📢 | Tim Walz Crazy Taxi, ADL Goes After Twitch, Bluesky Raises Funds, and Kai Cenat x NBA

Good Monday! Can you believe it's less than two months until Christmas? I'm sorry! (I'm not.) I already swapped all my emotes to their Christmas version, much to the ire of my community. It's my favorite time of the year, and it's when I get serious about setting all the groundwork for the year ahead!

In fact, you will see some of that reflected in this newsletter, as I've changed the formatting slightly! There will be additional changes in the months ahead, all with the intent of being more helpful to more creators - and ultimately, with a vision of helping creators better build the business around their content! I think you're going to love it!

It was a perfect week for it, too, as the number of Twitch-specific updates is small, considering the company and its CEO, Dan Clancy, have been mired in controversy and have opted for the 'shut up and wait' strategy effectively pausing most of their social and feature release plans. So, with that, let's jump into the recap!

Streaming Platform Updates

• Twitch is testing suggesting the five most popular tags to narrow content by when browsing categories.
• Twitch sent out a general warning to all DJs regarding playing music unavailable in the DJ Music Catalog.
• Twitch filed a trademark opposition to a pet store called "Twitch & Wag."
• Twitch Chief Monetization Officer Mikey Minty is speaking at the Brand Safety Summit in New York.
• Twitch Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Delphin did an interview with PNW about Brand Partnerships on Twitch.
• TikTok partnered with the MLS to stream a Messi spotlight cam exclusively on their platform.
• TikTok LIVE partnered with MCM x EGX London.
• Twitter/X has added a "Live" button to the post composer.
• Kick's ongoing issues were the focus of a Sydney Morning Herald investigation, along with an editorial piece about the political connections.

Creator Industry News

• Bluesky announced that it now has 13 million users and has raised $15 million in funding. They plan to launch a paid subscription offering higher-quality video, profile customization, and more.
• The Streamer Awards are opening Streamer Nominations today.
• Blerp is looking into integration with Fourthwall.
• Instagram shared a guide on how to succeed on Threads. It's worth a look!
• Instagram released its annual "Creators of Tomorrow" report.
• YouTube Shorts now have Poll Stickers, encouraging viewers to vote and engage directly.
• Twitch and Roblox have partnered for an upcoming Twitch Rivals "Dress to Impress" event with a "Pro Streamer Headset" cosmetic.
• The ADL issued a statement regarding 'recent incidents on Twitch.'
• Polygon wrote about how Twitch's "changing" guidelines could impact Vtubers economically. Of note, there are no 'new' guidelines; Twitch just clarified existing rules.