【VTUBER】5 Social Tips I Wish I Would’ve Known

“#VTuberUprising” was trending for a bit on twitter in the past, and we’ve seen a massive influx of brand new VTubers since its popularity has grown. We have many different forms; 3D, 2D, and even PNG. Though, no matter what type of VTuber someone chooses to be, the fact remains that they’re still categorized under the same umbrella and find themselves interacting to some degree.

As the influence of VTubers has grown, so to has wide-eyed prospects looking to try their hand at it. Seeing as all the boxes were checked as far as what I wanted to do, I too became a VTuber and am starting my journey towards internet stardom. However, despite the positives to being a VTuber, I have found some things out very quickly which I hope to pass onto anyone else who’s reading this. From myself, RoK the Reaper, here are 5 Social Tips I Wish I Would’ve Known before jumping into the VTubing world.

 #01 — BEWARE OF LARGE & INTERLOCKED COMMUNITIES 

You will come to find out that many use VTubing as a way to hangout online. Some communities are directly linked to each other due to their leadership; think of it as a cluster of VTubing communities that share plenty of overlapping members with some variation between each and all of them. So you may have 4 or 5 people who are the figureheads within a certain community, but each one of them are VTubers who has their own communities with slightly different members, etc. What’s the problem with this? Potentially nothing, but the ramifications could be dire if you’re not careful.

If someone doesn’t like you or you happen to get on the wrong side of someone, it could mean that hundreds of people suddenly do not like you. Many people do not care about the details surrounding events, rather, they automatically go on the defensive if one of their friends or favorite streamer is hurt or upset. Often this leads to he say/she says and social media wars, which could create an uproar from their followers, which leads to unwanted probing and witch hunts. I’ve seen it too many times before.

A good example is a VTuber whom I follow that has a rather large following. This particular person was talking about someone close to them turning out to be less than stellar when all things were said than done. This was a personal thing mostly related to friendships, and the VTuber was merely trying to state a point that sometimes people aren’t always what they seem. Another VTuber I follow commented directly under it with, “I just want names”. They were ready to exile this person from their own community, or to actively avoid them without knowing the full details and didn’t caren about the other person’s narrative. Hell, they didn’t even care that the larger VTuber was just trying to give people something to keep-in-mind versus trying to bring hellfire down on the one they believed wronged them. This didn’t matter. The VTuber who was a fan of the other immediately saw someone they looked up to upset and they had nothing but anger within their heart.

Remember, the details for most people do not matter more than someone they care about being upset. Who’s wrong or right no longer applies, and for a lot of people, it never really did to begin with.

 #02 — BEWARE OF “FRIENDS” 

One of the things I was excited about when I first became a VTuber was the influx of new friends you get and the potential to know new people. Well, turns out that this is a double-edged sword you’d rather approach on the side of caution. What people say and what they actually do can be two totally different things, and often to their own benefit due to your detriment.

I’ve learned within the VTuber community it is best to treat everyone with kid gloves. Treat everyone like you would a friend who’s a co-worker, but you don’t talk or hangout with them outside of work. You have limited attachment so no expectations are given to them and vice versa. You don’t care about them enough to get upset from small, shady things and you don’t give them a reason to get upset with you. This is more so a transaction of goodwill and potential networking/growth. Many people do not actually want to be friends because that entails a lot more work than shallow socialization.

You’ll find that many people want friendly connections for a variety of reasons. Each person you’re cool with is a potential Subscriber, Donator, or Connection if they get bigger down the line, etc. Many want to forge bridges with those for these reasons without caring about their day-to-day lives or want to spend time with them outside of what could be counted as their work as a VTuber. Many keep up a face and are very different when not within the public eye.

Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about parasocial relationships where one side has unrealistic expectations of friendship from a VTuber they’ve interacted with in only streams or a Discord community; I’m talking about where someone actually calls you their “friend” and it’s well established that you are beyond the streamer and community member/viewer dynamic.

Sure, this happens in everyday life with some people, but the problem with VTubing is that again, it’s interlocked. Many people know each other within the VTuber space and your reputation is something you’d want to protect at all costs. A bad reputation will automatically disqualify many people even wanting to see what you’re about; there are a ton of sheep within this space that only need word of mouth for evidence. The 5th Law from the book “48 Laws of Power” states that, “So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard It With Your Life”.

 #03 — BEWARE OF COMMISSIONING VTUBERS 

Again, VTubers are streamers and have their own communities built around them. A lot of VTubers are multi-talented in the sense that they also do some type of hobby or possesses some type of skill; one of them seen most often is having skills in creation. A lot of VTubers will make things others within the community want: Emotes, Overlays, Art, Alerts, etc. The only problem with this is their following, attitude, and potential business practices. Many are quite professional within what they do, but those who aren’t can cause a world of nightmares very quickly.

