Back on December 1st, Soulja Boy made history by becoming the 1st rapper to get banned from Twitch...twice in one day lol! DeAndre Cortez, mogul rapper turned game streamer, recently got his Twitch streaming account banned for unconfirmed reasons. The suspension, then ban, both happened mid-stream.
What's crazy about this is there's a lot of people that were on the stream who believe the 1st ban was for copyright infringement...for playing his own damn song 😂. Web2 is ass lol. Streamers aren't able to be themselves and the algorithm is like a dictator, standing over your shoulder waiting on you to make a mistake.
The move by Twitch seemed to really disappoint Soulja Boy, which in my eyes is more than understandable, especially since he's one of the influencers that gave Twitch the crossover appeal needed to be a household name. Initially, after the ban he threatened to sue Twitch, but we know how Web2 works. If you make an account on a centralized platform, it isn't yours...not the account, not the content...yea your name, but no not yours. They could ban you for sneezing if they wanted to. You agreed to it when you signed up.
This is why content creators and influencers need to embrace Web3 more than ever. Someone as deeply ingrained in the gaming industry as Soulja Boy doesn't need to depend on traditional platforms like Twitch to keep an audience. Indeed, use them for their commercial advantages if you choose (until they ban you), but start early staking your claim in the world of Web3.
We see platforms like Vimm.tv and 3Speak (both built here on HIVE) that are empowering streamers with blockchain tech that incentivizes users and gives the streamers ownership of their accounts.
On top of the earning potential and community incentives, true Web3 accounts are immutable, meaning they can't be suspended, changed, or censored by any outside entity. Once streamers realize the kind of power this gives them we should see a huge influx of gamers to blockchain streaming platforms.
I personally think we're in the early stages of creatives making that transition. The easier the onboarding process gets, the more users will come. Unfortunately, Web3 is a buzz word that a lot of suits and VCs are trying milk at the moment. Only time will tell how that battle plays out.