UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF TWITCH STREAMERS: NEGOTIATING PROFESSIONALISM IN NEW MEDIA CONTENT CREATION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By CHRISTOPHER M. BINGHAM Norman, Oklahoma 2017 AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF TWITCH STREAMERS: NEGOTIATING PROFESSIONALISM IN NEW MEDIA CONTENT CREATION A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION BY _______________________________ Dr. Eric Kramer, Chair _______________________________ Dr. Ralph Beliveau _______________________________ Dr. Ioana Cionea _______________________________ Dr. Lindsey Meeks _______________________________ Dr. Sean O’Neill Copyright by CHRISTOPHER M. BINGHAM 2017 All Rights Reserved. Dedication For Gram and JJ Acknowledgements There are many people I would like to acknowledge for their help and support in finishing my educational journey. I certainly could not have completed this research without the greater Twitch community and its welcoming and open atmosphere. More than anyone else I would like to thank the professional streamers who took time out of their schedules to be interviewed for this dissertation, specifically Trainsy, FuturemanGaming, Wyvern_Slayr, Smokaloke, MrLlamaSC, BouseFeenux, Mogee, Spooleo, HeavensLast. and SnarfyBobo. I sincerely appreciate your time, and am eternally envious of your enthusiasm and energy. Furthermore I would like to acknowledge Ezekiel_III, whose channel demonstrated for me the importance of this type of research to semiotic theory, as well as CohhCarnage and ItmeJP, whose show Dropped Frames, allowed further insight into the social milieu of professional Twitch streaming. I thank Drew Harry, PhD, Twitch’s Director of Science for responding to my enquiries. Finally, I thank all the streamers and fans who attended TwitchCon in 2015 and 2016, for the wonderful experience. Intellectually, I owe a great debt to my committee, along with the many other scholars and teachers who helped me along the way. My chair, Dr. Eric M. Kramer, not only provided detailed guidance throughout my doctoral program, he is indeed the reason I decided to attend, and later stay, at the University of Oklahoma. Thanks for being a kindred spirit in my home department while also fostering discussion and encouraging disagreement on matters philosophical and theoretical. Dr. Ioana Cionea always grounded me in the scope of what I can examine and support in my research by reminding me to balance the theoretical with the empirical. As someone who spends too iv much time in my own head, I’m sure this was tough job. Dr. Sean O’Neill is the most positive and supportive voice that a doctoral student can have, who constantly challenged me to consider more theory, while encouraging me to move ahead. Dr. Ralph Beliveau was another kindred spirit, to whom I could speak with utmost honesty, and whose responses often crystalized the ideas that I had been struggling to put into words. Dr. Lindsey Meeks provided both depth and breadth to my knowledge of both media scholarship and the political dimensions of the theories I sought to address. There are many scholars outside of my committee I would also like to acknowledge. Dr. Clemencia Rodriguez always challenged me to expand my critical lens, and step out of my comfort zone by considering other dimensions. It saddens me that I was unable to finish this project while she was still on my committee. Dr. Michael Kramer, the Chair of my department, was always extremely supportive of the department’s graduate students, and for that I offer my deepest gratitude. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Elaine Hsieh, Dr. David Craig, Dr. Victoria Sturtevant, Dr. Lisa Foster, Dr. Glenn Hansen, and Dr. Patrick Meirick for their help in navigating my doctoral studies. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Rick Busselle, my Master’s Thesis Chair, for being supportive of the work that established my epistemological grounding. I would especially like to acknowledge Dr. Joan Hawkins, Dr. Mark Deuze, and Dr. Bob Rehak whose undergraduate instruction inspired me to seek a doctorate. Additional professors I would like to acknowledge are Dr. David Menchaca, Dr. Michael Salvador, and Brett Atwood, MA. Furthermore, I would like to thank my wife, Kimberly Marshall, whose support – both logistically and intellectually – was instrumental in allowing me to complete this v dissertation. My amazing sons, Jesse and Spencer, provided much needed support, motivation, and laughter throughout the ups and downs of academia. I send much love to my parents and grandparents, who were always supportive, even when they had no idea what I was doing or why. Thank you, everyone, for all your help. I hope this document lives up to the standards you taught me to seek. Any mistakes within are solely my own. