Shashul

Aspiring retiree, only 90 more years to go!

Anything I post is of my own opinion and not on behalf of any other entity.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I'm streaming over on #Twitch. Check out my page at https://t.co/OtehHwQTan
for all the laughs and entertainment that "free" can buy you!

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I was watching the latest @MouldS video and I had a thought. Does this mean we have no idea if the entire universe (as a whole) is stationary or moving, since we have no way to view anything outside the universe? Or does it not exist therefore that's moot?

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I guess the math didn't work out for them to take the VODs to a new VOD service and use them as seed content to give the library an immediately large boost, and automatically move content from Twitch to the new service for free.

[Twitch Support @TwitchSupport]

We’re implementing a 100 hr storage limit for Highlights & Uploads starting 4/19. This won’t apply to Past Broadcasts (VODs) or clips.

Less than 0.5% of streamers exceed 100hrs & this content accounts for <0.1% of hours watched. Users will be notified.

https://t.co/RoDIAEzBV5

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

If AI is good enough to reject your health insurance claims, does that mean AI is good enough to diagnose you in the first place and health insurance has to accept it?

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I think it would be more effective as "viable" vs "unviable" eggs, with them viable eggs automatically getting switched once they are frozen, uncared for for too long, etc. I think that would help a bit more with the storage logic while maintaining state of the egg.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I've been playing a ton of #RimWorld from @LudeonStudios studios for the first time, and I am loving this game. There is as much challenge as you want there to be, so perfect for tons of skill levels. My only gripe is that eggs are "fertilized" vs "unfertilized" 1/

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

@LemonKiwi_ If you enjoy Factorio, I also recommend some Satisfactory. Both are great games in the factory genre!

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

Time for some Overwatch Placements! Stop by my twitch and let me know how aggressively mid I am! https://t.co/OtehHwRqZV

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

Twitch could even make a new tag or filter for these streamers to help elevate them. The best part is, you don't have to stop having standards on the rest of the site, just really lifting the top, trustworthy people into a more marketable product.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

This is an interesting read, but IMO flip the script and innovate. If advertisers are worried about the brands appearing alongside bad actors, then give them packages specifically for highly curated individuals with higher twitch moderation and regulation. 1/

[Devin @DevinNash]

Twitch is in an advertising nightmare situation. Advertisers are leaving the website and not returning. Twitch has controversy after controversy and can’t get its enforcement straight. I don’t know if the website will survive long term without serious changes.

The solution to it is simple, brutal, and efficient. Ban all extremist/controversial/political content, or none of it. But simple is not often easy.

To understand it, and what’s going on, we need to go back in time a bit.

Youtube’s own “adpocalypse” began in March 2017. Major advertisers discovered their ads were appearing alongside controversial or extremist content (sound familiar?) A ton of key advertisers pulled ads from the platform, including AT&T, Pepsi, and others.

The next two years were savage for Youtube. The website had to build an algorithm that could identify brand-friendly content against controversial content at scale. It wasn’t always right at first. Dozens of creators were banned, sometimes for no reason. That STILL happens sometimes today.

Building this system cost millions, thousands of hours, and countless controversies and risks. But today, Youtube is the most sophisticated ad network in the world. It keeps viewers happy by not serving them too many ads (mostly), and keeps advertisers happy by serving their ads on relevant, brand-friendly content.

During this same period, Twitch was instead investing in their live CDN (content delivery network) and in broadcasting rights, content, and streamers. They paid $90,000,000 to broadcast the Overwatch league. They signed multi-year partnerships with Riot Games to broadcast League of Legends. They paid streamers like Ninja and Shroud, also on contracts worth millions of dollars. None of this amounted to much. It’s safe to say that most of this money was wasted.

Meanwhile, their ad system - the primary way for Twitch to make money - languished. If you want to buy ads on Twitch, you need to pay a high minimum (think $100,000+) and talk to someone physically there. The ads have limited/no targeting. Ads get served everywhere across the website, and often to irrelevant or controversial streamers. Because ads are served everywhere, Twitch is only as good as its worst streamer.

Maybe Twitch figured that these problems would work themselves out if the content was good. But they didn’t, and the content is now on the decline. Extremists (on all sides) run huge communities on the platform. Major and notable advertisers (ADL, big six agencies) are telling Twitch the current state of advertising isn’t okay. And they’re right. Because Twitch didn’t invest in ad targeting and good systems when they should’ve, they’re now on the backfoot compared to every other platform. Their ad inventory is getting cheaper because the quality of their website is declining, forcing them to run more cheap ads to appease Amazon. The increased ad inventory means viewers are sometimes getting served 8 ads at once when joining a stream, causing viewers to leave the platform.

