 |
|
|
|||||
Business leaders are often reluctant to speak about their competition. Its rare that youll hear Netflixs Ted Sarandos talk about Disney+, or Skimss Jens Grede speak about Spanx. Its uncouth and unhelpful, a good PR will tell you. Thats why its utterly refreshing when Dan Clancy, CEO of the ultra-popular livestreaming platform Twitch, throws out opinions on his competitors with abandon. [TikTok] was the first platform that didnt just copy Twitch, Clancy tells Fast Company. YouTube just made Twitch on YouTube. Facebook just made Twitch on Facebook. Kick downright copied the site. It helps that Clancy doesnt see these other livestreaming platforms as direct competitors. He sees Twitch as a general player in the market of attention, putting the company in competition with every social media app, not just the live ones. Really, what were doing is competing for your time, he says. But these other livestreaming platforms are growing, and growing quickly. According to Stream Hatchet, Twitch still holds onto 61.1% of the market, but YouTube Gaming is on the rise with 22.9%. Kick, SOOP Korea, and CHZZK all have single-digit market shares, making them small but impactful. And, per Streamlabs, Twitch occupies 82.3% of the total hours streamed, but only 60.8% of the total hours watched. Twitch also struggled in 2024. Fresh off a second round of layoffs and a shutdown in South Korea, it looked like Twitch was in decline. Still, they maintained their dominancy over these direct competitors. Can that grip hold? How Twitch got (most of) their top streamers back Just a few years ago, Twitch was the only livestreamer in town. YouTube introduced their Gaming platform in 2015, but didnt meaningfully invest in expansion until a few years later. Facebook Gaming and Mixer burned bright in the late 2010s, only to be effectively shut down. Kick didnt launch until 2022. Almost all of these platforms came with something directly detrimental to Twitchs business: exclusivity contracts. Google was the biggest offender with these contracts, coaxing Twitch creators to stream exclusively on YouTubes platform with hefty bonuses. Ludwig, Dr. Lupo, and LilyPichu all took these contracts. Myth, a major Fortnite streamer on Twitch, was YouTubes biggest catch for a reported $4 million. But most of these defectors, including the four mentioned, have since returned to Twitch as their contracts lapsed. LilyPichu is the best example, because she liked the fact that she was getting this check, but she was so looking forward to the day when the contract ended, because then she could come back, Clancy says. Its because of that sense of belonging and home. Thats not just for their viewers, its also for them. Twitch isnt completely absolved from the last five years exclusivity drama. They built an exclusivity clause of their own into the Monetized Streamer Agreement, making it more difficult for creators who cross-stream to make money. But theyve since rolled that back, which Clancy sees as a benefit. He takes a creator-first approach; people come to Twitch for their favorite streamer, not for Twitch itself. Thus, anything keeping streamers off-platform (like the exclusivity clause) is bad for business. If theres a creator you watch on TikTok and they stopped posting content for two weeks, you probably wouldnt even know, Clancy says. Whereas on Twitch, your affinity is with the creators that you have come to know. Thats one reason why creators that are focused on livestreaming prefer Twitch. People are showing up for them, not just to swipe. Twitchs take on content moderation Where YouTube Gaming quietly tries to swipe creators, Kick is more vocal about being the anti-Twitch. They loudly tout their 95:5 revenue split with creators, which is fare more generous than Twitchs 70:30. And, importantly, Kick emphasizes its looser moderation policies. Kick was co-founded by a Twitch streamer, Trainwreckstv, who almost entirely moved over his popular Grand Theft Auto account so that he could avoid Twitchs policy against cryptocurrency gambling. Other big accounts, like Buddha and xQc, moved most of their content to Kick so they could gamble. Others take refuge in Kick after being kicked off Twitch. In the platform’s Community Guidelines, Twitch has specific policies against “hateful conduct” and “harassment.” But live-streaming is a popular outlet for political radicals, making these guidelines controversial. Adin Ross, for example, was banned from Twitch in 2023 after an on-screen chat projected slurs onto the stream. Ross ran to Kickwhere he later hosted President Donald Trump. Clancy says Twitch won’t loosen up moderation practices to compete with Kick. In fact, he wagers, most of the creators shifting to Kick didnt move for the looser moderation at all. While they may have said thats the reason, I think every single one of them were given a contract where they were making a lot more money than they would organically make, he says. Clancy is quick to point out that Twitchs moderation exists to make sure the platform isnt toxic. Thats why they banned crypto gambling, and why they have policies against hate and harassment. But heres where I push him. Hate and harassment are broad and flexible terms. On Meta platforms, it wouldve been considered hateful to call an LGBTQ+ mentally ill in 2024; now, its just free expression. So how firm are Twitchs policies? If you dont like what somebody is saying, then dont watch their channel, Clancy says. There are certain things that are off limits, but I dont think that has changed. . . . We