It’s 2022, making YouTube 17 years old. The platform has constantly evolved to keep up with its users. YouTube has rolled out all sorts of feature updates and algorithmic incentives since launch, and those mechanics have dedicated various eras of content styles. Let’s take stock of major trends on the present platform, and analyze their impetus, and when possible, trajectory.
1.) The Progress Bar
Featuring the platform’s signature shade of scarlet, the Progress Bar at the bottom of videos has long been used to denote the percentage of a video’s viewing completion. But for at least a year now, the Progress Bar has appeared in the Thumbnails of videos as well. This means the Home Feed tells you ‘where you left off’ when relevant. At face value one could readily appreciate that actionable information. Sometimes we close a program because something else came up, but sometimes we stop watching a video because we didn’t want to finish. It can be charitably assumed that the algorithm remembers us skipping over something we were half way through, as if to definitively say we definitely don’t want to see it offered again. But perhaps we can assume it will be recommended again, but just at less frequent intervals- that the mounting subconscious familiarity will eventually yield sustained interaction. If a viewer is truly sick of seeing ‘old-news’, they have the option to swipe across to the ‘New To Me’ tab.
So it would seem to be a win for everybody, right? Well, any inconsistencies in this roll out are easily perceived as suspect. Users have been reporting frustration over being presented videos they remember completing, but appear in the Home Feed featuring a partially completed Thumbnail Progress Bar. They’re frustrated by opening a video, curious to see what they missed, only to have it click minutes later that yes, they definitely completed this video even if YouTube itself didn’t remember. That’s time wasted. That’s precious free time gone, or time they could have been supporting another creator via viewership, or something else they could have been teaching themselves, or researching. Human error on the user’s part could be a factor. Maybe they watched a given video *on* another YouTube account they have, making the platform naive to the fact that it’s already been seen. But because YouTube stands to benefit from engagement, users are naturally targeting critique at the platform itself.
Aside from the platform’s alleged manipulation, Creators have an opportunity as well. If their Thumbnails feature inconsistent red at the bottom of the image, a user is incentivized to click through their digital deja vu.
2.) Tabs
As mentioned with the New to Me Tab, Tabs are categories of feeds made to display a user’s most relevant content based on their viewing habits. New To Me used to appear as the final Tab, but has been moved to be second only to the Home Feed, now known as the All Tab. Examples of Tabs can be as general as ‘Mysteries’ to the specificity of ‘The Elder Scrolls’. Tabs seem to pull from the Hashtags optionally inserted upon a Creator’s upload. Users will recognize their favorite categories and appreciate the efficiency. But the platform could use Tabs to present a category the platform themselves are hoping to supercharge.
Creators should take Tabs to stress the importance of accuracy in their Video Hashtags. It’s not uncommon for channels to be ‘called out’ for ‘spamming’ hashtags irrelevant to their given upload. Attempts to ‘game’ this system are definitely discouraged.
Aside from the Tabs that categorize videos, Tabs also exist on a Channel Page itself. These tabs are standardized, and are limited to Home, Videos, Playlists, Community, Channels, and About. Channels should take full advantage of the Community Tab. When a Channel posts to their own Community Tab, they can alert their followers to upcoming releases, other Social Media accounts, or vote in a Poll. YouTube is really pushing this function. Random Posts to a Community Tab are populating in on the Home Feed, incentivizing usage. All size channels should consider how their Community Tab could be utilized, but remember to maintain healthy audience boundaries with Parasocial Relationships.
3.) Live Content
Live Content is nothing new, but it’s evolving with notable features on YouTube. Major factors include the proliferation of Instagram Live, Twitch Streaming, and Podcasting. But the most major factor is likely that the isolation of Covid-19 made digital live events exponentially more normalized. While yes, YouTube hosts live stream options, they are not the ideal platform to do so. That's why we're specifically talking about media that *was* steamed live, but was being recorded and uploaded to YouTube as a standard video later on.
Live Content is being uploaded in certain silos of tradition. One method is the uncomplicated upload of a record Live Stream in its entirety. Method two is uploading an edited video, but mentioning that the recorded content came from a live stream, achieving Cross Platform Promotion. A third method seizes the autonomy of the Stream Host, and instead is from the perspective of a Live Viewer who recorded and uploaded it themselves.
