‘YouTube’

The new YouTube design has been met with mixed reactions. There are those who embrace change and accept that it normally requires a bit of getting used to and then there are those who outright reject such. It has been high time for a new look and since Google as well as Facebook have made some rather radical changes over the last couple of months, can anyone blame YouTube for wanting to be with the trendsetters?

The beta version of the new YouTube design was at first kept under the blankets, but some people willingly shared their knowledge of how to see the new face of the largest video sharing online site. YouTube has at least explained the changes although the number of dislikes must be a bit disheartening for the designers.

Public Outrage over New Design

One would have expected some type of negative reaction, but the outrage on forums could not have been foreseen even by seasoned forecasters. Even though the YouTube site has never really been clean and easy to navigate, people have commented that it is now a far cry from the familiar look and feel. Strange though, as it has certainly cleaned up well. The only real drawback is that with all the images and videos it does take a while to load. It shouldn’t be a problem overseas, but in South Africa where broadband is rather like a single lane information road than a bandwidth highway, it does take some time.

Indeed, nobody enjoys house cleaning, especially when done unexpectedly, leaving you wondering where you have placed items before. It is perhaps how most users must have felt when they landed on the newly designed YouTube site after a few days away from the Internet.

Whether or not you are upset because it seems that your favourite tools have been misplaced, the lay-out is neat and professional. It is in line with the latest trends and with the incorporation of Google+ and Facebook features, it should ring some bells of familiarity.

Brand Focussed

YouTube has shown with its new design that the previous ways of random uploads of funny and freaky movies are over. It has become more commercialized and as with all things worth enjoying, it is about earnings and attracting interest from advertisers. It does remind a bit of all the web TV channels and as speculation goes, it was the plan from the beginning.

It will be more difficult in future to locate random user generated content as the choices for viewers will be more focussed. The idea behind the changes, obviously inspired by YouTube owner, Google, is to steer viewers towards web TV channels driven to make money. The question is whether the supporters will fall for this or whether it opens up room for others to create sites similar to the old YouTube and thus again, get the users in the driving seat of the content.

Better Quality

The quality of the content will no doubt improve with contracts in place with large media giants, but with few places where the user can still be in control, the content levels may dwindle and so also usage. It will certainly make it harder to market through YouTube videos as a way to drive website traffic.

Perhaps the choices will be fewer in terms of sheer content volume, but videos will still be uploaded, with the difference being that such will receive less attention in the new YouTube design.

The lay-out is now rather similar to that of Facebook, something that users have grown  accustomed to although most are still upset with the ticker feed on the right side of the page and more so because of sponsored content popping up as well.

Challenge for Video Marketers

Whereas you only had to ensure that your video reached the top viewed list of the day to get tons of visits, you will now find that users will have to first click on the Popular button to view them. It may mean more SEO adjustments. It almost feels like a constant battle where Google tries to prevent any small website owner and now video marketer of getting attention. Perhaps if the viewers paid the same as the big sponsors they too would have a say and maybe then the small website owner or aspiring musical star at YouTube would stand a chance in competing with the big guns.

The Add Channels button is more prominent although it will most probably not make the headlines when you upload something to your channel. With the newly completed YouTube design, it will be difficult to get others outside your immediate circle to subscribe since the focus of viewers are now channelled to the brands that pay and not the average guy trying to get some views for his latest song.

Profit Driven Decisions

Despite all that has been said, YouTube is not out to get you, but has made it clear that they want to get a polished TV type of appearance. It could be related to the recent introduction of the Google & Sony Internet TV concept or just that the site wants to become an online television. You can rent videos and watch them directly on your computer, provided you have Internet connectivity. In South Africa, it could be a problem for users who have slow bandwidth. Some traffic will be lost, but YouTube should be able to make up for that with the income generated from the large brands and rentals.

 

 

YouTube has also announced that it will become more prominent in the classroom, which could also account for the streamlined look and refocusing of attention to channels other than the user generated ones. At the bottom of it all is profit and users will simply have to get used to the new YouTube lay-out, design and channels for the lack of an alternative. The company is focused on the audience of television. With more money to be made from predictable audience viewing, one can understand their move as purely business orientated.

If you haven’t seen the new YouTube lay-out and design, visit the site immediately and let us know what you think.