If you’ve noticed the comments in your YouTube account are looking more like Google Plus these days, it’s not your imagination. YouTube recently announced roll out of a new comment section powered by Google Plus.
In a post on the official YouTube Blog, product manager Nundu Janakiram and principal engineer Yonatan Zunger explained:
We told you recently that better commenting is coming to YouTube. Starting this week, when you’re watching a video on YouTube, you’ll see comments sorted by people you care about first.
Here’s a brief video highlighting the basics of the new comment section:
The new roll out stops short of being a full integration of the Google Plus comment section. However, comments from your Google Plus circles are given priority. So are comments from what YouTube calls “popular personalities” and the video’s creator.
Of course, if you’d really rather see comments in the order they were added, you can do that simply by choosing the “newest first” option instead of the default “top comments” at the top of the comment section.
Other New YouTube Comment Features
Another feature similar to Google Plus lets you choose whether to share the comments you make in a video publicly or only with certain circles of your connections in the Google Plus social network.
You can even share comments in your Google stream if you wish by choosing that option under the comment box.
The new comment section also gives you more control over comments on your channel. You can either hold comments for approval or auto-approve comments from long-time trusted fans.
You Tube says it will even allow you to block certain words from being posted in the comment section on your channel, a potentially helpful tool for moderating comments.
The new commenting section should make YouTube ultimately more social. But only time will tell whether users and channel administrators want to spend time monitoring and maintaining yet another social media channel.
You have to admit that the video is very nice and holds a promise, not necessarily to the younger generation of YouTube’rs though. People love to comment anonymously and say whatever they want. It’s the nature of things, but Google+, being an open and very public social network is trying to change the price on something that pays for itself. Not sure if that makes sense.
While the new comments are going to bring some useful additions as you mention in this article, old ones felt more home like.
peace
Ann Joy
I love the phrase “old ones felt more home like”. Feeling nostalgic about something we were used to is a charming thing common for most people, and it’s nice to read this while so many YouTube users are raging about the changes. I just wish those were optional, and people could have a choice of what they are more comfortable with.
The new commenting section should make YouTube ultimately more social. This can generate more buzz around the video created and hence, more traffic to the advertisements included.
Aira Bongco
I guess this is good. I usually see comments with the most likes and sometimes, I don’t really care about what they are saying. This will probably help me see the comments that matters to me.
Sammy Stone
Google is going to adopt Bob as its new mascot, apparently: http://dandygoat.com/google-unveils-new-mascot-named-bob
CHEMICAL TRAILS
Posting on Youtube with “Share on Google+” preselected with a checkmark reminds me of being spammed by a website by default unless you ask to be removed from spam list, or eating a meal with MSG by default unless you ask MSG not to be added to the meal. Unfortunately you can not opt out of chemtrails! Disgusting!
A. Patriot
Now, you must sign in under Google+ to comment. No more anonymous commenting on YouTube videos. This is to say, that anyone critical of the government may not now speak it on YouTube without divulging their identity. What a great way to suppress an anti-Bill of Rights agenda. The Founding Fathers weep for our apathy. “Don’t be evil.” indeed.
Mynameisknowntozombies
I agree, but anyone critical of the government can simply criticize it. I don;t think the government (unless its in North Korea) will do something to you. And if they do, you can sue them and you can vote for another party that is outside of the main puppeteer circus.