YouTube unveils new UX(User Experience) redesign
Very subtle, YouTube. I almost didn’t even notice. While I was clicking around, watching videos today on my YouTubes, I was oblivious to the fact that the site had undergone a total UI makeover. To start things off, the design is clean(er). In comparison to earlier designs, the new design feels sparse (in a good way). New features and other changes abound. YouTube is even kind enough to include a tour of the new layout, which highlights some really cool new features. I’ve boiled down the tour to the items I found intriguing.
User/Subscribe buttons
YouTube has grouped the name of the uploader together with a drop-down select box. Clicking the uploader’s name reveals a nice sliding panel of their other uploaded videos with thumbnails (similar to a lightweight coverflow-style widge). This technology was previously available elsewhere (the uploader’s channel page, if I remember correctly), but now feels more integrated and is more easily accesible. The subscribe button has also been moved right next to the user’s name and upload count.
Improved, more accessible analytics
I am not a YouTube publisher, and I had not really noticed an analytics section for viewers showing stats about videos being watched, but I couldn’t miss them this time. The View Count statistic, when clicked, will expose a full run-down of viewing activity for the video including geographic breakdown among other stats. It seems that some data are not available for every video (the @Scobleizer video in the screenshots had full stats, but a random Jimmy Kimmel video only had “honors” like Most Viewed this Week, Most Favorited, Most X…). Interesting stuff.
Big Changes to Ratings
In a change to a long-standing practice of using 5-star reviews, YouTube has decided to move forward with a like/dislike model already popularized by services like Facebook. In an earlier blog post, YouTube stated that 5-star ratings were becoming less and less useful for effectively recommending content. The post goes on to explain that users often will simply give everything 5 stars or nothing most of the time. Like/Dislike buttons will engage more users via its simplicity and help drive relevancy when combined other social criteria.
Share via Twitter, Facebook
Finally (and I’ve only covered the new features that interest me — there are probably many more gems to uncover), YouTube has enabled Twitter and Facebook sharing. Not a new feature, but it is simpler and feels a little smoother. Sharing was mostly painless. I had to type my credentials into Facebook Connect and a Twitter Authorization page but made it through unscathed. They don’t yet feel tightly integrated, but I’m sure with feedback and help they’ll be ready when the moment comes. Social glue is not yet a commodity.
Almost missed it
When combined with each other, these are big changes that will improve the user experience for YouTube users. The addition of analytics might help people decide whether a video might be valuable to them before they watch it, and cleaning things up makes it much easer to find and use new features. I expect we’ll hear about this from other sources as well, but remember you heard it here first.
Joel