have the same policies, and I think most people still would consider that saying those words is hateful. Twitch’s expansion plans One of the oddball entrants to the livestreaming game has been TikTok. Other mobile-first platforms had already launched streaming; celebrities have been over-exposing themselves on Instagram Live for years now. But Instagram Live is a monologue, not a marketplace. On TikTok, creators can now monetize their livestreams, either through receiving “gifts” from viewers or from affiliate marketing. That revenue model happens to look a lot like Twitch. Take those popular “NPC” streamers begging for roses on TikTok Live; five years ago, they might have been shilling for Twitch bits. Of course, TikTok’s future in the U.S. is anything but a sue thing. I ask Clancy about his thoughts on the TikTok ban. There would be pros and cons to a market without TikTok, he claims. [TikTok] exposed new viewers to livestreaming, which at some level helps Twitch, he says. [But] if theyre not around, then theres people that might be interested in streaming that we should be reaching out to. That’s just one way that Clancy can get more creators on Twitch. Throughout our conversation, he gleefully lists the wide variety of streamers they host. Did I know T-Pain was on Twitch? Or what about the popular TikToker James Seo, who Clancy convinced to join Twitch while at a party for MrBeast? But these fresh faces are fundamental to Clancy’s approach, the reason why he thinks Twitch can continue its dominance. When they have the creators, the viewers will follow.
Category:
E-Commerce
In the classic rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, theres a moment when a band member demonstrates an amplifier that goes to 11one louder than 10. While its a cheeky metaphor, Ive often thought about how leadership can adopt a similar ethos, pushing beyond boundaries to foster exceptional teams. Its definitely easier said than done. Yet one thing that really pushes us to 11 is moving from a set of individual leaders to a distributed leadership. But building a global team of self-starters isnt just about ambition or delegation. Its about cultivating a culture of teamwork that empowers independence, ownership, and creativity at every level. Ive found the following five leadership principles to be pivotal in my companys cultureparticularly when it comes to building a team of self-starters. 1. Live and let others live Leadership isnt about control, its about enabling others to do their best work. By eliminating micromanagement, we empower the team to take charge of their processes and outcomes. Firstly, asynchronous workthe practice of working that doesnt require all team members to be online simultaneouslyis a cornerstone of our culture. We dont expect immediate communicationseveryone fine-tunes their own processes focusing on results rather than attending endless meetings. We choose asynchronous work despite the ongoing trend toward returning to the office (RTO). Asynchronous work drives productivity beyond the confines of a physical office, making it particularly effective for distributed teams across different time zones. By embracing asynchronous communicationwhether you operate remotely or, as in our case, in a hybrid modelcompanies can build autonomous, resilient, flexible teams capable of succeeding beyond the office. More importantly, asynchronous work powers the “flow state“where a person is fully immersed in the activity. Asynchronous work protects time and concentration that requires you to get to that state and reduces interruptions. For example, we implement no meeting Wednesdays, which is a dedicated day that enables our team members to reach their flow state. 2. Make it your job Radical ownership isnt just a buzzword; its our business philosophy. Accountability and responsibility for the outcomes empowers team members to own decisions that impact those outcomesthus, growing a leadership mindset. As a result, those team members who never say “Its not my job” grow into the most loyal ones, with a strongest sense of belonging. For us, radical ownership also means admitting mistakes and adjusting to avoid them in future. A mistake doesnt equal failure. However, the inability to learn from it is. Constant striving for self-improvement, proactivity in detecting mistakes, and radical candor in assessing work is the most efficient professional growth route. One of the guiding principles that we abide by is dont sweep dirt under the rug. This translates into taking immediate responsibility when something goes wrong and finding a solution. For example, if a product launch didnt meet user expectations, the team takes ownership, analyzes feedback, and implements changes swiftly. This results in improved user satisfaction and a stronger product. 3. Deliver every day Leadership, at its core, is about delivering outcomesa combination of quality, quantity, and timeliness. We expect our team to focus on daily outcomes, which in turn power weekly, monthly, and yearly results for the business. That way, each day is a productive end-to-end sprint, with goals and outcomes. I did, not I was doing principle cultivates ownership and accountability at every level. This principle has reshaped how we approach tasks: breaking them into smaller, manageable parts to accelerate delivery and validate hypotheses sooner. Companies like Microsoft adopt similar principles of micro productivity. Speed, combined with precision, becomes the ultimate differentiator. 