Move over, Twitch. YouTube is testing the ability for viewers and creators to make longer clips of video by allowing the sharing of small, short clips of a video. Sound familiar?
The feature is currently “testing” with a small group of channels while YouTube gathers feedback.
“We’ve received a lot of feedback from creators and viewers who wanted an easy way to capture short segments of content and share moments from video or streams,” the company shared in an official YouTube blog post announcing the feature. “We are excited to begin testing a crop feature on YouTube today with a small group of creators as we begin gathering feedback.”
We’re breaking down how it all works, the key differences between clips on Twitch, and more.
How does it work
Until now, viewers had to rely on the URL of the watch page for videos and live streams. In this case it was possible to start a video only at a specific time by adding specific parameters. With the introduction of clips, however, users can share a portion of their content or a live stream, between 5 and 6 seconds long, attributed to them. Both creators and logged in viewers can create clips via a new URL.
These clips will loop directly and appear on the original video watch page. In other words, a clip is a timestamped link to the original video. Since the clip will play over the original video and loop over and over again, the viewer’s browser will not be directed elsewhere. This is a key differentiator from Twitch’s version of the feature, which creates a new video from a clip.
Here is a breakdown of the process:
- Start watching an eligible video on YouTube and click the clip icon that looks like a pair of scissors
- Designate the part of the video you want to crop. You can increase (maximum 60 seconds) or decrease (minimum 5 seconds) the duration of the selection by dragging the cursor.
- Give the clip a title (up to 140 characters).
- Click on the “Share Clip” button which will activate different options for posting the content.
To share from a social network, select the icon for the platform of your choice, including Facebook or Twitter. If you’re sharing it on a personal or business website, click the “Embed” button to generate some code you can use for a landing page.
If sharing via email, select the email icon using your default email software on your computer. Alternatively, you can click the “Copy” button to create a shareable link to the video that you can paste elsewhere, even in the body of an email message.
Community response
So what’s the verdict? Most of those who voiced their thoughts on the news expressed excitement about the ability to share quick and interesting moments from their YouTube videos and help spread the word on smaller channels in the community.
“This is a really great new tool especially for streamers. It will definitely help people share their favorite creators in an easy-to-use way,” reads a comment.
Others took the opportunity to share where some tweaks might be considered when it comes to controlling content playback and curbing abuse.
“Twitch allows its streamers to limit the ability to create clips, delete created clips, or even turn off the feature to prevent trolls from using it to harass, ridicule, or intimidate streamers. Will similar arrangements be made to prevent such abuse from happening?
Another deviation from clips on Twitch is that a channel’s YouTube clips aren’t publicly listed anywhere. While you can find a “popular clips” section on Twitch, YouTube clips are only listed privately in the user’s account settings, similar to a shareable personal bookmark.
A comment suggested that a feature could be added to select which of these private uploads can be shared widely via a playlist. “Maybe you can add it [a clip] then it goes to your unlisted or private channel, then you can check it and add it to a playlist.
Let’s talk about monetization
According to YouTube, ads can appear in clips as long as the original video is at least 30 seconds long. While that doesn’t completely rule out profiting from Clips’ content, it raises flags for larger channels that often intertwine with ad reads embedded in their videos. How this ultimately shifts reliance on Google’s automated advertising programs versus third-party offerings that include ad reading is sure to be a space to watch as the rollout of the offering continues.
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