What YouTube's new design means for you [The Reel Web #16]

[zwreckless1]

You talk alot about things and never say anything ...fluff fluff and zero information .I have no idea what you're saying and more to the point ...why you're using 70 words to talk about talking about something .

[littlebigbrain]

If it ain't broke then do not fix it. The new look is shit and looks like it. The grey men have taken over the asylum.

[cjay2]

So how do I see my subscribers and other people's subscribers? You sound like an apologist for the new interface.

[reelseo]

@cjay2 Just click on your subscriber count on your channel page.

[cjay2]

@reelseo I want to be able to see who is subscribing to a person's channel, and their subscriptions as well, not just who is subbing to my channel. That's how one networks on YouTube. I also want to be able to see ALL information offered on a channel on ONE FUCKING PAGE. GOT IT?

[Rozmic]

Making youtube like Facebook is NOT a good thing.

So, who knows of a good alternative to youtube?

[reelseo]

@Rozmic Oh, there's plenty of alternatives out there. Blip or Vimeo would be my first picks.

[GrahamAndFriends]

at the moment you can't feature a video from another channel on your featured page! That sucks.

[GrahamAndFriends]

change is good. But cosmic panda is not as functional as before.

[littlebigbrain]

@GrahamAndFriends Change is not always good and You Tube have made a huge mistake.

[abyssalanguish]

Youtube is going to join Myspace in the toilet bowl, two big steaming turds! As of March 1, this long time Youtube user says adios Youtube bitches.

[doggiesrockz]

all channel will be updated on march :(

[KatiMorton]

Excellent material here. Thank you!

[reelseo]

@KatiMorton Thanks! :) You should consider subscribing for more if you haven't already. (Shameless plug! haha)

[EbruAcatay]

YouTube also introduced a 1000 word limit on the channel info box, which sucks for political channels. Also, previously you could choose a playlist picture, which was great to give a visual clue almost like a little CD cover. I also used to flag holiday videos to comment on for friends only. now we all have no friends LOL :)

It really has become more of a framework for content delivery now and less of a personal homepage, another YouTuber called it a 'busstop' and I quite like this analogy.

[reelseo]

@EbruAcatay Yeah, they implemented a 200 character limit for the "About" space, too. I don't see this has bad, though. People don't come to YouTube to read, ya know? Most of the time those spaces where filled with text that no one reads anyway.

That's the first good use of the friends feature I've heard for a while. There's so much overlap between friends and subscribers that, personally, I'm glad there's a clearer distinction now. For me, usually friends meant "people who will spam you."

[EbruAcatay]

With all those oversized icons, it kinda reminds me of an onscreen GUI for a TV or

an app for a touchscreen tablet. it's not at all optimized for desktops. What really annoys me though is that some of my fav channels who did the switch have 90% of their content inaccessable by default. Some peeps have more than 500+ favorites, I can't access now. I just see the last couple of adds in these twitter style spam feeds.

[blackreader19two]

If I had the upload only boxed clicked, I wouldn't see this cool upload you just made.

[reelseo]

@blackreader19two haha I'm glad you didn't have it clicked then! Are you subscribed to us?

[ParatroopaYoshi]

Good video. To be honest, I actually liked the new homepage, but I think the new channels should give some time to get used to.

However, I think this video may be get flamed a lot later. LOL.

[reelseo]

@ParatroopaYoshi lol People can flame it all they want. They're just angry, bitter people who think that what's "bad" for them must be bad for everyone. :)

[carmensognonvi]

Hey Tim, I'm a relative YouTube n00b so maybe that's coloring my views, but I agree with you that I like the YouTube redesign a lot too! The homepage is SO much cleaner. Even the way the social notifications are displayed actually make sense now. Before I felt like I had no idea what I was looking at. It's interesting that the channel pages are much more creator-centric now - seems like you don't see much, if anything, about the channel's subscribers/viewers.

