Google+ Social Network Expands into YouTube Territory
Google had a master plan back in 2006 when it bought YouTube. They saw the future in online video and streaming services and made an aggressive purchase of the platform for $1.65 Billion. With online video advertising starting to boom and social networking forever growing, their purchase is really starting to pay off.
YouTube in general has been very vocal on making improvements to user comments. This issue has been addressed with the recent integration between YouTube and Google+; specifically designed to cut back on spam and abuse that is widespread in the YouTube comments sections. Google+ YouTube comment management will transform and Google+ will be directly tied to functionality on YouTube creating one consistent identity for members.
All users of YouTube will now be mandated to create Google+ accounts. This means that Google+ is no longer an additional account, but is now a must-have. YouTube accounts and Google+ accounts will be linked together. Right now this merge is still in the beginning stages, but over time more functionality improvements will be attainable through the use of integrated YouTube comments Google+ accounts.
What is Changing Due to the YouTube Google+ Merger?
All YouTube users will now be identifiable through their real name, which is linked to the Google+ account. The commenting system will be overhauled and users will have the ability to sort comments in two different forms. You can choose to sort based on top comments or based solely on chronological order. Top comments are rated based on popularity only, which is the same as in the past.
All comments that are created by the uploader of the video will be shown at the top of the comments section. Threaded replies will also be integrated into the new comment design, which will help Google social media growth. Community interaction will now be encourage by YouTube by allowing channel owners to add their subscribers into Google+ Circles.
All comments that are made on YouTube can now be shown on Google+, because the commenting system is powered fully by Google+. However, there is an option to make comments private among your group of friends. The uploader of the video will only have the ability to see public comments and will not be able to see dialogue among friends.
Boost in Market Share
Percentage growth of Google+ and Facebook starting from January 2012 to April 2013
The increased comment features will allow the Google+ social network to grow and gain market share in the social media space. Right now Facebook dominates social networking with 50% market share, and Twitter is holding on strong with 24% of online social media users. Google+ is growing, but still only has 7%… However, due to the new integration of YouTube and Google+, this percentage will grow substantially over time.
Want to learn more? Checkout the History of YouTube.