When I went online, I saw an ad on the site that surpassed any ad I had ever seen. Video game-like cartoon icons of castles and stars adorned images of various people who looked like rock stars and makeup artists. Now *insert false name* is getting paid for what she loves to do thanks to Liveme,” the captions read. There was something unsettling about being surrounded by these ads. They somehow seemed dishonest, like a sugar-coated scam.
Liveme, as I found out later, is a live streaming app that has been around for 8 years. Users enter a digital community of more than 37 million people from all over the world, where they can watch live broadcasts and broadcast their own. From there, users can follow people, comment on their feeds, and—perhaps the main attraction—send cash gifts. In the interests of earning extra income and experimenting, I downloaded this app. For my account, I chose the name “Joolia” and used a photo of my dog to be safe.
I was then given a list of recommended users to subscribe to.
At Liveme, a funny guy greeted me and told me how to use the app and find broadcasts that match my interests. Among the presented categories – “Parties”, “Popular” and “New”.
I skimmed through several broadcasts. Some users used the space to rant about a bad day, many danced in front of the camera, others put on lipstick. A trucker smoking a cigarette, a radio show host, a woman getting ready for a performance are just a few of the characters I met on Liveme.
In my own broadcast, I kind of just sat and asked questions to the audience. Most did not answer, but we had a nice chat with those who did.
After going off the air after 35 minutes without incident, I received “diamonds”. Obviously, the longer you stream, the more diamonds and gifts you can get. Gifts also turn into diamonds, and 50,000 diamonds will earn you $293 real (if you work through an agency). Seriously. I watched several other popular streams, most of which had girls dancing, singing or doing yoga. Hearts, coins and little magical pictures appeared on their screen; they thanked the donor and asked us, the viewers, to subscribe to them. They were most happy when they received the Porsche, which, I assume, turns into a large number of diamonds. It was very strange. It was all like Snapchat and Instagram live.
While there are positives to the platform in helping artists and others make money from Liveme, there are also harmful risks, including online predation and cyberbullying. But if you have time to kill time and make money, Liveme doesn’t seem like the worst option.