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Happy Tuesday, Streamers!

Last week was a no-show for the newsletter, my bad.

I had a bit of a personal crisis that turned my whole week upside down. Things are smoothing out now, thankfully. I appreciate those of you who reached out with well-wishes!

Guess who's back? VersaVulture24! You may remember she contributed to a previous newsletter a few months ago and she’s returned with the scoop on how A.I is sneaking further into our gaming world.

We all know A.I. is here to stay and infiltrating every industry in some way (some good, some bad), however, I was surprised by this latest attempt to use A.I. to gather personal data. You can see Versa’s article below. Show her some love and catch her live on Twitch!

Also, I've got the latest updates for Twitch streamers, including recent policy tweaks and new features that rolled out over the last week or so.

Don't miss out on some cool sponsorship gigs and content ops in our Tuesday To-Dos. And for all you Fallout fans or newbies, there's a killer bundle deal on Fanatical aligning with the Fallout TV series premiere tomorrow. You're getting seven games in one go! Pretty sick deal if you ask me.

That's it for now, enjoy the newsletter, and catch you next week!

Cheers,
Dim

In This Edition

• Tuesday ToDos

• This Week's Top Stories

• Twitch Platform Updates

• YouTube Platform Updates

• Creator News

• Streaming News

• Gaming News

✅Tuesday To-Dos

Every week I bring you🖐️ actionable tasks to help you improve your content. See what’s new this week 👇

1. 📺 Sign Up - Gaggl is a new platform giving content creators live streaming access to licensed TV shows and movies like IT Crowd, Family Feud, and The Price Is Right. Host react streams with DMCA-Safe content! Learn More

2. ⬇️ OBS Download - This new OBS plugin adds dynamic textures and special FX to your stream! See Tweet

3. 🏆 Co-Stream - The Feudies Award are live on April 13 at 5pm PT. Check out the co-streaming rules! See Rules

4. 😽 Meow - Check out the newly added Just Catting category on Twitch! See Update

5. 💰 Get Sponsored - StreamElements users may have a new sponsorship for AFK Journey, a fantasy RPG released last December. Go To StreamElements

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🥇This Week’s Top Stories

Exploring the Solar Eclipse Through Minecraft and Fortnite

With the amount of time us gamers and streamers spend indoors, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of us missed the solar eclipse event that took place yesterday.

Maybe that is why NASA decided to join forces with big names like the National Esports Association (NEA), Microsoft, Twitch and Epic Games, to teach gamers about eclipses in a cool way—right in Minecraft and Fortnite!

By the way this wasn't just ANY eclipse; it was the Great North American Eclipse (read with an echo), a rare total solar eclipse that plunged parts of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico into unexpected darkness. Events like this are super rare, with the next one like it not happening until 2045.

The NEA’s "Look Up!" initiative included a special Twitch stream mixing eclipse-themed gaming action with live eclipse footage from NASA, making for a unique and educational watch party.

From 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on the NEA Twitch channel, viewers watched streamers tackle eclipse-related challenges in both games. Minecraft players solved puzzles about eclipses, while Fortnite fans explored new areas by following the eclipse’s path.

Missed the event? Check out the NEA's VOD for a replay.

ESRB’s Face Scanning Technology Denied

Written By VersaVulture24

In 2023, a proposal by ESRB was filed with the Federal Trade Commission for the allowance of facial scanning technology. This technology would be used to determine the age of its gamers. It would essentially give parents the capability to take a selfie that would then need to be analyzed in order for them to restrict or grant what they need to for their children.

The proposal became controversial almost immediately after the announcement. Some believed that it was intrusive. There were others that wondered whether the technology would accurately determine the age of its user based on gender and race. People also wondered if the information would actually be deleted and not shared in any way. ESRB would also have to ensure that it would comply with COPPA- the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

The FTC has denied this proposal for now.

