One of the best practices I took from college was in my Intro Entrepreneurial Class. One of our exercises was to come up with 3 new invention ideas every week. At the end of the semester, we'd have over 50 new ideas to build upon, and when one of them fails or gets stuck in the process, its easy to start working towards another one.
This year, I started a idea journal, where I would write down one new idea every day. Although I stopped keeping up with it after I started my new job this summer, I still managed to come up with over a hundred unique ideas to add into a stream. Just by feeling adventurous and keeping that user experience in mind when doing casual things like catching up on Netflix, I created a great resource for myself that's perfect for those days when the creative juices aren't running so well.
Even if you aren't used to thinking in a marketing mindset, here are a few of the most relevant places you can look to start generating different content for your cast:
Cartoons
While I watch a bit more television than just cartoons, the careless and enthusiastic way I like to come off on my stream has a lot of relevance to cartoons and comedy shows. I love making people laugh, so I always take notice when there's a funny inside joke or hilarious situation being built out during a television show. Cartoons are particularly great when it comes to building colorful storylines as well, which can really make a cast memorable to its viewers.
The one show I've drawn the most ideas from for my cast is Rick and Morty. It has a sick sense of humor, much like myself, some of the craziest plot direction you'll find anywhere, but most interesting is how their brand has expanded beyond the TV Screen.
One day, after I spent hours upon hours catching up on the second season, I tweeted out something along the liens of "Somebody help me, I can't stop watching Rick and Morty!". Moments later, Rick and Morty's official twitter quoted my tweet, replying with "Nobody Help Him!" My phone was going off for the rest of the day as hundreds of fans liked and retweeted the post. It was really interesting to see how the show continues its joking outside of it's 30 minute episodes, and how big of response all of their interactive shenanigans get.
Indie Games
Are you a caster that's on a tiny budget trying to appeal to videogame fans? There are plenty of Indie Game Devs in this same exact situation!
What I love about a great Indie Games is seeing how much care they put into product to make sure its an experience a player will find worthwhile. Some games primarily serve get a story across, some games are built to be longer lasting with replayable components or a great amount of content. At the end of the day, it's amazing how different all of these games can be despite being restricted on resources. Each one gives a very distinct experience.Other Casts and Youtube
As much as I try to be very distinct and exclusive to how I cast, it's difficult not to imitate some aspects of your favorite twitch channels. I instinctively greet viewers and welcome raiders like the casters I watch most often, and am frequently told I sound just like them with my commentary. Part of it's because we share the same laid back approach towards casting, but part of just subconsciously became habitual in my brain from so much exposure to it.
While I think it's good to recognize the great qualities of other streamer's casts, copying them isn't always the best practice because any experience you try to replicate won't match the novelty of the original. This is where Youtube comes in great, as it provides similar entertainment but for a different purpose - to be viewed at any time. Identifying the most remarkable components from Youtube contet and figuring out how to replicate them live can be a great way to get new ideas while putting enough of your own spin on it to make your own.
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What are you main sources for inspiration? Where have you found some of your craziest ideas? Feel free to share in the comments below - some of the best ideas come up when you least expect it!
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