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Happy Tuesday Wednesday Creators!

Welcome to our first edition of 2024! I’m so happy to see you here.

I spent the last two weeks enjoying the company of my wife and daughter. We had plenty of great food, binged some shows, and spent quality time with baby during her first holiday!

In the midst of holiday festivities, I spent some time reflecting on the past year. So much has happened in the creator space, but I want to focus your attention on the platform many of us call home: Twitch.

The State of Twitch in 2024

Throughout the past year, my perspective on Twitch has undergone a significant transformation. At the start of the year, it appeared that the platform was facing some challenges, with many content creators exploring alternative platforms like Kick and YouTube. Personally, I also ventured into creating content off the platform, particularly through live streaming and Shorts content on YouTube. However, as life brought me closer to the arrival of my then-unborn daughter, I made the decision to temporarily set aside time consuming live streams and instead focus my efforts on producing written content for this newsletter. At that point, I began to question Twitch's place in my content creation journey. But as 2023 unfolded, my perception of Twitch evolved significantly.

Twitch left a lasting impression on me last year. As the year progressed, I saw notable improvements on the platform, largely attributed to the leadership of Twitch CEO Dan Clancy. Under Dan's guidance, Twitch underwent several positive updates and changes:

• Partner gained access to the Ads Incentive Program to help them earn more revenue

• Unity Guilds expanded to include Affiliates

• Twitch introduced the Partner Plus program

• Twitch added the new Stories feature to mobile, giving creators another way to connect with fans

• Twitch relaxed restrictions around multi-streaming to other platforms

While I acknowledge that these policy changes may not be flawless or completely resolve the underlying issues, I do see them as a sign of Twitch's evolving strategic approach. Dan's significant impact on Twitch lies in fostering increased transparency between the platform and its creators. Throughout this year, I've noticed a more concerted effort from Twitch to listen and implement positive changes. Of course, Twitch has had its fair share of missteps, and there's still room for improvement in 2024. Nevertheless, I believe Dan has taken genuine steps toward rebuilding trust within the community.

Twitch Predictions for 2024

I'm eagerly anticipating the developments that Twitch will undergo throughout the year. Here are some of my predictions for the platform:

• Twitch Sponsorships Unveiled: Twitch has been quietly working on a sponsorship solution for creators. I believe we'll witness its rollout to select Partners early this year.

• TwitchCon in Texas: With TwitchCon Las Vegas not taking place in 2024, my hunch is that a prominent Texas city like Houston or Dallas may host the next North American TwitchCon.

• Twitch Relaxes Affiliate Requirements: To attract more creators to its platform, Twitch might update its Affiliate requirements to make it easier for streamers to start running ads and boost their earnings.

• Twitch Payout Adjustments: Currently, Twitch offers payouts every 30 days, but there's been a strong demand for increased payout frequency. I expect Twitch to either move to bi-weekly payouts or allow users to withdraw funds after reaching a certain threshold.

• Twitch Embraces Vertical Streams: Platforms often borrow features from one another, and Twitch joined in by introducing Stories to its mobile app last year. In line with this trend, I foresee Twitch offering the vertical live video format as an option for its creators.

We’ll look back on this next December to see how my predictions fair! Enjoy the rest of the newsletter and thank you for reading!

Cheers,
Dim

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📊Weekly Poll📊

First poll of 2024! This time, I’m asking for your thoughts on Twitch. Do you think recent changes have made you more or less confident in streaming on the platform?

Use the link below to participate in our weekly poll. Leave a comment if you’d like to elaborate on your thoughts!

Sound off in our weekly poll!