U.S. streaming service Twitch will introduce a Discovery Feed this fall, allowing creators to promote their content similarly to TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
“The Discovery Feed will be a scrollable feed in the Twitch app that shows users a personalized mix of Clips. Once this feed is rolled out, Twitch viewers will be able to discover Clips from tons of streamers’ channels, whether they’re live or not,” Twitch explained in a blog post.
However, it noted that while the feature will help viewers discover new channels, it’s not the company’s goal for users to spend hours scrolling through the short-format videos.
Announcing the 2023 TwitchCon Paris event over the weekend, the company also revealed a bunch of other improvements to its platform:
- Clip Editor improvements
- Enhanced Featured Clips management
- Twitch stories for connecting with the community
- Expanded Streaming Together feature with a Guest Star
- Shared Mod Comments
- Several Alerts updates
- More streaming events
- A chat countdown timer for Ad Breaks
Starting in late August, Twitch will start supporting direct exports to TikTok as well from its Clip Editor, while adding more features such as trimming functionality, the ability to grant access to your video editors, as well as mobile access.
Around the same time, creators will be able to mark Clips as featured in their Creator Dashboard, helping the platform to prioritize showing Featured Clips ahead of non-featured Clips in the new Discovery Feed.
Then there’s Twitch Stories. Launching in October, Twitch will assist creators in reaching their entire community even when they’re offline with the well-known Instagram-like stories format.
One of the notable updates is the expansion of Guest Star, allowing up to five streamers to collaborate and stream together on their own channels. This feature aims to help streamers grow by providing more opportunities for collaboration and cross-promotion.
Additionally, Shared Mod Comments will be introduced in September, enabling streamers to share information with other streamers about the reasons behind banning individuals in their channels, enhancing community moderation efforts.
Twitch is also improving its Alerts feature, allowing streamers to customize emotes, randomize Alert displays, and integrate Alerts into Shield Mode for added safety.
Stream Events will now include support for celebrating a streamer's birthday and their first-time-you-streamed anniversaries, fostering a stronger sense of community.
To address concerns about ad interruptions, Twitch is introducing a chat countdown timer, providing streamers with advance notice of upcoming ad breaks. This feature offers more control, allowing streamers to snooze or skip ads based on the content being shown.
Social Platforms Race to Create the Ultimate User Experience
In this competitive landscape, every platform strives to create the most comprehensive experience for its users by introducing a range of features. These platforms constantly innovate and enhance their services to provide users with a one-stop solution for various needs.
For instance, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have expanded beyond simple status updates over the past decade and now offer features such as photo and video sharing, live streaming, messaging, and content discovery algorithms.
On the other hand, platforms like YouTube and TikTok focused on video content, offering creators tools for editing, effects, and monetization.
Social media platforms also integrated external services and application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing users to connect their accounts with other applications, such as music streaming, eCommerce, and productivity tools.
The introduction of these features showcased their continuous efforts to become the go-to destination for users, providing a comprehensive range of functionalities that cater to different user interests and needs.
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