Our friends over at Google Mobile have started a new YouTube channel called Mobile Tricks. They want to know what you can do with your cell phone, and start you off with a guy who's a bit obsessed with them. Look familiar? You might have seen him before in a unitard.
They're asking for all kinds of tricks, from the useful to the completely ridiculous, and they can be with or without Google Mobile products. To submit a video, start and end it with these slides, and submit it to their channel page. They're putting the best submissions in their playlists and blogging about their favorites, and we put one of our favorites on the YouTube home page over the weekend – holotext messaging.
For further inspiration, here's a video about how to save America with your phone (thanks to davestonedesign) and the WillItBlend guys doing what they do best.
Now show us what you’ve got!
The YouTube Team
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Mobile Tricks Videos: What can you do with your phone?
Posted: July 2nd, 2008, 2:00pm HKT
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Trendspotting Tuesday: Rube Goldberg Contraptions
Posted: July 1st, 2008, 12:00pm HKT
Here on YouTube, there's no shortage of odes to 20th century cartoonist Rube Goldberg. If you're not familiar, Goldberg penned a comic series starring the eccentric Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts -- who created elaborate contraptions to perform simple tasks in roundabout ways.
Well, the Goldberg followers on YouTube have that concept down to a T -- and, better yet, they offer complete explanations of how they built their devices and what to expect once things get set in motion. This week's Trendspotting Tuesday showcases those budding inventors whose complicated "machines" do everything from putting dog food in a bowl to pouring a glass of beer to constructing a hamburger. There's also the Rube classics, like the Star Wars edition from RebrnEmpwrd and an office supply version from morebeefplease. Check out the full playlist here and on our home page:
Come back next Tuesday for another edition of Trendspotting Tuesday, where we highlight the amazing things people are doing on the site.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team
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Recommendation Engine rolling out this week!
Posted: July 1st, 2008, 1:57am HKT by Kevin Rose
Hey Everyone —
We’re launching the Digg Recommendation Engine beginning this week. The feature will be in beta and presented to registered Digg users first, based on a random sampling of logged-in users. Look for the red beta flag on your Upcoming tab - this means you now have access to the Recommendation Engine. We hope to roll it out to everyone within the week or so.
The Recommendation Engine is a cool way to discover new content on Digg. Now that there are more than 16,000 stories submitted to the Upcoming section every day, it’s difficult to sort through everything to find the best content. The Recommendation Engine uses your past digging activity to identify what we call Diggers Like You (who you can see on the right hand nav) to suggest stories you might like.
You can see a video preview of Recommendation Engine here:
To understand more about how it works, you should check out our interview with Digg’s Lead Scientist Anton Kast:
You can also read more about the Recommendation Engine in Anton’s Whitepaper.
As you increase your activity on Digg, the Recommendation Engine will get to know you better and will suggest more targeted content and Diggers Like You. You can always remove specific users from the Recommendation Engine by clicking on the user name and selecting ‘remove from Recommendation Engine.’
Since this is the beta version we want to know what you think. Get back to us at feedback@digg.com with your thoughts and suggestions.
Digg on,
Kevin
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Recommendation Engine rolling out this week!
Posted: July 1st, 2008, 1:57am HKT by Kevin Rose
Hey Everyone —
We’re launching the Digg Recommendation Engine beginning this week. The feature will be in beta and presented to registered Digg users first, based on a random sampling of logged-in users. Look for the red beta flag on your Upcoming tab - this means you now have access to the Recommendation Engine. We hope to roll it out to everyone within the week or so.
The Recommendation Engine is a cool way to discover new content on Digg. Now that there are more than 16,000 stories submitted to the Upcoming section every day, it’s difficult to sort through everything to find the best content. The Recommendation Engine uses your past digging activity to identify what we call Diggers Like You (who you can see on the right hand nav) to suggest stories you might like.
You can see a video preview of Recommendation Engine here:
To understand more about how it works, you should check out our interview with Digg’s Lead Scientist Anton Kast:
You can also read more about the Recommendation Engine in Anton’s Whitepaper.
