So streaming, in general, got very popular.
E-Sports and gaming streams are usually the most popular.
You can also find people just talking or answering questions.
But since streams go both ways, it is almost like pair programming.
Pair programming for me is one of the best things you can do to become a better coder. Also, you learn how other developers think!
Why do you think streaming for coding is not so popular?
Would you watch it?
How should it look?
General thoughts about this topic?
Please comment down below!
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Oldest comments (73)
I think it would be interesting to watch someone else code. Is this a thing yet?
As a newbie to the dev world, I feel it would help to see how others go about problem solving through code. It could supplement my self teaching.
Yes, it is a thing :D
I'm currently trying to stream regularly on twitch and youtube :)
One thing I also try is to speak out what I'm thinking.
So people can follow me and maybe learn how I go about problems :D
Well then, I guess I'll be watching you. :-)
😍😍 Thank you very much :)
I would like to stream my work, but it's difficult to setup an environment where all my credentials are secured when I log in to places, edit config files etc.
Yeah for the login things I use a password manager so you don't see my logins
but yeah for the server stuff you need a second screen.
I should do it
Do it! :)
and then drop me a link ;)
Handmade Hero
Thanks for the link!
Yeah, I know there are some people.
Handmade Hero builds a game and in streaming games, in general, are popular.
I was thinking more about web development and similar things.
My wild guess (!) is..
there aren't that many people proficient enough in web-development to have the guts for live-coding and talking while coding, AND to have the time doing it on a regular basis.
web-dev isn't that exciting per se. game-dev and similar fields are "cool" in a way, so the audience isn't just other game-devs, but all kinds of other devs. But I really can't imagine a web-dev or AI-Engineer casually being excited about web-dev and watching others doing it.
on the other hand it's kinda like pair-programming or mob-programming without the productivity loss.
yeah, I like the term
mob-programming.I think you have a point. Time is the biggest thing here!
But then again it's part of time management and if you really want it :)
Yeah, that probably right.
Just a few things how I see it after some years of experience in the real world:
I started streaming because I would like to have input from other people, and it also forces me to do stuff. So yeah if someone comes to the chat and says that's wrong, then I'm happy and would ask him to help if he does not like to help then not. I'm still ahead of them for trying and failing than doing nothing and being a dick on the internet.
I don't think too many people would like to see me looking at the ceiling and frequently cursing at my code.
On a more serious note, it would be interesting to try. But, as others have mentioned it can take a bit of work to get a suitable setup.
Maybe I should watch some software streams sometime, I have never actually given it a shot.
the setup cost is really not that big.
You should already have a pc or laptop.
The webcam is not really important.
You can get a really good nice mic kit for around 50 euros.
The rest is for free it only takes the time to create everything but thats part of the fun right?
It would be great if DEV.to could integrate with twitch somehow. People already love following other people's journeys on #100DaysOfCode across the various social networks - watching someone code is a whole new level of interaction and inclusion on the journey
Actually, dev.to has this!
For example here: dev.to/twitch_live_streams/lampewe...
Maybe it should be more visible on the main page 🤔
I don't stream but I do make vlogs recording my process - right from figuring it what to build, finding the right resource to follow, and then building it.
Context: My audience is primarily tech writers and we are often asked to "learn new tech" but no one tells us how to go about it. My hope is that seeing me struggle and figure things out will motivate other tech writers to try more tech stacks.
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoynTxu...
Cool idea!
Why don't you live to stream the video and record it and then release the video later in the cut version we already see on youtube? I'm just curious :)
Because I don't think my audience is familiar with live streams -- they are barely getting into tech vlogs. My writing videos perform way better than my tech vlogs. I might live stream down the line after the vlog format gets better acceptance within my audience.
Yeah, that's also an idea. :)
I think streaming how you code is not popular because of couple things:
I think it's because of above things people choose to watch youtube tutorial than stream.
Yeah, a paused video but not audio would be cool :)
They can ask :) Great training for someone who wants to become a senior dev!
Again they can ask :D
That's true! And I don't think that streaming code will be as massive as game streams but I think there is more potential in it then people think. A good case is to show junior devs who you think!
Well, they can always ask but not always you see the question. Not always you can answer it in a good moment. And not everyone in the stream is interested in your response. I believe in edge case it could even end like - you've got 2 mid/senior people on the stream and then 5 junior joins. They start asking you trivial questions like "what is const?", "what's the difference between padding and margin?", "how do I add js file to my HTML?", etc. you know, questions which you can easily find in Google but people want an answer - not searching for it. So you start explaining them trivial questions and potentially loose two mid/seniors who will be bored? OR you ignore them so you loose juniors but mid/seniors are there staying (maybe)?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it's a bad idea. No, it's good. You just to be really lucky to stream about the exact thing someone wants to listen right now.
So one of the mid/seniors can explain it ;)
In E-Sports, people also don't often understand everything that is happening and.
It does not have to be about learning. If the person is fun, you can be there just for the person and interact.
I think part of the issue lies in the skewed relationship between caster and viewer. You can answer in speech, while they have to ask in writing. It makes the discussion part of pair programming very cumbersome on their part
True but in other streams, it is the same and imagine what would happen if you had like 20 developers speaking at the same time?
This is a really thoughtful and good answer. Thanks!
Hey hey, I get entertained when I watch people coding lol. You are correct people including myself watch youtube coding tutorials, though a tutorial and a live coding stream are two different things. Unless a stream is setup to be a tutorial, for me the most fun streams are watching interesting coding projects, but of course I've been coding for a while so I can understand most things on the screen without pausing.
One note to add about the pausing, is that with vscode live sharing that changes things. You can share a whole session to your viewers, including debugging sessions.
I used to stream whilst coding but I'd never pull in a huge number of views. I think it's still a really new concept with only a few people really nailing it on the head.
Daniel Shiffman, in particular, has got it spot on, his streams are perfect for it. He usually does quite short coding challenges which at the same time are visual; people like to see stuff move on the screen. Because his challenges are usually quite short people can jump in at any time, whereas streamers who work on one project in every stream (Which I did) are likely not as captivating.
But yeah, that's just my observation, I'm sure it'll gain in popularity in the years to come!
Hmm, that's a very good tip!
What I mean:
Making the challenges very short!
I will write that down!
Thanks for the comment!
+1 for Daniel Shiffman, he also has an unparalleled enthusiasm that makes learning even more fun.
I would for coding streaming to be more popular in general although; not everyone needs a train whistle!