Neal Mohan is the new head of YouTube a few days ago. He does not call himself CEO, a position left by Susan Wojcicki a few days ago, but the meaning does not change: it will be up to him to “guide towards the future” Google’s video streaming platform. As of 2023.
And it is precisely in an open letter to the community that the manager takes stock of the situation by addressing this year’s priorities, promising to “devote all the energy to what matters most to creators and people”. Among the points he dwells on: supporting creator success, listening to creators, and building for the YouTube of the future. Aware of the fact that what we are experiencing is a particularly difficult macroeconomic phase.
In 2021, YouTube supported more than 2 million jobs in Brazil, Canada, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and Turkey, and never before has content production been so rich. For this reason, the intention is to provide creators with different tools to earn, including subscriptions.
We’ve offered creators revenue opportunities beyond ads, thanks to the availability of subscriptions in multiple countries, investment in shopping, and continuous improvement of our paid product offerings.
The new head believes that for the best results, it’s essential to listen to creators and get feedback on their business. In particular, needs emerged such as:
reach more people by adding language tracks to videos: YouTube is expanding this feature, also being tested in live streams and shorts.
Greater accessibility for people with hearing disabilities: Through machine learning, YouTube provides automatic captions in multiple languages, including on mobile. It is estimated that more than 6 billion videos are automatically subtitled, more than 1 billion people watch YouTube with subtitles every day.
More support: In 2022, the number of creators who have access to real-time support via chat or email grew.
In this way it is possible to identify the aspects and tools that more than others are able to intercept new audiences and be of help to youtubers to see views grow. Think of video gaming, which reached 2 trillion views in 2022. The importance of gift subscriptions has also been proven in this area, a means that helps to connect creators with their community (and in 2023 the function will also arrive on smartphones), and an additional tool has been identified that will help the public to be more active with the possibility of remixing in a simple and fun way the highlights of the gaming streams in the Shorts.
Interpreting the viewer in the place where they are watching the content: TV was the fastest growing medium in 2022. That’s why YouTube introduced a TV-compatible format for Shorts, launched Primetime Channels and NFL Sunday Tickets (in select markets), making it easier for creators to connect with fans.
Possibility to exploit different formats. For example, Shorts, which today has 50 billion views every day.
More podcasts: In 2023, it will be easier for creators to showcase their podcasts on the platform. There will also be many audio and video podcasts coming to YouTube Music, starting in the United States.
new tool to record a Short in a side-by-side layout with both Short and a YouTube video.
The YouTube of the future must also be increasingly safe, especially for children, so that the videos they watch are not only suitable, but also “enriching”.