Twitch is a live streaming platform for gamers. People who are not interested in gaming may not want to watch other people play video games but if you’re a non-gamer you may be surprised as of May 2018, over 15 million people use Twitch daily. Twitch is a subsidiary of Amazon and was introduced in June 2011 as a spinoff of the general-interest streaming platform, Justin.tv. Twitch is focus-friendly to the gamer audience as there are video game live streaming, broadcasts of eSports competitions, and more. As a viewer, you have the option to watch content via video on demand or live.
In early 2014, Twitch landed the title of the fourth largest source of peak internet traffic in the US. In China, Twitch has been banned since late 2018. The website is completely blocked and the app is off of the App Store.
Twitch’s primary function is video game interaction. Users can watch other people playing games and learn based on what they see. Users can interact with other players around the world and even Livestream their game playing abilities. There are many games streamed and popular titles can be expected to be shown on this platform. Additionally, individuals who stream have an opportunity to earn money through subscriptions and partnerships of Twitch.
The reason why Twitch is so popular is because of the services it supplies to an otherwise under-tapped market. Users can learn about new up and coming video game titles, follow their favorite gaming personalities, get tips on how to play a better game, and interact with other gamers. Just like sports fans go to see their favorite teams, Twitch allows gamers to follow their favorite gamers. Besides gaming, the Twitch platform also hosts music performances, tutorials on DIY crafts, cooking streaming and an IRL (In Real Life) where people stream about their day-to-day.
The fight against online bullying, harassment, and hate speech continues to be an evolving door and companies like Twitch who cater to a somewhat younger audience with the average user being 21 years old (and children as young as 13 years old joining the platform) making sure fair community guidelines and rules are in place is necessary. In 2018, Twitch updated its company community guidelines to define and be more clear about what constitutes hate speech, sexual content, and harassment. The company seems to be pretty militant and will automatically suspend users who violate the guidelines. That means no direct hateful speech or harassment is permitted towards other members. Twitch has also updated its policies about sexual content and it’s not permitted and has looked into camera angles, presenter’s clothing, titles of streams, and more.
While some believe that these rules need to be as they currently are, others believe that Twitch is pushing towards speech control. Users also have the option to mute players should they feel they don’t want to talk, hear, or socialize with certain other users. Hate speech and harassment should always be managed by companies and not permitted.
If you have any questions about Twitch’s community guidelines, reach out to customer service to gain the clarity you may need before you build a massive audience and have it taken away due to inane policy infractions.
