New Delhi: After Facebook, YouTube is trying to take advantage of the void left by TikTok in the short-video space.
The company today announced that the rumoured YouTube Shorts feature will launch in India in the “next few days”. YouTube says the feature is a beta at the moment.
The platform will allow users to post 15-second videos and given that YouTube is the leading video platform on the Internet, creators should flock to it. The platform is adding a “create” on the YouTube app, emulating competitors like TikTok and others. The feature will come to iOS devices too, soon.
The create option allows users to record their short videos directly from the app and even string together multiple videos. YouTube already has tie ups with music companies, so it can allow users to use music in their videos too, which is an integral part of any short-video platform. The platform is touting the fact that it gets over 2 billion viewers every months, to entice creators towards the feature. It will also create a Watch section for users who come to the platform only to consume content.
Further, YouTube is promising new creation tools which will be added to the platforms in the “next few weeks and months”. “As with any beta, we’ll be continuing to make updates based on your feedback over the coming weeks and months,” the company said in a forum post.
YouTube will be taking on existing platforms like Moj, which is run by homegrown social media platform Sharechat. There’s also Roposo, owned by digital advertising giant InMobi, content platform DailyHunt’s Josh, and upstarts like Chingari and Mitron. Unlike those platforms though, YouTube Shorts most resembles Instagram’s Reels, because both are just features in much larger platforms.
Companies have been trying to capitalise on TikTok’s absence, which has left a void of over 100 million short video users who are trying out new platforms. The Chinese short-video giant was banned in India in July this year, due to geopolitical tensions between India and China. The Indian government cited security concerns for the ban.
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