全球视野 | 爱尔兰游戏主播如何用直播筹集2600万美元善款
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一位爱尔兰的YouTuber是如何通过节日直播将小众粉丝群体转化为数百万的慈善捐款
How an Irish YouTuber turned a niche following into millions for charities with holiday livestreams
来源:
AP News/美联社
作者:
James Pollard
文章《How an Irish YouTuber turned a niche following into millions for charities with holiday livestreams/一位爱尔兰的YouTuber是如何通过节日直播将小众粉丝群体转化为数百万的慈善捐款》发布在apnews.com美联社新闻的网站上,作者是James Pollard。这篇文章讲述了爱尔兰YouTuber Seán McLoughlin(网名Jacksepticeye)如何利用他的影响力,通过节日直播活动“Thankmas”筹集数百万美元慈善款项的故事。Jacksepticeye利用其真实和富有感染力的个性,不仅吸引了广泛的粉丝,还通过慈善活动将他们凝聚成一个互助的社区,彰显了科技与公益结合的巨大潜力。
YouTuber肖恩·麦克劳克林,他更广为人知的名字是Jacksepticeye,于2024年11月21日星期四,在英国布莱顿他最喜欢的咖啡馆喝咖啡。
图片来源:AP Photo/Thomas Krych
Seán McLoughlin wears a lot of hats: YouTuber. Voice actor. Coffee entrepreneur. But McLoughlin, better known by his pseudonym Jacksepticeye, likes to say he would be a therapist if he wasn’t posting video game playthroughs for his nearly 31 million subscribers.
肖恩·麦克劳克林身兼数职:YouTuber、配音演员、咖啡企业家。然而,麦克劳克林(他的另一个名字Jacksepticeye更为人熟知)常说,如果他不向近3100万的订阅者上传游戏实况视频,他可能会成为一名心理治疗师。
The 34-year-old Irish creator finds that gaming enthusiasts aren’t just drawn by his expressive reactions to the latest action role-playing games; fans also resonate with his candid discussions of mental health. The supportive responses from his niche but passionate following make McLoughlin feel “less alone,” he said, forging the same camaraderie that brought him to online gaming communities as a lonely 20-something living at his family’s remote home.
这位34岁的爱尔兰创作者发现,游戏爱好者们不仅喜欢看他对最新RPG游戏的生动反应,也会被他对心理健康的坦率讨论所打动。他说,小众但热情的粉丝群体给予的支持性回应,让他感到“没那么孤单”。这种陪伴感,就像他二十多岁孤身一人在偏远的家中生活时,吸引他加入网络游戏社区的那种温暖。
That shared connection is also central to his annual fundraiser, “Thankmas.” The charity livestream is one of many online specials emerging as a modern spin on the classic telethon. Total donations have increased more than 50% over the last year on Tiltify, a digital platform that integrates giving tools into streams. The spaces are credited for allowing more authentic interactions between nonprofits and young donors — and encouraging benevolence in a corner of the web marked by incendiary rhetoric.
这种共同的联系也成为了他年度筹款活动“Thankmas”的核心。“Thankmas”是一场慈善直播活动,是传统电视马拉松筹款活动的现代化版本之一。Tiltify平台(译者注:Tiltify是一个面向慈善募捐活动的在线筹款平台,专为个体用户、内容创作者、企业及团队设计。它允许用户通过直播、社交媒体或其他数字渠道为他们支持的慈善机构筹集资金;Tiltify的特点是将游戏和互动元素融入募款活动,例如挑战目标、里程碑解锁以及捐赠激励,从而吸引更多的捐赠人参与;而且Tiltify与Twitch、YouTube等直播平台无缝对接,让创作者可以在直播时直接显示筹款进度和观众捐赠信息)通过将捐赠工具整合到直播中,其去年捐款总额增长了50%以上。这类平台被认为有助于在非营利组织和年轻捐赠人之间建立更真实的互动,也同时在充满激烈言论的网络角落里,鼓励了一种行善的文化。
“If you want to do good things, the people are there, and they’ll listen,” McLoughlin said. “They’re already following you for what you do for a reason. So they’ll follow you to help out people as well.”
麦克劳克林说:“如果你想做好事,人们就在那里,他们会听到你的。他们已经因为你做的事情而关注你,所以他们也会跟随你一起去帮助别人。”
Follow they have. His streams have raked in more than $26 million, according to partner Tiltify. This year’s goal is to collect $6 million for two nonprofits supporting mental health: Crisis Text Line and Samaritans.
