When we were talking about all these Kick.com defections, the conversation became so stupid that only a political cartoon could capture it. I'd love to crank the word count here, really pump the SEO. Unfortunately, at least in the case of xQc, I've already summed it up fractally:
Coke addict gets a job at https://t.co/9s5PZxElQW https://t.co/qsYgoPqmSa
— Tycho Brahe (@TychoBrahe) June 17, 2023
Streaming by itself is not a business, as Twitch proves. A pendulous blade swings o'erhead, and every bizarre new wickedness they try to manifest is all in the service of profitability. Or, you know, any profit. They would love to have some! Even Microsoft found the space too rich for their blood. Yes, that Microsoft - the big one. But If you're YouTube, this is just another thing drafting on your already world-class revenue extraction engine. If you're Stake.com, owner of Kick, this whole thing is just advertisements for your actual business, which is the online gambling they kicked off of Twitch. Paying a 95/5 split is generally what I would call eating your seed corn, or perhaps getting high on your own supply - and that's before we get to eight or nine figure payouts. Even if you could catalyze a real community, a true competitor to Twitch, all you would succeed in doing is losing even more money than they do. This pageant is exhausting.
I'm heading into the office to record an extra special episode of Acquisitions Incorporated: The "C" Team, because during our Kickstarter Ryan said that we would do one if we hit the goal before PAX. Which we did! He didn't even have to ask; I think he knew deep down that I would be happy to resume my duties as Jerriford K Horkrims, your Internet Friend. I'll let you know when it goes up. But do keep in mind that we did run a secret episode inside of what was supposed to be a Reunion Panel, so it may be that you saw an episode called an "epilogue" and thought you would be caught up forever! Not this time.
(CW)TB out.
