Jahnu on the Hype Train

So I got a call from Stacey, asking me if I was near a computer. She then asked me to look up a certain channel on Twitch and then… lo and behold, it’s Jahnu, right there on my screen!

I learned there was a bit of activity going on at their house. Stacey was saying that Jahnu was really excited, to the point of crying, and she couldn’t really figure out what was going on.

I called Liz over, and we were watching Jahnu’s Twitch stream for a little while.

At first, I thought he had taken over someone’s Twitch stream for a little while. But it slowly dawned on me that this was his Twitch stream, and a lot of people were visiting/watching and interacting with him.

It was a little surreal, being on the phone with Stacey (who was in Jahnu’s room, which used to be my old room). And I could overhear them talking, both on the phone and on my computer screen.

When Stacey let Jahnu know I was also watching, Jahnu asked everyone who was viewing the stream if he could get a “W Uncle.” Which seems to be the new street slang for praising something. Or maybe some shortening of FTW down to W? I’m so out of touch.

At any rate, a lot of folks posted “W Uncle,” and that was a cool little moment.

A bit later in the evening, after Jahnu and signed off… I did a bit of searching around, and was able to piece together what happened. Here’s my rough timeline of the events:

My #NorCalWRC get to know me video, enjoy :) pic.twitter.com/yHqzM5nNRE

— Wookieee (@HutteJahnu) January 24, 2022

Jahnu posts a “get to know me” video on Twitter, as part of NorCalWRC (not sure what “WRC” stands for). NorCal seems to be an e-sports organization, and I think this is them: https://norcal.gg/

In his replies, someone makes this negative comment. And soon after, a lot of people respond in support of Jahnu. In particular, a gamer named Centric gets involved.

At first, I thought that it was Centric who sent a ton of traffic to Jahnu’s stream. And while I think Centric was a big part of what started things… it now seems like Jahnu experienced a Hype Train – which is pretty cool.

And then it seems like there’s a lot of activity, with people trying to get the attention of NorCal and a popular gamer named Mews.

After Jahnu ended his stream, for me it switched over to Mew’s Twitch stream. And I heard him say “Guys, let’s make NorCalWookie a thing.”

Looking back, I thought the excitement from the evening stemmed from one or two people sending traffic Jahnu’s way. If I understand how Hype Trains work, perhaps this was more of an organic thing.

It will be very interesting to see what becomes of all this attention. I know Jahnu’s been playing Fortnite for a while, but didn’t realize he had started streaming. Twitch is a very different world for me (I know of it, but don’t spend much time there). So I’m cautiously optimistic for his newfound celebrity.

The Internet is an amazing place. The Internet is a horrible place. And I feel very protective of my nephew. No matter what happens, I hope he continues to enjoy gaming and streaming, and simply has fun.

#NorCalWookiee. Let’s go!

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