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ………………………………………………...……………….…. iv Abstract ……………………………………………...……………………………….... xi CHAPTER 1. Introduction ……………………………………….…...…………….….. 1 Commodified Play and Normative Theory …………..…….………………..…. 3 Dissertation Overview ……………..………………………………………..….. 7 Coda ………………………………………..……………………………...… 9 CHAPTER 2. An Introduction to Twitch …………………………………….….……. 11 A History of Live Streaming ……………………..…………………………..... 11 ESports …………………….……………………………………………..... 12 Let’s Play Videos ……………………..……………………………...…….. 13 The Format of Twitch ……………………………………………..………..…. 15 Types of Streamers …………………………..………………………….…….. 17 Known genres …………………….…………………………………..……. 20 On Vocabulary ………………………….…………………………………….. 23 CHAPTER 3. Relevant Theory ……………………………….………………………. 24 Work and Play …………………………………….…………………...……… 25 Semiotics ……………………………………......…………………………….. 31 Media in the Digital Age …………………………..………………………...… 40 CHAPTER 4. Methods …………………………………..……………………………. 47 Ethnography and Semiotics …………………..………………………..…..….. 52 Critical Discourse Analysis …………………….…………………….……….. 55 Data Collection ………………………..………………………………….…… 56 Channel Pages: What’s For Sale on Twitch ………………….……….……. 57 Dropped Frames and the Profession of Streaming ……………..………..…. 60 Articulating an Approach to Professional Streaming: Interviews ……..…… 64 Commodified Play at TwitchCon ……………..……………………………. 68 CHAPTER 5. What’s for Sale on Twitch: Channel Pages ………………………….… 70 Generating Income ………………………………………………..…..………. 71 Channel Pages ………………………………………….……………….…….. 74 Channel Page Content ………………….………………………………..……. 76 (1) Brand Themed Headings …………………………….…………….…… 76 (2) Broadcaster’s Other Media …………………………..…………………. 77 (3) Donation Button / Tip Jar ……………………………….………..…….. 80 (4) Top Donators …………………………………..……………….………. 81 (5) The Rules of the Stream ……………………..………………….………. 83 (6) Streaming Schedule ………………………..…………………………… 84 (7) Games Played on Stream ………………………………….……………. 85 (8) Subscription Requests ………………………………..………………… 86 (9) Chat Icons ……………………………………..………………...……… 86 (10) Chat Functions ……………………………………..…………….……. 88 (11) Third Party Ads …………………………………….…………….…… 88 (12) Merchandise ……………………………………..……………….…… 89 (13) Community Building ……………………………………..…………… 90 (14) Post Office Box ……………………………………….………………. 90 vii (15) Invitation to Chat ………………………………..………………….…. 91 (16) Raffles ……………………………………..………………………….. 92 (17) Loyalty Tokens ………………………………………..………………. 93 (18) Goals ……………………………………….……………………...….. 95 (19) Personal Information ……………………………………..………..….. 95 (20) Play with Me ………………………………………..…………...…….. 96 (21) Reading Out Viewer Names ……………………………….…..……… 97 (22) Computer Specs …………………………………..……………...……. 98 (23) Expertise ……………………………………..………………….…….. 99 (24) Gamer Cred ……………………………………………….….....…… 100 (25) Charity ……………………………………………..……………...…. 101 (26) Artist Shout-Outs ………………………………………………..…… 101 The Functions of Channel pages ……………………………………..………. 102 Building a Brand …………………………………..…………………….... 102 Building a Community ………………………………………..…...……… 108 Building Credibility ……………………………………..………….…….. 116 Discussion ……………………………………………..……………..……… 118 CHAPTER 6. Dropped Frames and Professional Discourse …………….………….. 124 Dropped Frames ……….…………………………………………...……….. 125 Analyzing Dropped Frames …………………..……………………….…….. 131 How do Streamers Talk About… ……………………………...…………….. 133 Twitch Corporate ……………………………..…………………….…….. 133 Becoming Partnered ……………………………..……………..…………. 135 Production ………………………………..……………………….………. 136 Labor ……………………………………..…………………………….…. 137 No Rules or Guarantees ………………………………..…………………. 138 Unfavorable Self Comparison ……………….…………………...………. 140 The Streamer/Viewer Relationship …………….………………………… 141 Followers and Subscriptions ………………….…………………..……… 142 Personal Touches ……………………..…………………………….…….. 143 Other Streamers ………………………….…………………………..…… 144 Games ……………………………..………………………………...……. 145 Game Developers ……………………………………………..……...…… 146 Professional Considerations ………………………………..………….…….. 147 Uncertainty …………………………….……………………………...….. 148 Being Yourself ……………………………..……………………….…….. 150 Ethics and Responsibility to the Community ……………….………….…. 152 Ethics and Responsibility to Other Streamers …………….………………. 157 Anticipating the Future ……………….…………………………...……… 158 Monetization ………………………………………..………..…………… 160 Discussion …………………………………………..……………….………. 163 Certainty and Uncertainty …………………..……………………..……… 164 Economics and Friendship …………………..……………………………. 166 Conclusion ………………..………………………………………….…… 169 CHAPTER 7. Broadcaster Interviews: Community, Value, and Leadership …….….. 170 Interviews ………………………………..……………………………….….. 171 viii Questions ……………………..……………………………………………… 174 Results ……………………………..……………………………………...….