In a bit of what YouTube refers to as “Spring cleaning,” the site has made a few changes to the names of modules on the home page. YouTube says it’s an effort to help users understand where videos come from and why YouTube thinks you will like them.
Spotlight Videos
The spotlight videos section shows you videos YouTube thinks you’ll want to watch because they are informative, inspirational, or entertaining. “We think ‘Spotlight Videos’ is an appropriate moniker for this section, and soon we are going to take a more thematic approach to showcasing some of the best videos our community and partners produce,” says YouTube Product Marketing Manager Curtis Lee. “When you see these videos, they will have top billing on the page — a true spotlight.”
Featured Videos
Featured videos come mostly from YouTube’s partners, but can also include popular videos from regular users. Videos in this section may have shown in the spotlight section at one point or another. The videos in the Featured section are rotated throughout the day for freshness.
Promoted Videos
Promoted videos are the paid advertising you see on YouTube search results pages. They were known as sponsored videos before, but YouTube has decided that “promoted” sounds better because the advertising program is about “helping anyone promote their videos to a larger audience.”
Lee says YouTube will be making additional changes to the site’s home page in the coming weeks, though he did not specify what these will be. I will work on finding out more, but you will know when I do.
