Weekly Prompt: YouTube’s new features and other news

YouTube unveils new features for creators and viewers

YouTube has announced a suite of updates designed to enhance both creator engagement and viewer experience. These changes include new poll stickers for Shorts, refined viewership metrics, experimental Super Chat gamification, and enhanced ad category blocking controls.

The platform is introducing poll stickers within Shorts, allowing creators to directly engage their audience and gather feedback. This feature offers a more streamlined approach than previous methods, such as community posts or comment-based polls. Creators will be able to track voting percentages and total counts directly within the sticker. This update is rolling out to all creators over the next week.

To further support Shorts creators, YouTube is updating its "Views" display. Creators can now filter views by content type, providing a clearer understanding of audience engagement across different formats. This feature is available on both desktop and mobile.

In a move to gamify revenue generation, YouTube is experimenting with Super Chat goals for live streams and Premieres. These goals will display an on-screen target and a creator-chosen reward for reaching it. While potentially controversial, this feature aims to encourage viewer participation and increase creator revenue. Initially, Super Chat goals will be available to a select group of creators.

Finally, YouTube is simplifying ad category blocking. Previously managed through AdSense, this functionality is now accessible directly within YouTube Studio. This change offers creators greater control over the types of ads displayed alongside their content, though YouTube cautions that restricting ads may impact revenue.

Sources: Search Engine Land, Social Media Today

Additional prompts

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