YouTube announces early 'spring cleaning'
User feedback will help shape new-look site
YouTube has announced that it will start to roll out changes to the site, stating that it is time for 'spring cleaning' at the start of the new decade.
The online video site is the most popular of its kind on the planet, and owners Google are keen to begin to turn audience into profit.
The YouTube blog indicates that some features will be dropped, others altered and new ones arriving.
Upcoming fifth anniversary
"The excitement of the new decade and our upcoming fifth anniversary has the YouTube team itching to make the site experience better than ever before," says Margaret Stewart - YouTube's User Experience Manager.
"We have all kinds of ideas about new things we could build and launch, but we are also taking some significant time in the coming months to do some early "spring cleaning" on the site design and user experience.
"What will this mean to you? Well, it means you'll see some things about the site design evolving to be more consistent across the site. And some things that haven't worked as smoothly as we would have liked them to will get the attention they deserve.
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"Lastly, we may determine that some things we tried out just didn't fly and remove them from the site."
Feedback
The site asks for user feedback on what should change with other 2,000 changes already suggested on the feedback page.
"We'll be using a number of inputs to build our "to do" list: usage data that shows the things you use the most versus things that very few people use; usability testing that can help us understand what's broken that needs fixing; and, last but not least, we'd like to hear from you directly...
"What would you want to see fixed on the site? What would you remove completely, if you could?
"We'll use your feedback to help prioritise what we focus on, so we can all experience a cleaner, easier-to-use YouTube.
"We'll take a few weeks to digest your comments and will respond directly to the ideas you're most excited about."
Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content. After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.