Quora, which is fresh of being one of the three chosen startups at Allen & Co conference, is adding the option to embed YouTube video in its answer pages, posts and question details this morning.
The Q & A site recently redesigned in order to offer users a better way to search for content and this latest step is yet another in its effort to provide a better user experience. “It’s going to make answers on the site great — It opens the door to the kind of answers you can provide,” says Quora’s Mark Bodnick. As an example he brings up the “Which are the best storytelling songs?” page, which now has around 60 videos. If anything, it’s a good bet video will increase user time on site.
YouTube video embedding on Quora will be retroactive, and all previous links will turn into embedded videos. Users will also be able to post multiple videos like in the example above and the site plans on adding other platforms like Vimeo soon.
While the first instinct is to chalk up the addition of more media options to the fact that the site has picked up popularity with the celebrity set as of late, Bodnick tells me that in fact there are a range of topics that could be improved with video, and that users are already completing the behavior manually by adding links. While Bodnick did not disclose any Quora usership numbers, he did tell me that the site currently has over 60K topics.
The feature will be inaugurated by answers that include video from New Jersey mayor Cory Booker and Muppet movie actor Jason Segel.