Three Things That Rock About the YouTube Makeover
In case you haven’t noticed, YouTube got a major makeover; probably the biggest one since the site launched.
As you all know, the Google peeps have been working really hard on redesigning their products — Gmail, Google+, Google Mobile — so everything looks clean, easy to navigate, and user friendly. But, most importantly, they’re creating a platform with seamless integration between all of their products, and You Tube is no exception.
The redesign got a bunch of mixed reviews; some people think that YouTube is trying to compete with TV and that will not happen, some people don’t like the look. I think many of them are missing the bigger point: YouTube is not trying to reinvent TV, but is trying to bring the “TV experience” to a social platform.
Here are 3 (of my personal favorite) things you can look forward to in the new YouTube:
1- Social Integration:
Now you can see what your friends are watching, you can connect to Facebook — and of course, Google+ — share videos and view a feed of videos posted by your friends. You also have the ability to filter videos, so only relevant ones will come up in your feed. Pretty cool.
2- Channels
According to YouTube, Channels are the most important addition to the new redesign. “The future of the YouTube experience has channels at the center of it,” said Margaret Stewart, director of User Experience at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California. “It’s a container for all the world’s video, and it needs to be the best home for that.”
Think of channels like people you follow on Twitter or blogs you subscribe to. You follow them because they provide you with content you enjoy and you keep coming back because there’s always something new posted that you want to read. Channels work the same way. For many, YouTube is a place to go looking for a specific video. With the redesign, YouTube hopes users will make a habit of visiting the site just to see what’s playing on their favorite channels. “More and more, behind every great video is a great Channel, we want to make it easier for you to find and keep tabs of what you want to watch,” YouTube wrote on its blog.
3- Movies
I was very surprised about how many people who reviewed the redesign left this one out. To me, this is the game changer. If you go to your homepage on YouTube, you’ll find “Movies” at the top of the page. Once you click, you’ll be amazed–you find the latest movies for as low as 99 cents. Yeah! It beats AppleTV, Redbox and of course, OnDemand. When I saw that, the first scenario that came to mind is this:
It’s Friday night, I’ve had a long week and I’d love to curl up in my couch, drink a glass of wine and watch a funny movie. I decide I’ll watch Bridesmaids, since I heard it was hilarious. I go to Netflix from my AppleTV, nope they don’t have it yet. I go to AppleTV, it’s $4.99. I think, maybe I can find it on FiOS OnDemand for cheaper… wrong — it’s $5.99.
Well, now there’s YouTube. For 99c, I could do a comedy marathon! And that’s not all; they have tons of other movies for… wait for it… Free!
So here it is, my 3 favorite new additions to YouTube. I invite you all to get a Gmail Account (If you haven’t already done so) and go checkout your homepage. Meanwhile, here’s a Tutorial YouTube put together to get you started.
Happy Video Surfing!
Mariam Guessous is a Junior Art Director at Launchpad Advertising, the Interaction Agency®, which is dedicated to developing and executing communications that drive relationships between customers and consumers from brand to buy. Find out more at lpnyc.com.