How, and why, I created the Beachcasts Tech Videos brand

I'm a little ashamed to say that lately, I've been really enjoying being a creator on YouTube as well as Twitch. It all started innocently, and here is how it progressed. But now you're probably asking yourself, "Why is Adam ashamed of this?" So first, allow me to explain that part, then I'll tell more about my experience.

My son is probably like most kids these days. Over his teen years, he spent entirely too much time on Twitch and YouTube watching as others stream themselves while they play video games, or as they sit in front of the camera talking about nothing. (insert Seinfeld comment here) This has led to me making multiple comments to my son about how much of a waste of time it is, and wouldn't he be happier going outdoors and playing with his friends...who also spend entirely too much time indoors. Or perhaps he would simply play video games himself rather than watching others do it.

Why am I ashamed? Because now I'm a streamer and video creator I hope others will watch to learn more about something. Internally, I'm the person people are watching rather than doing. Though I'm creating tech videos to help others do, after watching, I can't help but feel I'm the same as those gamers sharing their techniques.

On November 21st, 2018 I was trying to learn some new things in programming. However, as I attempt to learn through various Google searches and videos, I quickly realize what I'm looking to do has not been adequately documented or shared by others. So, it led me to think perhaps I should share my experience so others will not be faced with exactly the same troubles I'm experiencing. I tweeted:

Tweet contents: "Been working with @doctrineproject a bunch lately. Though I initially was skeptical, I've come to appreciate it. Thinking of creating some videos and blog posts around what I've learned. These are things that are not easily discovered. Yes, No? Is there a desire for this?"

The responses to the tweet were amazing. There were so many who found themselves in the same boat as me, and they shared how they would love for this to be done. So, I continued working on my little experiments and also started preparing for something new.

November 24th I started feeling good about Doctrine usage and was feeling pretty good about creating some screencasts of what I was learning. At this point, I had no larger ideas than simply sharing some Twitch streams so folks could watch over my shoulder in a [pair programming}(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_programming) fashion as I hacked away at the code. I also settled on a nickname to use for these videos...I would call it Beachcasts. Then immediately went around and registered for Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, domain name, and Instagram with the name Beachcasts. (It's important to brand and try to remain consistent.) I also started creating a logo, and theme to be used across all the properties.

Finally, on December 20th, I did it! I created my first intro video to my Twitch stream. It was a bit rough around the edges, but it said exactly what I intended to do with the videos. Immediately after creating the stream I then exported it from Twitch to YouTube, and it was my first video on YouTube as well.

Note: That is just an image. If you want to view the video go here.

I sat back and spent a couple days feverishly hitting refresh on my browser as more and more folks watched the videos, subscribed to the YouTube channel, and followed on Twitter. It was obvious there was a need for what I had to share.

It warmed my heart that many of my friends were so supportive. The ego inside because addicted, and I quickly became obsessed with doing it again. If just a short 3-minute introduction video gained this much attention, imagine if I put more substantial content out there!

I decided to remain as calm as possible, and rather than rushing out a bunch of videos and burn out, I would stick to a schedule of 1 video each week. And I set forth on that journey.

At this point, January 27th, 2019, I now have 7 videos (including the first intro video) posted on both Twitch and YouTube. I've now settled into a routine that goes something like this:

• Wednesday at 4pm EST - stream a new 25'ish minute episode on Twitch.
• Following the stream I create a Highlight by trimming the beginning and end to get rid of any uncomfortable starting/stopping stuff. (this takes around 10 minutes)
• Then, I immediately Export that Highlight to YouTube. (takes around 15 minutes to be done)
• While the Export is happening I go to Canva.com and create a custom YouTube Thumbnail for the video, and save it to my local system.
• Add the Thumbnail to the Twitch Highlight.
• Update the settings for the new video on YouTube:
  • Edit the Title
  • Edit the Description
  • Set appropriate Tags
  • Set the recording date
  • Add it to any appropriate Playlists
  • Add Thumbnail
  • Set video location, captioning, and category
• Around 5:30pm'ish EST set the new YouTube video to Public access.
• Delete the original stream on Twitch, as the remaining Highlight is what will be seen there going forward.
• Grab a beverage, and bask in the glow!

So, that's about it. I've found that this sequence works fairly well, and allows me to have a personal life as well as not be distracted from work.

I hope others find this helpful, and please head out and support me on the various platforms:

• Review on Website
• Subscribe on Beachcasts on YouTube
• Follow on Beachcasts on Twitch.tv
• Follow on Beachcasts on Twitter

Thank you.