[reelseo]

@carmensognonvi We love YouTube n00bs! haha Welcome to YouTube! :)

That's an interesting observation about the channel pages being more creator-centric now. I hadn't really thought of that, but you're right. There's more emphasis on the actual videos and playlists than on the channel's stats, although they're still very prominent in the upper-right corner of each channel.

[kennysart]

Change is always hard, but after a short while it will be just normal again. Looks fine to me!

[reelseo]

@kennysart Me too! :)

[thewelshlink]

I like the new layout; better usability, nice Facebook/G+ option and subscribe feed. I think lots of people have previously used Youtube on a search by search basis, and not logged in or treated it like a platform. These new changes will encourage people to log in through their Google account. Where SEO is concerned, won't this be a bad thing considering Google's latest privacy ruling where logged in users will have encrypted searches (18 October) ??

Oh, and I enjoyed the video Tim - thanks

[reelseo]

@thewelshlink Umm... the SEO question is interesting. I'm inclined to think that it wouldn't impact SEO at all because each video will still get views and the search queries that lead viewers to them are still being tracked, as you can see in your channel's new Analytics.

[digitalbreakthroughs]

I like to send links to viewers that show my video in My Channel view. But there is no way for them to share or embed from there. Anyone figured out a way to do this?

[reelseo]

@digitalbreakthroughs Not that I know of. Curious to know what you see as the value of sending people to your channel view, though. Just more exposure to your other videos?

[digitalbreakthroughs]

@reelseo Yes, It's a branding thing. The majority of viewers come from outside the channel, but when I send links, I want that channel view with my bio, etc.

[reelseo]

@digitalbreakthroughs Yeah, gotcha. I personally send people to my video's watch page because most of my videos are usually featured in the sidebar anyway. Plus, if you have the video in a playlist, your other videos will automatically start playing after the current video is over. Futhermore, I want people to see the comments and engagement from others that's on the video and hopefully draw them in.

[beerschlang]

New design is shit

[reelseo]

@beerschlang Why do you say that? What makes it so bad for you?

[NickGoldston]

I agree with your Facebook rant. It sucks

[reelseo]

@NickGoldston Yeah, and I have no idea why. It doesn't make sense. How difficult would it be for Facebook to make themselves a huge YouTube competitor? Maybe they're avoiding the video space on purpose? I dunno.

[MichaelWarbux]

I love the new YT layout. It's probably the best layout update they've done. People just hate change.

[reelseo]

@MichaelWarbux Agreed.

[svinehunden]

They have removed all the options we had to promote our self. Now it's ONLY videos and Google Ads. All hail Google and spend some money. It has really switched from community to commodity...

[reelseo]

@svinehunden Which self-promotion tools do you see that they removed?

[svinehunden]

@reelseo 1. Bulletins 2. Sharing with your contacts(friends) 3. Friend adding 4. Looking at other channels friend/subscriber list... Just to name a few quick one but many more. Where did our friends go?

[EbruAcatay]

@svinehunden I agree, there's not much You left in YouTube. The old customization options were awesome and many people took advantage of it creating awesome unique channel designs. Now you can forget about background pictures without transparency :( on a small netbook screen every channel is exactly the same generic grey block.

[svinehunden]

I like the new layout, except for the channel page. It has really become useless. BUT all the functions they have removed are just a joke. All my friends has disappeared and so have the sharing options. YouTube community is now dead and it's all about G+ and Facebook!!!

[reelseo]

@svinehunden Really? Such an interesting perspective because my experience with it is totally different. The "friends" feature was always a joke to me. It felt more like I was giving someone permission to spam me than anything else. And all the sharing options are still there, you just have to click the "Share" button now to see them.

[digitalbreakthroughs]

I'm so embarrassed sometimes when I go to YouTube. I teach people how to build channels and there I am standing in front of a class about to show them things (I learn right then) that no longer exists! For example, the custom player. I'll tell them to click the username, Videos and it'll be changed to My Videos, then Video Manager...all with absolutely no warning.

I do like the change because it's simplified. I'm seeing some things I'm sure YouTube will correct soon.

