How hard is it for you to....

[Phoenix4987]

Maintain a chipper persona when you feel like complete shit or feel less appreciated than usual?

I think it's a trait that goes unnoticed. Always having to try to keep a smile on your face even when you really don't feel like it because God forbid some real life shit happened. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, there's no way I could always look cheerful. It takes a lot of strength to do that.

In a way I get kinda..I dunno. My girlfriend called me crying today about some shit that happened but still put up one hell of a front when she went on cam. I guess I get sensitive because I know the girl behind the cam and it kinda hurts me to know she's not ok but has to tell everybody she's going great and acts like nothing is wrong. And then I see the usual "bb do this/that", "i wish i could fuck you", and all the other typical fucking idiots..

Makes me wanna...

 

[Violet Dawn]

If I'm tired or hungry it's nearly impossible.

If I'm energetic and well rested it's rather easy for me.

 

[Sevrin]

Isn't it the same with any job? Whether you work at an auto plant, Saks or the military, you're going to get treated like shit by people occasionally, and you have to carry on.

Illegitimi non carborundum, bb.

 

[CharlotteLace]

Isn't it the same with any job? Whether you work at an auto plant, Saks or the military, you're going to get treated like shit by people occasionally, and you have to carry on.

Illegitimi non carborundum, bb.

True, but some jobs emphasize the "service with a smile" more than others. I think as far as camming goes, it's similar to a waitress or a bartender. If you're a grump, you're not going to make shit. Other jobs that don't deal with the public, you can get away with a sad or upset face while you work, and still get paid the same. But that's specifically because the latter doesn't have "be cheerful and upbeat" as a job requirement.

 

[Sevrin]

Personality and sociability play a huge role in workplace politics in general, and promotions in particular. With camming, the ups and downs are more immediate, while promotions are a long-term play, but it works out to the same thing eventually. What's more, in a vanilla job one bad reaction can haunt you forever, whereas with camming, apart from a few doting and generally forgiving regulars, your room churns constantly.

I'm not saying that camming can't be hard. What I'm saying is that there aren't many "easy" jobs. Grass on the other side, and all.

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

Personality and sociability play a huge role in workplace politics in general, and promotions in particular. With camming, the ups and downs are more immediate, while promotions are a long-term play, but it works out to the same thing eventually. What's more, in a vanilla job one bad reaction can haunt you forever, whereas with camming, apart from a few doting and generally forgiving regulars, your room churns constantly.

I'm not saying that camming can't be hard. What I'm saying is that there aren't many "easy" jobs. Grass on the other side, and all.

Aside from obvious bad Reactions with some vanilla jobs at least you can have a space to have resting bitch face while you still do your job. A desk, a counter, spaces directed away from people that offer some kind of privacy etc. A hard part for me with cam is your face is the front product and you have to literally not look like a bitch. It is super hard to keep your face in a constant state of upturn for hours on end when your kid is sick or dog just died.

 

[Ann_Sulu]

Yeah I think what really makes the difference is whether you're getting paid per hour or only from tips. I've had immensely rotten shifts before where I couldn't take off from my old vanilla job due to it being an overnight shift and myself one of the very few managers that worked there. Things that got me through was knowing I was getting paid per hour, people relied on me, and I'd more than likely be fired if I marched out due to a bad day.

With camming in the other hand, if you're having a bad day you start to sink into a bad state. If you get on cam at all that day you're going to likely be more focused on everyone constantly watching you. You wonder more often why they popped into your room, but didn't want you (super-stupid paranoia shit). You get into a "not good enough" state. You start wondering if there's something wrong with your cam/stream, and also suddenly thinking you're sick even though you probably aren't in order to log off in a state of hyperventilation and feeling miserable because you both NEED the money, but the thought of camming is actually painful at that moment constantly with the back-thought of probably not going to make money anyway due to your day being crap).

*Run on sentences for emphasis on hyperventilation*

Tl;dr self-motivation and lack of knowing how/when money is coming your way while being stressed are very large hurdles for cammers.

 

[Ambers Troll]

Seneca ... On anger/ frustration/ setbacks .... is always my go to philosopher on having a bad day.

[Start at 9:35 - 11:25 for the short version, the example of the dog walking behind the chariot]
I have one of those types of jobs, where at some point you will completely lose it at someones disrespect, having reasonable expectations of potential behaviour helps. When you are not doing so well is definitely the best time to lower your expectations of others behaviour and to focus on what is out of your control.