他们确实跟随了麦克劳克林。据合作伙伴Tiltify提供的数据,他的直播活动已筹集了超过2600万美元。今年的目标是为两家支持心理健康的非营利组织Crisis Text Line和Samaritans筹集600万美元。
A seven-figure target would have seemed a longshot when McLoughlin entered the space. The initial idea was to hold monthly fundraisers. He hosted seven charitable streams in 2018, Tiltify records show, for causes including pediatric cancer and clean water. The year culminated in the inaugural “Thankmas,” which pulled over a quarter of a million dollars.
当麦克劳克林进入这个领域时,七位数的筹款目标看起来是一个遥不可及的梦想。他最初的想法是每月举办筹款活动。根据Tiltify的记录,他在2018年举办了七场慈善直播活动,募集的善款用于儿童癌症和清洁水源等事业。那一年,他的首届“Thankmas”筹集了超过25万美元的善款。
But McLoughlin said the pace became “a bit much.” That same year he announced a brief break from YouTube, in part due to unhappiness from the demands he felt for high content volumes. He resolved to focus on one big holiday event at the end of the year, when he said people are “a bit more giving and heartfelt.”
但麦克劳克林表示,这样的节奏“有点过了”。同年,他宣布暂时退出YouTube,部分原因是因为对于大量的内容产出需求,让他感到不开心。他决定专注在年底举办一次大型节日活动,因为他认为那时的人们“会更乐于奉献、更有爱心”。
It wasn’t until 2020 that Tiltify CEO Michael Wasserman said the two began working closely to maximize the streams’ reach. McLoughlin reached out, according to Wasserman, and said he wanted something “more impactful.” With communities worldwide reeling from the pandemic, they put together the #HopeFromHome campaign: a peer-to-peer event where multitudes could simultaneously rally around the same cause. McLoughlin served as a tent pole supporting the other streamers.
Tiltify首席执行官迈克尔·瓦瑟曼表示,直到2020年,他们两人才开始密切合作,以最大化直播的影响力。瓦瑟曼说,麦克劳克林主动联系了他,并表示希望做一些“更具影响力的事情”。在全球社区因疫情而遭受冲击之际,他们策划了#HopeFromHome活动:这是一个点对点的活动,成千上万的人可以同时为同一个事业团结起来。麦克劳克林为其他的主播充当了支柱。
Their first effort together yielded $1.9 million for United Way Worldwide and more than one-third came from McLoughlin’s stream alone. The following “Thankmas” generated more than $4.7 million. Wasserman said he’d never seen his technology used so collaboratively.
他们第一次合作就为全球联合之路筹集了190万美元,其中三分之一以上来自麦克劳克林的直播。而接下来的“Thankmas”则筹集了超过470万美元。瓦瑟曼表示,他从未见过他的技术被如此协同地使用。
“That’s what really made this a regular, multimillion-dollar event,” Wasserman said. “Not just making it, ‘Hey I’m going to fundraise and just watch me,’ but, ‘We as a community can do this and get involved together.’”
沃瑟曼说:“这才是真正让这项活动,成为定期举办、价值数百万美元的原因。不是单纯地说‘嘿,我要筹款,大家就看着我吧’, 而是‘我们作为一个社区可以一起做到这一点,并共同参与其中。’”
This year’s “Thankmas” will be performed before a live audience in Los Angeles but broadcast online. Recent specials have seen McLoughlin make surprise calls into streams that are also pooling contributions. Comedic segments sometimes feature traditional celebrities; actor Jack Black played a life-sized game of Jenga in 2022.
今年的“Thankmas”将在洛杉矶的观众面前现场进行,同时会通过网络进行直播。在近期的特别活动上,麦克劳克林还在其他的筹款直播中进行了惊喜电话连线。直播的喜剧环节有时会邀请传统名人参与。例如,演员杰克·布莱克就在2022年参加了一场真人大小的叠叠乐积木游戏。
嘉宾Try Guys在THANKMAS 2024的直播中进行拼图游戏。
截图来源:Youtube/jacksepticeye
The idea resembles the star-studded telethon pioneered last century by comedian Jerry Lewis. But new technologies and web cultures enable more engaging experiences. Wasserman said charitable livestreams like McLoughlin’s are not a “passive watching experience.”
这个想法类似于上世纪由喜剧演员杰瑞·刘易斯开创的明星电视募捐马拉松。但新技术和网络文化给这些活动带来了更多的互动和吸引力。瓦瑟曼表示,像麦克劳克林这样的慈善直播活动并不是一种“被动的观看体验”。
It’s “a much more personable approach to giving,” according to Yvette Wohn, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology who studies human-computer interaction.
新泽西理工学院、专注于研究人机交互的教授耶夫特·沃恩表示,这是一种“更具亲和力的捐赠方式”。
A streamer’s audience “cares about them,” Wohn said, and donors flock to their content because “they really like that person.” Social media and chat boxes allow fans to feel seen by hosts in ways television viewers could never expect. Followers might get shoutouts by name upon contributing. McLoughlin has previously shared fan art submitted through specific hashtags.
