YouTube has announced the testing of a new feature aimed at enhancing community support for smaller content creators. Dubbed ‘Hype’, this feature will be available to viewers in select regions. Content creators meeting specific criteria can participate in this initiative, which is part of the platform’s ongoing development efforts that may also include a new sleep timer.
YouTube Hype Feature
Details regarding the ‘Hype’ feature were shared on YouTube’s support page by a Community Specialist. According to the information, viewers in Brazil, Turkey, and Taiwan can now ‘Hype’ a video in addition to liking it. This action is designed to enhance the video’s ranking among others uploaded within the last week. The company noted that videos receiving a higher number of ‘Hype’ votes will be ranked more favorably.
Currently, viewers can express their support for videos by liking and sharing them, which benefits creators. Additionally, they have the option to use tools like Super Chat and Super Stickers to provide financial support beyond standard ad revenue.
The new ranking based on ‘Hype’ will be showcased under the Explore tab, a strategy aimed at helping smaller creators gain increased community backing and expand their reach.
Despite these enhancements, there are stipulations. YouTube has specified that only creators within the YouTube Partner Program who have fewer than 500,000 subscribers can access the ‘Hype’ feature. Additionally, all participating videos must adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines. This program is currently in a testing phase, and it remains uncertain if it will be extended to additional creators in the future.
Notes on YouTube
On June 17, YouTube announced its plan to allow users to post comments below videos to provide clearer contextual information. This feature will be introduced as an experimental option for English-speaking users in the United States.
Users will see a new “Add note” option beneath videos, where they can input additional context into a provided textbox and click Send to make their note public. YouTube has indicated that the names of creators will not be associated with published notes.
