This week we’re checking back in on Twitch, the livestreaming platform that just can’t quite seem to figure out how to fit in with the rest of the internet. We’re going through the latest controversies from TwitchCon, including the cursed foam pit. But we’re also, more broadly, talking about why Twitch remains a somewhat niche thing. There was this assumption years ago that Twitch would eventually replace ESPN somehow, but that moment never happened, leaving the platform in a bizarre gray area where it sits just off to the side of everything else. So where does it go from here?
SHOW NOTES
“We need to talk about Facebook PR guy Andy Stone”
“Elon Musk's tweets about Ukraine, Taiwan and Kanye stoke worries about Twitter ownership”
“Meta and news outlet’s spar deepens India’s trust deficit”
Tweets from The Wire about the XCheck controversy
“‘Fat Bear Week’ Hit By Voter-Fraud Attempt”
John Fetterman makes his own memes
“TwitchCon had a foam pit exhibit. Two attendees say they got injured when they jumped in.”
TwitchCon's Cursed Foam Pit