YouTube replaces annotations with interactive cards available on smartphones and tablets

Youtube, the world's leading video hosting service, has just announced an important step forward for the integration of mobile devices. Although it seems strange that we are talking about this at the heights in which we find ourselves and in the case of a gigantic company like Google, it is true, and the news has to do with the current ones annotations that will be replaced by interactive cards, seeking better communication with the user but above all, compatibility with the version for smartphones and tablets

Annotations are those little windows that usually appear above the videos. They are very common and well used, they can be very useful, linking other content of interest or, as the name suggests, making an annotation about what is being shown. No less true is that when used badly, they can become very annoying when they flood the screen with things that do not interest us and we have to spend a few seconds closing them all.

Also, one of the big problems they had is that they were not visible in versions of the application for mobile devices, forcing the creators of the video to duplicate this information normally in the description. The new "cards" as they call them, will put an end to this and other inconveniences as well as looking for a better one. functionality, flexibility and visual impact than that produced by the annotations.

6 types of cards

What will the new cards include? The platform will differentiate up to six different types of cards, with different configurations that content creators have to learn to handle. These are: Merchandise, Fundraiser, Video, Playlist, Partner Website, and Fan Funding Card. Some are clear about what they represent, such as a video, playlist or associated website, which, as they did the annotations, link us to new addresses. Others, it is not so clear how they will work.

A matter of getting used to, since the end goal is that the annotations end up disappearing, and it seems logical given the possibilities offered by the new interactive cards. No more watching a video from our tablet or iPad and having to go to the description of the video to consult the information that would normally be displayed in a simple way on the screen.

Vía: TheNextWeb