Basically everything I've got that is relevant is about information propagation in networks... It'd probably be easier for you to build an agent based simulation to model this out than to dive into the literature on it, even if you have to learn to code.
That won't be very free on Twetch.
Finding a niche should be a natural byproduct of getting value from the system.
But because Twetch is a negative sum game for money, most people will spend more than they earn here. Hence why it's better to focus on value gained from interactions.
To simplify, all of the problems you identify are a result of the homogeneous culture here that promotes shitposting.
I'm suggesting ways to make the culture heterogeneous, to make cultural niches viable.
This is the one missing piece for Twetch.
For a user to be established, they have to find their niche. They don't have to be interesting or clever, because when they find their niche, they'll be able to produce signal with others who perceive their actions as signal rather than noise.
Signal =/= echo chamber unless that's exactly what you're looking for.
Regarding me having a following, sure, but if my way were the one taken, the provided feeds would be much easier to navigate to find something you find valuable.
Not necessarily filtering out noise, but filtering for signal, where that signal is unique to each individual user.
This is where incentivized content tagging may be useful...
No, the solution isn't to disconnect the network completely...
And no, that's not "good marketing"... It's good pigeonholing.
In terms of money, it's negative sum because there are fees involved.
But I get the sense that you're attaching far more to the concepts of positive, zero, or negative sum games than actually exists within those concepts.
In terms of money, it is very much a negative sum game.
My point is, if you focus on the money, you focus on the negative sum game.
So, focus on the real wealth/value creation instead.
I don't think the name is all that important one way or the other. It's got the few traits that it needs, so it's good enough.
As in they're all somewhere else? lol...
I can tell you, I haven't seen a single giveaway in my Twetch experience since I stopped looking at the feeds they provide me.
Nor have I seen the beggars trying to get money from me.
If someone is annoying you, give them a 1 cent toll. See what happens. The response will tell you a lot about who you're dealing with.
I don't even need to look at the following, latest, top, etc. feeds because this is sufficient for now.
Notice, I did two things:
1) I paid the first person who responded with real value
2) I'm only replying to notifications.
There's more, too, but these were essential.
I've created an incentivized, push-notification content feed.
Own your own data, curate your own feed, use incentives to spend less time while getting more of what you really want.
If they'd started with that, then the cultural homogeneity problem wouldn't exist right now. And, there'd be a lot less noise.
Look at the quality of your interactions, and improve them through incentives... Then, your signal:noise ratio will improve, and you'll shift the cost/benefit balance of the noise makers, too.
Giveaways lie in the category of noise, yes?
Signal:noise is the important thing.
This is an incentive based platform. So, use the incentives you have at your disposal.
If someone branches a giveaway, unfollow them.
I think your assessment is spot on.
More people => More natural differences between people
But that alone can't make this a heterogeneous culture when homogeneity is being socially reinforced, and differences actively squashed.
*Shrug*
It's not like it's hard.
Make a little noise, don't overdo it, be a better troll than the trolls who come your way (and only use those skills on the trolls), and make a couple of valuable points along the way.
Even the shitposters play my game.
Oh, Jack doesn't want to be involved in a thread with me. He thinks very poorly of me.
Besides, you should build this yourself.
Sure. That's an option.
I'd suggest you make that a generalized system rather than app specific.
I think just a curated feed would do the trick. Follow certain people by topics that they post about (using incentivized tags to determine this,) and individually set rules for posts from those you don't follow.
Nothing top-down. All user created.
I'm not shitting on the platform. I've said many times, the foundations here are pretty solid. It's the culture that sucks.
That won't change merely because Twetch is growing. There needs to be a shift away from homogeneity in culture.
