Difference between revisions of "Twitch"
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==Features== | ==Features== | ||
Twitch’s site content is divided up into different sections--on the home page, there is a large carousel featuring various streamers, and a listing of games sorted by popularity (current number of viewers for that game) that you can watch on Twitch below the carousel featuring streamers. On each streamer’s channel, there is the option to “follow” that streamer, which notifies the user when that streamer begins to stream. In addition, users can choose to donate or “subscribe” to their favorite streamers. Subscriptions, which are $5/month per channel, provide added benefits for viewers of the channels they’re subscribed to. | Twitch’s site content is divided up into different sections--on the home page, there is a large carousel featuring various streamers, and a listing of games sorted by popularity (current number of viewers for that game) that you can watch on Twitch below the carousel featuring streamers. On each streamer’s channel, there is the option to “follow” that streamer, which notifies the user when that streamer begins to stream. In addition, users can choose to donate or “subscribe” to their favorite streamers. Subscriptions, which are $5/month per channel, provide added benefits for viewers of the channels they’re subscribed to. | ||
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| + | ===Viewers=== | ||
| + | The majority of Twitch users are passive viewers, stopping by streamers’ channels only to watch. Some viewers interact with the streamers by typing into the stream chat, where the streamer can view all of the messages being sent in their channel chat and sometimes reciprocate the viewer interaction. Other viewers might also be streamers, or moderators. | ||
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| + | ===Streamers=== | ||
| + | Less than 5% of the Twitch userbase stream. (Needs verification). Most of the time, Twitch streamers’ main goal is to make some sort of money off of streaming, whether it be from ad revenue if their channel becomes popular enough, or subscriptions and donations from their viewers/fans. In all cases, a large amount of viewers on a particular channel makes it substantially easier for the streamer to be able to make money. | ||
==Community== | ==Community== | ||
58% of Twitch users spend “more than 20 hours a week watching videos on its site”.<ref name="BI2">Business Insider [http://www.businessinsider.com/statistics-about-twitch-2014-8 Eadicicco, L. (2014). “10 Facts About Twitch, The Company That Amazon Is Buying, That Will Blow Your Mind”]</ref> The majority of Twitch’s userbase is male (needs verification). | 58% of Twitch users spend “more than 20 hours a week watching videos on its site”.<ref name="BI2">Business Insider [http://www.businessinsider.com/statistics-about-twitch-2014-8 Eadicicco, L. (2014). “10 Facts About Twitch, The Company That Amazon Is Buying, That Will Blow Your Mind”]</ref> The majority of Twitch’s userbase is male (needs verification). | ||
Revision as of 06:43, 22 February 2017
Twitch is an online stream-viewing platform that congregates viewers and streamers and focuses on video game streaming. It started in June 2011 as an alternative version of Justin.tv, another similar online streaming platform, focusing particularly on streaming video games. Twitch was recently acquired by Amazon, and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
History
Twitch started in June 2011 as a streaming website featuring video games. Its popularity has spiked in the recent years, reaching 100 million viewers a month in 2015.[1] In August of 2014, Amazon stated it would buy Twitch for $970 million.[2] Since then, Twitch Prime has been introduced as a premium Twitch membership option, giving users the option to link their Amazon account with their Twitch account for bonuses such as video game loot.
Features
Twitch’s site content is divided up into different sections--on the home page, there is a large carousel featuring various streamers, and a listing of games sorted by popularity (current number of viewers for that game) that you can watch on Twitch below the carousel featuring streamers. On each streamer’s channel, there is the option to “follow” that streamer, which notifies the user when that streamer begins to stream. In addition, users can choose to donate or “subscribe” to their favorite streamers. Subscriptions, which are $5/month per channel, provide added benefits for viewers of the channels they’re subscribed to.
Viewers
The majority of Twitch users are passive viewers, stopping by streamers’ channels only to watch. Some viewers interact with the streamers by typing into the stream chat, where the streamer can view all of the messages being sent in their channel chat and sometimes reciprocate the viewer interaction. Other viewers might also be streamers, or moderators.
Streamers
Less than 5% of the Twitch userbase stream. (Needs verification). Most of the time, Twitch streamers’ main goal is to make some sort of money off of streaming, whether it be from ad revenue if their channel becomes popular enough, or subscriptions and donations from their viewers/fans. In all cases, a large amount of viewers on a particular channel makes it substantially easier for the streamer to be able to make money.
