Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is the streamer with the most followers on Twitch. He became famous with Fortnite, and now he offers an expensive course so that others can be as successful as he is. However, his colleagues can only laugh about it.
What is it about?
- With nearly 17 million followers, Ninja has the largest account on Twitch, even though he lost many viewers
- On YouTube, nearly 24 million people follow him
- He became known for his colorful hair and was one of the first to stream Fortnite, and he was also really good
- In March 2022, he released a 30-day course to teach others how to stream
- This received a lot of criticism even before it started
- YouTuber Drew Gooden tested the course and completely tore it apart. Disguised Toast also makes fun of it.
Ninja was one of the first to stream Fortnite and became super successful. But who were actually the first streamers who made it big?
What kind of course is this? Ninja offers his 30-day course on the “Masterclass” platform. In it, aspiring streamers are supposed to learn how to best start, how to build a streaming personality, and how to market themselves.
The catch: Although the course lasts only a month, you have to sign up for an annual subscription, which starts at $180. That’s nearly 200 €. It gets even more expensive if you want to watch the courses on multiple devices or offline.
You can also check out the original video in English to see how Drew’s own experiment went. In it, he really goes all out and even dyes his hair.
YouTuber criticizes the course: “Everything is available for free online.”
What happened? On July 31, 2022, the YouTube comedian Drew Gooden released a satirical video in which he expresses his opinion about the course and tries to implement the advice. His conclusion: “It ruined my life.”
In his introduction to Ninja, it becomes clear that Drew doesn’t think much of his streaming qualities. Ninja just played the right game at the right time, marketed himself well, and said yes to every offer.
This is how the course is structured: First, Drew shows a PDF that all participants receive. It explains some important terms that every streaming beginner should know. It even explains what a keyboard is and what the mouse is about.
Then follows a multi-part video series. In the first part, which lasts a bit longer than an hour, Ninja explains the basics, what equipment you need, and how to get started. Then it covers topics like building a community and a brand.
This is the criticism:
- The course is not well structured: While the first part of the course lasts over an hour, the following lessons get shorter and shorter. It’s so fast-paced that you can’t really process the content. It often seems as if Ninja doesn’t have a script, he rambles or abruptly stops sentences.
- The course seems hastily put together: At one point, Ninja explains how to deal with trolls and wants to show how to ban them from his chat. Instead of a screen share, only Ninja is visible. This happens frequently, according to Drew.
- Many contents are irrelevant: Ninja’s tips for creating a streaming personality can seem trivial: you could wear a funny hat or set up a gaming fridge full of energy drinks in the background. Marketing advice seems more like a list of Ninja’s personal successes. Few streaming newcomers will be invited to talk shows or play Fortnite with Drake.
- The content is available elsewhere for free: Drew points out that there are free tutorials all over the internet. He acquired the technical know-how for his own streaming experiment this way. And if someone is determined to learn from Ninja, they could simply watch his streams and pay attention to what he does.
Does Drew have anything positive to say? Yes, he does! The most valuable part of the course is something Ninja has no part in: the community of aspiring streamers who give each other feedback and encouragement.
Disguised Toast laughs at Ninja’s course
This is what he has to say about the course: Content creator Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang watched Drew’s video about the course with his followers on stream on Twitch. He could hardly stop laughing.
He doesn’t think Ninja is the right person to teach others how to stream or to give tips for a technical setup.
But he is finally out on one piece of advice: To keep his viewers engaged, Ninja recommends reading chat messages and responding to them. If a viewer mentions their sick dog, one could ask about the pet next time.
I do the exact opposite. Someone tells me how sad they are and I’m like ‘I don’t care, you’re bringing my vibes down, get lost.’
Disguised Toast via Twitch
He slightly backtracks, of course, he doesn’t actually not care about his viewers. He just can’t attend to each individual, but overall he does care about them. However, he doesn’t want a parasocial relationship with his viewers.
Another Twitch figure is Asmongold, but no one should follow his life tips. Recently, he admitted to showering with bugs in his bathtub instead of getting rid of them. How he plans to get his life in order now, you can read on MeinMMO.
