YouTube expands Community feature to users with 10k+ subs, to add ‘Stories’

YouTube’s Community feature, which it had been testing with a few creators for around a year, has been expanded to all users with more than 10 000 subscribers.

The social feature allows creators to engage with their viewers using text, photos, polls, and more.

The expansion announcement was expected — it had been hinted at by a number of creators on Twitter — but what wasn’t expected was the introduction of a Stories-like feature called Reels.

Got word that the @YouTube Community tab I’ve been talking to you guys on is opening up to more creators this week. @nealmohan true?

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 28, 2017

“Reels are YouTube’s spin on the popular “stories” format, but designed specifically for YouTube creators,” the company writes. This specific design seems to refer to “creator-focused features” like linking to videos and YouTube stickers.

Reels will also break away from the standard 24-hour disappearance that Snapchat made famous.

“We learned that you want the flexibility to create multiple Reels and have them not expire, so we’ll give you those options,” YouTube said.

The company will be experimenting with a beta version of Reels before expanding to more creators. The move plays nicely into the hands of those who joked about Stories features eventually expanding to any and every platform earlier this year.

Pregnancy tests will now have stories pic.twitter.com/CwNWNSB1Qd

— Matt Will Post (@MattPostSaysHi) April 5, 2017