Spark

Live streaming the mundane

You are painting. And...painting. Oh look, still painting.
Live streaming video platform Twitch broadcast every episode of the TV show The Joy of Painting to launch Twitch Creative, a place where people can live stream their own creative process. (twitch.tv)

We're seeing the increase in the use of live streaming tools like Twitch by non-gamers. Instead of just focusing on competitive play, people are using these platforms to showcase their artistic and creative pursuits like drawing or costume construction. But why a live stream versus a pre-recorded tutorial on YouTube?

I think part of what we're seeing develop is people leveraging creative process as a performance.-  T.L Taylor

T.L. Taylor is a professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT and a gaming and live streaming expert. She explores the appeal of live streaming the creative process -- for both the viewer and the creator.