Introduction:
In May 2023, the popular Twitch and YouTube influencer, Swiftor, joined Atomcal, a scheduling and event management bot. This case study explores Swiftor's journey with Atomcal, highlighting the challenges faced, improvements made, and the overall impact on his streaming experience.
Background:
Before Swiftor joined Atomcal, he managed his schedule manually on Discord and had an unmanaged Twitch schedule with some recurring events. Seeking a more streamlined and efficient solution, Swiftor was introduced to Atomcal through a cold direct message on Discord. Intrigued by the bot's capabilities, he expressed interest in trying it out, leading to complementary free access to the premium features.
Initial Challenges:
The initial period of Swiftor's use of Atomcal was marked by various challenges and issues that required prompt attention. One major hurdle was accommodating the significant influx of guests, with some events having over 200 participants. This caused performance issues for the bot, necessitating hotfixes to ensure smooth guest signups.
Another issue arose when the bot sent @tags to all 200+ guests simultaneously, resulting in complaints of spam. Recognizing the problem, the developer swiftly removed the @tags and deployed a hot patch to rectify the issue, ensuring a more seamless experience for all participants.
Enhancements for Stream Synchronization:
During the observation of Swiftor's Twitch streams, it became apparent that there were discrepancies between the scheduled events and the actual stream. Swiftor frequently changed his stream title and game category during his broadcasts, which did not reflect accurately in the Discord events. To address this, the developer introduced a periodic check five minutes before the event's scheduled end time to monitor any changes in the stream. If a mismatch was detected, the event details were updated, creating a historical record and notifying relevant channels.
Improving Event Creation and Categorization:
Swiftor preferred creating events via Discord, but faced limitations in setting event categories. To address this, the developer implemented a default category for events, which would be added during the first end time bump. Additionally, an algorithm was devised to determine the best event category based on the event title, ensuring a more accurate representation on Twitch. To further enhance event creation, Swiftor was given the option to include @tagged roles when creating an event, resolving the issue of ineffective Twitch notifications.
Stream Monitoring and Flexibility:
To improve stream monitoring and adaptability, the developer proposed checking the stream status every 5 minutes instead of only 5 minutes before the event ends. This change aimed to provide more timely updates and avoid unnecessary time extensions if Swiftor finished his stream before the 15-minute bump. Furthermore, the bot started collecting thumbnail images during the end time extension process, allowing for sharing of stream highlights when the event concluded.
Swiftor started playing Diablo as his third game
Stream category was automatically detected and changed to Diablo IV
Additional Feature Enhancements:
Several other improvements were made to enhance the overall user experience. These included changing the calendar background image based on the active event's category, allowing every announcement to be shared as a new message for better visibility, and fixing cross-promotional announcements to exclude @everyone or @here tags. Swiftor was also encouraged to include @role tags in his event announcements for improved reach and engagement.
Conclusion:
Swiftor's experience with Atomcal demonstrated the value of leveraging a powerful scheduling and event management bot for content creators. Through continuous monitoring, bug fixes, and feature enhancements, Atomcal successfully addressed challenges, improved synchronization with Twitch streams, and streamlined event creation processes. Swiftor benefited from the personalized support and responsiveness of the developer, resulting in a more efficient and engaging streaming experience.
