1. Creativity & Art Engagement on Twitch.tv
Research Findings, Implications & Next Questions
following my Fall 2015 Case Study

2. NEA Findings
Recent
studies
from
the
Na2onal
Endowment
for
the
Arts
(NEA):
Only
33.4
%
of
adults
surveyed
a4ended
at
least
one
core
art
event
in
2011/2012
• Decline
from
39.4%
a
decade
earlier

3. Background

4. Background

5. Research Question
What
are
the
affordances
&
limita2ons
of
engaging
with
art
on
Twitch.tv?

6. Research Design
Conducted
alongside
two
other
descrip2ve
case
studies
• K-­‐12
Public
School
• Spiritual
Community
Center
My
role
as
a
par2cipant
researcher:
• Observa2ons
• Google
Forms
Survey
• Semi-­‐formal
Interviews

7. Findings & Themes
Types
of
Crea2ve
Engagement
• What,
why,
and
how
people
create
Emo2onal
Impacts
of
Engagement
Iden2ty
Development
Community
Aspects
Professional
&
Economic
Opportunity

8. How are people engaged?
Of
survey
respondents
said
they
had
created
a
meme,
gif
or
imgur.
41%

9. Tools & Practices
Interview
Par2cipants
men2oned
using
Adobe
Photoshop
when
discussing
their
creaBve
acBviBes
on
Twitch.
8/10
Wide
Variety
of
Mediums
Observed
Graphic
Design/Digital
Art
was
most
common

10. Emotional Impacts of Engagement

12. Why do people create?
Of
survey
respondents
said
when
they
create
something
they
make
it
for
themselves.
78%

13. Digital Identity
Interview
Par2cipants
said
they
use
the
same
username
across
mulBple
online
plaForms.
8/10
5/10
Interview
Par2cipants
said
their
username
was
either
derived
from
their
real
name
or
it
had
personal
meaning
for
them.

14. Importance of Community
• Importance
of
Community

15. Importance of Community
• Importance
of
Community

17. Affordances
• Highly
social
online
environment
with
a
huge
user
base
• Supports
personal
&
community
iden2ty
development
• Twitch’s
organiza2onal
support
of
crea2ve
community
• Poten2al
for
Learning

18. Limitations
Building
&
Growing
a
Channel
• Growing
your
“brand”
• Pressure
to
have
good
content
• Tech
requirements
• Time
Trolls
&
Cri2cism

19. Back to the NEA
“Childhood
experience
in
the
arts
is
significantly
associated
with
educaBonal
level
obtained
in
adulthood.
Over
70%
of
college
graduates
said
they
visited
an
art
museum
or
gallery
as
a
child,
compared
with
42%
of
adults
who
have
only
a
high
school
diploma.”

20. Implications for Practice
Within
the
context
of
the
gaming
industry:
• Projected
to
grow
30%
by
2019
in
US
alone
• Opportunity
to
develop
an
understanding
of
games
and
gamers
influence
on
youth
across
mul2ple
plagorms
• Crea2ng
spaces
that
promote
crea2ve
ac2vi2es
for
future
game
industry
professionals

21. Implications for Practice
Crea2ve
Organiza2ons:
• Opportunity
for
a
pulse
on
community
• Mee2ng
demands
of
upcoming
market
• New
media
format:
Live
stream
is
the
new
TV
• Poten2al
for
leveraging
resources
to
par2cipate
in
and
support
these
environments

22. New Questions
Study
of
pathways/trajectories
of
becoming
involved
with
social,
online
communi2es
like
Twitch:
• Exploring
rela2onships
between
crea2ve
prac2ces
&
use
of
new
tools/movement
to
new
online
spaces
• Development
of
a
set
of
user
profiles
to
begin
to
understand
types
of
content
producers
&
consumers

23. How
can
crea2ve
organiza2ons:
• Create
and
encourage
plagorms
that
are
safe
spaces
for
people
to
crea2vely
grow
• Be
brokers
of
equitable
par2cipa2on
&
make
an
impact
on
agency
for
youth
• Natural
connec2on
to
interest
driven
learning
trends
Equitable Participation

24. Educational Platforms
What
is
the
poten2al
for
modeling
future
educa2onal
plagorms?
• Crea2ve
educa2on
for
students
with
less
access
to
resources
• On-­‐demand,
social
learning
space
• Promotes
student
agency
and
rewards
par2cipa2on

25. User Experience
From
a
UX
perspec2ve:
• Designing
for
the
user
• Developing
a
beker
understanding
of
the
needs
of
the
community
through
an
ethnographic
approach
• Con2nue
embedded
observa2ons
of
new
media
plagorms