YouTube is embracing the social networking trend with its Community feature. The new service lets content creators engage with their viewers using images, text, and GIFs.
YouTube has been testing the service for the past couple of months. The expanded features are accessible through the "Community" tab on the channels.
The new feature gives viewers the option to receive notifications about new content. Subscribers can view the content on their Subscriptions feed. According to Tech Crunch, Community lets content creators manage their own mini-social network on their channel page by sharing links and photos with their audience.
The upcoming feature is Google's latest attempt to get social media right. The company had unsuccessfully tried to integrate Google+ into YouTube. However, the results were less than impressive.
The Verge reported that the new YouTube feature is currently being tested with a limited number of content creators. The main vloggers using the service are AsapSCIENCE, The Key of Awesome, and John & Hank Green.
The service is currently available in beta form. YouTube stated that it would be tested for some time to gather feedback. The company may also add new features to the service before it is rolled out. The service is expected to be launched in the coming months.