YouTube’s recommendations aren’t new and are a way for the company to get users to keep using its website and watch video after video, which in turn generates more ad revenue for its creators and themselves. These recommended videos appear in multiple locations, like to the sidebar of YouTube, or at the end of a clip.
However it seems that YouTube is now testing out new ways of recommending videos, according to a series of screenshots obtained by The Verge. Based on these screenshots, it seems that the new way that YouTube is recommending videos is through the use of blue bubbles placed under each video.
In a way these bubbles reminds us of tags where clicking each bubble should presumably show videos based on the bubble. So for example a video about MMA could show recommendations for all MMA-related videos, recommendations from the particular channel you are watching, related videos, or recommended videos that are curated “for you”.
That being said, The Verge has pointed out YouTube has in the past run into issues with its recommendations, where its algorithms have led users to some dark and disturbing content. It is unclear if these bubbles will address those issues, but since this is just a test, there’s no guarantee that they’ll make the final cut.
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