I commissioned someone who was a friend and also a VTuber. They streamed the production of my emote without letting me know they were starting, completed the entire thing without checking my satisfaction at any of the typical completion stages (sketch, lineart, or flat color phases). So when I didn’t like the final product, it felt extremely weird to basically say “Do the entire emote over” (there were three of them!). So I just wanted them to redo one and I stated my dissatisfaction of their practice in this regard, to which they refunded and promptly got me kicked out of two communities and a few blocks. Thankfully I was reinstated with one community after they saw the logs, but that proved my point.

Simple word of mouth WITHOUT ANY LOGS caused me to get kicked out and their word-of-mouth made me an enemy of others without them seeing any proof. I lost a lot of contacts due to the artist being unprofessional, and they did so without any type of proof being shown (since the communities that kicked me out never received any logs).

I also had a friend who commissioned someone who kept them on hold, delaying their art for MONTHS. They took other VTubers commissions during this time, and even completed a lot of them while my friend remained on hold. Finally they completed it due to my friend threatening to just get their refund back, but it was POORLY done. Some parts were not colored in properly, they left off certain things, and it turned a potentially great piece into a less than mediocre one. My friend also was afraid to speak up because this person is pretty well known and gets commissions from lots of other VTubers, and getting on their shit-list meant that many others would automatically dislike them.

Since this incident, I’ve had plenty of success by commissioning artists outside of VTubing. It’s best to find people that focus upon their craft and do so within professional spaces or are at least out of the community. Look for people with clear TOS, pricing for commercial fees if you wish to use them in monetization activities, and state when you’d get to confirm them moving onto the next step of the process. The last thing you want to do is piss off a VTubing artist who’s well known or has many followers and then having to fight from the back foot to clear your name.

 #04 — BEWARE OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 

Relationships that are forged around romantic and sexual intention tend to be more volatile in the sense that even more could potentially go wrong if both aren’t honest. A lot of times, it feels like break-ups resolve less than amicably, and usually because one of the people did not display themselves to the fullest. By that, I mean you tend to not know the full scope of someone until it’s too late, and often times people will be petty when scorned.

Many within the VTuber community have had messy break-ups, and I’ve witnessed a few of them go down in flames live on Discord servers and X/Twitter posts. People airing out the insecurities, dirty laundry, and even doing their best to hurt others based on being angry or wanting revenge. I personally have not experienced this, but I have definitely seen others get into massive, messy scrambles due to romantic endeavors ending less than ideal. Full “tell all” articles describing each and every wrongdoing, misgiving, and shady thing done that could be considered more of a personal matter between lovers than something needing the full attention of the entire community.

On the other hand, I’ve also seen legitimate cases of sexual assault with many people being pressured, lead on, or outright catfished with barely any repercussions due to their size and dedicated group of followers. I’ve seen some even vanish from the scene altogether from being found as lying about their gender while using nudes one lover sent them to pretend to be THAT person to get nudes from other people; only to disappear into the ether when caught. To be fair, they’re probably using a voice changer to continue to wreck havoc right now, since apparently this wasn’t their first offense.

Lying about being in a relationship, leading people on, and more are commonplace here. Someone was talking to me in a romantic fashion before, we’d even exchanged photos and all. Next thing you know, I find out in a Discord call from an uninvolved 3rd party that she was married and this woman simply neglected to tell me that; she later on went to cut communication and block me later on down the line. Horrible people are everywhere, so be careful.

 #05 — INCLUDING OTHERS IN YOUR ENDEAVORS 

If you’re someone like me, you’re rather ambitious in the things you’d like to achieve. Maybe one day you’d like a steady stream of revenue from being a VTuber and branch out into other fields. You want to grow your brand, implement bold new things into your strategy, or simply want to start something new that holds tons of potential for growth. However, you want to include those around you because you believe it will be mutually beneficial and also can rise together with your friends and peers.

DON’T DO IT.

We have seen what happens when you include others within the plans you’re formulating; you have many downsides with not many on the up. You have to adjust your schedule around someone else’s, you have to be considerate of their own ideas and ambitions, and you’d have to start from scratch or make considerable changes dependent on if they have a last minute change of heart or want to drop the projects entirely. Also, someone who’s simply included will never be as passionate as you are about something which will brighten you future; many only have a vested interest within their own growth possibilities and could take advantage of the situation the moment further gain becomes available.

I’ve found myself delaying and postponing things specifically to try and include others who did not care whether-or-not those plans succeeded. People who were not ambitious or were happy with slacking off and simply being comfortable. In order to have cohesion, you have to be aligned with a goal which fits both people equally and the success of one is predicated on the success of both.

VTubing groups have came and gone, agencies have fallen, friendships and alliances have melted. We’ve seen documents of betrayals, friendships based upon social status, and those who offer services give into predatory practices. Many people lack conscious and the anonymity of VTubing gives them a platform to not only enact their unempathetic behavior, but also to gain accolades, attention, fame, and money due to things done within the shadows. Be careful of including others, as a shared vision turns into a nightmare quickly if things aren’t properly vetted.