Discoverability
Latest
Twitch improves stream discovery with search revamp
Twitch search has never been bad, per se, but it's fair to say that plenty of folks discover streams by other means -- social links, Google or just by scanning the front page. The site is making an effort to improve discoverability on its own site with a new search function. It now updates in real time across games, live channels, users and video, giving you multiple options when you're searching keywords. Hitting "more" will give you a full list of results in each category, ordered by popularity.
Twitter rolls out 'Connect' to help you follow more accounts
Connect, Twitter's newest feature, allows users on iOS or Android to browse a curated list of accounts to follow -- it's like having a personal stylist for your Twitter account. The recommendations will be refined over time, but they're based on who you follow, tweets you like, popular local accounts, world events and a few other parameters. Twitter will explain why it's showing you each recommendation, too.
Opening the valve: Steam Curators rule the front page
Ask a hundred independent developers what impacts their sales most and you'll likely get a hundred different answers, but among the more popular ones will be the topic of discoverability, the ways in which prospective buyers are able to find lesser-known video games. Platforms like the App Store and Steam see a lot of foot-traffic in their featured sections, and even brief visibility for independent developers can make for a massive difference in their bottom line. As more games have made their way to Steam via regular release, Greenlight and Early Access, it's become vastly more difficult for a new game to be discovered. Enter Steam Curators, Valve's means of placing the weight of game recommendations on those outside its walls. The service launched this week and allows any person or brand (such as your friends here at Joystiq) to compile lists of games their followers should play, shifting the scope of the store's front page to include recommended games and a section for popular curators. Given Steam's incredible popularity and its status as a "must-have" piece of PC gaming software, Steam Curators is a major step for the service, and developers hope that it might heavily influence independent game sales.
