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As many of you may be aware YouTube were quietly testing out the beta version of their channel re-design (first via a secret opt-in URL that many of you ptobably discovered, then as a visible opt-in link) for a while now. As I logged in today to create a new university YouTube page, I was immediately greated by the new Channel 2.0 design. It takes a bit getting used to especially to those of us who are power-users of the old design, but the new design is much more neater and sleeker and the learning curve in my case was a matter of minutes.   The White House uses the new re-designed channel, when you compare that to the old channel design of popular YouTuber Fred you will see what I mean. Here are a few cool examples of great new channel designs: IceflowStudios, Vlogbrothers, nalts, LisaNova, sxephil, ThadewGrum, and University of Phoenix.

All newly created YouTube accounts (as of June 24th) will now have the new channel 2.0  design. On July 15th, all existing and new accounts will receive the new channel layout. Keep in mind though that the new channels are still in beta for now, so there may be a few elements missing here and there.

OneUpWeb summarzies the New Channel Features:

• Simple Video Navigation – Viewers no longer have to jump from page to page to view a channel’s videos – all videos are accessible via the main channel page.
• User Actions – User functions such as commenting, adding to favorites and playlists, and video sharing are placed in an easy-to-use menu directly beneath the video you’re watching.
• Easier Editing – Admins have the ability to edit channel elements such as modules, colors, and themes right from the channel page instead of a separate edit-only page.