I’ve spent a lot of time going to corporate trade shows and events over the years. Going to TwitchCon, however, was unknown territory for me - the last one happened before I had ever gone live. I went, excited, full of hope and expectation, nervous that I wouldn’t fit in…

The Road to Amsterdam

After leaving it a little late, registering for TwitchCon and booking accommodation wasn’t too difficult. I would strongly recommend booking early if you plan to go. Accommodation goes quickly, and the prices for travel rise just as quick. In the end, we stayed around 10km from the RAI and drove from the UK to get there. Regardless of where the event is held in future, the advice would be the same: book early, plan ahead, budget for unexpected problems.

TwitchCon happened to be right in the middle of one of the biggest heatwaves we’ve had in Northern Europe, so trains were getting cancelled, flights delayed or cancelled, huge airport delays were common; you can imagine some of the chaos.

Driving - even though it was a long trip - was actually the most straightforward and cost-effective option. Especially if you can go as a group. We had the flexibility to stop whenever or wherever we wanted.

Things TwitchCon Got Right

As a spectacle, vibrant, loud, and exciting, it was a hit. TwitchCon definitely sends you away pumped up and excited for streaming, gaming, or whatever your interest is (there were people representing a huge array of different categories). Even as a small streamer, I never felt like I was unjustified being there. Everyone I spoke to on a stand or in a session was excited to share their knowledge, extend their support, or listen.

There were lots of sessions on offer, covering a good number of topics. One of my favourites being about charity streaming, and learning about what it takes to do it. I came away with a page of ideas and actions I couldn’t wait to start working on once I got home. I enjoyed hearing from other streamers about their journey, the innovations they have on their streams, and advice they’d give to others. There was a welcome theme of not gatekeeping knowledge; instead, sharing it widely and freely - a rising tide floats all boats, after all.

It felt busy at times, but never overcrowded, and in general I would say that I never felt uncomfortable or rushed. The venue was big so definitely wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to get those steps in!

As a Twitch Affiliate, it was nice to get recognised with some exclusive swag, but there aren’t any other obvious perks unless you’re a Twitch Partner; those lucky folks had their own lounge!

Wi-Fi seemed to be pretty hit-and-miss for people (based on anecdotal eavesdropping on folks as I walked around). I was fortunate to have roaming included with my mobile operator, so I could just use my phone. If you rely on Wi-Fi you might want to have a ‘plan B’, such as a second SIM with a data plan if your phone supports it.

For the money, I feel like there was a good return - but you have to make it work for you. Sessions tended to be very busy, some standing room only, so don’t dawdle getting to your session rooms if you want a good seat.

Opportunities TwitchCon Missed

I’d never really considered how good some of the trade shows and conferences I’ve been to in my professional career are until I went to TwitchCon. Don’t worry - I’m not about to trash talk the event! That said, there seemed to be some obvious opportunities the folks at Twitch missed that could have made it even better.

• Live caption event streams! This was probably the biggest and most visual miss. The theatre for the opening ceremony was packed, so they streamed the event (and lots more throughout the days) in the ‘big room’ on huge screens suspended from the ceiling. The acoustics in this room were atrocious making it very difficult to understand what people were saying. There were no captions overlaid. Even without a hearing impairment (I have a very minor one), I don’t know how folks understood what was happening. It feels like such an obvious accessibility win, one which promotes inclusivity and consideration, and is increasingly ‘standard’ at major events - I’ve no idea why they didn’t do it. Above all, this was my biggest disappointment and made me really empathise with people who may have felt excluded from the experience.

• Take my money! A lot of people attending will have disposable income they’re ready to spend - I know this because the queue for the Loot Cave was always healthy. But if you didn’t want to buy a pin badge, a hoodie, or a bag, your options were limited. The event was screaming out to have a shop selling tech. Even if Twitch hadn’t been able to get hardware vendors there surely Amazon could have sprung a pop up store selling gaming equipment? And even if I’d not been able to buy it there to take home, I’d have welcomed a chance to see more vendors there with kit to experience first hand - whether it’s cameras, Stream Decks, audio equipment, lighting, green screens, whatever you think of… there were very limited options to experience them first hand. Which, for a convention aimed at the streaming community, feels like a big miss. The expo floor felt empty in places - large sections just blank. Clearly, they’d set aside space for more stands to have been sold. Also - a note to those companies investing in a booth or a stand: think about how you come across. A big, grey, double-sized booth which you barely fill, and adorn with handwritten or hastily printed sheets of paper doesn’t exactly inspire me to stop by and say hello. Buy a smaller booth, brand it better, capture my interest. Otherwise I’ll spend all of my time on the bigger stands. There was one stand which had seemingly been abandoned by its occupants. That’s a huge no-no where I come from!

  The Expo Hall felt like it was having an existential crisis. It was the ‘everything room’ - but it was also a bit of the nothing room. It was interesting to walk around and see the latest from Team17 or SEGA, and there were a couple of other interesting sights, but really it was a bit of a mess. I’m used to walking a floor like that and actively having to avoid being accosted by an enthusiastic employee keen to talk to me about their products… at TwitchCon it did feel a little the other way round. It’s a weird dynamic. Maybe my expectations were wrong, or too high?

• Facilitate community meet-ups! I stopped by the Sea of Thieves and the Twitch London meet-ups, and these were really the weakest part of the overall event. Essentially empty rooms filled with micro groups of people all too nervous to talk to each other, lurking in hope of seeing their favourite streamer. I think there has to be a give-get from the organisers on this. If they’re going to allow those types of things to happen, they should also require them to be ‘hosted’. For example, why not run a bit of a speed-dating style meet and greet for people to get to know each other? Have someone there to generate some energy? At least throw up a standee that’s got the session name on it? Twitch London is an ‘official’ community on Twitch, and yet there was no information there pointing me to the forthcoming meet-up in London, or where to find more info. Print up some leaflets or put up some QR codes for folks to learn more. Make me feel like this is something to get involved in!

• More sessions, more topics. Whilst there were some interesting sessions on offer, some felt like glorified adverts. Here are some sessions I’d love to have seen:

  • How to make your streams more accessible.
  • Top tips for optimising your streaming software to make your streams easier to manage when you’re live.
  • Protecting your identity online: tips on safety and security for streamers.
  • How to get started streaming: what do you really need to go live?
  • Managing money - going from hobbyist to full time, how to think about money, tax, setting up a business, etc.
  • So you want to stream some retro games? Considerations for capturing older consoles or games on your stream.
  • Protecting your mental well-being as a streamer; advice and guidance for building resilience and staying healthy.

  Again, maybe my expectations are wrong, but surely the goal for Twitch is to get more viewers to spend more time and money on the platform and it achieves this by having more successful streamers going live more of the time. And it gets those by training them and empowering them to be the best… so why not have an agenda packed with sessions geared to do just that?

The more I think about it, the more ideas I have. And I have to balance the fact that TwitchCon isn’t an expensive event to attend compared to a corporate event. But then what is TwitchCon? Is it a convention, a trade show, a conference, or a bit of everything? Whatever it is, I want to go next year and that can only mean it was worthwhile. I just want it to be even better!

Did you go to TwitchCon? How did you find the event?