YouTube Is Testing A New Clips Feature To Allow Creators To Share A Segment Of Their Video Uploads & Live Streams
Source: YouTube
YouTube is testing a new Clips feature with a select group of creators.
Today we are launching an experimental version of Clips on YouTube. Check out videos on the Creator Insider channel and test it out yourself!
— Lester (@Chen) January 28, 2021
Clips are 5-60 sec, shareable, segments of content (Live/VOD) that live on top of the original video.
More info: https://t.co/5fJyorxjrj pic.twitter.com/DVWNQ2BoEx
WHAT ARE CLIPS?
With Clips, creators can select a 5-60 second segment of their video uploads or live streams that can be shared across other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, embedded into websites, or emailed.
How Clips Came to Be
The new feature comes from feedback from both creators and viewers, who expressed a desire to capture, share, and watch short segments of videos or live streams. Although YouTube hasn't mentioned this, Clips likely was inspired by Twitch, which also has a feature called Clips that is essentially the same and is quite popular with its streamers.
In the announcement blog post, YouTube shared the following:
"We’ve heard a lot of feedback from creators and viewers who have wanted an easy way to capture short segments of content and share moments from videos or streams. We’re excited to begin our testing of a clipping feature on YouTube starting today with a small group of creators while we start gathering feedback. Creation of clips is currently available on desktop and Android devices to start, with iOS devices coming soon."
As usual, YouTube plans to collect feedback from creators testing the feature and incorporate it before fully launching Clips to the masses.
YouTube Is Always Testing
YouTube seems to be always testing and experimenting with new features, which is great because it is generally up to date with the latest and greatest functionalities while keeping its platform fresh and creator-friendly. As platforms become more creator-focused, anything that will improve the creator experience typically will be received well.
How Clips Will Help Creators
Clips have the ability to help increase video views and grow creators’ subscriber counts since creators can share out snackable content that functions as a preview of their videos to grab the attention of new and current viewers.
While creators can create Clips for regular video uploads and live streams, Clips will be especially beneficial for creators who go live. With the emergence of live streaming this past year, Clips will be a powerful tool for YouTubers to promote their live stream recordings. Instead of viewers having to skim through live stream recordings to see if it’s something they would be interested in, creators can share an interesting segment that could lead to people taking the time out to watch live stream.
Clips Are A Staple In Live Streaming
Twitch, the now-gone Mixer, and many other live streaming platforms have Clips-like features, so YouTube starting to test a Clips feature of its own makes perfect sense. With live streaming likely not going anywhere anytime soon, this is a simple yet effective way for the Google-owned platform to beef up its live-streaming capabilities especially for YouTube Gaming.
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SOURCE: YouTube
