Users of Google Video now have a few new options available that allow the viewer to rate the videos they see, label them with relevant tags, and leave behind comments for the world to see.
Has YouTube ended the online video race, or can Google build some momentum to catch up? We visualize you posting your thoughts at WebProWorld.
“Awaken your inner critic,” said the Google Video team on their blog entry. Everyone loves to criticize, or at least offer an opinion on something, and user-contributed videos should be no different.
Google Video lets their viewers express their thoughts about the videos they see. In doing so, those visitors will also help later visitors to find the content they wish to see. Google’s addition of social networking functions enables this.
More importantly, it could help Google catch up to YouTube. Google has a long way to go to do so. I know that when a new World Cup goal highlight begins making the rounds, the links inevitably point back to YouTube.
They are making the attempt, something they have to do to engage the Internet audience. The way they have implemented the ratings for videos is a little odd. If a user who is not signed in to a Google Account brings up a video’s page, the star ratings do not appear at all, even though they do appear on a search results page for each video that has them.
As in Gmail, Google prefers the term ‘label’ to ‘tag’ when it comes to categorizing information. Adding a label is as simple as typing it into a box and hitting the Label button. If you are signed in, that is; otherwise a message appears that says “Sorry, this service is currently unavailable.” Google should be more descriptive here, and redirect the user to a Google Accounts page.
Comments can be selected from a menu on the right side of the page, and sorted by date or rating. Due to Google devoting much more page real estate to their video player, the comment section gets tucked into the bottom of the options on the right side of the page.
Google’s austere design concepts need to be loosened up a little bit. Hammering every feature for Video into the sidebar makes it a cluttered experience.
There, my inner critic is wide awake, and looking forward to seeing improvements here. Google offers functional features for Google, but no one will mistake their aesthetics for Apple’s.
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David Utter is a staff writer for webproworld covering technology and business.