Shroud recently talked about how quiet chats are in 2026. I was curious, so I ran the numbers for my own channel, comparing every September from 2018 to 2026. From September 2026 to September 2018: ⏱️ Chats per Minute Watched are down 86%. 👀 Chats per Viewer are down 87%. ⌛ Chats per Hour Streamed are down 52%. So, at least for my channel, it's true. Viewers are significantly less chatty than they used to be. Possible reasons: 📉Falling Off. I have a stream where I talk about the streaming space; if the streaming is struggling (it is), there's less active interest in the topic. 👵 Age. People are older now, have more responsibilities, and don't have as much time to actively consume. 💥 Ads. The platform breaks the experience up far more than it ever did. 📱 Mobile Viewers. The platform is hyperfixated on fickle mobile viewers who watch for shorter durations. 💹 Rise of the Lurker. Other communities encourage it, so it becomes the expected experience across the platform. 🪙 Economy. People are struggling; it's better to put effort into a side hustle than a Twitch chat. 🤖 Viewbots. Bots don't typically chat. 💀 Culture Death. Twitch Culture has really disappeared since the pandemic. When was the last time we had a new sitewide copypasta?

Genuine question: why is it that every time someone does a partner push, hits the goal, and becomes a Twitch Partner, they get sad when the numbers go back to normal, or lower than before? I thought the goal was just to reach the checkmark, not to keep the bigger viewership. If the goal was bigger viewership, wouldn’t you do something different?

Thank you very much for all the interest and support you’ve shown for the Soulart Station Kickstarter. As a token of our appreciation, we’re excited to give away one Soulart Station Core Pack! 🎉 How to enter: 1. Follow @Soulart 2. Like this post 3. Quote repost this post and share what you’re most looking forward to about Soulart Station!

CEO Dan Clancy says Twitch now uses AI to identify streamers that may not match a brand, since it now transcribes all streams for brand safety. It won't show ads on channels or content the AI believes don't match what the advertiser is trying to achieve.

The truth behind OnKey... docs.google.com/document/d/1…

Tomorrow, Discord will place everyone into an age group using account signals. They claim 90% of users won't have to confirm their age. They are also introducing new verification methods if you do need to verify that you are an adult, including Credit Cards and App Stores.