A thread on @Dream, his friends, Minecraft, insane Twitter engagement, and more:

Dream & friends' (@GeorgeNotFound, @tommyinnit, @Quackity, @TubboLive, @WilburSoot, etc) meteoric rise and the massive return of Minecraft has been one of the most amazing gaming stories this year.

1/ What do Dream and crew get so right?

On the surface, it's clear that they show the power of good storytelling and each of our desires to "hang out" with a group of friends that are having fun.

(image @Animagician_)
2/ This remains one of, if not the most important draws for great parasocial content -- whether it be Seinfeld, @DavidDobrik's vlogs, or Dream SMP content, the same is true:

We want to feel a little less alone and spend time in the worlds of these friends we know so much about.
3/ Watching this new wave of superstars take over YouTube / Twitch / Twitter gaming cultures has been incredible and bizarre.

Check the replies and engagement here:
https://t.co/ntqD5Om4Ke
4/ Dream speaks to the underrated and remarkable nature of Minecraft, too. In its 9th year, the game continues to dominate. Why?

Accessible, multi-platform, wide appeal? Sure - but more importantly: it is infinitely extendable. It's a creator's perfect sandbox. (image @SipoverS)
5/ I'm hopeful that more game devs will push in this direction. Roblox has already done so, and Fortnite continues to evolve toward this with creative mode.

You can imagine a world where Among Us allows for much richer customization of modes and maps, for example.
6/ Dream and co have become a force of gravity in gaming, bringing creators like @MrBeastYT, @Lazarbeam, and @KarlJacobs_ into the fold and coming together for massive Among Us collaborations with other newly minted 2020 superstars like @Valkyrae, @Corpse_Husband, and @Sykkuno.
7/ Among Us has become the new streamer all-star game, typically with some faction of the Dream group at the center alongside @Valkyrae and/or @Corpse_Husband:

https://t.co/s0K6YJkmUX

https://t.co/k8GzOK72yc
8/ Stories like this are amazing to watch, especially when most people act as though YouTube is a fixed game (it's too late, others have too much of a head start, you need money to compete).

This year, many creators proved that to be false, with @Dream leading the way.
9/ I'm not an expert on Dream or Minecraft, but this has been fascinating to try and understand.

There are undoubtedly other reasons for this growth. I'd love to read/watch any other thoughtful content on it.

We're watching something special and I don't expect it to end soon!
10/ As a final note:

I'd be remiss to not mention that both Dream and @Corpse_Husband are "faceless" YouTubers -- they hide their identity.

This is such a big idea that I think it needs its own thread or essay. I'll save that for another time.

But watch that trend closely :)
Really good analysis on how Dream games the YT algorithm

https://t.co/O12cJOB0yc

More from Fun

You May Also Like

My top 10 tweets of the year

A thread 👇

https://t.co/xj4js6shhy


https://t.co/b81zoW6u1d


https://t.co/1147it02zs


https://t.co/A7XCU5fC2m
#24hrstartup recap and analysis

What a weekend celebrating makers looks like.

A thread

👇Read on

Let's start with a crazy view of what @ProductHunt looked like on Sunday

Download image and upload

A top 7 with:
https://t.co/6gBjO6jXtB @Booligoosh
https://t.co/fwfKbQha57 @stephsmithio
https://t.co/LsSRNV9Jrf @anthilemoon
https://t.co/Fts7T8Un5M @J_Tabansi
Spotify Ctrl @shahroozme
https://t.co/37EoJAXEeG @kossnocorp
https://t.co/fMawYGlnro

If you want some top picks, see @deadcoder0904's thread,

We were going to have a go at doing this, but he nailed it.

It also comes with voting links 🖐so go do your


Over the following days the 24hr startup crew had more than their fair share of launches

Lots of variety: web, bots, extensions and even native apps

eg. @jordibruin with