Facebook is testing a dedicated video channel

This is a much hyped addition to Facebook’s design, as it will allow users to continue watching videos while they scroll down through their newsfeed.

Facebook has also been testing a feature for suggested videos, which automatically shows related videos after users watch one through their News Feeds. The Wall Street Journal noted that its users watch more than 4 billion videos daily, and the social media provider is gearing up to grab a big chunk of the $200 billion that companies now spend each year on television ads. The problem is that there are many businesses that block YouTube videos, the users don’t have customer service or support, and there’s no strong control over public content. Everyone can leave comments, even if the users are insulting or bullying the person who owns the channel and if the users are publishing ads, besides their content, YouTube will display competitors’ content. Its new video section, meanwhile, will provide a dedicated area for users to watch, discover, and share videos with their friends.

In a press release Tuesday, Facebook executive Will Cathcart announced its project to test different ways users can experience video. The Video Feed will ideally assist uses in discovering, watching and sharing videos that they enjoy or find to be helpful.

“To make it easy to return to the videos you’re interested in, we’ve been testing a button that allows you to save a video to watch later, which can be accessed in your “Saved” bookmark”, the company posted.

“We’ll be testing this with a small number of people now, so this isn’t something most people will see on Facebook right away”, Mr Cathcart said.

Apart from the launch of the 360 degree VR videos, new video features in the social network include the Live feature for celebrities.

For publishers Facebook began testing new video matching technology with a long-term goal of providing a comprehensive video management system for video creators.

The features follow several recent updates the company has made to the way it handles video. Videos enrich the media available on Facebook while it gives another angle to user interaction.