Welcome to 2026, fellow streamers!
We’re already creeping toward the end of January, which means two things:
- This year is moving way too fast.
- Something definitely already broke, and it probably wasn’t our fault (probably).
This year, we’re doing things differently. No more drama. No more staring at the viewer count like it personally owes us money. No more wallowing in self-pity because the algorithm looked at our stream and politely pretended it didn’t exist.
Instead, we smile.
We embrace the zero-viewer streams and empty chats. We laugh at the scuffed audio and the moments where we forget to show gameplay. We accept that sometimes the best part of streaming is talking to ourselves like a podcast nobody asked for. We also don’t beat ourselves up over dead air (seriously, stop that, it’s okay to go quiet). And most importantly, we actually enjoy the process of the craft we’ve decided to pursue.
And make no mistake, my dear streamer friends, streaming is a craft. It’s a skill we have to learn, practice, and occasionally trip over on stream in real time. If we don’t embrace the mistakes and the low points, we’re bound to eat ourselves alive and come out the other end exhausted and unhappy.
Because here’s the thing: streaming is fun. Somewhere between analytics dashboards and an unhealthy obsession with growth, that gets lost. So in 2026, we’re choosing positivity. Not toxic positivity. Slightly delusional optimism positivity. We see our mistakes and roll with them. We don’t dwell on whether someone is watching, or when a random bot pops in to sell us their “awesome” graphics and unsolicited advice we very clearly did not ask for.
We gently shove away the little devil on our shoulder telling us to give up.
Views or no views, we’re here for the ride. And gosh darn it, we’re going to vibe in 2026. The world already sucks enough, so let’s provide a little light, even if it’s just for ourselves.
Happy streaming, fellow streamers!
Jesús M. Rivera 