Live streamer Oshun: Why I started streaming even though I wasn't good at talking　

■ Profile

Born in 1999. Live streamer for 2 years. Highest rank S rank. After graduating from university, she is now active as a Pococha live streamer without job hunting. She currently works as a PR and management live streamer for QQQ Agency, where she promotes the agency and supports its live streamers. In addition to being a live streamer, she is also active on TikTok and YouTube.

Oshun, who is active on the live streaming app Pococha, never misses a single 10-hour stream every day. "I talk to each and every person properly, read all their comments and reply," he said, and you could sense his sincere, passionate heart for his listeners.

A series of coincidences opened up a new path

When I was a university student, I attended classes, participated in club activities, went to a part-time job, then went home and slept... I lived a typical student life. However, the spread of the coronavirus completely changed my life. I couldn't see my friends and I couldn't get a part-time job. I started researching whether there was anything I could do, and by chance I came across live streaming. "This... I don't need to look for a job!" Rather than wanting to work for a company, I had always wanted to become an influencer who could share information on my own, like a YouTuber, so it was perfect for me, and I thought, "Maybe I should give live streaming a try."

■My life has changed a lot since I discovered live streaming

I didn't like being ordinary, I wanted to be different, so I'd secretly dreamed of becoming an influencer for a long time. However, before I started live streaming, I mostly felt that I couldn't become an influencer. When I first started live streaming, I didn't know what the right answer was, so I just turned on the stream and talked. However, as I continued, I realized that even though I'm not the type to put myself forward and I'm not particularly good at talking, I was able to talk for 10 hours straight. I've become more conscious of talking in my private life than before, and because it's a job where I'm seen by others, I've started getting massages and my facial expression has changed. Now my life revolves entirely around streaming.

■There are people who are looking forward to it

During my regular streams, I want to communicate with as many listeners as possible, so I stream for 10 hours every day, chatting and giving advice. I absolutely cannot betray the support of my listeners by stopping streaming immediately. I am truly grateful that there are people who look forward to my streams, even though I am not a celebrity and am just an ordinary person. I stream and talk every day. I think that is all I can do for my listeners.

■ Be kind and accepting in your comments

When interacting with listeners, the most important thing is to communicate with each and every one of them. I talk to each and every one of them properly, read all their comments, and respond. I want to cherish those connections. Also, if there hasn't been a comment recently, I'll try to approach them myself, saying something like, "Hey, what are you doing?" I'd be happy if by talking to them I can make them feel like "I really care about them."

And when it comes to comments, I generally don't reject them, but rather try to be kind and accept them. If I think something is strange, I'll say, "Maybe that's not right." I think the value of live streaming is that it allows people to experience things they wouldn't normally experience, such as asking for advice on their worries.

Currently, in addition to live streaming, I am in charge of training new live streamers. From now on, I would like to become an influencer who can be active not only in live streaming but also in various media such as YouTube and TikTok. I also want people to say that I'm an interesting person. I think that's partly because I went to university in Kansai (laughs), but I want to continue to add value to myself.

■Message to university students

I hope you will continue to take on new challenges. For me, working as a live streamer was quite a challenge. It's okay to fail. You only live once, so try anything you want to do.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on January 6, 2022 by Momoshi Shibano, a second-year student at Nihon University