Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

120 followers 100 following 210 posts

hi hello, azure here.
twitch mod, future video essayist, occasional artist. 🇨🇦🇨🇿
researching games and live-streaming 🦋

Posts Replies Media Videos

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

Kind of wild that Ludwig made Twitch-discourse history with “I Am Not Your Friend” only to softly walk it back a couple years later

Highlighted text: “In response to such transgressions, Twitch partner and variety streamer Ludwig reacted to a YouTube video aptly titled "I Am Not Your Friend," agreeing with the premise and reminding viewers that the relationship he had with those who watched him was not a reciprocal one.”

May 7, 2025 at 12:53 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

In my defense I do warn the viewer

April 29, 2025 at 9:21 PM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

this is so cute :D

April 28, 2025 at 4:05 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

Can't wait to see Tom Holland as Wander!

(Source: Róbert Orri Gunnarsson, 2023)

Screenshot of an academic paper, that reads: "A film version of Shadow of the Colossus was announced in 2012, directed by Josh Trank, but that one never went into full production. It remains to be seen if Sony are
willing to try again in the future, but given the success of films like Uncharted (2022, Ruben Fleischer), it seems plausible that the game could one day get successfully adapted for movie audiences. "

April 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

I *do* have arguments I'm moving through, but the problem is that they all connect/overlap intrinsically to the other points that it's hard to keep the ideas in a straight, divided line, and instead are more like.... this:

April 21, 2025 at 6:19 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

Brainstorming footnote icons for a video essay!

Struggling to come up with a good one for “see more” (i.e. see footnotes for more info”

There probably isn’t a need to specify article or book, but I wonder about a system of differentiating whether you’re quoting, paraphrasing, or referencing.

April 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

new research project mean new convoluted obsidian canvas idea chart

A mind-map of connected (not legible) ideas, created in note-taking app Obsidian.

March 7, 2025 at 12:02 PM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

I also yapped about Partners but I had to rely pretty much solely on hearsay and rumours (one day I will figure out how to get insider information, one day)

Interestingly, the label of Partner as the top level to aspire to is somewhat of a facade. At this year’s TwitchCon, there was as always the exclusive Partner lounge—the venue to aspire for as a mere Affiliate, the venue where the streamers of status can enter. However, for the highest echelon of Twitch Partners, there is an invite-only Purple Lounge that is not advertised or publicly mentioned. The requirement for that status is entirely unknown. In my speculative opinion, keeping quiet about preferential treatment is an important part of this fantasy that Twitch encourages streamers to buy into. As a Partner with 75 viewers, you are surely valued the same as the Partner with 30,000 viewers; so, keep streaming on Twitch, keep buying tickets to TwitchCon, and do not worry about if those of the Purple Lounge status also get better revenue splits on their Partner contracts. Twitch is an equal opportunity platform where everyone is treated the same, surely.

One of the best benefits of being a Partner was access to Partner Managers at Twitch who could coordinate Front Page features, provide direct answers about Terms of Service and copyright, and respond to your platform feedback. This Partner perk has been devalued; Partners Managers were greatly reduced during Twitch’s layoffs, and are now spread thin and much less available for personalized cooperation. It also appears that Twitch is making the requirements for Partner slightly lighter, although the impact of the change will need months to be felt. Every year TwitchCon gives Affiliates and Partners “merch loot” bags, and this year both categories’ gifts were greatly reduced.

The desire for the purple check mark badge of Partner status lightly compares to that of Twitter (X), where the “Blue Checkmark” was once a highly sought-after symbol of notoriety that now can be purchased for $8. The worth of Partner status is certainly in flux, although still an extreme minority on Twitch.

February 27, 2025 at 11:38 PM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

Wasn't exactly a secret, but I called the erasure of the affiliate level back in September 😔

Section title: The De-escalation of Affiliate and Partners

One of the first things I noticed as we grabbed our badges Thursday midday, was that unlike in 2022, there was no longer a separate badge line-up for Twitch Affiliates (the lowest tier of paid streamers on Twitch, whose largest hurdle of eligibility is the average viewership of 3). When I got my badge and reunited with my friends, we also immediately noticed that there was no longer a colour distinction between Community (the default badge) and Affiliate, whereas there was in 2022. Partners meanwhile retained their isolated line-up and special purple label. It is a peculiar representation of the de-escalation of Affiliate status.

Twitch and tertiary companies such as those selling streaming gear and technology benefit from streamers reaching Affiliate status. For Twitch, Affiliate is the requirement to have ads attached to your channel. Even while the average viewership of an Affiliate may be between 0–5, with over two million Affiliates the ad revenue gradually increases. Affiliates can never disable ads either; the channel is now fully committed to Twitch’s revenue split system and, arguably, a worse viewer experience. Reaching Affiliate status further serves as psychological gratification, celebrating your “success” and immediately showing you the statistics you need to reach to become a Partner. The dream of your full-time live-streaming career is just around the corner, or so the website seems to suggest. The belief that your career is just around the corner also drives many to purchase a better webcam, audio gear, lights, StreamDeck, overlays—anything that provides that chance at better viewer draw and retention. It pushes you to spend more time on Twitch, not only streaming but raiding, donating, Cheers, trying to make connections across the platform, all in the hopes that you might reach both Partner status and a full-time wage.

That is not the Twitch experience for every Affiliate, but it is this crowd that seems to be TwitchCon’s greatest marketing target. This, however, is why the de-escalation of Affiliate status is interesting. Affiliate is no longer a status of the minimum success or effort, it now appears as the lowest bar to categorize yourself as a streamer versus solely a viewer.

February 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

....on what level of community service is online moderation

February 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

Spoken like a true management and political science student.

An answer on Quora regarding citing video games. The out of touch answer reads: "I don’t see any scientific idea a video game could back up. You usually cite in an essay, book or other writings related to some science. I highly doubt a video game would be valid or relevant. If you wanna cite a VG for some quora or tumblr post, just say the name of the game/character."

February 3, 2025 at 11:57 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

I am so terribly bad at Shadow of the Colossus but the game is so terrifically good that I will overcome the odds and keep holding down R2 as if my life depends on it

January 31, 2025 at 5:49 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

NVIDIA is bombarding me with generative AI ads while I update my drivers and it's making me want to rip open my PC tower and tear out my GPU

January 31, 2025 at 2:53 AM

azure

@azureii.bsky.social

My capture card seems to be working again :D Celeste streams may return this weekend!

I've been seated on the corner of my monitor staring at stars for a few hours now.