Who Programs YouTube's Homepage?

Usually, it’s someone that works for the company, like Felicia the “webisodewiz” or Mark Day. Sometimes it’s somebody famous, like Rob Zombie or Damon Wayans. Sometimes it’s supposed to be somebody famous, but turns out to be a random selection of whatnot. And sometimes it’s just random.

Before now, there wasn’t really any way to be sure. YouTube would announce the temporary bestowal of their editorial privileges and visitors to the homepage would have to guess if Michael Gondry actually likes that Hot For Words chick, or if her etymology and assets were appealing to someone else behind the scenes.

Along with personalized homepages and an alleged upcoming update to video quality, YouTube is also now letting viewers know who’s curating its frontpage.

Right now, Billy Reid’s Very Tasteful is calling the shots, and true to his CBC ties, many of the picks feature Canadian talent. Though, aside from the Louis CK animation, I’d spend my entertainment time just watching Reid’s own creations (the electo-pop, synth-happy White Chicks & Gang Signs is always fun).

Not a huge update, but definitely a cool community tool that can give lesser-known artists (and the videos they like) another avenue of discovery and keep viewers in the know about wtf is getting prime placement on a page visited by tens of millions worldwide.