YouTube Unveils Dramatic Redesign (video)

By on December 1, 2011 in Google, Social Networking, Videos

You guys know we’ve got a YouTube channel, right? Yeah, thought so. We figured you might also be interested, then, in YouTube’s self-proclaimed biggest redesign ever, which went live to the masses earlier today.

The new three-column look emphasizes social networking, with Google+ and Facebook figuring prominently in a black navigation bar that stretches vertically down the left side of the page. Links to subscriptions, YouTube-curated channels, and suggested channels fill the rest of the column, which somewhat echoes the drop down “Google bar” that recently replaced the black top nav on Google’s search pages. To the left of the nav column are two larger areas with white backgrounds that display recent videos from your subscriptions and the site’s recommended videos algorithms.

YouTube also rolled out new Channel page designs and analytics tools for publishers, and sitewide design changes to typography, logos, and the like. Google TV and Xbox 360 users should also be on the lookout for new versions of their YouTube apps.

Google is obviously forging ahead with their Web-wide efforts to capitalize on the world’s current obsession with social media; the new uTb features seem to be largely geared towards content discovery and sharing fueled by the people in your networks, though the company spins it as the usual, “Same great stuff, now easier to find and use!” It’s no secret that social is a big priority for elGoog right now, and as is their style they’ve been attacking the problem in a hybrid piecemeal/giant master plan sort of way over the past several months.

Check out the new design live now at YouTube.com and learn more at YouTube Help. Meantime, what’s your first reaction to the new look for YouTube? Love it? Hate it? Don’t much care so long as you can watch Ask the Buffalo: Office Tour Edition?

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About The Author

Noah Kravitz mourned the day that Star Castle was replaced in the pizza parlour he frequented as a kid. The sadness ended when he saw an older kid make it to the Ninth Key level on the Pac Man that took his place. Years later he’s become a fixture of consumer tech reporting on the InterWebs and TV, and Galaga vies with Zoo Keeper as his all-time favorite arcade games. His loves of music, games, TV, video editing and yapping endlessly at anyone who’ll listen have all been channeled into an Internet addiction that spans screens big and small and devices portable, pocketable, and best left on his desk. Noah has been reporting on gadgets and media for a decade and a half now, including writing, podcasts and videos for PhoneDog, MacDirectory, Maximum PC, PowerBook Central, and a few other publications. He’s also written about the arts, education, and sports for some magazines you’ve likely never heard of, and has invaded your television talking about consumer electronics on CNBC, Fox Business Network, and a host of local TV stations.

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