2020 will most likely become one of the wildest years in people’s recent memories. We faced a global pandemic, which affected lives across the world. There have also been global marches of people protesting against racial injustice and dramatic US presidential elections. But these are not all. In fact, these three events are only a few of the huge and world-shaking events last year.
But what happened last year allowed YouTube’s team, along with their CEO Susan Wojcicki to think of things about their platform and the future. 2020 is a year where social media platforms have taken a look at their responsibilities more than ever. This is because as different catastrophes arise, platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter saw fake news and misleading propaganda.
For that reason, social media platforms are considering their responsibilities in terms of managing the information in their platform as well as how they prioritize content.
The Responsibilities That YouTube Holds
YouTube CEO Wojcicki took time to rethink the responsibilities of buying real YouTube views in the content that they allow on the platform. Considering the turmoil that 2021 brought to everyone and the increasing worries about online misinformation, YouTube is thinking of how they will manage content moving forward.
Here are the plans of YouTube in terms of managing its content this 2021:
- YouTube will take down content when necessary. A team of experts will guide the platform about which content could lead to harm, thus should be removed.
- The company will raise trusted and authoritative content on the platform.
- YouTube will reduce the visibility of borderline content.
- Content creators who will meet their bar for monetization will receive a reward from Youtube.
The Three Major Priorities of YouTube
Moreover, the video-sharing giant narrowed down its priorities to three major areas. It wants to focus on making the platform a better place where creators and viewers can contribute and visit content.
Key Priority 1: Policy Transparency
A lot of creators and viewers use YouTube regularly. However, the platform’s policies are a point of controversy oftentimes. In the years that passed, the video-sharing giant integrated features, such as Super Stickers, Super Chat, as well as channel memberships. These features all aim to provide extra ways to earn for creators. According to Wojcicki, YouTube is taking transparency issues very seriously. They are implementing changes this year in order to help the platform’s community of creators.
Wojcicki added that YouTube will be working to address areas of concern for the community. This includes more support for creators, more transparency in YouTube’s policies, and improvements to the appeal process for content creators.
Moreover, YouTube will start encouraging creators in the US to voluntarily provide their gender, race, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. The company will use this information in making YouTube a more equal space that offers opportunities for all demographics.
How 2020 Went
Surviving is one of the greatest achievements that we have had last year. And while everyone is at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. With so much free time in their hands, people turned to social platforms to entertain themselves and learn new things. This allowed YouTube to see 2020 as a year for growth in content.
Learning Things From Home
2020 is a year when educational content thrived really well. This is hugely due to many students adapting to homeschooling. Apart from students, there are also a lot of adults who used their free time to pick up hobbies or learn new things. They utilized YouTube, as well as its plethora of tutorial videos and guides, to learn the things that they want to know.
YouTube said that contents with the word “beginner” on the title have been watched more than one billion times since March 2020.
Going Live On the Platform
The quarantine protocols caused by the pandemic gave people a reason to discover new ways of connecting with one another. Live streaming played a significant part in that. In fact, it had been a large focus for creators on YouTube even before 2020.
Last year, more than 500,000 YouTube channels laid their hands at live streaming for the first time. These creators were streamed more than 10 million times.
In addition, live streaming was able to provide a much-needed source of live music while everyone cannot go to local bars and venues. Big stars, such as The Roots and Miley Cyrus utilized live streaming to do virtual live concerts for their fans and followers.
Brazillian artists Jorge & Mateus also organized a live-streamed concert from their very own garage. Their performance garnered a total of 40 million views. This indicates that despite the global pandemic that everyone is facing, the appetite for music remains strong.
A Glimpse At the Future
There are three major areas of technology that Wojcicki said they will be looking to expand and improve this 2021. There is no doubt that there are many thing ahead of us this year. But here are the areas that the team in YouTube will primarily focus on:01
Mobile Creators
People increasingly use their mobile devices to access YouTube. For this reason, the company wants to make its mobile platforms better for creators to utilize. YouTube will bring more editing tools that creators can use on mobile devices. These tools will also expand the platform’s short-form content called Shorts, which is now in beta testing in India.
Commerce
Talk Shoppe conducted a study, which revealed that 70 percent of consumers had bought products from a brand after they have seen it on YouTube. Considering this statistic, YouTube is looking to add a shopping feature to its platform soon.
Living Room Watching
Last year, the television was the fastest growing screen in terms of video consumption. This is the reason why YouTube will be trying to improve its users’ TV experience. Therefore, YouTube will be available on more living room devices. The company will also improve their voice control capabilities.
Date: June 4, 2021 / Categories: YouTube, / Author: Joy P
