YouTube has introduced a pretty awesome new feature that offers a geographical perspective – among other factors – on people’s favorite videos hosted by the streaming service. A map layout pinpointing what videos are popular where offers an instant look at viral content across the country.
Through YouTube’s Trends Map, users can easily pinpoint what video is trending in what part of the U.S. and further hone in on specific videos given a certain demographic – search results can be sorted by the number of views, the number of shares, viewer age range, and viewer gender. The most obvious use of the Trends Map is for industry insiders who can find out what type of videos and media play well with certain parts of the country and certain demographics … and for the rest of us, it’s just plain fun to find out where else we can find someone with a Maru obsession.
A few other fun facts courtesy of the Trends Map:
Are you a parent having trouble connecting with your teenage daughter or son? According to the Trends Map, you can talk to your kid about The Walking Dead, True Blood, Family Guy, or 10 Things You Should Never Say to a Guy, which are the most shared YouTube videos among users age 13 to 17:
Curious about what’s piquing the interest of most 60-somethings in the country? This video of a simple handshake between two teams before a swim meet has three million views and is popular with the oldies in at least 131 regions:
That same video is also popular among males between the age of 18 and 24, so bringing this clip up during a first date may stimulate conversation. For guys seeing a girl within the same age range, talk about this unique child abuse ad (don’t worry, it will make you seem knowledgeable, not depressing):
The new feature is a further enhancement of the already-existing Youtube Trends dashboard, where users could search videos using the same parameters minus the map layer. Right now only U.S. users can check out the upgrade, but YouTube’s blog post announcing the feature implies future plans of expansion.
