Methodology
How Glowing Kiwi reads Twitch movement
Glowing Kiwi compares periodic observations of public Twitch data. It is designed to show change over time without presenting estimates or associations as certainty.
Data collection
Glowing Kiwi periodically observes public category and stream information through the official Twitch API. Collection runs on the server on the production schedule. Loading a page does not call Twitch or trigger a collection.
Observations over time
Current values are the most recent stored observation. Historical observations make comparisons possible. An exact observation includes the full set collected for that category; a value marked with a plus sign is a minimum observed total because the category had more streams than one collection cycle retrieved.
A missing observation means no usable sample exists for that point. “Not enough history” means the category has not been observed continuously enough for a trustworthy comparison. Glowing Kiwi does not substitute an older point and label it as a current comparison.
Audience movement
Shorter and longer comparison windows reveal different behavior. Glowing Kiwi follows when meaningful movement begins, its strongest measured gain, its peak, its current level, and whether the audience remains elevated, cools from the peak, or returns toward where it began.
Trend periods
A trend period joins related observations into one developing story instead of publishing the same movement as a new event every collection. A movement can be newly emerging, remain active, begin cooling after its peak, and eventually end. Brief borderline observations do not automatically split an obvious continuous movement.
Broadcasters and attribution
Top live channels
These are simply the largest currently observed streams in a category. Their size does not mean they caused a category movement.
Movement contributors
These appear only when enough observed evidence connects broadcaster audience changes with the measured category change. The language describes association, not proven causation.
Broadcaster transitions
A transition means the same broadcaster was directly observed in one category and then another in consecutive samples. The stream audience shown is the broadcaster’s audience at that observation. It does not mean that every viewer, or any specific number of viewers, followed the broadcaster.
Limitations
Twitch audiences change quickly, while Glowing Kiwi observes them periodically rather than continuously. API requests can occasionally fail or leave gaps. High-volume categories can produce minimum observed totals. Values can also differ from Twitch’s current display because the observations were taken at different times.
Glowing Kiwi is therefore not a perfect record of every stream or viewer. It is a time-sampled view of public Twitch activity, with uncertainty shown where it matters.