Method one, which we’ll call Live Wholesale Upload, has a certain authenticity. Nothing removed, nothing hidden. This format allows for Plausible Deniability on for the Uploader- if something disagreeable happened, it could be perceived as included for the sake of transparency. However, even if Viewers don’t hold the Uploader personally responsible, the platform itself can flag or demonetize anything deemed inappropriate. In this case the Uploader stands most to benefit when they don't seek profit but are exclusively motivated by information dissemination. If a Creator is planning to do their own Live Wholesale Upload, they should make several considerations prior to starting the Live itself. For one, have a backup plan for absolutely everything. But to get specific- will there be a live chat for viewers to participate? Will that chat be shown in the Upload? If yes, is there Audio, or is it a live chat text box? Do you have banned words, a delay on the comments posted, or staff acting as chat Monitors? Is there a risk of sensitive information appearing in the background somehow? These options to act as Method two, editing a live stream into a traditional upload, alleviates all these considerations. But method three, when a Viewer uploads the content independently, means that all Live Streams require extensive preemptive consideration. For Creators, this comes down to efficiency. It’s like doubling productivity. That maximized efficiency has brought us to a modern age where even the video editing process itself process is Live Streamed.
4.) NFTS
As of present NFTS are in a nosedive. Nonetheless, they've left a mark YouTube. As mentioned in this essay’s opening, YouTube is almost 20, making some uploads categorically legendary. Like fine wines, these ‘ancient’ uploads have remained, racking up millions of views. But in Spring of 2021, the world was told to brace for impact on May 21st. “Charlie Bit My Finger” would be deleted. It was being deleted because it would instead be ‘memorialized’ on the blockchain. Not only did the terminal announcement give added value to the token, but the announcement that it would be ‘unwatchable’ to all afforded incredible organic advertising.
But as the auction came and went, Howard Davies-Carr, the eponymous Charlie’s father, announced the video would remain up. Can we assume it was the buyer who requested it stay up? Was this an act of our altruism, or ensure it remained relevant (valuable) through accessibility? Did part of this deal include stream revenue for the buyer?
For Creators, the minting of YouTube uploads should motivate account security. Ensure your assets are yours. Have contingency plans and back up accounts incase of a Log In emergency. Additionally, take stock of any abandoned accounts that could contain uploads that might be valuable in the future, made more valuable for their antiquity.
Legacy Channels, if they represent a major studio, should consult with their legal department to ensure all assets, as well as their online presences, are owned by the appropriate parties, or at minimum inoculated from being claimed by others. Legacy Channels must adhere to due diligence if they are considering the release of NFTs. There are environmental impacts, and morale impacts when the NFT offers no true value. It is for that reason the most actionable information here is not to roll out an NFT, but rather to *secure* all assets for a time when NFTs could be functional or truly valuable.
5.) Longform
Ask any Creator and they’ll tell you modern YouTube loves long form. This can be perceived as the platform’s pivot from visual to audio as a means to better incorporate the proliferation of Podcasting. 'Working From Home' let users get away with having whatever they want ‘on’ while on the clock remotely, and it makes sense that audio-only, or audio-centric, is ideal for being less distracting than a video. Furthermore, when content is long, it reduces interruptions by virtue of staving off having to ask what to ‘watch’ next.
There’s irony to a video platform catering to audio, but it should be stressed that accommodating Podcasts doesn’t mean visuals are forsaken. Perhaps the quintessential example of this era of Long Form is Jenny Nicholson’s analysis of the Vampire Diaries. It encapsulates so many factors. While she backs up her points with clips of the show, watching the screen itself is by no means necessary, as her narration is equally expert and affable. The topic itself, an indulgent tv teen drama, feels elevated by her academic appreciation. The viewer feels validated if they were already a ‘Diaries’ fan, or presented the opportunity to absorb its entirety without having to actually watch it yourself. It’s binge watching binge watching. It’s listening to TV, whole seasons synthesized into content ideal for having ‘on in the background’. It’s so long that it could just be restarted upon completion, worth it just to see what you missed. Jenny notably used a cork board, mimicking the meme of Charlie Day’s conspiratorial constellation. That visual is comedically chaotic but effective for presentation. It’s been cited as the inspiration for other creators ‘Corkboard Longform’- like Mike’s Mic’s investigations into Pretty Little Liars and Glee.
For ‘Legacy’ Creators (Channels professionally operated for institutions such as Sesame Street, History Channel, or World of Wonder), their teams should consider what their Longform could look like. Concepts like ‘A Timeline of Tom and Jerry’, ‘Identifying Every Fish Species Seen in Pixar’, or ‘Mapping the World of the Shrek Franchise’, are topics that the Legacy Creator would have the authority on if the Intellectual Property exists in their Archive.
Independent / Medium Creators may not have the same archive to work with. Instead they could consider reformatting what they’ve already uploaded. Maybe for the sake of minimizing distractions, they portion their video catalog into ‘seasons’, and edit them into 2+ hour compilations. This ensures viewer retention for the Channel, and the assurance that its format is favorable to the present state of the Platform.
Here, we’ve come full circle. If a viewer watches something in a Compilation, a Thumbnail Progress Bar on a source video might be inaccurate for that user. This irony can serve as a reminder that as users adapt to the platform, they reveal more ways the platform could adapt to itself.
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