STREAMING SMALL SHARED SPACES: EXPLORING THE CONNECTEDNESS OF THE PHYSICAL SPACES OF MICROSTREAMERS AND THEIR AUDIENCE

This paper examines how microstreamers either intentionally orunintentionally share their intimate physical spaces with audiences. While most streamingresearch focuses on larger and/or monetized professional streamers, there is emergingresearch on ‘microstreaming’—streams whose audiences are often as low as single digits—andtheir importance as smaller, more intimate spaces. Given their casual nature, microstreamersare much less likely to have invested in professional level equipment, or to have dedicatedstreaming-specific areas of their homes. Some scholars have argued that streaming fromintimate spaces such as bedrooms can be considered performative, yet our current researchquestions the broad applicability of such findings, especially with respect tomicrostreamers. One way to understand these shared spaces is through the lens of place.Streaming represents an event in which the barriers around the “first place” areintentionally removed, and spectatorship invited. Professional streamers navigate thisknowingly and intentionally whereas microstreamers may not – the shared spaces ofmicrostreamers can be understood as an unintentional “leaking” of one’s privately heldbackstage, made available for consumption by unknown others. In our observations ofmicrostreamers, we note that 1) their environments are multi-purpose, unstaged, and sharedwith others, 2) these others often interrupt or modify the content of the stream in waysthat leverage the space in generating increased authenticity, and 3) these streamers mimicmore professionalized streams in amateur ways that again produce a sense of realism andendearment. These elements coalesce to provide a unique sense of authenticity and charm tomicrostreamer content.