Twitch on a smartphone. Image: Paul Stringer/Shutterstock
Amazon-owned Twitch is launching a Twitter competitor.
Twitch, the gamer’s go-to entertainment hub, has launched a Twitter-like service called Pulse that acts as a social feed for gaming fans.
The new social network, which will go live on Twitch and its mobile app, allows users to post multimedia and text snippets in real time.
Posts will appear to a user’s followers as well as their friends on the front page.
The new Pulse service will support links from platforms including Vimeo, YouTube, Twitch, Imgur, Gfycat and others.
Twitch was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $970m in cash and could be a useful springboard for the latter’s greater digital ambitions.
Twitch describes Pulse as “a place where streamers can post and engage with all of their followers and the greater Twitch community right from the Twitch front page.
“It’s an always-on way to share clips, stream highlights, schedules, photos and more, so followers are more informed, engaged and connected.
“For streamers, the posts you create on your Channel Feed will also appear on Pulse on the front page to all of your friends and followers. This will allow you to not only interact with followers and viewers you regularly engage with, but also with those who might not visit your channel page as frequently. Channel Feed will be auto-enabled for all streamers in mid-March.”
Pulse signals Amazon’s vision for the future of entertainment
Twitch said that Pulse will begin its roll-out today for all logged-in users on the front page and the mobile app.
The overall roll-out will take place over the coming weeks.
The arrival of Pulse signals a new dimension in the social media space: dedicated social networks for specific genres.
For Twitter, which has a large gaming community, the move may be an unwelcome threat.
For Amazon, it is an exciting new departure that could be the testing ground for its myriad of interests, from streaming TV, home entertainment and more.
Twitch on a smartphone. Image: Paul Stringer/Shutterstock