Many feel that there are other ways to ensure that children are not playing games with the M-rating. There are settings that allow parents to restrict what their children have access to, though few feel that most parents are too lazy or disinterested to set this up. Some believe that if this proposal were approved, issues would arise for young looking adults. There may also be workarounds where children could use photos of their parents or elderly people.

Either way, most people seem to be against the idea of this technology.

• Twitch rolls out a policy that would allow for viewers to discuss or react to content that originates from banned or suspended users. Learn More

• Last week, Twitch updated its Community Guidelines to ban content that focus on intimate body parts for long periods of time. Learn More

• Twitch added new settings for you and your mods to limit who can follow you! Learn More

• Help viewers keep track of your Partner Plus eligibility with a new on-stream goal. Learn More

• Twitch updated its Suspension Evasion Policy to allow streamers to react to and discuss VODs from suspended users. Learn More

• Twitch received some backlash after users received an email about their going live notifications being automatically turned off. Learn More

• This YouTube tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to REMIX a Remix. View Video

• In the latest Making It Podcast, @YoSamdySam shares how she built an environment that prioritizes wellbeing, acceptance, and education around her experience with autism. Watch Now

• Get the details on YouTube’s recent policy change asking creators to disclose altered or synthetic content. Watch Now

• YouTube recently shared that since introducing revenue sharing on Shorts last year, more than 25% of channels in YPP are now earning through this revenue stream. Read Article

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🎙️ Creator News

• Watch iShowSpeed get RKO'ed by Randy Orton while dressed as a bottle of PRIME. Click For LULS

• Gamer Feud announced its 2024 presenters including @JenIsOnline, @LowcoTV, @SteffyEvans, and @forthebiscuit. Learn More

• Watch the first episode of the Fallout TV show with @shroud, @BrookeAB, @CohhCarnage, @GassyMexican and more. Participating Creators

• Tubbo’s 90-day subathon was covered by the BBC. See Article

• Ninja shared he had been diagnosed with a skin cancer called melanoma BUT shared that he was cancer-free after undergoing an operation. See Tweet

🔴Streaming News

• Polls are rolling out on Discord to all users over the next few days. See the announcement

• Two former Twitch employees started a new interactive platform called Gaggl, allowing content creators to access and live stream licensed TV shows and movies. Learn More

• The National Esports Association UEFN Eclipse Game Jam spawned some new Eclipse-inspired game modes. Check it out!

• StreamElements has combined Twitch, YouTube, and Twitter chats in SE.Live

• A Black-owned TikTok Live alternative, Tussle, is now in beta for Android and iOS. Check it out!

• There were a lot of hilarious (and cringy) April Fool’s Day content from gaming orgs last week, with the most popular one being Discord’s loot box announcement. Their video broke two records: the most views in 24hrs (>1 Billion) and the most views lost in 24hrs. See Video

🎮 Gaming News

• Katara, Zuko, and Toph are joining Fortnite Battle Royale today. Yip! Yip! See Teaser

• Yesterday, Nintendo officially shutdown online access to Wii U and 3DS titles like Splatoon and Mario Kart 8. Pour one out! Learn More

• Catch the reveal of the Star Wars Outlaws Official Story Trailer. Watch Now

• New horror co-op title Content Warning peaked at 204K players last Tuesday after being featured prominently by Twitch creators. View Game

• Clips from a cancelled Nolan-verse Batman game have surfaced on Twitter. Watch Video

• Checkout Cyberpunk 2077, but with hyper-realistic mods. See Tweet

🥳You Made It To The End!🥳
Have A Cookie
🍪

Did you enjoy this week’s newsletter? If you did, I’d love if you would take a second to share this newsletter with at least one friend this week. By doing that once, you’d not only be supporting the newsletter, but you’d also help your friend be better informed about everything happening in the gaming / streaming space. Look at you being such a good friend!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you next week!

-Dim

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links. I only suggest products I believe in and personally use myself. If you have questions, please ask. Thanks for your support!