Pokimane Just Took Streaming To The Next Level
A lot of big streamers make impressive amounts of money from tips. In fact, for some, it's their chief source of income next to subscriptions and endorsements. You won't often see streamers turning down high-dollar donations — those are money in the bank and food on the table, after all. Then again, Pokimane is not your typical streamer.
In an effort to keep her fans from donating too much money to her, Pokimane has done something fairly remarkable. Those who try to donate to Pokimane now will find their donation is capped at $5. The streamer worked with Twitch add-on developer Streamlabs to come up with the cap, which will shut down huge tips from fans and force them to keep that money in their own pockets.
In a message to her followers on Twitter, Poki wrote, "Thank you for supporting me to the point where I consider anything more than that unnecessary." She then encouraged viewers to give to other channels and charitable groups. She also instructed them, "treat yourselves."
This isn't the first time Pokimane has broached this topic. Just a few weeks ago, according to Dexerto, the streamer implored her fans to "stop giving people who got money free sh*t." She even floated the idea, apparently, that these well-off influencers should be tipping their biggest fans and not the other way around.
It certainly seems as though Pokimane is sticking to her guns and staying true to her beliefs. By implementing this donation cap, Poki is basically telling fans that she has more than enough money, and she doesn't need exorbitant tips or freebies from viewers who may be less well off in order to make a living.
A lot of Pokimane's followers seemed to love the move. Twitter user @Jericho, who is a fellow Twitch streamer, replied to Poki by saying, "I love this! Would be great to have this option for anyone who wants to enable it." Streamer MsTeamKK wrote, "First person on twitch to do this. I'm so happy it was a [woman], such a strong example to set."
It may or may not shock you to learn, however, that some on Twitter took issue with Pokimane's decision. According to one user, "This girl really so full of herself it hurts my head a little." They added, "Look at me [I'm] the queen of humility who takes down anyone who does well," seeming to believe Pokimane made the move for selfish reasons.
Other comments were a lot less personal, but were still critical of the approach. "[That's] great coming from you but maybe you take the money and donate it to small channels since [your fans] won't do that," said another follower. "Just an idea."
It remains to be seen whether Pokimane's idea will work in practice. For example, several users brought up the fact that the Streamlabs donation cap feature may not prevent viewers from making multiple $5 donations. If that is indeed the case, a determined fan could end up "spamming" Pokimane with a slew of smaller tips that add up to something much larger.
There is also the real question of whether or not fans will heed Pokimane's advice by directing more donations to smaller streamers, or perhaps giving that money to charity. For some, the payoff for donating can come from having a big streamer read their name out loud. Larger donations can sometimes get even more attention than smaller ones. Who's to say these fans won't drop a large tip onto another big streamer? Pokimane is capping donations at $5, but there are plenty of streamers who aren't.
The only thing left to do now is watch and see how it all unfolds. This move could end up working out in the way Pokimane envisioned it. It could also go wrong in a couple of ways, too.
Fan sentiment could also change around Pokimane's decision. At the moment, the feeling around the donation cap seems mostly positive, with a few critical comments here and there. If Pokimane is overwhelmed by smaller donations, however, and can't give attention to those who want it, that could change.
Aside from the donation cap, it doesn't look like much else will be changing with Pokimane's streams. Those tuning in are going to get the same Poki — the one who plays games with the likes of AOC and has her share of goofy moments. If any other major developments occur with Poki's channel — or if this situation with the donation cap suddenly goes south — you'll find the latest here.