For a cam model there are certain things that she can reasonably expect during a typical day to set her day back, she must keep these in mind so she is not surprised and prepared for action if they occur. She can still remain positive about the final outcome for her day, reasonable expectations of one or two bad things occurring is normal for anyone's day.

 

[yummybrownfox]

At least with camming, even if you appear to be less chipper than usual, you're not gonna get fired for it (like I was several years ago from a $7.50/hour job...lol).

 

[Diana Blake]

I'm currently fighting with what is most-likely a slipped disk and a pinched nerve that causes my left arm to go numb or shooting pains down my leg depending on the position I'm in. Despite the pain, I need to work because otherwise bills don't get paid. So, faced with being online in substantial pain, I tried two tactics: First, be honest and tell everyone the truth about the amount of pain I'm in.

This...didn't work out. Pain, especially something like back pain, doesn't have many visual cues. Especially if you're talking to someone that may be interacting with you for the first time and therefore wouldn't know things like if your voice is pitched differently or be able to recognize your pain face. Adding to that, humans are super good at ego. Though they mean well and might not necessarily mean anything malicious by it some members will respond to the news of pain or injury with "Oh, yeah, I had something like that once." To them it's finding common ground, to the one in pain it's a needles comparison that allows the one making it to feel they've commiserated with us and don't need to contribute further. They often follow up this type of behaviour with "You should really be resting" or "Must be healing if you're online now."

Point is, admitting we're down, or injured, or sick, or tired, or whatever doesn't help. More often than not it helps a member to justify not tipping because obviously we're not up for a show. Unless we go full tilt dramatic about the situation and remind members that the support is really necessary they tend to not understand fully the implications of injury or illness. If we do play it up it's likely we'll be labeled either a drama queen or a liar.

The second option is the bright smile and eveything's fine attitude. Given the reaction we often get to the truth it's no wonder it's a skill models learn. And it very much is a skill. I was lucky, I started out as a nurse before getting into camming and you learn really quick not to let your emotions snow on your face. When people are at their most vulnerable they're suddenly incredibly good at reading faces. I've encountered many patients in shock that didn't react to their injuries until someone else reacted first.

The babe face is necessarily inn the camworld because we are, while still people, in large part a fantasy. The fantasy is often stronger than our humanity to members and a sad, frustrated girl just isn't what they're looking for. Soooo,

 

[JickyJuly]

Not hard enough for me to go back to any of the plethora of jobs I had before this!

 

[Rose]

One thing's for certain, camming has turned me into a damned good liar.

At this point I could be on fire and sell you a flaming piece of shit and you'd think I was painting a rainbow and handing you toothpaste.

Camming changes a person.

 

[Violet Dawn]

One thing's for certain, camming has turned me into a damned good liar.

At this point I could be on fire and sell you a flaming piece of shit and you'd think I was painting a rainbow and handing you toothpaste.

Camming changes a person.

"You look bored."

"No! I'm just tired."

What I think when I read your comment.

 

[Serenity_Tam]

Camming changes a person.

FUCKING THIS. I honestly analyse EVERYTHING men say to me because of camming. I am always ready for a scam, or analysing personalities lol like what kind of member would you be? And that's how I decide if I want said dude to be my friend lol.


It's not something you can get out of. Dudes constantly trying to scam me out of dollars and get shit for free - trying to take my income away and not giving a shit is something that will NOT happen in a vanilla retail/food job from your customers. And it makes you feel like poop. Every time someone says I am not worth it I take it to heart. Because this job ISNT like any other ol job. When someone is sitting there, enjoying the entertainment but choosing to not tip (say its someone who has tokens every night they sit in your room) they might not consciously telling me I am not pretty enough, or fun enough, but its so easy when you're having that kind of day for it to feel that way. I've had to start banning people who do that because I can pretend to be peppy as hell on cam, but when I get off and head home if that guy sat in my room, yet another night between the time I turn off my cam and get home the thought will have crept up and I will be in sad land by the time I get home to my girlfriend. Because really that sad feeling was there all night. A night where I work my heart out and feel like I am giving the best entertainment but make like 10 tokens in an hour and getting people to engage is like pulling teeth - I feel like it wasn't good enough, that I wasn't good enough or working hard enough. But I have to put up a front otherwise I am labeled as the ungrateful camgirl.

Our service is personal. It's not just putting on a smile when you have a shitty day. It goes beyond that. Our experiences are also individual.

Check out twitter. If a camgirl vents her personal sadness and personal feelings to much she will lose followers, but end up balls out harassed. We are expected in this job to show personality, and our soul, but god forbid we show too much. If we show too much it's not sexy. It's not fun. It ruins your boner. But please tell me who you really are bb. Remember twitter happens off the clock. Maintaining that chipper persona is SURVIVAL in this business.

