YouTube said it is testing a new experimental personalized homepage with a small group of users it has selected at random.
Don’t worry if you are not part of the group testing the new homepage, YouTube says it will give access to everyone in the near future. The experimental homepage will still have “Featured” and “Most Popular” videos but will add personalized recommendations, videos from subscriptions and a way to see what videos your friends are uploading and rating.
For the “recommendations” feature the YouTube blog says, “Based on what you’ve viewed and favorited in the past, you’ll see an algorithmically-selected set of videos that you otherwise may never have discovered.”
On the new subscription feature YouTube says, “To help you keep track of the most current activity, we’ve changed the layout that displays newly added videos from your subscriptions. You’ll be able to see videos from your three most recently updated subscriptions.”
The experimental YouTube homepage includes a “Friend Activity” feature so users can see what video their friends are uploading. “If you already display your favorites, ratings, or uploaded videos on your channel, then your existing, confirmed friends will receive a feed of updates when you favorite, rate, or upload. Remember, you control your list of friends on YouTube.”
“You also control the activities that appear to others on your channel and now in your friends’ feeds. Just click on the ‘Channel Design’ link once you’ve clicked on the ‘Account’ link at the top of any page to turn on features or turn off features you don’t wish to share publicly or in your friends’ feeds.”
YouTube said it will also include a dashboard that places stats about your Inbox on the homepage, the stats will include uploads, total views and number of honors.