4. Default to action Keeping up with the previous three cornerstones of our culture needs an action-focused attitude. Always default to action guiding principle ensures that we do the work, even if the team works asynchronously. There would be times when decision-makers are not immediately available. In these times, we encourage team members to take initiative and act based on common sense, then refactor and adapt later. Or, if its a very specific task hitting a dead end, to use the “waiting” time for something usefullike going for a walk or exercising. A study from Gallup reveals that personally accountable employees are 2.5 times likely to be engaged in their jobs. By instilling the action-driven culture, weve built a team that doesnt wait for permission to succeed. 5. Know where to draw the line Finally, leadership is about balance, which means knowing when to ask for help and when to step up. For us, this means differentiating a request for help (“Which of two color options would work?”) from dumping the responsibility (“I dont know what colors would work”). It also means resolving issues rather than making excuses, and taking calculated risks rather than resorting to inaction in the face of ambiguity. Building a culture of trust, accountability, and innovation required to develop a team of self-starters is definitely not an overnight project and needs commitment. However, it fosters a team where leadership isnt confined to titles but is a shared responsibility. Looking ahead, I envision a corporate culture where radical ownership becomes the norm. By empowering individuals to lead from where they are, we can unlock extraordinary potential and redefine whats possible, both in business and beyon.
Category:
E-Commerce
In the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), eighth-grade reading scores have never been this low. According to new data, 33% of eighth graders in the United States have below basic reading levels. Thats even below the sub-proficient level, basic, at which 37% of eighth graders score. The NAEP has been administering their reading assessment since 1992, when 31% of eighth graders were below basic. But then it went down; in 2013, that below basic figure reached a low of 22%. Now, its reached an all-time peak. When reading scores go down, blame is inevitably pointed at teachers. Twenty-four years ago, then-President George Bush effectively tied schools Title I funding to their ability to show testing progress. But the smartphone era has brought us dwindling attention spans and plummeting reading levels. The issue isn’t the teachers; it’s the tech. How bad is tech for childrens reading? This dip in reading scores extends beyond the teachers. In a new paper for the American Enterprise Institute, researcher Nat Malkus tracked the rise and fall in student testing scores over the past decades. Since the pandemic, performance has sharply declined for students. But adults have also been scoring poorly on performance assessments, with those scores moving in a parallel trend to children. It must be something beyond the classroom, Malkus surmises, that is dumbing us (and our children) down. While Malkus is reluctant to point the finger at one specific external factor, theres a strong case for tech. In the Surgeon Generals 2023 advisory on youth mental health, they noted that excessive social media usage could lead to changes or malformation of the amygdala, the part of the brain associated with learning. Social media is also rapidly destroying our focus. Per psychologist Gloria Mark, the average computer-focused attention span in 2004 was 2.5 minutes; now, its 47 seconds. When we cannot focus on long-form tasks, reading is left by the wayside. But the research here is patchy. Much of it is limited to the medium; theres a long-proven track record that students comprehension goes down when material is read off a screen, or that reading online ruptures the ability to consume large quantities of text. Discourse has also localized around mental health, like to set age restrictions on social media platforms, or even a cigarette-style hazard warning. (Across most of these conversations, Jonathan Haidt remains the perennial boogeyman, loved by his fans and reviled by his critics.) But these overlapping timelines are hard to ignore. Reading levels plummeted in the pandemic, the same period in which technology usage (and over-usage) spiked. The NAEPs below basic reading statistic first began climbing in 2019, the same year TikTok reached one-billion installs. While more than half of American kids play Roblox, 29% of 13-year-olds say theyve never or hardly ever read for fun. Can reading levels recover? There are small but mighty movements to break up the stranglehold tech has over Americas children. New York is pushing closer to an in-school cellphone ban. Other states across the partisan divide, from California to Florida, have already instituted their own versions of the policy. More parents are cutting their kids off from YouTube, TikTok, and Fortnite. But the damage may already be done. Eighth graders in 2019 (when the below basic reading level percentage started to tick up) are now in college. And, among today’s college students, reading is on the decline. Professors are dealing with classrooms full of students who are unwilling or unable to complete basic reading assignments. Those reading levels likely wont turn around anytime soon. When the next, even-lower batch of statistics comes out, lets not blame the teachers. Its our iPhones that deserve the scrutiny.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||