Course:LIBR559A/Hamilton, W.(2014)

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Citation

Hamilton, W., Garretson, O., & Kerne, A. (2014). Streaming on twitch: Fostering participatory communities of play within live mixed media. Paper presented at the 1315-1324. doi:10.1145/2556288.2557048

Annotation

This article provides an overview of the social aspects of online communities associated with the streaming website Twitch.tv and how the technology fosters participation and community. The authors begin with a technical description of live streaming and describe how live content is presented and how viewers and streamers interact via shared chat and video. The authors posit that the prevailing for participation is “sociability” and the informal “pleasure of being together” and that core users tend to help build individual communities around streamers.

This article details an ethnographic study where the authors began as participants. The authors interviewed 11 Twitch streamers and 4 viewers over a period of one year. Chose to interview streamers for their primary roles in the community. Viewers were core members of a specific community. The sampling method for the streamers looked to provide a broad gamut of stream sizes and stream content. Viewers were chosen with the criteria that they were active participants and were stream moderators.

The key frameworks used are threefold. “Sense of Community” as defined by membership, influence, fulfillment of needs, and emotional connection. Oldenburg’s concept of Third Places. These are informal public spaces (real or virtual) that host gatherings of individuals beyond home or work. Lastly is McLuhan’s concept of Hot and Cool Media. Hot media is characterized as high fidelity and low participation (a movie in the theatre) and cool media is characterized as low fidelity and high participation (the telephone).

The idea of Third Places applies well to libraries as they are often central social spaces for real world communities. The technology of live participatory communities could be extended in an academic library setting for an interactive symposium, conference, or research presentations. The technology could also be used for remote interactive education (literacy, technology) or live book or movie club discussions in a public library setting.

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Page Author: Philip Weaver