Is Your YouTube Experience About to Totally Change?
By Movieguide® Contributor
YouTube is testing a new feature called Hype in Taiwan, Turkey and Brazil.
“In a new experiment announced for a handful of eligible users, YouTube has introduced a new Hype option which bears semblance to the Link option already available for videos (via 9to5Google),” Android Police reported last month.
Viewers with access to the Hype button will see it appear underneath videos. When clicked, the button helps boost the video’s rank on the Explore page. This feature is only available on videos whose creator has less than 500,000 subscribers, for the sake of fairness.
The Hype feature will not completely override the normal algorithms, as users can only Hype videos that are posted in the last seven days.
“Moreover, the impact of the hype votes will only help the video rank higher and reach more eyeballs on the Explore page, independent of the categorized Trending section, where the algorithm shows top videos at any time,” Android Police said. “So, it appears YouTube wants us viewers to help smaller creators rank higher in the Explore page. With users themselves hyping videos, YouTube could also combat shady tricks to inflate view counts artificially and enhance Explore page rankings.”
India TV News wrote, “This focus on smaller channels further aims at levelling the playing field and giving emerging creators a better chance to grow their audience.”
Swipe Insight notes that there is no mention of whether users have to pay to use the feature.
“…If Hypes are a paid action like Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks…this could enhance both reach and financial support for creators and YouTube,” Swipe Insight said.
The Hype option might help retain its video creators, given the current issues they face with ad blocking and piracy. But it’s possible that the feature could make the Like button pointless.
Movieguide® reported on YouTube’s streaming dominance last month:
YouTube is dominating the streaming charts, beating other streamers like Netflix and Hulu, Nielsen reports.
Per Yahoo! Finance, “YouTube — owned by tech giant Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) — is solidifying its position as a dominant force in the streaming sector, according to the latest Nielsen survey. Nielsen’s data reveals that YouTube captured a substantial 9.7% of total viewership among streaming services during the month of May.”
A Yahoo! Finance expert, Alexandra Canal, explained “YouTube is not only taking over your computer screens, but also your living room, television screens as well.”
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