YouTube is getting a makeover. Yes, another one. I know it only feels like a few months since the last one, because it is only a few months since the last one. But this one has a point to it in the form of Google+
YouTube Redesign
If there is one thing YouTube loves as much as videos it’s redesigns. The site is constantly being tweaked, or so it seems. I guess it’s good to keep things fresh, especially when you’re the most-trafficked website in the world, but still.
The latest one, which is currently being tested by some users but which is likely to be rolled out to everyone in the near future, tweaks lots of different aspects of YouTube. But the biggest change by far is the Google+ integration, which signals Google’s continued belief that its social network has a future.
Redesign Rundown
gives a good rundown of the changes we’ll see in this redesign in the video embedded below.
has spelled the changes out for those with an aversion to watching videos. The highlights are:-
– Deeper Google+ Integration
– A New Left-hand Dashboard
– Larger Preview Images Of Videos
– A New Gray Video Background
– An Updated YouTube Logo
The aim here is clear: Make the YouTube experience as simple and fulfilling as possible, keeping people on the site by making everything easy to navigate; Bring YouTube into Google+ in a big way, helping to promote the latter and up the number of people signing up.
Conclusions
The strange thing about YouTube is that people will visit it regardless of how it looks. And embedded videos will not be at all affected by this latest redesign.
However, YouTube is clearly trying to get people to up their interactive use of the site, inviting them to sign up, share, and use the social networking features. And then click through to Google+. You never know, it could actually work.
