Roy Tang

Programmer, engineer, scientist, critic, gamer, dreamer, and kid-at-heart.

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I’m not much for public performance. But sometimes I think about doing some stuff that involves some level of public performance. My examples for this post are:

  • game streaming
  • public speaking
  • standup comedy

Public speaking and standup comedy are basically the same, and might be interesting to do (standup seems more fun). Like many people, I used to have a mild fear of speaking in front of a bunch of people/strangers, but as I’ve gotten older and cared less about what other people think, this kind of faded away. But the main issue with these two items is that they require a lot of prep, and that’s something I’m generally bad at (chalk it up to lack of discipline etc). I generally tend to prefer to “wing it”, even back in the college days, not that I’m particularly good at it.

Game streaming seems like it could be good. Not much prep needed aside from some general familiarity with the game I’m playing. In fact, I’ve already set up a twitch channel before and did a few test broadcasts. My main problem with game streaming is that there’s a need to be talking all the time - avoiding dead air. And it can feel weird doing that with nobody around. I guess it’s more of a beginning streamer problem? If there were people in the twitch chat it would probably be easier. Or if there was someone else in the room with me while I’m streaming.

A friend also sometimes suggests I make a webcomic, that also seems like a viable option. My problem with that one is the prep again. You need to be able to come up with material on a regular basis, and I’m not sure I can do that. As I say to my friend, I’m a generally witty guy, but my wit is more of “in the moment” insted of something I can summon on command. But then again, maybe the fact that I’m now able to make daily blog posts means a regular (weekly?) webcomic would now be viable?

An issue I have with trying to pick up new hobbies is the climb you have as a beginner, where everything you try sucks at first. I really dislike that initial learning period. But as Jake the Dog says “Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sort of good at something.”

Posted by under post at #Self Improvement
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