Catch me on Twitch, breaking down everything from election news to reality TV…
Hey friend,
I’ve been thinking a lot about the kind of content I make lately– like who it’s for, what format suits me best, and how to best connect with my people.
I’m a very type B person, which is to say, nobody can accuse me of perfectionism or overthinking, at least when it comes to running my business. I’m very much a trial-by-fire and fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, and I like to just try shit out and see how it feels, rather than try to plan everything out and get it “right” the first time. I actually kind of love doing new stuff badly, because it means I can get going on it today— then, if the experience feels like a good fit for me, I can figure out how to make it better tomorrow.
To that end, I’ve been trying all kinds of stuff the last couple of years as the world of social media (and the public mood) have evolved, in an effort to figure out how best to connect with people and offer value in a way that feels both ethical and enjoyable to me:
I started my This Is (Not) About Your Body podcast, exploring both solo and guest-interview formats.
I gave video essays on YouTube a shot, but then gave up on them, because I found the process stressful, and those videos never seemed to get any traction.
I finally caved and got on TikTok, which I actually enjoy doing— although I do find it difficult to justify spending time there, because the format is more about entertainment than value.
I started doing more public speaking gigs, which I absolutely love.
PS: If you or your company/organization want to hire me to speak, hit reply and we’ll talk!
I revamped my Patreon page, sharing new Fuck The Patriarchy course material there, and hosting a $5 community Zoom call every month!
Of all these little content experiments, I think the Patreon community calls might be my favorite, both because it’s a way of centering accessibility and community-building, and because I get to break down relevant topics (like body checking, Botox and fillers, and dealing with jealousy) in a super casual, conversational, and low-cost way.
Given how much I dig that kind of format, it’s often been suggested to me that I might like streaming, or making more “social commentary” type content, like reacting to, explaining, or breaking down stuff that’s happening in the world or news. And while I do love speaking extemporaneously, I’ve been a bit unsure about dipping a toe into that kind of content.
My hesitation comes mostly from the fact that I don’t tend to watch that kind of content myself. I’ve never been interested in watching streamers talk about stuff, and I’m not super familiar with the whole genre of, like, “play a clip, then talk about it.” Plus if I’m being totally honest, I do pay pretty close attention to politics, but I’m woefully out of the loop when it comes to most pop culture stuff. I love to rabbit hole on interesting topics, but I’m not super “online,” and to be perfectly frank, I often have no idea what people are talking about.
But I started thinking about this a bit differently a couple of weeks ago, when my Tuesday article was all about the Olympic boxer from Algeria Imane Khelif, and I got way more responses than usual, from people thanking me for explaining the situation and breaking down some of the layers and nuance, because they’d heard something about it but didn’t really understand.
I thought… oh, this could actually be a thing. I love making long-form content, and I believe we desperately need more people talking about politics, pop culture, and social events in a way that’s grounded in nuance, empathy, and clarity right now (rather than the divisive fear-mongering and anger-farming we tend to see going viral), and it seems like a lot of other people agree!
Given that, I think it would be really fun to give streaming a shot!
I love the idea of building more affordable, accessible, and community-oriented spaces into my business, and being able to speak extemporaneously (rather than teaching, coaching, or delivering a prepared talk) would allow me to reach more people. Plus it would feel amazing to bring the compassionate and liberating lens of “body neutrality” to current events, in order to promote understanding, empowerment, compassion, and healing.
Soooo being me, I’ve decided to dive in headfirst and give streaming a shot, with a one-off livestream later this week— come find me on Twitch, Thursday August 22rd at 5 pm ET!
I’ll be picking a few “news cycle” topics over the next few days to cover during the livestream, but you’re more than welcome to hit reply and make suggestions, or come live and suggest topics then! It could be a video clip or headline you’re outraged about, a quote or news story that’s confusing you, or a celebrity story that you want to hear more about– anything from election news to reality TV, just lay it on me!
I wanna find topics that have made their way into your awareness already, but maybe you don’t feel confident talking about it yet, or maybe something isn’t sitting quite right with you about it and you’re having a hard time figuring out why. Helping people put words to that stuff is my zone of genius, and I’m very excited to explore a new way of doing so.
As of right now, I have no idea if this will be a one-time thing or not, and I could very well end up streaming to nobody, but I would love to see you there!
It’s free to join, just make an account and find me on Twitch. And if you happen to have an Amazon prime membership and haven’t used Twitch before, then you actually have a free “sub” (subscription) to donate to any content-creator on the platform– you can use that to support me, or poke around and find another creator you love to gift it to! Either way I hope to see you there for my very first commentary-on-current-events livestream!
Big hug,
Jessi
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