As you increase your activity on Digg, the Recommendation Engine will get to know you better and will suggest more targeted content and Diggers Like You. You can always remove specific users from the Recommendation Engine by clicking on the user name and selecting ‘remove from Recommendation Engine.’
Since this is the beta version we want to know what you think. Get back to us at feedback@digg.com with your thoughts and suggestions.
Digg on,
Kevin
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Green Guru Challenge with Michelle Kaufmann
Posted: June 28th, 2008, 8:00am HKT
The time has arrived for our next Guru Challenge, the ongoing programming initiative in which we ask a prominent or up-and-coming expert in their field to challenge you, the YouTube community, to use your creativity to new ends.
This month, it's all about using your talents in an eco-conscious way. Michelle Kaufmann, a YouTube architect with a passion for green design, wants to see what you can create with items you would normally throw away:
So come on, gurus and non-gurus alike! Show Michelle (and us) your innovative ideas and we'll feature some of the best ones in our HowTo & Style section and possibly also on the home page. Put your creative self out there and you just might inspire the YouTube community to do the same.
Our last Guru Challenge featured the ZooYork crew asking about your viral marketing ideas – in light of their own stickers-on-cockroaches-campaign - and you responded with videos that showed you finding interesting places to place your art, fun ways you incorporated your friends and family in your videos, and poking a little fun at the concept itself.
Long live DIY,
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style
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Digg the Candidates updates
Posted: June 28th, 2008, 1:58am HKT by Kevin Rose
Hey Everyone —
We just released a new version of Digg the Candidates today - check it out if you’re interested in following the latest U.S. presidential election news on Digg. The growth of the World & Business and Elections sections on Digg over the past year has been amazing, and it’s been great to see the diversity of interest from Digg users from all around the world.
We’ll be doing a few interesting things at this summer’s political party conventions. More details to come soon, but I wanted to give you a heads up there are a few projects the works.
Digg on,
KevinPS: We’ve also added a new topic for the Olympics.
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Digg the Candidates updates
Posted: June 28th, 2008, 1:58am HKT by Kevin Rose
Hey Everyone —
We just released a new version of Digg the Candidates today - check it out if you’re interested in following the latest U.S. presidential election news on Digg. The growth of the World & Business and Elections sections on Digg over the past year has been amazing, and it’s been great to see the diversity of interest from Digg users from all around the world.
We’ll be doing a few interesting things at this summer’s political party conventions. More details to come soon, but I wanted to give you a heads up there are a few projects the works.
Digg on,
KevinPS: We’ve also added a new topic for the Olympics.
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France and Germany: Next Stops For The YouTube Partner Program
Posted: June 26th, 2008, 11:00am HKT
We're excited to once again announce the expansion of the YouTube Partner Program. By joining the program, popular users in France and Germany -- like new partners AericWinter and FabTheGap -- will now be able to generate revenue from ads that run next to their videos, and receive the same promotional benefits afforded to YouTube's other professional content partners.
Now in eight countries, the Partner Program showcases the global diversity of the YouTube community, reflecting our commitment to helping users around the world find an outlet for their creativity and pursue opportunities online no matter where they live.
So, if you've built a significant audience on YouTube -- whether running a cooking series in Bordeaux or talking football in Hamburg -- we encourage you to apply now.
The YouTube Team -
Trendspotting Tuesday: Outside-the-Box Activism
Posted: June 24th, 2008, 12:00pm HKT
What do you get when you mix a ditty about testicular cancer with a group of citizens foraging for fruit on the streets of Los Angeles? A pretty sweet trend on YouTube. You're probably well acquainted with the average activist -- the demonstrator, the lobbyist, the boycotter, the PSA-junkie...In this week's Trendspotting Tuesday, we're pleased to introduce you to a whole different kind of activist animal -- the unconventional activist -- whose creativity knows no limits when it comes to raising awareness about their pet issue.
