And what I hope they become.
In case it wasn’t obvious: I am a creator out here on the internet. As a creator I have various social media and “spaces” and I have recently gone through the exercise of defining what I hope to accomplish with each of these spaces.
Especially if you’re a creator – but even if you’re not – I encourage you to try the same! It was an eye-opening experience that helped me reassess what is and is not important to me as well as how well I am or am not meeting my own expectations. With this post written out I’ll now be able to come back here every oft while and touch back.
To the things! Let’s start with the easy stuff.
🤍 Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/toadieypq/
I have never been a fan of Instagram; I’m pretty vehement in my anti-Facebook views. Meta. Whatever. BUT as a creator it’s become a tool that I feel is necessary. I keep mine filtered fairly heavily to be video game content exclusively, and within that easily 90% of it is Cities: Skylines screenshots.
My Insta though? I just want it to be pretty. I want to learn how to take and share the prettiest screenshots to show as much life as possible within a still image of the game.
I’ve recently been trying out “panoramics” of Cities: Skylines and when I’m through with this current batch I’ll try out making my Instagram “grid” (???) look real spiffy by planning and posting three at a time.
As a consumer I use Instagram for inspiration – and as a creator I hope to maybe provide the same! If someone sees a screenshot I post and they take my in-game work and make it their own in their own city… Well that’s just a real neato thought!
💛 Twitter. https://twitter.com/toadieypq
Twitter has become a fun place for me! I think its largest value to me lies in connecting with other creators, brands, or companies. The short nature of Twitter posts lends well to quipping at another creator or sharing small tips without taking too much time out of our days.
Of course I use Twitter to update my community on changes, content posting or events to look forward to.
But I also love using it just to shitpost. Who doesn’t love to read a Tweet about waiting for Cities to load while pooping? It’s just… A fun place to let a couple words loose and have a giggle with the community.
🧡 Discord. https://discord.gg/UaRCmGUj7U
Now we’re getting to the good stuff and Discord is one I struggle a small bit with.
As a creator I want people to want to be in my Discord and never want to miss out. But as a human and an extreme introvert, I never want to pressure a single person into feeling like they have to be there. Instead I try to make the space as calm (but not boring?) and easy to navigate as possible. The human needs to come before the creator I feel – at least most of the time.
I see my Discord as a mellow place where like-minded folks can share screenshots, cool internet finds, dad jokes, or just say hi and feel like they’re part of a community. Because they are! Like all of my spaces, I want the majority of focus to be on the positives in life and acknowledging the good in the world. I recognise, however, that sometimes shit does happen, so I’ve got to be comfortable with some venting and heartfelt moments.
I also hope Discord is an easy one-stop-shop for all the info a viewer or community member may need about me or my content. I want people to have easy access to my schedules, links, and updates.
I just hope that in my attempt to make my Discord simple and easy to access, that I’m not making it bland or boring.
But overall, Discord isn’t just about my content. My content will always be there, but Discord is about connecting with the community – essentially daily – and building relationships and friendships with those that want it. And having those folks also meet each other and develop their own friendships!
Also watching cartoons on Saturday mornings is pretty rad.
🤎 Twitch. https://www.twitch.tv/toadieypq
Ooooooh Twitch. What a place. What. A place.
I think Twitch is where I’m most comfortable. At least on my own stream – other peoples’ streams are a whole nother ball game for a separate post.
But man, streaming is a hoot. OH but this isn’t about how much fun it is! It’s about what I want my Twitch space to be.
A comfort. I want my Twitch streams to be a place where community members can come, hang out, and just turn their brains off from their outside world for a bit. I want people to know that if they throw me on a second monitor during work and let my chatter filter in and out of their cognizance, they won’t suddenly be hearing about a recent tragedy in the world or this awful thing that XYZ person said.
Yes, we should not be largely ignoring the horrible events in the world, but my Twitch stream will not be the place for discussing them. Somewhere else can be that place.
In a similar vein of feel-good, I hope to all bloody hell that anyone that comes into my Twitch space feels welcome and like they belong. Anyone who shares our positive values and kind hearts, at least. This is why I so quickly remove anyone who doesn’t belong and don’t tend to give second chances – I don’t want people who could add value and kindness to the community to feel like they are at risk of being targeted by trolls.
Relating more to the in-game content, I aim to remind people that games are intended to be fun above all! Folks playing Cities can be especially guilty of being so passionate about the game and wanting every little tiny thing to be perfect, or done the “correct” way. And if that’s what’s fun for them (or you!) then cool beans – please do enjoy! But there are still casual players of the game who just want to doot around and build a lil’ city, using the mods they prefer to use, or none at all.
And that’s what I will gently remind people who try to push changing out X mod for Y mod because “everyone uses Y mod now”, or to only lay out roads with this strategy, because that strategy isn’t the most min-max efficient. It’s just a game, gamers! Let us game. : )
❤️ YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/toadieypq
So YouTube is my current focus for improvement. What a trip YouTube is!
As far as the videos I put out, I aim to share as much Cities: Skylines (and other games I guess?) knowledge as possible, and make the game accessible to players of all skill levels. C:S isn’t exactly known for its in-game tutorials and I’ve seen a lot of other creators presenting advanced skills and tips, but I want Joe Schmoe from down the street to be able to step into the game and just have fun. So I gear my tutorials to Joe Schmoe.
Similarly to Twitch, I also want to encourage the thought of just having fun with the game. Challenging yourself is great, sure, but use whatever mods work for you, whichever assets look the best in your city, and just have a hoot with it! You will never see me gatekeeping this game – or any game!
On a note that’s more personal to me, YouTube is a place of true challenge for me. I’ve learned video editing, recording, scripting, planning, all of it from square one with just myself and Google. Boy. It’s difficult. But honest to goodness, I love the challenge. That may sound like something cheesy you’d say in a job interview, but difficulty and challenge drives me in all things.
I want to learn as much as I possibly could about video production and put it to use to make damn good videos. I want to understand better which analytics mean to change what part of your video, or where to tweak your process to get the best use of your time. I want to learn it all and thrive, baybeee!
And hey, if I do achieve the level of video production that I hope to, it just means better videos and more entertainment for the fine folks perusing YouTube. I’m very okay with that!
💗 TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@toadieypq
LOL WTF IS THIS
(I sorta hate TikTok a lot)
(but I might just shitpost on here for the laughs – we’ll see)
ToadieZzz 