Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen

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Told through the diverse and fascinating careers of nine streamers, this is a timely and insightful dive into the players and politics of one of the twenty-first centurys most influential modes of media (Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine), examining how Twitch has revolutionized technology, entertainment, business, and pop culture.

With 2.5 million viewers at any given moment, the streaming platform Twitch is in the lead and often well beyond mainstream networks like CNN and Fox during primetime. On Twitch, the Amazon-owned tech behemoth, the biggest personalities, like Kai Cenat, Flix xQc Lengyel, and Hasan HasanAbi Piker, can earn millions per year by firing up their internet connection and going live.

Veteran technology and gaming journalist Nathan Grayson captures the multitudes contained within Twitch while offering a captivating window into content creators lives (Publishers Weekly), especially those who helped make the platform into a billion-dollar global business. From Twitchs early days of rapid growth to acquisition by Amazon to the defection of creators and rival platforms, Grayson makes the radical argument that many social technology companies are far more dependent on their creators than the creators are on their platforms.

Told through nine exceptional Twitch creators whose on-screen personalities helped the company grow into a powerhouse, this is the explosive and necessary (Mark Bergen, author of Like, Comment, Subscribe) story of when entertainment meets the internet in the era of social and video content domination.

Author Bio

Nathan Grayson is a founder and reporter atAftermath, a worker-owned tech, video game, and digital publication from veterans of sites likeThe Washington Post,Vice, andKotaku. He has reported on the world of live streaming for half a decade and has conducted interviews with dozens of professional livestreamers.Stream Bigis his first book. You can follow Nathan on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Vahn16.