It seems that just about everyone is getting involved with stories. The popular format introduced by Snapchat, then adopted by Instagram, Facebook, Skype and lots of other platforms, is now making it's way to YouTube.
YouTube announced they're launching a new feature that they will be calling “Reels.” This is a new feature that YouTube announced briefly and will be featured around the expansion of the community tab. Reels will be YouTube's take on stories and will include some of the features we've become used to with stories on other platforms, but also with their own take.
The idea around Reels is that users will be able to post a new form of content to YouTube without having to post a full video. It will help users express themselves and connect with fans in a new way.
Creators make new Reels by shooting a few quick mobile videos of up to 30 seconds each, they will then have the options of adding filters, music, text and new “YouTube” stickers. Also, Reels will not expire after 24 hours unlike platforms like Instagram and Facebook and instead YouTube will let users have multiple Reels and create a library for each category of reels.
Reels will also not feature on the home page of the YouTube app, but it will instead be centred around the community tab. This will allow viewers to decide if they would like to watch the content or not, which could help the new feature be more welcomed than when the likes of Snapchat and Facebook launched similar features.
This all comes with YouTube's attempt to create a mini social network within the community tab. The Community lives on a creator’s channel in its own tab, allowing them to share updates using text, photos, GIFs, polls, and more.
The new feature will be available for a small group of the site’s creators and will be tested first. There is no announcement on when this will roll out properly in beta.