COSMIC PANDA: COSMIC JOKE OR NEXT BIG THING?
| Communicating with the Panda Mothership |
As with any beta, it's glitchy, but it shows Google and Youtube's ongoing efforts to evolve and maintain position as the premier video upload site (and advertising conduit) on the internet.
Cosmic Panda shows great potential for improving Youtube users' experience. Users will be treated to larger video thumbnails (at least on channel pages) and better organized content. The beta suggests that users might also be able to control the size of the box in which a video plays, giving more options than the standard or full-screen viewing options presently available.
The upgrade shows potential for allowing creators to have improved control over the positioning of content on a creator channel. Cosmic Panda also displays features that will allow video content creators to organize their Youtube channels to showcase featured channels, blog-style updates or uploads.
On the beta (glitchy) side:
1) I couldn't manage to do simple tasks, such as post a video response, send a message to a friend or meaningfully work with and compare the four channel templates provided in the update.
2) While a creator's avatar won't require any changes, it seems readily apparent that creators will need to spend some time tweaking their channel background images, choosing a template, and re-acquainting themselves with navigating the video site.
3) When I tried to give feedback on the Cosmic Panda (solicited feedback, no less) I got an auto-generated reply, saying that my attempt at feedback was not recognized and that I would need to try again later. Arg!
Anyway, I'm going to give the Cosmic Panda upgrade a B+ for now. It's a really nice try. All those hard-working folks at Youtube put a lot into this, it's an ambitious redesign, and it looks very promising at this point. Cosmic Panda is not a cosmic joke. It is the quite possibly the look and feel of the future.
Peace and love. Jimmy Jump
View the video "Bikini Snow Skiing" on the new Cosmic Panda interface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGIs1-gF6a0
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