Backlash Over Google+ Integration Into YouTube Comments Continues To Grow

After Google launched a new platform for YouTube comments “powered” by Google+ in September, a YouTube Product Forum has been bombarded with backlash from users wanting Google+ out of their YouTube comment threads.

Scrolling through the last few days’ worth of topics listed in the YouTube Product Forum shows most are complaints about the integration of Google+ into YouTube. More than 900 topics were added in the last 24 hours, possibly prompted by a Reddit post published yesterday, pointing readers directly to the product forum link.

According to an announcement by Google in September, comments on YouTube are now sorted by relevancy versus when a comment is posted. Google claimed comments from the video’s creator, popular personalities and Google+ connections will rank above other comments, along with comments that receive many likes and replies. To make a comment on a YouTube video now, a user must attach their comment to a Google identity.

Marketing Land reached out to Google about the backlash, but has yet to receive any comments from the company.

Here’s an image from Google’s original announcement showing what a YouTube comment thread looks like with the Google+ integration:

Update: Thank you to Jon Heinl for the tip pointing Marketing Land to the growing number of comments on the Google Product Forum and a link to the Reddit post.

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Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.