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YouTube’s latest experiment defeats the Shorts feed’s entire purpose
- Google is testing long-form video recommendations in the YouTube Shorts feed with a group of users.
- The experiment aims to boost long-form videos’ discovery by inserting them in more places across the platform.
- It’s still unclear whether Google will embrace this change and roll it out to all YouTube users or axe it down the road.
Google continuously tests new changes across its products and monitors how they impact users’ experience. The latest experiment inserts long-form videos in the YouTube Shorts feed. So, if your account has been selected, you may come across two-hour YouTube documentaries while scrolling through minute-long clips.
According to an updated Google support document, YouTube is testing some new content discovery experiences. The document reads:
To try to help viewers better discover content across channels, formats, and lengths on YouTube, we’re running a few small experiments on the Watch Page and with Shorts. If you’re a viewer in the experiment, these new discovery experiences could include a mix of video formats including long-form videos where you’d usually see Shorts (example: the Shorts Feed) or new feeds of long-form videos.
While this change may boost creators’ long-form video views, it may downgrade viewers’ experience — particularly in the Shorts feed. Users visit the dedicated tab when seeking short, lightweight content to scroll through. While they could quickly swipe a long-form video away when it surfaces, it certainly breaks the viewing flow and requires extra action.
Users have long been able to discover relevant long-form videos on the main YouTube page. So, those interested in watching longer content could always visit that tab. Inserting footage shot horizontally in a vertical video player objectively makes little sense. Ultimately, this is just a limited experiment, and it will likely be killed by Google if it negatively impacts the company’s analytics.
Beyond featuring long-form videos in the Shorts feed, YouTube has been conducting other experiments on its platform. Just last week, it announced picture-in-picture support for live mid-rolls. This allows eligible creators to insert ads in their streams without significantly disrupting the viewing experience.