You may have already encountered a few unconventional activists on YouTube, like the Swiss contingent who froze their butts off (literally) while taking an environmental stand or this fella whose penchant for recycling outweighs his need for mobility:
In today's feature, you'll witness a colorful display of outrage as an Italian man sends thousands of plastic balls down the Spanish Steps to protest lack of garbage collection and discover a man who chose to live like a chicken to show how cruel humans can be. And you might just learn how to do the "Gas Can Shuffle," the latest dance craze that's sweeping the nation in an attempt to make gas more affordable:
If this brief paddle in the civic participation pool isn't enough for you, keep checking the Nonprofits & Activism category for more examples of inspiring social change, of both the wacky and traditional variety.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team -
New Personalized Homepage and Improved Email Notifications
Posted: June 24th, 2008, 5:00am HKT
The new features included in our most recent site update are geared toward a more personalized experience for you. Check out the details...
NEW PERSONALIZED HOMEPAGE
Our goal is to give a simple answer to the question, "What should I watch today?" with a personalized, customizable homepage that makes it easy to find the videos and people that you care about. After reviewing results from our beta test and feedback from the community, we're happy to now release the new personalized homepage to all logged-in users. Since launching the beta version in February, data has shown an increase in the number of users visiting the homepage, the frequency of visits, and the number of subscriptions users make over time. So, this optimized version of the homepage not only means a customizable experience for you, but more exposure for your cool videos and channels on YouTube (Note: if you are logged out or do not have an account you won't be able see the personalized homepage).
IMPROVED EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS
The email messages you receive from YouTube have been updated with a new layout. In addition to a streamlined design and many wording changes, any comments or messages are now included directly within the body of the email, saving you time.
We're eager to hear your feedback, so please let us know what you think of this latest round of improvements.
The YouTube Team -
Spore is Spreading All Over YouTube
Posted: June 21st, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
YouTube is in the middle of a creature invasion, courtesy of our creative community of video gamers and "Spore", the much-anticipated new game from Will Wright , the creator of The Sims. Countless new species of lovable aliens have popped up all over the site, and you don't have to be an expert gamer to get in on the action. You can download the Spore Creature Creator for free, create your own alien, make in-game movies and upload them to your YouTube account directly from the Creature Creator. Then you're ready to share your unique vision with your friends and fellow "Spore" enthusiasts. Once you've got the hang of things, you can even enter the Ultimate Spore Creature Creator Dance Off for the chance to have your creature's dance moves voted on by the community as well as a trip to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
Whether you're an outspoken vlogger or a camera-shy YouTube user who prefers to leave comments, uploading your own unique life-form is an exciting new way to express your creative vision and get more out of your YouTube experience. Since EA launched the Creature Creator on June 17, we've seen literally thousands of eye-popping uploaded life-forms, including oddball creations from Tay Zonday and the legendary Stan Lee, a man who knows a thing or two about dreaming up new characters. And as you check out this video player packed with "Spore" goodness, don't forget that your own contribution to the great "Spore" invasion is only a download -- and upload -- away.
Happy creating,
Felicia W.
YouTube Entertainment
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Internet Explorer now officially more del.icio.us
Posted: June 20th, 2008, 5:06am HKT by Nick Nguyen
For those of you who use Internet Explorer with del.icio.us, we’re announcing today the official release of the Delicious Bookmarks Add-on for Internet Explorer. In a nutshell, this extension brings you many of the best features of the Delicious Bookmarks Extension for Firefox while introducing a few new features of its own.
This extension works with XP and Vista for IE6 and IE7. IE8 should also work, but IE8 support is still in beta, since that browser isn’t final. Please go to our delicious-ie-extension group for comments and feedback regarding IE8.
Enjoy!
For more details on the IE extension, check out our original beta announcement. For the eager and impatient, download from our website.
Nick Nguyen
Senior Product Manager, del.icio.us
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The YouTube Screening Room: Now Playing
Posted: June 20th, 2008, 1:00am HKT
Today, we're pleased to announce the launch of the YouTube Screening Room, a platform for films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve.
