YouTube is trying another way to integrate more social platform-type elements, this time through a new Community Spaces test where fans of a channel can join and interact through text posts.
As you can see from this example posted by influencer marketing expert Lindsey Gamble, YouTube's new Community space, now available on some creator profiles, gives fans a dedicated space to view text updates from creators, while also sharing their own posts.
The feature is an extension of YouTube's community posts, allowing creators to post text updates in their own dedicated streams.
YouTube made Community Posts available to all channels last June, giving creators a new way to interact with their fans.
Now, the company is looking to get its fans involved in the same effort, which will drive even more engagement and interaction within the app.
This is interesting given YouTube’s changing relationship with elements like social media.
YouTube has been slowly downplaying video comments because they can sometimes provoke harmful reactions. It's no exaggeration to say that comments are the most social part of YouTube. But at the same time, YouTube is also looking to increase engagement within channel communities through community posts, which seems to encourage more positive engagement.
This new expansion is another step in that direction, potentially making YouTube a more social app by switching interactive elements to different parts of the app to further help build community.
And for creators, this could be a valuable consideration in interacting with fans and building connections within the app. The ability for fans to post and creators to respond would be a big update and could foster more connections through YouTube clips.
YouTube is currently testing Community Spaces with select creators and plans to expand it more broadly in the future.