If I were not camming I would not be able to hold down a job. I have a degree in something I can no longer do because it's too physical and I can't take my meds on the job I was supposed to have because of the side effects. I have to pump myself full of pills to function and even then most nights my body is screaming at me with every hip sway. So it's not just emotional, it's physical.

 

[Serenity_Tam]

Isn't it the same with any job? Whether you work at an auto plant, Saks or the military, you're going to get treated like shit by people occasionally, and you have to carry on.

Illegitimi non carborundum, bb.

While I agree you can't let people who suck get you down, I have to adamantly disagree the nature of the getting down is VERY different in camming.

What's more, in a vanilla job one bad reaction can haunt you forever, whereas with camming, apart from a few doting and generally forgiving regulars, your room churns constantly.

I'm not saying that camming can't be hard. What I'm saying is that there aren't many "easy" jobs. Grass on the other side, and all.

I didn't realize you had experience being a cam girl to compare these experiences.

Does anyone remember the gal who had that meltdown on SM? what I recall she had to quit camming altogether. Crying in a vanilla job has never ruined future prospects for me.

 

[Rose]

"You look bored."

"No! I'm just tired."

What I think when I read your comment.

Meh, I stopped saying that after I told everyone to fuck off on SM. Too many 48-72 hour days camming 24 hours in a row with no sleep and it became redundant. Idiots were too fucking stupid to buy shows so I could afford to sleep. The perma bags under my eyes say it for me now.

 

[MFCuser]

I think this must be the hardest part of being a cam girl, but as a member, I am most likely to begin tipping a model if she is able to maintain a good attitude on cam. I know cam girls are people who have issues and problems just like anyone else, but when I log into MFC i am looking to get away from the problems I deal with all day so I dont really want to hear about the model's problems. I am there and tipping to have fun and get away from the real world and I feel that the tipping is compensation for being able to keep up the persona.

 

[Empress Mika]

I think it's important to point out that maintaining a chipper persona is not as important as long as a model is maintaining her chosen persona, despite feeling down in the dumps. Although many models choose a persona that is chipper, not all do. ^_^;

When I cammed a lot (8-12 hours per day), it was difficult to maintain my persona at times simply because I didn't have enough time for myself to de-stress via my hobbies. Now that I made the switch to splitting my work time between camming, clip making and running a membership site, I have a lot more time to myself. Even the time I spend on clips, it's a much different experience filming rather than being "on" the way camming requires. Therefore, I never have any trouble camming anymore simply because I had ample time for balance; a balance that works really well for me. My cam/clip time is work time and, much of the time, it is fun.

 

[DonaDiabla]

Actually, I maintain a non-chipper cam persona because it is easier to maintain for me. So, I can be dark and gloomy as much as I want.However, I work on foreign cam sites and my customers do not mind me not being chipper. Also I cam part-time because I am working my other adult industry businesses full time.But I do smile and laugh a lot on cam to lighten up my audience's mood.

 

[DFT]

One thing's for certain, camming has turned me into a damned good liar.
...
Camming changes a person.

This is why I'm convinced cam models don't retire, they're recruited to be elite agents of a super secret agency.

Maybe I shouldn't have binge watched Nikita...

Kidding aside, you have to be tough to be a cam model, have to be a master of concealment pertaining to your real life in your demeanor, and you have to think on your feet to react to the tone of the room.

 

[EllaGray]

One thing's for certain, camming has turned me into a damned good liar.

At this point I could be on fire and sell you a flaming piece of shit and you'd think I was painting a rainbow and handing you toothpaste.

Camming changes a person.

This ALL day. Before I started camming seriously though, I studied acting, so from the get go, "putting on a good show" was ingrained in me. Now its just something I do in my sleep. I do however have days when its just too much and those are the days I end up either camming later or taking off. I find that if things are rough and I get on cam and my mood doesn't lift within the hour, I shelve it. Happily those days happen very rarely, but I do think that if something is just too big or weighing too heavily on you, you should allow yourself that day off because it will affect the way guys treat you on cam as well.

 

[AliceKarina]

Its so hard. Ive always struggled with it since I started waiting tables at 16. Keeping a cheery attitude, a bright smile, awake and alert eyes, and a talkative manner while also trying to be sexy and sensual is so hard to do, especially when you dont love what you see in the mirror every day. Its such a struggle to see the room count go down by 3-5 members at a time and not know why. Being new doesnt help either...