UFR LLASICLanguage, literature, performing arts, information and communication, journalism

Raphaël, environmental historian, at the genesis of Chercheur de Montagne (Mountain Researcher)

During periods of confinement during the Covid-19 epidemic, Raphaël, a young teacher-researcher at UGA, had to teach his courses remotely. He asked himself several questions. How can he make his online courses more captivating for his students at home, sometimes behind their screens? What types of content are they used to consuming on their computers? Twitch* lives, among others. He drew inspiration from the platform's codes to develop his Zoom courses. The students were won over, and after one semester, Théophile Chauvin, in his 3rd year of undergraduate studies, asked him: "Sir! When are we going to see you on Twitch? A year later, they set up the Chercheur de Montagne (CdM) channel together. The first stream* will be live from Raphaël's room in November 2021, while Théophile ensures that the channel's content matches the platform's philosophy. He plays the role of "viewer* 0" in voice-over during the stream.

Objective: to give researchers working in mountain areas a place where they can explain their day-to-day work and working practices to people under 25.

When communications sociologist Mikaël joins the adventure

One day, while they were out in the field together, Raphaël explained to Mikaël that it would be interesting for a lecturer from UGA to contribute to CdM, and that he thought he would make a very good candidate. Initially a little reticent, knowing very little about the platform, its codes and uses, Mikaël let this proposal sink in and thought about how he could contribute. Motivated by his keen interest in experimentation, he set about writing a new type of stream that he would co-host with Pauline Boulet, a friend and freelance journalist who works on mountain issues. In September 2022, they hosted their first show, Dré dans l'info, which was to become a monthly feature.

The idea: debrief mountain news through the eyes of a sociologist and a journalist. A duo of boomers who land on Twitch, bringing a new type of content to CdM with a more "scripted" stream.

A time of first experiences

After its initial success, particularly in the media thanks to Pauline Boulet's intervention, the CdM channel is gaining visibility and therefore viewers, a good opportunity to test other types of content. In December 2022, Labex ITTEM and MSH Alpes are organizing an international conference on transitions in mountain areas. In a spirit of experimentation, CdM decided to stream this scientific conference on Twitch, using the platform's codes. This led to the creation of a new format, the "Ligue des Chercheurs et des Sciences" (LCS), which consisted of live commentary on the symposium like an e-sports competition*, with researchers in the role of casters*. For two days, the colloquium will take place on three channels: the amphitheatre colloquium at MSHAlpes, broadcast live on YouTube, and in third reading, the LCS debriefing on CdM. A total of six teacher-researcher casters take it in turns to report, explain and decipher the speakers' presentations, interacting live with the audience and offering original, offbeat interviews. Guests such as Marie-Christine Bordeaux, former vice-president of culture and scientific culture at the UGA, debrief the Twitch system set up for the symposium.

Result: an unprecedented system, and more people on Twitch than on YouTube. 588 unique viewers over the 4 streams, 42 in maximum simultaneous viewers and 25 simultaneous viewers on average.

National collaborations

As the regular streams continue on CdM, and the content gains in audience and visibility, CdM initiates collaborations with streamers* with a national audience, notably Angle Droit, one of the top 15 national female streamers in terms of audience. In 2022, she is taking part in the Z Event* charity marathon on the theme of ecology, and one of her "Donation Goals*" is to go into the high mountains with a guide to teach people about climate change. The CdM team jumped at the chance and offered its services. In June 2023, a 4-5 day tour of the Vanoise region, from the Tarentaise to the Maurienne, was organized. Angle Droit went from hut to hut with Grenoble-based researchers, with the aim of producing a popular science video. In exchange, she streams on CdM before, during and after.

The goal: As a result of the CdM channel's audience transfer - over 2000 unique viewers on the 2 streams, 342 simultaneous viewers max and 240 simultaneous viewers on average - and through this collaboration, Labex ITTEM intends to address an audience that is impossible to reach in general, the 230k followers of the Angle Droit streamer.

Call for Science with and for Society (SAPS) projects extends experimentation

In spring 2023, MSHAlpes is proposing a humanities and social sciences (SHS) popularization stream project on Twitch: Chercheurs en doudoune. The project is the winner of the SAPS call for projects. To this end, a new collaboration with CdM is being set up. MSHAlpes will use CdM as a distribution space, but will also create its own content with its own graphic identity. Chercheur en doudoune is a 12-hour non-stop stream - from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. - during which Raphaël and Mikaël will take it in turns to present what it's like to be a teacher-researcher in SHS at UGA. An "In Real Life "* live show that takes viewers directly into the research field. 9am departure point, MSHAlpes, 9pm arrival in the mountains. A stream of scientific popularization by a research institution, for 12 hours non-stop, with graphic codes worthy of a Twitch "Popcorn" program. The project is really conceived as a SHS research experience. The content produced over 12 hours will be promoted in parallel on other social networks, notably Instagram, and best-of videos will be produced and broadcast on YouTube.

And then...

At the end of April 2024, MSHAlpes is due to organize a study day on "Twitch and the popularization of science", which will involve researchers working on these themes, as well as professionals who popularize science on Twitch.

And Raphaël and Mikaël have no shortage of new ideas to experiment with: re-adapting the concept of streamer Antoine Daniel, who ranks cities - a flagship Twitch show - to make a battle between Pauline and Mikaël to rank mountain massifs based on current events, planning, etc. Or talk about the transition of mountain regions and in particular the place of tourism and ski resorts. Or talk about the transition of mountain regions, and in particular the place of tourism and ski resorts, by playing video games - the very essence of Twitch - whose aim is to build and manage ski resorts. There's no shortage of ideas, no shortage of time...