Window. Let’s dissect what is happening during a livestream.
Video Player
This is what viewers watch and it shows the streamer in real time. In this case, the streamer has chosen to use two camera angles, one head-on so she can make eye contact with viewers, and one from the side so they can see her playing. The song list, donation alert, URL, and list of who made donations are all called Overlays. Overlays are super fun and make the stream come to life.
Chat Window
The Chat Window is to the right of the video player and is where viewers communicate with each other and with the streamer (who reads the chat as they stream).
To post a message to the chat, write something in the box where it says “Send a message” then click Chat. The message gets posted to the chat chronologically with your username preceding your message.
To help manage the conversation, streamers have moderation tools to slow the speed of the chat, limit the chat to followers or subscribers only, have chat rules pop up before a viewer makes their first post, filter out certain word and phrases from posts, delete messages, and ban or block viewers. Streamers can also assign moderation privileges to other Twitch users. It is very common for popular streamers to have a number of volunteer moderators (mods) helping keep the chat clean, welcoming new viewers, posting informational messages, etc.
Chatbot & Chat Commands
Streamers can program a chatbot to automatically post messages to the chat at predetermined intervals. This is helpful since viewers join the stream at different times and may not know how the streamer prefers to take requests and donations and it’s tedious for everyone else if the streamer is explaining it to each new viewer. Chatbot messages can also be things like links to the streamer’s Instagram, merch page, Spotify profile, etc.
In the example above, StreamElements is the chatbot. There are many chatbot services and they mostly work the same. They can automatically post pre-programmed messages, post a notification when a viewer action has taken place (like a donation), and post a response when a chat command is posted to the chat.
A chat command is a keyword preceded by an exclamation point (like this: !prime). When posted to the chat, the command triggers the chatbot to post a pre-programmed message, in this case instructions on how to subscribe to the channel using your Amazon Prime account. This saves the chat moderators and the streamer time when common questions are asked in the chat.
Emotes
Emotes are what Twitch calls emoji. You can add emotes to your chat post by clicking the happy face in the chat box. A menu of available emotes pops up: global ones that anyone can use, and if you’re subscribed to any channels, you’ll see the ones they have created for their subscribers to use. Click the one you want to use and it gets added to your chat post.
People use emotes to punctuate their comments and to react to the streamer, like a way to visually clap or laugh or dance. If a viewer is watching the stream from a mobile device, they can also post emoji provided in their mobile’s keyboard, but it will not render as well as Twitch’s emotes.
Streamers who have Affiliate or Partner status are able to create custom emotes that only their subscribers can use. The emotes are usually very personal to the streamer, like a cartoon of them, and are sometimes used as a response to an inside joke they have with their audience.
Channel Points
Viewers can earn points on a channel by watching a stream (measured in minutes watched and consecutive streams watched), following the channel, buying cheermotes, buying subscriptions for other viewers, and other activity.
If a channel has channel points enabled, you’ll see the points and your current total right under the chat box.
Twitch presets how many points can be earned per activity and has some preset rewards, but streamers can choose what to offer in terms of rewards and how many points it takes to redeem them.
To see what can be redeemed, click the channel points avatar (which you can customize!) and a menu will pop up.
Once a reward is redeemed, it will post the redemption to the chat. “Highlight My Message” will highlight the user’s post to the chat. “Unlock a Random Sub Emote” or “Choose an Emote” will let a non-subscriber use one channel-specific emote for 24 hours. If you have made a custom reward, like “Song Request” above, then it’s up to the streamer to notice that the redemption was posted to the chat and to fulfill it.
Cheermotes & Bits
Cheermotes are animated emotes that viewers pay for with Bits (Twitch’s virtual currency which viewers spend real money to purchase). They show in the chat and on the streamer’s video for a short amount of time with an optional message from the viewer. They are similar to animated GIFs. It is a fun way of donating money to the streamer.
If you want to give a streamer Bits or send them a Cheermote, click the diamond in the chat box, buy Bits, then spend them on a Cheermote. Once you’ve selected a Cheermote to buy, you’ll see the Cheermote command in the chat box. You can add a message for the streamer after the Cheermote command and that will post alongside the Cheermote on the Video Player and in the chat. Click “chat” to post the Cheermote.
Viewers can also just donate Bits directly to the streamer. The streamer can make leaderboards of who has donated the most Bits over a set amount of time (like a monthly leaderboard). That leaderboard can show up at the top of your Chat Window or in a Panel you create.