Every year, tens of thousands of films are produced, but many of them never get a chance to be seen by a wide audience. Until now.
The YouTube Screening Room will connect films and audiences in the world's largest theater, not only providing filmmakers with a much-needed showcase, but also helping you find new high-quality content every two weeks.
While some of these films have played at film festivals around the world, others will be showing to a wide audience for the first time.
Our debut shorts include an Academy Award nominee from the United States, an Academy Award winner from Norway, the world's first animated opera from Sweden, and a poignant short from indie favorites Miguel Arteta and Miranda July, also from the United States.
In the next few months, you'll see films from the UK, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Austria, France, Kenya and more. Every Screening Room film is displayed in our High Quality player, and has been posted with the filmmaker's involvement. So be sure to rate, share and leave comments. This is your chance to not only watch great films from all corners of the globe, but also to converse with the filmmakers behind them.
And if you're a filmmaker interested in playing in the YouTube Screening Room, send an email about your film to ytscreeningroom@youtube.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
The future of film on YouTube starts now,
Sara P.
YouTube Film -
Watchmen Contest: Last Chance to Vote
Posted: June 18th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Calling all film aficionados! Earlier this spring, director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300) asked a favor of the YouTube community. His request? To create a slew of fake "Veidt Enterprises" commercials for his upcoming movie, Watchmen.
Using visual assets available online, hundreds of talented YouTubers heeded the call. Now, 40 finalists are competing for an unprecedented opportunity: a shot at being used in the actual feature film. That's right -- your voting will help determine which of these filmmakers make the jump from your YouTube player straight into a major motion picture.
Voting ends this Friday, June 20, so get out those ballots and help your fellow 'Tubers make their big screen debut.
Happy viewing,
Sara P.
YouTube Film
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Trendspotting Tuesday: UkeTube
Posted: June 17th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
The ukulele is a tiny guitar that many associate with hula dancing at Hawaiian luaus or even Merry Prankster Tiny Tim. But leave it to YouTubers to prove that, actually, ukuleles are everywhere if you just do a little looking. From parodies to punk rock, to heartfelt originals to blazing displays of finger-picking skills, it's time to reconsider the many sounds and styles emanating from this humble instrument. On today's Trendspotting Tuesday, we bring you UkeTube!
Bosko and Honey lead the way with their Ukulele Safari USA series. Based in Australia, they are traveling the world, performing and interviewing some of our favorite UkeTubers, like MERCEDEZZZ and Ukuleleaya from Japan (who decorated her ukulele with cake!).
Also featured is the uke community's Next Big Thing Julia Nunes (aka jaaaaaaa), who submitted a brand new original just for this special ukulele celebration, right before she takes her wee guitar on tour with Ben Folds this summer. Julia was also spotted attending this summer's first annual Bushman Ukulele Luau in Nashville, Indiana -- along with ukers/users Seeso, The Barnkickers and Populele.
There are so many stellar examples of ukuleles from all around the world on YouTube, uploaded from Fiji to Russia, that there was no way we could include all of them on this list. We even found some good how-to-make-your-own-ukulele clips; once you have yours, there are folks like ukulaladotcom who can teach you how to play indie rock on it.
And finally there's Lauren (of the Moaning Myrtles) and Lena (of the Butterbeer Experience) who bought their ukes, immediately wrote a song about guacamole, and then filmed it right there in the store's parking lot. Only on YouTube…
Yours in Uke,
The YouTube Team
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YouTube in your Living Room
Posted: June 13th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
We've heard many users say, "YouTube is the new TV!". Well, the YouTube Syndication team is excited to now offer a number of options to actually consume YouTube on your television sets. We're also proud to have helped many leaders in the consumer electronics space create YouTube experiences on TV.
Getting YouTube right on TV is extremely challenging from both a design and technology perspective. Each of our partners' engineering and design teams had similar questions:
- What would users, accustomed to a simple remote control interface for their TVs, expect given their typically much richer interaction options when surfing youtube.com?
- How could the YouTube experience be personalized for TV?
