LO1: Site 1: Twitch

Site 1 - Twitch.tv

Purpose

Twitch.tv is a website that allows people to livestream video games to people all around the world. It allows the viewers to follow any streamer to be alerted when that person starts streaming and they allow donations and a monthly subscription for bigger streamers. It is aimed at a mass international audience with streams of all games, so there is something on there for everyone.

Visitor Needs

Twitch allows the user to browse streams that are categorised by the game that is being streamed and they can also follow streamers if they enjoy their stream and be alerted every time they start streaming. There is also the option to subscribe to more popular streamers which is a monthly paid subscription that directly supports that person. The user can also create an account and chat to other users that are watching the same streamer as them. This gives the site a more social aspect as it allows the user to chat to other people while watching the stream. 

Information Flow

Twitch has a simple layout with the navigation bar at the top of the screen linking to the categories, and their account with a search bar so the person can search for a specific streamer or stream title if they can’t find what they want. There are also links to streams that are popular at the time on the homepage so the user can see what is popular at that moment in time. This gives the user an idea of what other people are watching and gives them a chance to try watching something that they wouldn’t normally watch. 

Features

 Twitch.tv has a sign in option that allows the user to sign in to their account which stores information on the user in order to store their subscriptions and give recommendations on what they should watch. It also has search bars so the user can search for specific streams or games. There is also links to popular streams on the site that allow for easy navigation. Twitch.tv has hundreds of videos streaming to their site at the same time allowing for a wide selection of content across their site. The site also has featured games on the front page so people can see what is currently popular on their site.

Benefits

Some benefits of Twitch.tv for the business owners and the users are:

• It allows the business to broadcast their content to a wider audience all around the world.
• The business owners can get more content for their sites because it allows anyone to broadcast to their site. 
• The site is up almost 24/7 so the user can access their content at any time of the day with ease.
• Because it is online the business does not have to employ a lot of staff to maintain their business. 
• The business owners have full control over what happens on their site.       
• The user can easily find what they want with the categorised streams, search bar and navigation bar.  

 Content

On the site there are livestream videos from hundreds of games and thousands of users. That cover both casual and competitive gaming and art.