Twitch is pivoting toward a major market\u2014vloggers. The video game streaming website introduced a new category today, IRL. The section is aimed at streamers looking to step away from gameplay for a bit and focus on sharing more vlog-style content. Sounds a bit like Justin.tv, the lifestyle streaming site that spawned Twitch, right?<\/span><\/p>
Not exactly. Community driven content is at the core of Twitch\u2019s service, with Justin.tv appealing more toward the kind of content it offered. <\/span><\/p>
\u201cWhile gaming is [the community\u2019s] core identity, what we\u2019ve heard repeatedly from them is that they are interested in sharing their everyday lives, thoughts, and opinions with their communities,\u201d Twitch CEO Emmett Shear said in a press release.<\/span><\/p>
Removing the tether of video game content is a way to produce more personal interaction between streamers and their fans. Users can also upload recorded video\u2014say, from a trip to a gaming event or elsewhere\u2014to their IRL channel, too. Many Twitch streamers also have a YouTube account for this kind of content; Twitch IRL is the streaming service\u2019s ploy to keep their users on site. With <\/span>Twitch Uploads<\/a> in open beta, users have less and less reason to turn to YouTube to house their content.<\/span><\/p>
To account for this new feature, Twitch has updated its terms of service to allow the broadcasting of non-gaming content. Not everything is allowed, though. Users still can\u2019t stream content they don\u2019t have the rights to, unattended\u2014say, sleeping\u2014 content, or stream while driving, Twitch PR director Chase told <\/span>Kotaku<\/a>. Streaming yourself while you\u2019re talking, that\u2019s fine. Setting the camera on your puppy and leaving the house? Not fine.<\/span><\/p>