- How could the extra computing power and memory often required to make this work on their devices be added effectively?
- What were the most important YouTube features to retain, and how would they translate to a 10-feet user experience?
All these partners used the YouTube APIs to build their products. One partner's summary of their experience with the APIs: "The YouTube API was very simple, but powerful. It enabled us to develop our user interface flexibly and quickly." Music to our ears!
Here's a quick overview of some products that enable you to access YouTube from your living room...or anywhere else you may have your television(s)!
- AppleTV: In June 2007 this became the first product to offer a way to watch YouTube on your TV.
- Sony Bravia Internet Video Link: Last week, Sony announced the general availability of YouTube content on their Bravia TVs via the Internet Video Link. Some clips from the YouTube team at the event are linked below. Nice tie, Brent!
- HP MediaSmart: HP announced availability of YouTube as part of the HP MediaSmart platform.
- Panasonic: At CES 2008, Panasonic announced VieraCast, which allows you to access YouTube directly from your TV. The device will be available later this month.
- Samsung: Samsung launched their IPTV device which supports YouTube (currently only available in South Korea) in early May.
- TiVo: Announced that YouTube would be available on their devices.
- Verismo: A startup in the IPTV space, has announced availability of a YouTube-enabled device.
Videos from the Sony announcement in NYC:
We're excited that the YouTube APIs have enabled these products and look forward to sharing information about even more products, upgrades and innovations from our partners. We're determined to see more devices and applications "Powered by YouTube" so that our vision of "YouTube Everywhere" feels even more real to our users. Head over to the API Blog to read more about where you can expect to see YouTube other than youtube.com!
The YouTube Team -
Targeting Your Political Demographic on YouTube
Posted: June 13th, 2008, 12:30am HKT
For years, politicians have relied on small focus groups to test new messages, measure public opinion, and squeeze as much actionable information as possible out of a dozen or so pre-screened subjects. But as with everything else in the age of Internet politics, YouTube is providing political campaigns with new ways to evaluate information and formulate campaign strategy. Our new analytics tool, YouTube Insight, allows any video uploader to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site, including aggregated information about the age, sex, and geographical location of their viewership over time. You can also see how people found your video -- whether by searching on YouTube or Google, browsing related videos, or visiting blogs and other websites.
For campaigns with "Politician" channels on the site, this means improving their ability to understand -- and engage with -- the millions of voters that make YouTube the world's largest focus group.
For example, Steve Novick, who the New York Times declared the first major YouTube candidate, narrowly lost the Democratic Senate nomination in Oregon. While the campaign knew their success on YouTube was substantial, the site itself still seemed like a black box. A Novick strategist told the New York Times, "We don't know how many people who saw the ads were Oregon voters, as opposed to people in Norway."
Here's what the Novick campaign could have learned using Insight:
* The most views in the United States did, in fact, come from Oregon. (The most views in Scandinavia came from Sweden, not Norway.) Novick also had a strong following in California.
* His viewers skewed older and the vast majority were men (84%). Over 30% of his viewers were in the age range of 45-55.
* Throughout the entire campaign, novickforsenate.org was the main source of traffic for his videos. However, in the week prior to the May 20 Oregon primary, the political blog TPM Election Central was responsible for over one-third of all views coming from external websites. Novick's own website was a distant second.
There are many ways both national and local candidates can use this information on and off of YouTube. Is an ad about Iraq more popular in Virginia or Colorado? Do videos about health care skew old or young? Does an ad targeted on television to New Mexico get most of its views online from the same state? Are there national pockets of support from which a local candidate might fundraise?
With five months until November, look for more and more politicians using Insight to determine how effective their content is for which demographics. Online video is a new tool in 21st century political campaigning and this kind of data is invaluable to understanding how to use it.
