The latest YouTube experiment is sensitive to time

This week Google started a limited YouTube trial with several users on several videos. Like other “Experiments” youtube features, you might see this feature on some videos, or you might not see it at all. In some cases, users can choose in or out. In this case, there are ways to determine whether you are part of a party.

On April 29, 2021, Youtube was testing “new time futures.” This system allows users to view comments “it’s time to the right time you watch in the video.” You might recognize this kind of comment system from sites like SoundCloud. You might be surprised that it hasn’t been a part of most other websites that accommodate audio and / or videos – but not yet!

This experiment, as suggested by Jordane from the YouTube team this week, “is available in several videos to a small group of people” at this time. They are currently considering “rotating this wider based on feedback.”

If you want to see if you are part of this experiment, you must open the YouTube application on iOS or Android. At present, only Android and iOS YouTube versions are part of this experiment – not another platform. After you open the application, open the video, go to the comments section, and tap the sort button.If when you knock on the Sort button, you see “Beta time,” you will be able to activate the Experiment of the Time Comment. If you don’t see this option, you are not part of the experiment. Maybe you can see this experiment on one device, but it’s not the other.

Do you think it would make sense for YouTube to use comments that appear at certain points along the timeline of each video? Does such features even make sense on the site that is most often associated?