Google has revamped the design and outlook of YouTube in a fresh move, trying to make things more interesting for YouTube viewers. The new design includes the ability to view, in real-time, the videos being watched by friends and contacts. The new design also asserts a special focus on YouTube channels.
A change not welcome:
Although the revamp has given the site an all-new, fresh outlook, many have found it terrible. Within a few hours after YouTube posted a video about how to make the most of the new changes, the clip had just 2280 likes as opposed to some 6703 dislikes. Clearly, a large number of users don’t find the changes good enough or are finding their usability experience disturbed. The comments also reflect this sentiment. From ‘R.I.P Youtube’ to ‘Change it back’ and other, users haven’t taken kindly to this change. But this may not be a cause of concern for Google because nearly every new revamp on social sites has been an unpopular move which only eventually gathered fan-following. We have the example of Facebook’s notifications-panel and Timeline which aroused quite a furore but now seems like an integral part of our facebook experience.
Emphasis on Channels:
Youtube has been called the alternate of TV and other formerly popular mediums of video transmission. And this has proved only true. In a bid to push this further, the new revamp intends to reinvent the experience of ‘channels on Youtube. Channels are not viewable on a panel in the centre of home-page. Moreover, Youtube is collaborating with a number of notable singers and actors to help them launch their Youtube channels. I would say that while the new changes will hurt a bit for sometime, they are the foundations for an even better Youtube experience in the coming days.
Image courtesy leti_valde94.
