Ah, Twitch. Nope, not the sudden jerking movement your body might make occasionally but the live streaming platform, yes Twitch!
Never heard of Twitch before? Well, don’t fret, because this short video essentially sums up what Twitch is as a whole.
What started as a live streaming platform focused on video games in 2011, Twitch has grown immensely over the years and currently has 3.8 million live streamers and 1.4 million viewers to date. While the live streaming platform is commonly associated with video games, it offers a lot more variety and it is common to find streamers live streaming anything under the sun be it cooking, singing, or their day out in town (a.k.a “In Real Life/IRL” streaming). Additionally, with integrated search categories, there is no doubt that you would easily find a streamer that suits your preference. Furthermore, being known as one of the biggest if not THE biggest live streaming platforms, Twitch is home to famous streamers such as Ninja, Tfue, and Shroud, who each can easily amass 14,000 or more viewers per stream from all over the world. It is also not uncommon to find streamers with consistently high viewership to have Twitch live streaming as their full-time job as the platform offers ways of monetization such as viewers having the option to pay a monthly subscription fee to support the streamer or the streamer setting up a donation link (e.g. to their PayPal account) for the viewers to “donate” any amount of money as a show of support/appreciation for the content they are viewing.
It is precisely the popularity of Twitch and its huge audience as to why I wanted to talk about it for today’s blog post. Given the potential of influence that Twitch has, it is a prime platform for companies to capitalize on to promote their products. Following the same vein, this could also apply to NGOs and this is exactly what WWF Australia has done. Apart from setting up their own Twitch channel, they also have an ongoing program called “WWF Wild-Livestreamers”, where live streamers can host charity live streams to meet a set donation goal in the name of WWF and their work. Besides streaming for a good cause of saving wildlife and our planet, the program also offers incentives for the live streamers where $1 = 1 point, and these points could be exchanged for rewards (e.g. WWF merchandise). Since 2017, the program has managed to raise a total of $700,000 in support of WWF.
While WWF Australia is the only environmental organization that I currently know of that is capitalizing on the success of Twitch, I personally feel that it is a promising start, and is only the tip of the iceberg for the possibilities of Twitch and how it can aid in raising environmental awareness. I do hope that more environmental organizations would follow suit and apart from raising donations, hopefully, more could be done to engage the audience in current environmental issues such as having weekly podcasts discussing these issues as it would give the viewers more incentive to “donate” rather than just doing it for a “good cause”.
Till next time!
Cheers,
Tricia
Hi Tricia,
I just read through your blog and I think it is really a welcome breath of fresh air! Your topics are so unconventional and your passion for them is infectious, I truly enjoyed reading your posts. For this issue on Twitch, I have a couple of questions. You mentioned about WWF-Australia doing charity live-streaming. Could I ask, what kind of content do they produce? Sorry I couldn’t find much information on it online. Next, what kind of livestream content do you think would be most effective in achieving the intent of environmental advocacy? Do you have any novel ideas for creative content that would be able to tug at the heartstrings of viewers? I was wondering if it was possible for streamers to livestream themselves exploring natural habitats such as jungles or coral reefs with a GoPro Camera, so as to give viewers a live, first-person perspective of immersing themselves in nature. I don’t know if it’s already being done or if it’s feasible, but it’s just an idea. Lastly, how does Twitch compare with other video-sharing platforms such as TikTok or Instagram in terms of spreading the message of environmental conservation, be it in terms of reach or effectiveness? Thanks so much for the awesome post Tricia, and I look forward to reading the rest of your posts!
Cheers,
Marcus
Hi Marcus!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and I’m glad you enjoyed reading the posts! With regard to WWF-Australia and their livestreams, their content is currently gaming-related; hinging on popular games such as Fall Guys or Among Us. As far as I know, they haven’t done any educational streams/streams to raise awareness yet, which is where I agree with your suggestion! While I can see how their livestreams that cater to what is currently popular or in demand could be effective in gaining exposure for their Twitch channel, I feel that the inclusion of “IRL” streams, where the streamers explore the outdoors & nature, is definitely possible because a lot of popular livestreamers are currently doing something similar, where they stream themselves exploring cities or simply their day out in town. I feel that for WWF specifically, they could take this a step further by livestreaming nature reserves or protected natural sites, showcasing to the viewers the beauty of nature whilst educating them about the need to protect it. (Something like a documentary perhaps but a live stream version?)
As for the comparison between Twitch and other video sharing platforms, I feel that all of them can be advantageous to spreading the message of environmental conservation because of the ease of how information can be shared. Perhaps one unique advantage for Twitch is how it is live stream-specific platform, which makes the experience for the viewers a lot more engaging as the livestreams are happening real-time, making it more candid. Although Instagram does have a livestream feature as well, personally, I feel that the viewing experience is not as enjoyable because it is not as streamlined as Twitch. Furthermore, the potential of viewer engagement is a lot higher on Twitch due to the option of streaming through broadcasting softwares which allows you to customize your stream by adding various scenes effects and elements, making the livestream feel more like a watching a “show” rather than just watching someone film a video through than phone.
Cheers,
Tricia