Live streaming is booming. People spent 1.2 billion hours watching Twitch in the first quarter of 2020, according to analytics company StreamHatchet and streaming software company Streamlabs. Time spent viewing the live-streaming service, a unit of Amazon, jumped 23 percent from February to March, and the number of unique Twitch channels increased 33 percent over the previous quarter. Other livestreaming platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Microsoft's Mixer also saw more use.
It's not just videogames. People host live cooking shows. Musicians are livestreaming concerts. Programmers use Twitch streams as a way to swap tips.
"I think it's a great time to try streaming," says Justin Turner, a digital marketer in Portland, Oregon, who just started a new livestreaming talk show about Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop games. "It's a great way to interact with people. Just knowing some of my friends are watching and chatting really helps with social distancing."
Like many other streamers, Turner uses a videostreaming and recording application called Open Broadcaster Software Studio, which, unlike commercial options like Camtasia, is free and open source.
Twitch offers its own free streaming software that’s easier for beginners, but OBS Studio users say they prefer the app for its advanced features and how much it can be customized. "It's still relatively easy to use, but there's a lot of tinkering you can do if you're into that sort of thing," says Turner.
