YouTube CEO outlines priorities for 2021

Susan Wojcicki, CEO, YouTube says boosting the creator economy, working with governments for regulatory issues, improving policy transparency and more of such subjects would be the key focus areas of the platform in 2021.

Along with the priorities for 2021, the CEO of Youtube also shares bits on what the platform is developing in the creation and commerce space, along with the YouTube app for TV.

Policy Transparency

The number of new channels that joined the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) last year more than doubled over the year before. As creators are an integral part of the YouTube platform, the company is looking at supporting them in a few key areas.

The first being improving policy transparency, apprising about how the policies work, making more support available for creators, and improving the appeal process for creators.

Development in this area is intended to address the growing concerns of creators on the platform related to the addition and application of new policies and their impact on the creator. For instance, issues such as the enforcement of a new policy on an older video.

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Supporting Creators

Youtube will start asking creators for information such as gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity, starting this year in the US to understand how content from certain communities is treated in search, discovery, and monetization.

This data would help the platform spot any cracks in the system that may negatively impact any creator, and also provide meritorious opportunities to them.

The platform has also begun testing a filter in YouTube Studio for potentially inappropriate comments that would be automatically held for review, in an effort to supporting creator wellbeing.

Key Responsibilities

As the platform is also a resource for information related to health & wellness, YouTube will be expanding efforts to make health information more accessible, and recently announced partnerships with organizations including the American Public Health Association, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Mayo Clinic.

The company is also looking at distributing authoritative health information in Europe and Asia.

YouTube Of The Future

YouTube Shorts currently being tested in the beta phase in India, is receiving 3.5 billion daily views. The Shorts player will be expanded to more markets this year, and the platform looks to provide more video editing tools to streamline mobile creation.

As the platform is a hub of product discovery too, where several users come to research a product they want to buy. YouTube is testing a new beta program with few beauty and electronics creators to enable viewers to discover and buy products they see in the videos.

The Living Room app designed for television would be improved with better voice navigation, and upgrades to the look and performance, to make it a finer product for viewers, advertisers, and creators.