00:00We've been talking in recent weeks, it's great to finally have you on Bloomberg Tech.
00:03Likewise.
00:04Now bear with me on this one, but let's just start by asking, what is your day job?
00:10How would you describe what it is that you do?
00:13In technical terms, I'm a content creator.
00:16How I might want to describe it is just, I love sharing my life online.
00:20I love to entertain people.
00:22I love to make people happy.
00:23That's about it, I'd say.
00:24It started with video games on Twitch, like quite a long time ago.
00:28You've got a long history with Twitch.
00:31I sure do.
00:312013.
00:332013, and that's something we share in common, some of the titles in particular.
00:38We just had Dan Clancy on the program earlier.
00:42For you in particular, it has expanded to IRL and just chatting.
00:47Is there a moment where that happened?
00:49It moved beyond video games?
00:52I would say, interestingly enough, when I first started streaming, you weren't even allowed to stream IRL or just chatting.
00:58It was just games.
00:59Anything else, you might get banned for a few days.
01:03And so as the platform started not only allowing but supporting different types of content, I, of course, only wanted to try out those different things.
01:11And I also love how it allowed me to showcase different parts of my life.
01:14Now, instead of traveling and feeling like, oh, I can't do my job, I can't game, I can't speak to my community, I could travel and stream myself in those different countries.
01:23So as both this platform changed and what the audiences like and enjoy changed, I followed in and I was able to explore so many different types of content.
01:32And then we've seen you go to Korea, we've seen you go to around the world.
01:35But what's so interesting, Poki, is that your demographic must have broadened from League of Legends out to now wanting to see you horse ride, talking about some of your health stories.
01:43Can you break down the demographics and who it is in your community?
01:47Absolutely.
01:47What I find the most interesting is that it entirely depends on the piece of content and the platform.
01:53So on Twitch, of course, the platform itself is maybe majority men, sometimes younger, depending on the game or what you're streaming.
02:00But on TikTok, a lot of my videos are like majority female, I do get readies with me, makeup, hauls, all sorts of different things.
02:07And I really adore that because it allows me to really tap into and share all the different facets of my hobbies and what I like to do.
02:15And you do share your community of friends, they appear with you.
02:18There's also perhaps your brother who doesn't appear so much on screen and you're here in L.A.
02:23There are safety concerns, whether it's in real life or whether it's online as well.
02:26How do you think about that and navigate it?
02:28Oh, my.
02:29It really depends on the exact safety concern and what aspect it brings.
02:35So there's online safety and there's also in-person safety.
02:38So what you said earlier about IRL streaming, I typically don't IRL stream in L.A. unless I have security with me.
02:45Otherwise, I feel a little bit better streaming IRL in other countries.
02:49When it comes to moderation online, oh, it's been a trial and error kind of situation,
02:54learning how to moderate my platforms, how to feel safe online, how to make sure my community feels safe.
03:00So it's really a lot of different things.
03:03Poki, as part of the IRL and just chatting content, sometimes you have discussed things that are more political or societal issues.
03:11How do you choose those that you want to weigh in on?
03:15And then the safety piece you just explained, how you factor that in?
03:19I would say my priority, for starters, is, of course, speaking to my direct experiences and how I know those things affect others.
03:27For example, the safety issues that I face online, I'm not the only one and it's not just creators.
03:32Any woman, any girl, frankly, any person online can be victim to those same safety issues.
03:39So I love to be a spokesperson for the things that I have direct experience and knowledge in.
03:43And then secondly, for me, political topics, what I really feel passionate speaking out about is simply just human rights,
03:52respecting other people, what their rights should be in regards to the things that they can say, that they can experience, that they can share.
03:58I feel like that's what I feel comfortable talking about.
04:02And so aside from that, luckily, the safety aspects that I have in place right now allow me to feel comfortable discussing anything.
04:09Poki, you've made a career of this.
04:11Would you please explain to our Bloomberg Tech audience, you know, how it works, how you make money with respect, if you're able to?
04:18Like, you've also set up a talent agency for content creators.
04:23You know, how big a piece is that for you?
04:24Is it different Twitch versus Instagram, for example?
04:26So your streams of income do differ greatly depending on the platform.
04:32I would say the unique thing about Twitch is that there's a subscription model, which means, as opposed to YouTube,
04:37where you can subscribe to someone for free and you're essentially just following them like you follow someone on Instagram,
04:43for Twitch, when you subscribe, you're sending them $5 every month.
04:47It's a monthly subscription that also generates income.
04:50But for me, the large, large, large majority of my career income has come just from sponsorships and contracts.
04:58And then probably the second largest piece has come from business ventures.
05:01And then the third largest piece might be subscriptions.
05:04So I'd say that's the unique piece that most people don't know about Twitch.
05:07But for IG and most other platforms, it's primarily ads and sponsors.
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