Earlier this month, we said to get ready to see more cool things based on Google Moderator, as Google launched an API for it. It turns out that Google’s own YouTube has one of the first cool things we’ve seen based on the product since then.
YouTube announced today that it is integrating Google Moderator into channels on the site. This means that YouTube content producers will have a new and helpful way to engage with their viewers, and use that engagement to create more crowd-pleasing content.
Google Moderator lets popular items get voted up, so content producers can use the tool to see what is most in demand – what types of videos viewers would like to see more of, questions they want answered, etc.
"You set the parameters for the dialogue, including the topic, the type of submissions, and the length of the conversation," explain YouTube News Manager Olivia Ma and Moderator Product Manager Ginny Hunt. "Watch as submissions get voted up or down by your audience, and then respond to the top-voted submissions by posting a video on your channel. The platform operates in real-time, and you can remove any content that you or your audience flag as inappropriate. You can also embed the platform on your own website or blog."
YouTube users must be logged into a Google account that is linked to a YouTube account to participate in Moderator on YouTube.