Good Monday to you! Are you ready?
Lots to cover this week, including Discord's new CEO, Humam Sakhnini, who most recently was vice chairman at Activision Blizzard. I've seen a lot of concern from people who believe the Discord enshittification will be immediate, and are looking for an exit path to what's next. I share some of that sentiment, mainly the idea of how I imagine they will inject ads into every space imaginable in the months and years ahead. But, I also don't think there is currently a viable alternative, so ejecting from Discord may not be the wise move for the moment. (One only needs to look at Guilded as an example.) Network effect is a hell of a drug, and if there's going to be an alternative, it will need to appeal to the masses and offer a unique value proposition, the way Discord has and, to some degree, Guilded did. I'm taking it slow and keeping an eye on potential projects that may offer something of value in the future, with no current plans to leave Discord (in fact, join our community!) But as always, do what you feel is best for you and your community!
And now, let's jump into the recap!
🟪 TWITCH
- Twitch is launching a new /clip command.
- You'll soon be able to create clips as a popover on the page, allowing you to continue watching in the same tab while adjusting the clip length.
- The Clips Leaderboard and Top Clips Badge will launch over the next few weeks.
- The Activity Feed will feature notifications for clip leaders.
- Hot on the heels of YouTube launching Combos, Twitch is launching a similar product, also called Combos. It will be toggleable, have difficulty settings, and will initially be launched for Ambassadors, then via a waitlist, followed by a full launch by Fall 2025.
- Twitchcon Rotterdam 2025 merch preview.
- Nvidia's AI assistant now has Twitch functionality. "Hey Twitch, is Zach Bussey live right now?"
🟥 YOUTUBE
- YouTube's ad revenue reached $8.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025. As a reference point, some estimates suggest this is 2.5x Twitch's annual revenue.
- Want to feel old? YouTube just turned 20.
🟦 DISCORD & TWITTER X
- Nameplates began to be released to the majority of Discord users.
- Discord is testing Custom Status Tags, which allow you to display a tag above your current status.
- Discord has a new CEO, Humam Sakhnini, who was most recently Vice Chairman at Activision Blizzard.
- Read Discord co-founder + outgoing CEO Jason Citron's "Passing the Torch" email.
- Discord is adding support for eight new emojis. Type 1 in chat if you are the one on the bottom right.
🔲 OTHERS
- Kick now allows anyone partnered on another platform to apply for Kick partnership.
