YouTube Jewels look like they were ripped straight out of the Reddit Gold playbook

YouTube is a great platform, especially if you’re a person that wants to create videos and share them with the world. For most, it’s just a hobby, with many creators juggling a day job. But for some, YouTube is all they have, which can be a huge problem when the paycheck isn’t consistent. Over the years, YouTube has changed quite a bit in how it pays creators, and for the most part, ad revenue isn’t quite what it once was, despite its efforts to increase revenue.

With that said, YouTube has tried to introduce new ways for creators to earn, and it looks like before the year comes to a close, users will be able to show their support towards their favorite creators in a whole new way thanks to gifts. The feature will start rolling out over the next couple of weeks to those in the US, and it will primarily be available for use with vertical live stream videos.

A new for creators to earn

YouTube is calling this new feature Jewels, which come in a bundle and feature a variety of gifts. These gifts include a variety of different animations that can be sent to creators during vertical live streams. The brand highlights how, since it comes in a bundle, users won’t need to buy just one gift each time in order to shower their favorite creators with appreciation. Of course, pricing has yet to be revealed for Jewels, and it will most likely vary from region to region, but this could be a more affordable way for users to send a gift.

Where creators can earn is by having subscribers or viewers use these new gifts during a stream, and when that is done, creators will earn “Rubies” which can be converted to cash. It all sounds a bit convoluted, and to be honest, that’s probably the whole point here, because whenever you take cash and turn it into some form of digital token or currency, it makes it harder for those paying to really gauge how much they are spending. Of course, that’s not going to stop creators from giving it a try, and it certainly won’t stop those dedicated viewers from trying it out as well.

This is especially going to be the case since YouTube is now offering creators a bonus for the first three months that Jewels is available. Of course, this is nothing new and other platforms and services have utilized something similar. So, now users will have one more option to support creators, on top of joining their community for a monthly fee, or donating during live streams.

As stated before, Jewels will be rolling out eligible creators in the US over the next few weeks. Viewers will be able to purchase Jewels through the YouTube app and use them on vertical live streams.