Just as we’re processing today’s news regarding an upcoming video-sharing app from Apple, a new report claims Google is set to enhance YouTube’s social experience in the fall by unveiling a new Backstage section in the mobile app and on the web.
According to VentureBeat, Backstage will let YouTube users share not just videos, but also photos, polls, links, text posts and more with their subscribers.
The firm is said to initially limit Backstage to a few popular YouTube accounts.
Any posts shared to Backstage will also appear in subscribers’ feeds and notifications, potentially resulting in more clicks. In addition to YouTube clips, users will be permitted to share Backstage-only videos. Subscribers will be able to respond to posts with rich replies containing their own photos, videos and other types of comments.
Just like Apple’s rumored video-sharing app, Backstage is thought to be YouTube’s response to the rising popularity of video sharing on competing social services such as Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter.
Here’s an excerpt from the report:
Backstage marks a pivotal shift for YouTube, whose sole focus on video and unsuccessful Google+ integration have left the door open for popular users to flock to competing services like Twitter and Facebook in order to better communicate with fans.
By introducing new ways for users to converse, Backstage could reverse the historically one-way communication between stars and their fans. Video sharing and watching will remain the primary function of YouTube, but Backstage may help make YouTube a better place to talk about those videos, too.
The feature should live alongside the Home and Videos tabs within individual YouTube channels. A Google spokesperson declined comment “on rumor or speculation.”
Source: VentureBeat