PogChamp or simply Pog is an emote used on the streaming platform Twitch intended to express excitement, intrigue, joy or shock.[1][2][3][4] The image originally depicted streamer Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez with a surprised or shocked expression,[5] which originated from a YouTube video uploaded to Gutierrez's channel, Cross Counter TV, on November 26, 2010.[6][7][4] The original emote was added to Twitch's pool of global emotes in 2012 and was later removed in January 2021, after Gutierrez expressed support for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[8] Twitch responded to calls to revive the emote by alternating between several unique designs every 24 hours, each using a similar expression,[9] and eventually allowed viewers to vote on one of these faces to become the permanent replacement during what they called "The PogChampening".[10] Users voted for an image of a Komodo dragon, which is also the basis for the KomodoHype emote.
Ryan Gutierrez was initially reluctant to allow Twitch to use his likeness for the original PogChamp emote, but soon made a deal to allow its use for between US$50,000 and US$100,000 and undisclosed additional concessions.[11]
The emote, like others on Twitch, is displayed at a very small size of 56 by 56 pixels. PC Gamer described the PogChamp emote as "one of the most ubiquitous emotes in Twitch history [...] used to react to decisive moments",[12] while Kotaku stated it "[indicated] surprise and hype".[13] CNN describes the use of PogChamp as a gamer's expression for excitement, expanding the use of the PogChamp emote to the word PogChamp and its variants "Pog" and "Poggers" to describe "particularly awesome" moments.[4] Emotes in general have been reported by CNN to be popularly used "ad nauseum [sic]" during moments while gamer activity is livestreamed.[4] Given the long history of the use of the PogChamp emote and its variants, Twitch acknowledges the impact of PogChamp's role in shaping the culture of its streaming services.[14]
- ^ Kelly, Makena (January 6, 2021). "Twitch deletes PogChamp emote because it's now the face of 'further violence'". The Verge.
- ^ Ford, Colin; Gardner, Dan; Horgan, Leah Elaine; Liu, Calvin; tsaasan, a. m.; Nardi, Bonnie; Rickman, Jordan (2017-05-06). Written at Denver, Colorado, USA. Chat Speed OP PogChamp: Practices of Coherence in Massive Twitch Chat. Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI EA '17. University of California, Irvine: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 858–871. doi:10.1145/3027063.3052765. ISBN 978-1-4503-4656-6. S2CID 23784118.
For instance, a string of PogChamp messages indicated amazement at an impressive play or situation,
- ^ Davis, Paul K.; O'Mahony, Angela; Pfautz, Jonathan (2019-04-09). Social-Behavioral Modeling for Complex Systems. John Wiley & Sons. p. 421. ISBN 978-1-119-48496-7.
- ^ a b c d Liao, Shannon (7 January 2021). "PogChamp emote deleted for ties to Capitol violence". CNN.
- ^ "PogChamp". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ PogChamp Original Video | Cross Counter Bloopers! With Gootecks and Mike Ross. Cross Counter TV. November 26, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 8, 2021). "Twitch pulls PogChamp emote". EuroGamer.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
pcmag-pogwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ @Twitch (January 8, 2021). "Get ready for a new PogChamp every 24 hours, starting today." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
pogchampeningwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Twitch's Pogchamp Removal Was Never Enough, And Now It's Turning Into A Disaster". Kotaku Australia. January 12, 2021.
- ^ Winkie, Luke (2020-11-20). "Twitch emote meanings: a dictionary of small internet pictures". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (May 7, 2018). "How To Read Twitch Chat". Kotaku. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved 2021-01-15.