Twitch partners could learn a bit from Bux Baristas.
Over the years, I’ve had many friends who have, at one point or another, worked for everyone’s favorite Pumpkin Spice peddling coffee chain, Starbucks. Often the subject of derision by those who take exception to their cup size naming, holiday inclusiveness, and “soy milk chugging hipster patrons,” the one aspect of Starbucks that is subject to the most scorn on a daily basis is the Barista.
Those who’ve worked retail, and Starbucks in particular know the day to day faces the store can pose, be it a new shift supervisor who accidentally overfilled the coffee containers during her first open, or the infrequent part-timer who lost one of your steam wands, causing only one espresso machine to be operational for the morning rush. These “blue moon” circumstances are only further compounded by the immense amount of work that does go into being a barista; memorizing drink orders, patterns to complete each drink with optimal efficiency, and keeping your head high when a customer insists you made a latte macchiato incorrectly for the third time (when all they ordered was an espresso.)
While each store, each region, and I’m sure the company as a whole is not without it’s fair share of drama, one thing that unites each “Partner” as the company refers their employees as, is that retail sense of overcoming sometimes overwhelming odds to keep each store functional every single day. There’s an unspoken notion that each Barista, Shift, and Manager is in the “retail trenches” together, and that if you band together, you just might get through every day. If you take care of fellow partners, they will take care of you.
Since 2013, Starbucks has promoted their #ToBeAPartner campaign, aimed at unifying the company as a whole, and (at least to my understanding) bringing Baristas closer together in sharing their common experiences. Also, highlighting some neat community charity work, but that’s neither here nor there. Partners therefore are free to come together for a common purpose, share stories and find that, despite their potential differences and diversities, there is a binding force between all of them, and a mutual respect is formed.
Lately, however, I’ve noticed partners of a different company becoming complacent or outwardly blatantly hostile to each other, often unwarranted. Over the past few days, I’ve seen fellow Twitch partners attacked, harassed, or otherwise disrespected by other partners with impunity. This flies in the face of what Twitch should be about, and does a massive disservice to the struggle to obtain partnership, to the various communities on Twitch, and to the website as a whole.
Partnership to Twitch is a gift, a blessing, an inclusion into a small (but growing) club of streamers worldwide who have achieved great successes and seek to take a hobby to the next level. The unifying experiences we’ve all had on that climb to the top of montaña de oro should be bringing us closer together. Instead, it appears that some partners seek to tear others down, so they may get attention for themselves. Add to this the introduction of the affiliate program last year, and you have a lot of people looking to make a permanent home on Twitch.
When you have what is probably rapidly approaching 20,000 people worldwide (more if you include affiliates) under one roof, there is going to be a lot of diversity of thought on a myriad of issues. What we need to do, as partners, is find common ground on those challenges that we as partners and streamers face together and work from there. Partners need to look at each other from a position of respect and camaraderie first, not one where we seek ways to tear each other down and assume the worst intentions of those who we walk alongside.
Inciting e-drama is often seen as profitable, but ultimately harms everyone’s brand and may lead to sweeping changes across the platform that may stifle growth and creativity of up and coming streamers. Not to mention that the internet never forgets, and partners who are friends will often talk with each other. Much like how insular the development side of the gaming industry is (sometimes unfairly), so too is the content creation side. We should be protecting and defending each other, not firing shots across our bows. We should be lifting people up with our platforms, not bashing them down.
Becoming a partner on Twitch is a responsibility. You aren’t an isolated rogue state where you can lob missiles with impunity, you’ve asked to join and been accepted to a prestigious international community of like minded, driven individuals seeking the same goal: to turn their passion into profession. As partnership unifies those who work for Starbucks, so too should it solidify our shared bond as streamers.
-Mitsu
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