沃恩表示,直播主播的粉丝“在乎主播”,捐赠人会蜂拥而至观看主播的内容,因为“他们真的很喜欢这个人”。社交媒体和聊天框让粉丝们感到自己被主播看见,这种互动是电视观众所无法企及的。粉丝们可能会在捐赠后被主播点名感谢。麦克劳克林曾通过特定的话题标签来分享粉丝们提交的同人画作。
Fandoms also develop subcultures. McLoughlin’s gaming catchphrases are especially popular among his circles. Jacksepticeye content often starts with him shouting, “Top of the morning to ya, laddies!” and fans have uploaded video compilations of the expression. Members then form friendships with others in the fandom. That creates a “positive social pressure” to donate, according to Wohn, helping new generations “dip their toes into building an identity as somebody that gives.”
粉丝群体也会发展出子文化。麦克劳克林的游戏口头禅在他的粉丝圈中特别受欢迎。Jacksepticeye的视频内容通常以他大喊“Top of the morning to ya, laddies!(意思是:大伙们,早上好!)”开场,粉丝们还上传了该口头禅的视频集锦。然后,粉丝圈的成员会与其他粉丝建立友谊。沃恩表示,这种情况创造了一种“正面的社交压力”,促使新一代“尝试建立作为捐赠人的身份认同”。
“Giving habits are things that build over time,” Wohn said. “If younger people start to engage in this culture of giving, I feel like the general culture of giving might expand in ways that cannot be done from a top-down perspective.”
沃恩说:“捐赠习惯是随着时间积累起来的。如果年轻人开始参与这种捐赠文化,我觉得整体的捐赠文化可能会以一种自下而上的方式扩展开来。这是自上而下的方式所做不到的。”
Still, McLoughlin describes online communities as a “double-edged sword.” The “monetization of hate,” he said, is “bigger than it’s ever been.” And the desire for acceptance can introduce lonely people to dark pockets of the internet that nevertheless provide kinship.
尽管如此,麦克劳克林仍然将网络社区形容为一把“双刃剑”。他说,“通过煽动仇恨来获利”的现象比以往任何时候都更为严重。而渴望被接纳的心理,则可能将孤独的人引入互联网上的黑暗角落,尽管这些地方也提供了某种程度的归属感。
“Thankmas” aims to prove it’s easy to do good online. Yes, he acknowledged, charity work is “quite intimidating.” Where is the line between promoting the fundraiser and promoting himself? McLoughlin doesn’t know. He just hopes people trust it’s coming from the right place.
“Thankmas”的目的是证明在网上做好事并不难。麦克劳克林承认,慈善工作“确实让人有些畏惧”。宣传筹款活动与宣传自己,这之间的界限在哪里?麦克劳克林自己也不知道。他只希望人们相信他的出发点是正确的。
At least one longtime follower was drawn by McLoughlin’s ties to this year’s cause. Jack Worthey, a 20-year-old from Texas, said McLoughlin brought much comfort growing up with “similar family troubles.” It had been several years since he watched Jacksepticeye content, he said, but he was pulled back by an October video where McLoughlin detailed his journey finding mental health treatment.
长期粉丝中至少有一位是被麦克劳克林今年支持的事业而吸引。来自德克萨斯州的20岁青年杰克·沃西表示,麦克劳克林在他成长过程中遇到了和他“类似的家庭问题”,这给他带来了许多安慰。沃西提到,自己已经有好几年没看过Jacksepticeye的内容了,但今年10月份的一条视频把他拉了回来,视频中麦克劳克林详细讲述了自己寻求心理健康治疗的历程。
Worthey said he wouldn’t have looked into “Thankmas” had McLoughlin had not made the promotion so personal. He now plans to raise awareness through digital art. For Worthey, returning to the channel as an adult and seeing the “positive product” has been “really amazing.”
沃西表示,如果不是麦克劳克林将“Thankmas”的推广做得如此个人化,他可能根本不会去了解这一活动。沃西现在计划通过数字艺术来提高公众对这一活动的关注。对于沃西来说,作为一个成年人重新回到这个频道,看到这种“积极的成果”,他感到“非常惊叹。”
“It makes you see what I was enjoying when I was younger in a different light,” Worthey said. “It brings a different type of joy.”
沃西说道:“这让我用一种不同的视角,来看待我小时候所喜欢的东西。这带来了一种不同的快乐。”
关键句翻译
电视马拉松,是一种持续多小时或多天的电视筹款活动,目的是为慈善、政治或其他事业筹集资金。那么电视马拉松的英文全称是什么?
Telethon
television n. 电视
marathon n. 马拉松赛跑
翻译、撰稿:丁适于(杭州市基金会发展促进会)
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