Google has announced an upcoming change to YouTube that will see it dropping the Trending page that was introduced 10 years ago. The company says that it is shifting to charts for different video genres in response to changes in the way users discover and consume content.
A decade after it first appeared, the Trending page is now far less popular than it used to be. This is partly because of fragmentation, but also because of the sheer volume of content that is uploaded every day.
Google believes that the change will make it easier for users to discover content that is both popular and relevant to their tastes. The previous system was rather simplistic in just highlighting mass popularity. In addition to the main Trending page, the Trending Now list is also being consigned to the history books.
Writing about the move to using charts to highlight content in different categories, Google says:
We’ll be removing the Trending page and Trending Now list, and moving forward you can find the most popular content in specific categories on YouTube Charts. Today you can explore charts for Trending Music Videos, Weekly Top Podcast Shows, and Trending Movie Trailers. We’ll continue to add more content categories to charts over time. While we’re building more charts, the Gaming Explore page will still be your go-to for the Trending gaming videos.
The company says that it will continue to provide different ways to discover new content, both personalized and non-personalized, giving users the choice between sticking in a bubble or breaking out of it.
It explains:
Along with highlighting popular content in charts, we’ll keep showing viewers the videos that we think they’ll love through personalized recommendations. This way, we can show a wider range of popular content that’s relevant, and it feels more natural to how viewers already find new videos. Viewers can still browse content that isn’t personalized in the Explore menu, on creator channels, and in their subscriptions feed.
There are also changes for creators, not just consumers. YouTube creators will have access to a selection of tools that will help them to determine what content proves most popular with their followers. In addition to the “Inspiration” tab in YouTube Studio – which will keep giving creators personalized ideas to help them spot the next big thing for their channel – the new Hype feature is a way to amplify content to a larger audience.
The changes are due to roll out gradually over the next couple of weeks.