And so here we are.

Twitch has always operated from fear. They were afraid other websites would cannibalize their audience (Mixer) so they bought streamers. They thought Youtube would take their viewers so they bought broadcasting rights (LCS, OWL.) They thought big music would come for them so they spent millions building libraries and licensing rights. Meanwhile Youtube built systems to address these problems long-term, and instead was willing to fail for years knowing a better future was possible.

Twitch is now in an unenviable situation. They’ve allowed high brand-risk streamers to be a significant percentage of their audience. The team responsible for enforcement (Trust & Safety) can’t determine who should and shouldn’t be on the platform. They can’t do this because they’re human and have inconsistent (or by some opinions malicious) policy coming from the top. They insert their opinions and pick favorites because that’s what humans do. Twitch communities are outraged (justifiably) that certain streamers get chosen to stay on Twitch and others are permanently banned. Twitch is shoehorned into this position of picking favorites. It can never work, the website quality will continue to go down, and advertisers will continue to leave.

The choice ahead for @djclancy999 is clear to me. You must either ban ALL controversial and extremist content or none of it. And because a competitor already exists where all content is allowed and owns 10% of Twitch’s audience (Kick), the choice is pretty clear. This means politics (all sides), hateful content, and so on. Some people may argue this “line is unclear.” That was true in 2015 when we were figuring out advertising. But today it’s VERY clear and these categories are well understood. You can see each level of what’s controversial or not on Youtube’s pages or when you upload a Youtube video.

You can try forcing this content into categories and then demonetizing that content, but it’s too far gone and the Twitch kingmaker system still throws that content to the top of discovery. You can’t fool advertisers, but this is a stop gap that might at least help temporarily.

The worst place to sit though is in the middle. And that’s the problem here, the waffling. By being half-in on every decision Twitch has managed to anger everyone - advertisers, viewers, and streamers.

I don’t care if it’s a supervillain level take but Twitch was much better as a gaming-focused website. It could’ve been the live streaming platform for everything, but again, the systems weren’t built and that ship has sailed to Youtube and Tiktok. By removing all controversial content and bringing it back to gaming, music, crafts, etc, you pull back in advertisers and your core audience. Your CPMs go back up and you can serve less ads for more money. You appease Amazon and also completely end the debacle that is selective enforcement of policies.

You heal.

I don’t know if Twitch is willing to make the tough decisions. Along with the above you probably need to massively cut staff (500 last year was a start but it’s still bloated.) Then you need to rebuild the Trust and Safety team, apply policy evenly to every broadcaster, and start work on true ad filtering. But it starts with banning all extremist and political content. Twitch has proven its incapable of handling the responsibility of moderating their website. The line has to be drawn here.

When you make extreme mistakes, you have to enact extreme solutions. I used to love people having good vibes and sharing epic moments together in gaming. I used to love the community. Fixing this will require ruthless executive oversight. But without it, we’ll continue to see the slow and sad decline of the platform so many people fell in love with in the past.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

@Twitch could allow people to apply to a next level program that has better ad revenue, but WAY stricter standards. And if they get banned? Kicked out of the program for a very long time. Then you should have enough tools to focus moderation on these people to keep them safe. 2/

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I got #AmazonPrime again specifically to watch #edgeofsleep from @markiplier. The way I see it, Markiplier is one of the biggest shots over the bow for Hollywood. The man is making BIG waves, and it shows they don't run everything for the media. That competition is important.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I just got out of the #DeadpoolAndWolverine movie, and honestly this got me excited about the current series again. It was a simple, fun movie and really had me laughing. Going in I was worried Disney would ruin it somehow but NO, and the credit sequence was amazing.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

Dusting off my... X? Anyways. Live on #twitch playing #Overwatch2! Come check me out! Link in the quote

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

I'm streaming over on #Twitch. Check out my page at https://t.co/OtehHwQTan
for all the laughs and entertainment that "free" can buy you!

[Angela Ziegler @A2Ziegler]

ever so slightly, daily and nightly

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

@LemonKiwi_ Would y'all be considered... the cream of the crop? I'll see myself out.

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

Getting ready to crush some bugs in HELLDIVER after taking a LONG needed break! https://t.co/OtehHwQTan

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

Post-vacation stream with some HELLDIVERS! https://t.co/OtehHwQTan

[Marshall University @marshallu]

After six months of hard work, and long nights of post-production - our national campaign launches today 💚

[Craig Pelton @SaturdayCraig]

It’s Saturday, call me Craig

[Shashul @Shashulfrashul]

@A2Ziegler Oh my goodness.... You crazy person. How DARE you make me view this in my own feed.