just do what he has already planned for the stream, but also freely interact with his chat which is an equally good way to judge if fans and viewers are enjoying the stream or not.
While some might say that a streamer like Speed doesn’t need the viewer count as his streams always rake in loads of viewers, not having it constantly in front of him also keeps him grounded. This humble nature of Speed has been highlighted by his fans on twitter.
This is something that also aligns with his content first approach, about trying to do entertaining things in streams that will automatically engage and draw viewers.
An alternative angle to look at this is that the live count offers motivation for streamers to push on, especially during long hours of streaming that can drain you physically and mentally.
It’s also interesting to note that the live viewer count is 1 minute behind, making it not quite the accurate depiction of moment-to-moment viewership.
Hence having the viewer count on doesn’t often reflect the results of a streamer’s action at that instant. People believe that the best way might be checking viewership at long term intervals or use the post stream results graph.
IShowSpeed is not alone in this approach. Streamers like Pokimane and Ludwig have also hidden their live viewer counts at times. Pokimane has expressed how seeing viewer numbers can induce anxiety, particularly during low periods.