As I watch Riot's LCS Promotional Series, I figured it was a great time to talk briefly about Twitch and how, as a Community Manager, I think it's really the place to be for gaming companies. You may or may not be aware of the fact that Twitch streams more video than WWE, ESPN, and MLB. For any of you who aren't interested in traditional sports, that's HUGE. However, it makes sense. I know I personally watch at least 5 hours of streams a day, whether it's on my commute home, my lunch break, or when I'm crashing out for the night, I've usually got Twitch on.

If my obsessive interest in Twitch doesn't convince you, just look at the viewer numbers for the top 50 streams. They are massive throughout the whole day. Unlike TV or regular sport media outlets, there is rarely (read never) down time for video gamers. Someone, somewhere is streaming their gaming session.

When I joined Gameloft, getting the company active on Twitch was my special project and I've had a blast with it. We've seen small but consistent growth on the network, but I think it's to be expected. Mobile gaming is still considered an "inferior" form of gaming compared to PC Master Race or Console fanboys. I can't really hate on it because in all honesty, prior to joining Gameloft, I was someone who really only used my phone/tablet for gaming on the go. Regardless though, it's been awesome to see growth on Twitch compared to the pain and frustration I've associated with other networks (cough, Facebook, cough).

As you can see from the above infographic, Twitch hits on a great demographic for video game companies and also boasts some insane numbers in terms of viewing time and retention. Compared to other networks which can feature a wide variety of content, Twitch is focused on one thing and one thing only, gaming. One network that has been insanely frustrating for me in regards to promoting content is Facebook. Since joining Gameloft in July, Facebook has gone from a network that allows pages to push out self-created content and get decent organic reach to a network that is trying to position itself as a faux news site. This kills reach and your ability to reach your audience, unless of course you pay to advertise.

While Twitch growth can be slow, using already established networks and consistent programming, companies can reach niche audiences that crave video content. They crave developer interaction. They crave the ability to have real-time interaction with other viewers on games they are passionate about. Why pass up on this opportunity to engage with your fans?

So, if you're a speed reader and looking for a TL;DR here it is: If you make video games, you should be broadcasting on Twitch. I think overall the benefits of growing a hardcore, game focused community on Twitch can give you content opportunities you won't get on other networks. It'll be interesting to see if my opinion changes as MLG TV and Azubu 2.0 gain traction. Only time will tell!

Next week I think I'll share why Community Managers are anger sponges and maybe some of the awesome tweets I get about Modern Combat 5.