Rumor has it that YouTube is turning itself into a real social network by the end of this year, which serves same features as Facebook's, such as sharing photos, polls, links and text. This leak seems to be of the hottest topics recently, though Google refused to give any comment.
According to some disclosures, this project is internally called Backstage. The new feature allows users to have more on their personal channels rather than uploading videos, creating playlists, following celebrity's channels. While at present, users can share those things on their Facebook or Twitter, Backstage will make it easier for people to connect with friends. Backstage is evidently YouTube’s answer to the growing threat of Facebook Live and Twitter.
Backstage is supposed to be an important shift for YouTube, which previously focuses on videos. After their unsuccessful Google+, Google Wave, Google Buzz, YouTube strike to create a new platform in which users can communicate better with their friends and followers. By introducing new ways for users to converse, Backstage could reverse the historically one-way communication between stars and their fans. Video sharing and watching will remain the primary function of YouTube, but Backstage may help make YouTube a better place to talk about those videos, too.
Most likely, there will be a tab named Backstage separately on the user's YouTube channel, next to the Home, Videos and Playlists tabs. Backstage at first will probably be used to discuss the content videos. However, this can quickly turn into a YouTube meaningful social network, where there are more interactions between channel's owners and viewers. Besides, Backstage also offers a feature called "rich replies" which allows users to reply by photos, videos or other types of comments.