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Twitch announced today that stories are now available in the platform’s mobile app. Similar to the feature of the same name on Snapchat, Instagram and other social platforms, Twitch’s stories let streamers post photos, text or clips that expire after 48 hours. The company frames the feature as helping creators reach and stay connected with their communities while offline. It first announced the feature in July.

At least at launch, the ability to create Twitch stories is limited to partners and affiliates with at least one stream from the last 30 days. However, all users (after updating to the app’s latest version) will be able to see them at the top of the Following page. The company says access will roll out gradually to eligible streamers by the end of this week — and beyond as more creators meet the requirements.

In addition, creators with at least 30 subscribers (including gift subs) can make subscriber-only stories. Twitch recommends using this feature to “add even more value to your supporters’ subscriptions through exclusive content.”

Twitch suggests using stories for easy outreach to followers, scheduling updates and adding visual flare or fun. The mobile app will push alerts to followers when a streamer posts a story, although it also includes notification settings to control the frequency. Meanwhile, creators can see the total views and reactions for each story they post — including after they expire.

“Viewers will see your stories live alongside stories created by other streamers they follow, so post regularly throughout the week to keep your community in-the-know and up-to-date between your streams,” the company wrote in its announcement blog post.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-adds-stories-to-keep-followers-tuned-in-181726337.html?src=rss 

The once-ubiquitous social media site Myspace is getting the documentary treatment, with a film currently in the works that chronicles the rise and fall of the house that Tom built. The movie’s a joint project between production companies Gunpowder & Sky and The Documentary Group, as originally reported by Deadline.

Gunpowder & Sky has produced a number of well-known documentaries, such as 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez and Everybody’s Everything, about deceased rapper Lil Peep. The Documentary Group’s behind shows like Amend: The Fight for America and The Deep End, a series focusing on spiritual wellness guru Teal Swan.

As for behind-the-camera talent, the film’s being directed by Tommy Avallone, who recently helmed the Barney docuseries I Love You, You Hate Me and The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons from a Mythical Man. The film will feature the social media site’s founders Tom Anderson (yes, that Tom) and Chris DeWolfe, in addition to a spate of celebrities who got their start on the platform.

Myspace was the social media site to beat before it was, well, beat by Facebook. The platform launched in 2003 and set the world on fire, becoming an important music promotional tool long before Bandcamp, Spotify and even YouTube. There was a guy named Tom who everyone was chums with. Folks agonized over which real-life friends to put in their list of top eight digital friends. There were some truly grody wallpaper options for your page, and the idea of an Internet troll wasn’t really a thing yet. It was a simpler time.

Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler said the documentary is a no-brainer for folks of a certain age bracket, noting that his colleagues at the time “were all obsessed with Myspace,” going on to say “without Myspace there’s no TikTok, no Facebook, no YouTube, no Instagram, no social media.”

One must understand that before Facebook, people just expected social media sites to enjoy a few months or even years in the sun before making way for the next big thing. That’s the way it was with Myspace, Friendster, SixDegrees, Classmates and all the rest. Then along came Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, beginning the era of the “too big to fail” social media platform. Recent years have finally shown cracks in the armor of these old-school giants, with Twitter’s stark drop from relevance and generational shifts from Facebook to platforms like TikTok. In other words, massive sea changes of the kind that sank Myspace are no longer unthinkable.

There’s no release date for the Myspace documentary, nor has there been an announcement if it would run in theaters or just on a streaming platform. We’ll have to play the waiting game for a while longer.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nostalgia-alert-theres-a-documentary-about-myspace-in-the-works-183359176.html?src=rss 

LinkedIn has announced its second round of layoffs this year. The Microsoft division is shedding around 668 workers from across its engineering, product, talent and finance teams.

“While we are adapting our organizational structures and streamlining our decision making, we are continuing to invest in strategic priorities for our future and to ensure we continue to deliver value for our members and customers,” LinkedIn said in its announcement. “We are committed to providing our full support to all impacted employees during this transition and ensuring that they are treated with care and respect.”

In May, LinkedIn revealed plans to lay off 716 people and close its job search app in China. As such, LinkedIn will have cut nearly 1,400 jobs this year amid widespread layoffs across the tech industry in 2023. Microsoft, which just bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, laid off around 10,000 workers in the first few months of 2023.

In Microsoft’s most recent earnings report (which covers April to June), the company said that LinkedIn’s earnings had increased by five percent year-over-year. It noted that membership growth had “accelerated for eight quarters in a row” and that the platform had more than 950 million users. Microsoft is set to announce financial results for the July-September period, the first quarter of its fiscal year, on October 24.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/linkedin-lays-off-600-workers-in-second-round-of-cuts-this-year-154223614.html?src=rss