YouTube is rolling out a new messenger feature that lets users message each other from inside the app
Messaging is so hot right now. If you’re a company who hasn’t integrated some kind of messaging feature inside your app, you’re one of the few. Since everyone knows YouTube’s public comment section is a pure toxic cesspool (and that’s putting it lightly), YouTube wants to make sure their huge user-base is still able to share and comment on videos, even if it’s privately.
Starting today, YouTube will be rolling out a new messenger-like feature to a small group of testers (inviting others by including them in the conversation). YouTube feels like that by streamlining messaging into its own app, more people will be inclined to share videos with friends, family, and loved ones. Because grabbing the video URL and sharing it text is, apparently, too much trouble for some.
YouTube hopes that this “native sharing” feature will get more people sharing videos and keeps them inside their app for as long as possible. Recently, YouTube enabled auto-playing videos in their app, which caused videos to automatically play one after another. It was annoying, but thankfully easy to turn off via a big button that appears under videos or in the app’s settings.
With Google introducing comments in Photos, it’s clear that social is still a big focus no matter the app or service. Oddly enough, Hangouts — Google’s exclusive instant messaging application — still trails behind others. You’d think they’d want to put a little more attention on that. #justsaying
[Wired]