Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen by Nathan Grayson [NF Review]

Summary 💬

With 2.5 million viewers at any given moment, the streaming platform Twitch is in the lead and often well beyond mainstream networks like CNN and Fox during primetime. On Twitch, the Amazon-owned tech behemoth, the biggest personalities, like Kai Cenat, Félix “xQc” Lengyel, and Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, can earn millions per year by firing up their internet connection and going live.

Veteran technology and gaming journalist Nathan Grayson takes us inside the triumphs and tribulations of Twitch with exclusive access to its biggest content creators who helped make the platform into a billion-dollar global business. From Twitch’s early days of rapid growth to acquisition by Amazon to the defection of creators and rival platforms, Grayson makes the radical argument that many social technology companies are far more dependent on their creators than the creators are on their platforms.

Rivetingly told through nine exceptional Twitch creators whose on-screen personalities helped the company grow into a powerhouse, this is the explosive story of when entertainment meets the internet in the era of social and video content domination.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

My Twitch Experience

I first learnt about Twitch in early 2021. A Youtube viewer since 2007, I had heard about the Dream SMP through some YouTubers. I had no idea what “Dream SMP” meant, or what Twitch was. Turns out the Dream SMP was a multiplayer Minecraft server created by a streamer called Dream, that dozens of creators livestreamed on while roleplaying the perspective of their characters. That was my first foray into Twitch. I’ve been fascinated ever since, and am now a regular viewer (not of anyone who was on DreamSMP prior to 2021, I will note for anyone reading this who knows about it lol).

Streamer & Chat

What initially intrigued me most about Twitch was the dynamic interactivity between streamer and chat (ie viewers), as well as the different ways in which a streamer presents themself online. I imagined it would be much easier to curate your self-representation in edited YouTube videos rather than on a livestream, where you may be responding on the fly to comments from chat. Interaction (or lack thereof) between streamers, their moderators, and chat shapes the viewing and streaming experience. Chat can be considered through many facets: chat as monolith, chat as individuals, chat as comedic partner, chat as collaborator, chat as informer, chat as harasser or nuisance. Back in 2021 I thought, “Someone should really write a book about this.” The Internet is still relatively young with much to come, but Twitch felt like the first truly new enviornment I’d encountered online in some time.

Exploring Community

Nathan Grayson fulfilled my dream by writing Stream Big. He’s not exactly written a dissertation on communication, identity formation, and the language a streamer uses with their chat (the direction I dreamed of going in 😝), but he has done a solid job at exploring and explaining the unique aspects of the Twitch experience by profiling nine streamers and their relationships with their communities, particularly at pivotal moments in their careers. He understands that the story of Twitch is the story of community. It’s not just about watching someone play a video game. So that gets kudos from me.

That is what sets Stream Big apart from some other books about Internet platforms: the focus on creators themselves. They are what make the platform worth reading about. I don’t care much about the historical development of Twitch, except for the moments where it really impacts the creators. (This was my main critique of the YouTube ‘biography’ Like, Comment, Subscribe. Too much focus on corporate, not enough focus on creators. Admittedly, Twitch does not hold the same power or status that YouTube does. Twitch is not mainstream in the same way YouTube is. So it doesn’t have quite the same corporate baggage to tempt focus instead of creators. Anyway. Where was I?) Grayson explores major changes or trends at Twitch through profiles of various streamers majorly affected by them.

The Creators

I was familiar with five of the streamers he focuses on – Kaitlyn Siragusa AKA Amouranth, Clara Sorrenti AKA Keffels, Hasan Piker AKA HasanAbi, Youna Kang AKA Code Miko, and Dream & co of the DreamSMP. (Again, if you know anything about the DreamSMP… interesting reading to see it as presented to outsiders lol. Great consideration of young creators, though.) Other profiles focus on Marcus Graham AKA djWheat, Emme Montgomery AKA Negaoryx, Tana DePass AKA Cypheroftyr, and Ben Cassell AKA CohhCarnage. For the streamers with whom I’m already familiar, I enjoyed learning more about their backgrounds and hearing about their experiences in their own words. For the new-to-me streamers, I enjoyed looking into sides of Twitch that I knew little about.

Will Twitch Ever Improve?

An overarching argument Grayson makes is that Twitch, especially presently, undervalues its creators. There’s no doubt about that, which makes it especially interesting to see several prominent streamrs recently move back to Twitch from YouTube. Twitch remains the dominant platform for livestreaming, despite its shortcomings. Time will tell if Twitch will ever get back to improving the streamer and viewer experience. Considering ✨ capitalism ✨ and Twitch’s Amazon ownership, though, it seems the people who bring Twitch to life will always be left at least somewhat unsatisfied with the platform.

If You Didn’t Know Anything About Twitch Before Reading This Post…

Lastly I want to speak to you, reader who may have never heard of Twitch before! I suspect most people who read my blog don’t interact with Twitch. Should you pick up Stream Big? While I definitely appreciated reading about people whose streams I had seen or Twitch culture pivotal moments that I had seen play out live (so to speak!), Grayson does provide sufficient context for non-viewers to learn plenty from. So if you’re interested in online social interaction or you’ve ever asked “Why watch livestreaming?”, pick up this book.

The Bottom Line 💭

I kind of pre-empted myself with the last line of the previous paragraph, but here we are. If you watch Twitch or wonder what the fuss is about, check out Stream Big.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Author website (Bluesky profile)
🍂 Interview @ Aftermath (I recommend checking this out if you’re unsure whether you’d be interested in this book)
🍂 Related: Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It touches on some related themes. Dad and I discussed That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph for Family Reads. I also want to shout out Joanne MacNeil’s Lurking: How a Person Became an User, which I loved but never reviewed.

Have you read any books about online platforms, social or otherwise?