YouTube announced that it is adding more functionalities to the way creators and subscribers interact, and this is part of a new product that will allow these users to engage, hold conversation and even collaborate in an easier and more interesting space.
The product, which is still in beta stage, is a Community tab that will allow creators and users to message each other and send texts, videos, images, GIFs and other media content. This is the latest major change since an August update involving the YouTube TV app.
In a way, Google, YouTube's parent company, seems to be replicating its relationship with developers. By engaging this group and asking for inputs, insights and ideas along the way, the company is able to develop better products and services. Google underscored the importance of this approach as it supposedly leads to better outcomes due to the diversity of backgrounds and styles that are pooled together.
"We started by inviting creators in early to develop, in partnership with us," Google said in a blog post. "Your ideas and feedback shape our platform, inspire new features and help us decide what to prioritize."
While the Community tab is primarily introduced for creators to engage their fans, there are those who point out that YouTube is effectively establishing its own social network. This can be demonstrated in the way comments and messages are filled with media content and are listed in a dynamic conversation. Each message can be thumbed up or down.
Whatever the case is, the development has been welcomed by early adopters such as the vlogbrother's YouTube channel.
"We're really excited to make this a hub for many of the goings on in nerdfighteria," John and Hank Green, the channel's creators, said. "You can also find news here about events where Hank and I will be, nerdfighter gatherings, and pictures/links of stuff we've been reading and watching."
YouTube subscribers will also surely love the new features. As previously stated, they can now talk with their favorite content publishers in real time in an interesting and fun way and possibly contribute ideas to next-published contents. It could also become a platform for actual collaboration among publishers who subscribe to one another or between publishers and subscribers.
Subscribers will be able to see the conversation in the Subscription feed when using mobile devices, or they can choose to be notified every time their favorite YouTubers post a message.
Presently, the Community tab is only available to a selected group of creators and their subscribers. YouTube is still testing the product and is using the beta release to gain feedback. It promises that the Community tab will be made available to all users in the coming months.
