YouTube is shutting down YouTube Create at the end of this month, ending what was supposed to be a promotion of both the YouTube API and third-party apps taking advantage of it. YouTube Create was launched some 18 months ago as a showcase for third-party video editors like WeVideo, Vibop and Magisto. Here’s how YouTube described Create at launch:
“The idea is simple. The third-party application runs in an HTML iframe on YouTube. The user creates a video with the application, and then the application uploads the video to YouTube for the user to watch and share.”
However, it looks like Create never got all that much traction, which is why YouTube is now shutting the showcase down on January 31. Apps featured on Create will still be able to make use of the YouTube API after that date, which allows them to essentially operate as external third-party video editors for the site, complete with an option to upload edited videos directly to YouTube.
Only, they’re not going to be featured on YouTube anymore, and there’s no iframe integration either – and that irks some if the existing Create partners. “We think it’s a pity that the program is ending, as it provided YouTube users with a variety of easy-to-find options for video creation and production,” WeVideo Vice President of Sales and Marketing Mark Floisand told me via email.
YouTube has in recent months significantly expanded its own video editor, which users of the site can access during the upload process, so featuring competing apps may make less sense for YouTube. Still, one shouldn’t rule out that YouTube might bring back a tighter integration of some of these third-party apps in the future.
Image courtesy of Flickr user lorraine santana.
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