Hello and Happy Labour Day! If this isn't your first newsletter, you can skip ahead—this intro is ONLY for people who've just joined the newsletter this week.
Alright, the thousands of existing subscribers have moved further down, but I want to welcome you, the ~100 new subscribers! Most of you signed up for the Twitchcon Party list, but I think you'll find lots of value in this newsletter every Monday. I aim to make it concise, informative, and useful to you as a streamer. If you have any questions, reply to this email, and I'll get back to you!
And a small note to Brands/Industry Members: I will not be at Twitchcon San Diego 2024. Instead, I'm covering it on all socials and live on Twitch and YouTube! As a last-minute opportunity, I am seeking a brand partner during my coverage. Reach out if you are interested!
And with that, let's get into the news!
Twitch News
- In (most) countries that experienced a Sub Price increase this year, Twitch has introduced a Discount on Gifting five or more subs.
- Subtember officially started on August 29th and runs until ~3 AM ET on October 1. They launched a Global Animated Emote called SUBtember (but I'm calling him Halfy).
- The new clipping system is now available for all users. It adds horizontal and vertical clip creation, makes downloading easier, and requires confirming the creation of a clip.
- The universally disliked Drop Ins function no longer automatically enables your camera after Twitch confirmed it could accidentally doxx creators (particularly vtubers).
- Twitch recognizes that the mobile app update missed the mark for core users and is looking at possible fixes. But they need to appeal to children, who from the ages of 8 to 12 have grown up on TikTok, so it can't go back to the way it was.
- Theo made a 50-minute video about why Twitch keeps screwing up by not learning from its past.
- Guest Star's Shared Chat has been openly testing on staff accounts.
- New Guild Leaders were announced this week for the four Unity Guilds:
- Black Guild: @KDotDaGawd + @thormungandr
- Latin Guild: @Ashlinaa + @MayhemMermaid
- Women’s Guild: @ashsaidhi + @faeofthemeadow
- Pride Guild: @haibobby_ + @sweetxsage
- The Black Guild is being expanded to include the UK and Ireland.
- The Front Page is getting three new shelf collections for Disabled Creators, Indigenous Creators, and Active Military & Veteran Creators. You can apply for those shelves here.
- Twitch introduced eight new ambassadors, including BigNoseBug, SciAnts_Streams, Jubby, Blizz, Hidro, BurkeBlack, MegKaylee, and MissLalaVT.
- Non-monetized channels are losing the DJ Badge in chats until they hit Affiliate or Partner.
- The font Twitch uses, Roobert, is getting additional OpenType features.
- Twitch recommends adding Social Links to your profile so the upcoming Clip Sharing system can tag your YouTube and TikTok accounts.
- A new badge for Dreamcon was added this week.
- My Twitchcon San Diego 2024 Party list is now publicly available. Thank you to everyone who signed up for Premium to get early access! Your support means a ton!
- I've included my (unofficial) Twitchcon San Diego 2024 map below and made it available on Imgur.
Streaming Industry News
- YouTube is launching Channel QR Codes.
- Discord may offer a free month of Nitro for completing certain quests.
- Discord shared their monthly Patch Notes. It fixed iOS crashes, added a /sticker command, an audio sharing toggle, and more.
- Bloomberg did a deep dive into Xsolla's CEO and his spending habits.
- Canva Teams is increasing its price from $119 to $500.
- TikTok is introducing the ability for users to fine-tune your For You algorithm.
- TikTok's Head of Content Strategy has left the company.
- Now is a GREAT time to start thinking about a holiday merch drop, especially if you've never considered merch before! Fourthwall makes it easy with the best selection, prices, and integration into your stream (community merch gifting!) Sign up now and get a $15 sample credit!*
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