[reelseo]

@digitalbreakthroughs Oh man! At least the people you're teaching don't know the difference either, so as long as you don't say anything about it all being different and just roll with the changes, they'll never know, even if it takes you an extra click or two to find something.

But to be fair, the changes were a long time coming and were announced months ago. They even let people test it out under Cosmic Panda for several months before officially changing last week.

[digitalbreakthroughs]

@reelseo LOL. Only a non-trainer would say that...not good to stand there figuring something out when your students expect you to know. Yes, changes announced long time ago, but I didn't know when.

[reelseo]

@digitalbreakthroughs haha no, I train a lot. I've totally been in that situation with other stuff I've presented. That's why it's funny. Glad it's not just me! :) What I described is how I roll with it, though. No one's never known the difference so far.

[mngeocaching]

I agree facebook video content gets less engagement than youtube. As far as the changes, human nature people don't like change. Facebook goes through the same stuff when they change anything. Looking forward to the video on WED. Thanks Tim!

[reelseo]

@mngeocaching Sure. Now I need to make sure Wednesday's video is quality for ya. Pressure! :)

[pogolaugh]

Me to!!!! I really like it I hate when ever youtube makes a change and everyone hates it....

[jayr122001]

i like the new youtube i just like it

[poolboyinla]

I wonder if youtube will listen to it's users. Probably not.

The new design looks very cluttered and we can't get rid of a video in our subscriptions that we don't want to watch. We miss a lot of content that gets pushed down that we would rather see because of this.

I also heard partners lose their banners with the new channel design.

[reelseo]

@poolboyinla I think a simple solution is what I mentioned in the video: give us the ability organize our subscriptions. Like, be able to group "tech channels" and "vlog channels" and "friends channels" or whatever, like what we do with RSS feeds in Google Reader.

I've noticed the banner issue for partners, too. The space is still there for the banner to appear, but it's just not showing up. I'm guessing it's a bug that needs to be fixed.

[deepfootprintsvid]

New Youtube design much better.

People are resistant to change so there will always be the haters. But give them 3 months and they will all be loving this new design - It's a great improvement.

[reelseo]

@deepfootprintsvid They may not be loving the design in 3 months, but at least they'll be used to it and will know where to find what they're looking for, kinda like when a grocery store rearranges it's shelves and merchandise every couple years, ya know?

[deepfootprintsvid]

@reelseo - good analogy.

[randomgeocacher]

Haven't played around much yet, my instant reaction was that the new look seems a bit cleaner.

[reelseo]

@randomgeocacher yeah, it feels a bit more polished than the old design, in my opinion.

[cfmccott]

My experience with posting videos on face book has been like showing a movie with know audience.

[reelseo]

@cfmccott haha exactly. I do much better to post the video on YouTube and share that on Facebook than to upload it to Facebook directly. Now, with YouTube's Facebook integration, it makes more sense to do it that way, too.

However, most big YouTubers don't connect fans with their personal Facebook account -- they use a fan page. Somehow they'll have to figure out how to transfer those fans to be subscribers of their personal Facebook account to take advantage of this. That's kinda fail.

[AOCenteno]

I LOVE it - I'm having to change my online strategy, but it just shows that this is going to get BIGGER, BETTER, and more AWESOME! Thanks for the great tips guys - you ROCK!

[reelseo]

@AOCenteno Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear how your online strategy is changing. You mind filling me in?

[AOCenteno]

@reelseo Hey Tim - Antonio here. So immediately because of the updated feed I realize I need to spread my updates/comment replies throughout the day vs. doing it all at once 1-2 times a week. It is clear that multiple updates will get me in front of my subscribers more than doing it all at once (more time efficient for me but not as engaging I guess!).

[reelseo]

@AOCenteno Ahh, gotcha. That makes sense. Another good reason to share your comments in your feed. For us, I reply to so many comments that I would think it might feel like spam after a while, kinda like people who tweet several times in a row constantly, ya know?