Björn Falkevik
Streaming – onboarding and offboarding
Onboarding, offboarding the audience in a digital context it’s super important. Super, super important. Normally, minimum fifteen minutes before said time, I start the stream. And I have a pre-loaded ... usually I do it quite simple with a self-rolling powerpoint or something like that. That starts rolling before the show starts. Even if it’s just a regular conference I do this because I want the viewer to know that we are online we are ready, we are here for you. If it is a big thing I usually start an hour before. Because I want to catch them when they come to my website or wherever they are watching the stream. I want them to stay there. I want them to leave that window open or leave the phone on. Maybe even have some royalty free elevator music or something like that playing so that they know the audio is working and the video is streaming. And then auto transition on a powerpoint. With some nice pictures and overlay text and stuff like that. So also, if we are doing something that uses interaction like the live chat I always force my Google Jockey’s, the people that are manning the chat room for me, so that is also something that we are doing structured. I always have ... I force a lot of people into the live chat. The chat room is actually, in a digital sense, the green room. Or the lounge if you have a traditional theater ... at the bar where people are waiting. That is what the chat room is. So, if you want to do something that have a lot of prestige and you also want to show that from us as the broadcasters this is important, we take this serious. So, the onboarding part of starting the live stream like fifteen minutes before making sure that there is something inside of the stream that’s more than just a static picture. Because we want the viewer to know that the audio is working, the video is working. And then something is happening in the chat room. Ideally they get stuck in the chat. So they start talking to each other. I mean the perfect live stream here is that I have 200 people waiting in the chat room talking to each other, looking forward to the performance or what ever. And also interaction with some people from staff or from the broadcasting organization. And then the same thing afterwards. When the program time is over and we are ending credits. That is something that is common to forget. You should have ending credits that rolls afterwards. Who did this. Not only the performers or the speakers or what ever. Also remember all the staff around. Because it’s  something they are proud of.