Innovative Approaches on the Career Orientations: Twitch Creatorship

Abstract

The growth and cheapening of communication media have given digital content producers more global prominence. The layoffs, unemployment, and job insecurity caused by the worldwide economic contraction since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have also pushed individuals to seek alternative career paths and made digital content production on live broadcast platforms even more attractive. In this study, we focus on creators (streamers) who are online digital content producers and reveal the individual branding strategies, emotional labor performances, and innovative contributions of three leading Turkish creators who have turned Twitch, one of the most popular and successful online live broadcasting platforms in the world, into a full-time source of income. In this article, where we present Twitch streaming as a new approach to career orientations, we include a thematic document analysis of creators' channels’ internal and comparative case analyses. This study shows that those pursuing a career in this field can establish a stable professional work life and earn a substantial income. This situation is highly desirable for individuals who are exploring new career paths.

Keywords

• Twitch
• streaming
• digital content
• individual branding
• new career orientations
• e-sport

Kariyer Yönelimlerine Yenilikçi Yaklaşımlar: Twitch Kreatörlüğü

Abstract

İletişim medyasının büyümesi ve ucuzlaması, dijital içerik üreticilerin her zamankinden daha fazla küresel üne sahip olmasını sağlamıştır. COVID-19 pandemisinin başlangıcından bu yana dünya çapında yaşanan ekonomik daralmanın neden olduğu işten çıkarmalar, işsizlik ve iş güvencesizliği de bireyleri alternatif kariyer yolları aramaya itmiş ve canlı yayın platformlarında dijital içerik üretimini daha da cazip hale getirmiştir. Biz de bu çalışmada, çevrim içi dijital içerik üreticileri olan kreatörlere (yayıncılara) odaklanıyoruz ve dünyanın en popüler ve başarılı çevrim içi canlı yayın platformları arasında bulunan Twitch’i tam zamanlı bir gelir kaynağı haline dönüştürmüş olan ve önde gelen üç Türk kreatörün bireysel markalaşma stratejilerini, duygusal emek performanslarını ve birer girişimci olarak inovatif katkılarını ortaya koyuyoruz. Twitch kreatörlüğünü, kariyer yönelimlerine yeni bir yaklaşım olarak sunduğumuz bu makalede, kreatörlerin kanallarının tematik doküman analizine, kendi içlerinde ve karşılaştırmalı durum analizlerine yer veriyoruz. Çalışma, kariyerlerini bu yönde geliştiren yayıncıların profesyonel bir çalışma hayatına ve azımsanmayacak miktarda gelire sahip olduklarını göstermiştir. Bu durum, yeni kariyer yolu arayışındaki bireyler için oldukça cezbedici görünmektedir.

Keywords

• Twitch
• yayıncılık
• dijital içerik
• bireysel markalaşma
• yeni kariyer yönelimleri
• e-spor

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