In 2021, Twitch streamer and content creator Steven Flavall, aka Jorbs, spoke with John Brown students at length about creating and maintaining a brand. Two years later, Flavall is publishing a book on the underbelly of content creation. In his memoir, Before We Go Live, he delves deeply into some of the traumatic experiences he and his coworkers have faced during their time in content creation.
Some of the stories he shares are gruesome, such as his manager having a miscarriage but not being able to take off work to recover (yes, many streamers have managers). Some of the stories he shares are profoundly saddening, like when one of his female coworkers rejected a manager’s sexual advances, then mysteriously stopped being invited to tournaments afterward. However, other stories he shares are uplifting, like Flavall’s views on content creation. He seeks to uplift and empower those who watch his content, like a boat in a storm.
That is what sets this book apart from other media “exposing” issues in this sphere. Flavall never once seeks to put the blame on any one person. Flavall simply shares the stories of those around him. Even when he was cheated out of $10,000 contractually promised, he still never demeaned or badmouthed the person who reneged on him.
This gives much more weight to the portions of the book where Flavall outlines instances of clear sexual harassment in the online space. This gives much more weight to the portions where Flavall writes he is afraid he might lose his mental capacities and become a raving lunatic, though he cannot say that live, because it contradicts his brand. There is gravity attached to his words when Flavall says that, partially due to streaming, he is worried he might be too damaged to have a real romantic relationship ever again.
All these stories and more are packed into a 261 page book. All this raw emotion, observed and experienced manipulation and abuse revolves around one company: Fade2Karma (F2K).
F2K was a for-profit content creation middleman that provided a small salary and found sponsorship deals for streamers, while taking a small cut of the deal. In exchange, streamers would provide advertisement for F2K, along with a few other backend responsibilities. Though F2K started well, Before we go live outlines the slow devolution into a stagnate quid pro quo organization that eventually went bankrupt.
Before We Go Live is not a book that seeks to blame anyone for their involvement with F2K, but it does provide a window to see into what happened on the back end.
As a participant in many online communities, I was shocked at the amount of sexism and abuse that is normalized in many online spaces. Reading this book, I was encouraged to recognize poor behavior and call it out. After all, if we as consumers do not start conversations about it, who will?