1. Lorin Flores | Librarian I | Central Library
Adult Services Meeting | August 15, 2019
Twitch
&
Discord
2. Origins
THE RISE OF E-SPORTS AND
GAMING CULTURE
Twitch and Discord have their origins in the
rise of eSports, commonly defined as
competitive spectator gaming.
Live streaming games has grown from a niche
subculture to the mainstream.
Source: Jakob Wells [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
3. T
• Justin Kan started in 2010 as
Justin.tv, rebranded in 2011
• In 2014 acquired by Amazon
for $970 million
• Dominant Social Live
Streaming Services (SLSS)
platform with highest market
share
• Mostly game-based streams
but there are also creative
streams
• Streamers can generate
income from their channel
Twitch
4. Twitch
Demographics
• 15+ million daily active users
• 2.2-3.2 million monthly
broadcasters
• 1 million users watched a single
event
• 95 minutes per day on average
• 62.87% is in English
• 16:00 EST is peak viewing time
• 6th largest source peak global
traffic
Infographic Source (cropped from original): https://influencermarketinghub.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/10/Infographic_Twitch.jpg
5. Twitch in Libraries
Here are some examples of ways libraries are using Twitch to
support services for adults:
• Library or personal Twitch channel to facilitate/broadcast a
program
• Library Twitch account as a library service
• Libraries inviting streamers to speak
6. Metamediation
“Video game streaming is a
complex digital literacy
practice…the video game
streamer is a paragon of a
modern digitally literate
individual.”
Dr. Hannah Garber
7. • Described as “Slack for
gamers”
• Jason Citron launched in
2015 as Hammer & Chisel
• Popularized by Twitch &
Reddit
• Integrated with Twitch &
Steam
• Discord Go Live out today
• In the news…
Discord
8. Discord
Demographics
• 250 million daily users
• 315 million messages sent per day,
on average
• 750 verified servers
• Largest is Fortnite server with
180,000 users
9. Discord in Libraries?
“Our dungeon master uses Discord if a member of
the campaign can’t attend in person. It works very well.”
-Tina Ross Dalton
10. Discord in Higher Education
Discord has been used in higher education to advance
educational outcomes.
• Community builder for classes and learning
communities
• Facilitating class discussion and participation in online
classes
• A means for online tutoring and mentoring in an
informal environment
eSports
Electronic sports, more commonly known as eSports, is the term used to describe playing high-level games and spectating of digital games in a competitive atmosphere (Hamilton, Kerne, & Robbins, 2012). Why do others watch other use video games
The intersection of streaming platforms and participatory online media along with the idea of users as content creators are all factors that have driven the development of live streaming gaming from a niche subculture to the mainstream.
SLSSs (Gros et al)
Dominant Platform from Johnson and Woodcock—Other competitiors include Youtube, Youtube gaming, and of course Mixer. Ninja left Twitch to go to Mixer and there’s dramah.Disabled users’ ability to monetize their streams and earn money.
Variety 2019
6th largest global download traffic
Note: These are current as of 2017.
I’m going to preface that by pointing out here that I’ve seen examples of seminars and probably library services for teens using Twitch, but we’re examining programming for Adults.
Examples: Sacramento Public Library’s channel supporting Online Gamer Book Club and Tabletop Game Developer Workshop, Lutz library (I thought it was lulz library)Example of a library live-streaming an invited speakerBroadcasting Maker Day activities and public speakers (that was Canadian library)
San Francisco inviting streamers to speak
Another item seen in the literature as a speculation:
Potential of Twitch (and gaming) for language learning plus the presence of non-English language channels
Gerber, Hannah. (2017). eSports and Streaming: Twitch Literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 61. 343-345. 10.1002/jaal.692.
We as librarians need to pay attention to this as an emerging digital literacy. There’s also an educational/learning aspect of Twitch. Not just how-tos, but learning other languages and instances of peer mentoring in programming in the literature. Of course there’s also a huge body of research on Gaming and Learning, and how games facilitate that, but it’s beyond the scope of this presentation but a worthwhile rabbit hole to fall into.
“Slack for Gamers” Cnet
250 million users as of July 2019
Discord Go Live launching today (8/15)
Communication from Progamming Librarian Interest Group on Facebook Group: “Our dungeon master uses Discord if a member of the campaign can’t attend in person. It works very well.” Tina Ross Dalton, Director of Cuba Circulating Library (Cuba, NY)
Although there seems to still be very little about Discord in Libraries in the literature and anecdotally, there are documented cases of Discord being used in Higher Education. This may provide some direction for libraries in terms of possibilities and benefits.
Several instances of Discord being used as a communication tool for a class or learning community, demonstrating its strength in forming communities
Discord as a way to encourage class participation, group work, and moderate discussion
Discord as a tool for online tutoring
The articles were very positive about using Discord to facilitate communication and build community. It’s possible that some of these uses can be adapted for library settings.