I was looking for metaphors and synonyms in Japanese for the idiom "an untilled field" and came across two interesting business terms: "blue ocean" (a promising area that's underutilized, with virtually no competition, so success comes easily), and "red ocean" (equally promising, but overly popular, with brutal, aggressive competition). Mainstream VTubing is exactly that a Red Ocean... supply exceeds demand, quantity has long since replaced quality, and the very concept of creativity has been distorted: instead of something new, unusual, and interesting, streamers broadcast practically the same thing over and over and shamelessly call it ORIGINAL content...
When a format becomes "popular" an echo chamber effect occurs: new streamers copy successful ones, who, in turn, copy trends to maintain their reach. Ultimately, originality is replaced by "safe" content that's guaranteed to garner views but offers no value. This turns creativity into a conveyor belt.
I've already tried more than once to classify streaming by categories:
catering to viewers' tastes;
conversely—promoting and popularizing one's own views and values;
pure visual (picture for picture's sake) without any substance " In today's internet, aesthetics often becomes an end in itself, displacing meaning" (technically all esports falls here too, only they boast not of design but of skills and equipment superiority and 'gaming skill');
viGakuen—educational content, from demonstrations of scripting examples by IT specialists and secrets of how artists and riggers work with software, to streams of foreign language lessons and podcasts discussing news in cladistics " This is perhaps the most viable niche; people will always value applied knowledge, especially if it is presented in an unusual package";
life without the fourth wall "forgot to turn off / accidentally started" a stream, obviously 'behind glass' shows....
not a category, but as an important modifier I'd highlight the presence/absence of RP. We all understand that vtubing is theater, and even if you're playing the role of 'yourself' keyfabe either exists or doesn't (when it does exist but you often break character—that's a separate case).
But in mainstream vtubing everything boils down to:
streamer clown (endures mockery from viewers, viewer affirms themselves against the streamer's background),
streamer showoff esports "can you do this too?" or fans of eternal redebutts "I have a new model, spent an average teacher's annual salary on it"
streamer "background music" (doesn't interfere or distract, says something, but no need to pay attention).
And nothing original, distinctive... nothing but fanfiction from fanfiction...
" Many streamers sell not content, but rather emotion or status for the viewer (for example, a sense of superiority in the case of "clown"). This turns streaming from an art form into a service for servicing the audience's ego"
That's why I call upon you, FedivTubers: let's leave pop culture to the mainstream and create our own rock punk metal culture for underground viewers!