If you want to discover fun new YouTube videos, there are plenty of ways you could go about your search. You could open up the trending tab on the video site’s homepage to see what’s going viral, or check your subscription box to see what your favorite creators are cooking up, or continue to read the blog you’re reading right now.
Unfortunately, one of YouTube’s most fun and interactive video discovery aids is about the close up shop. The site’s Trends Map, which allows users to filter popular content across geographic and demographic lines, will soon be discontinued.
The Trends Map, which first launched in 2013, separated the United States into dozens of regions, with a top trending video in each one. Additional controls allowed map users to separate trending videos by age and gender. On a day to day basis, the map generally produced some interesting insights. Right now, for example, most of America is captivated by the video embedded below, in which a gator strolls through a Florida golf course; around Yellowstone National Park, however, viewers are more interested in this encounter between a woman and an elk.
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Current visitors to the Trends Map are greeted by a new message. “Thanks for using the Trends Map and Trends Dashboard!” it reads. “Unfortunately, in the coming days we’ll be turning off these tools, but you can always find the latest trending videos at youtube.com/trending.”
When reached by email, a YouTube rep confirmed that the Trends Map would soon become unavailable. The video site’s trending tab is undoubtedly a more intuitive way for users to discover viral hits, but for hardcore YouTube fans like myself, the map will be missed. I encourage you to give it a spin before it goes away.