-The YouTube Team -
YouTube Comedy Creators Live at SketchFest NYC
Posted: June 11th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Sketch comedy and online video go together like deceased parrots and pythons called Monty. Online video gives sketch crews and improv teams the opportunity to create humor in the great outdoors, play with visual effects and, of course, reach a global audience without having to water down their work for broadcast television. Where else but online could you enter the world of twisted kids' TV with Backpack Picnic, experience Project Runway Vs. Werewolf courtesy of Elders of the Dark Tower, or revel in guns, grease and lewdness with FearsomeSketch?
Still, there's no denying the power of live performance, and SketchFest NYC has assembled a bill of impressive talent performing no-holds-barred sketch at New York's famed Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater from June 12-14. In addition to the above-mentioned artists, other sketch crews with YouTube channels who will be appearing include Pangea3000, the Harvard Sailing Team and A Week of Kindness. And if that doesn't sound like enough, one of our favorite comedy culture podcasts, The Sound of Young America, will be presenting a live performance on the 14th at 4pm ET. You can preview some of these sketch stars in this video player.
Cheers,
Mark D.
YouTube Comedy
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Delicious Bookmarks for Firefox 3: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
Posted: June 11th, 2008, 2:48am HKT by Nick Nguyen
Note: The comments on the blog have not gone unnoticed, we’ve been working hard on fixes and have just released a new version that should have most if not all of the issues addressed. Please restart Firefox to receive the update automatically. Thanks again for your patience and understanding.
For those who do not want the full feature set of this extension, but want a more streamlined version, please try Classic Mode. Simply go to Tools.. Delicious Options.. Advanced Tab and click the “Classic Mode” button.
A little over a month ago, we announced our beta for Firefox 3 and encouraged you to try it out. After hundreds of thousands of downloads, you gave us some great feedback on how we could make it better and more stable. We’ve incorporated many fixes and refinements into the final release, and we’ve got a plan to release more features on a regular basis. Thanks again to everyone who participated in our beta; we really couldn’t have gotten here without you.
For a complete list of new features, check out our blog post announcing the beta; it covers all the basics.
For those of you who haven’t used our Firefox extension, it’s a great way to search and manage your bookmarks as well as keep track of your Delicious network and links for you. And if you’re still using Firefox 2, the new extension works perfectly with that browser as well. If you already use our existing extension, you’ll get a reminder to upgrade when you start Firefox. If you’re new to the extension, check it out on Mozilla’s add-on page.
Nick Nguyen
Senior Product Manager, del.icio.usAmit Papnai
Principal Engineer, del.icio.us Extension TeamSibil Mohammed
Senior Software Engineer (Firefox Extension)Vivekanand Bolajwar
Senior Web Developer (Firefox Extension)Sanjay Kumar
del.icio.us Extension Team QA
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Trendspotting Tuesday: Random Acts of Kindness
Posted: June 10th, 2008, 12:00pm HKT
Who doesn't love that feeling you get from helping someone out or saying something truly heartfelt? Our latest takeover is all about such acts of kindness, particularly the kind that YouTube facilitates. It feels like a pretty special time in history when you can do something nice, so easily, for someone you've never met and have it broadcast – and maybe even repeated – throughout the world.
Take, for example, Juan Mann's "Free Hugs" campaign, which is now a worldwide phenomenon. It started in Sydney, with Juan embracing strangers in a shopping mall and setting it to an emotive soundtrack by the Sick Puppies. Soon after, local versions sprung up in Seoul, New York, Barcelona, Bangkok, and even Ecuador.
There are many other ways people are using YouTube to carry out their kind acts. Once you delve in, you'll be amazed the types of videos you will discover, from reaching out for bone marrow donors to catching the reaction of someone innocently given a rose at random to simply complimenting each other in a collaboration video. The videos selected today show only a few of the ways people show passion for their selected causes: we hope the features inspire you to commit an act of kindness yourself.
Kumbaya,
The YouTube Team -
AgentChange, Reporting For Duty
Posted: June 10th, 2008, 12:00am HKT
Hey YouTube!
I'm Ramya and I'm the new Nonprofits & Activism Manager here at YouTube. I'm thrilled to be here, highlighting the best uses of YouTube to create meaningful social change and helping you leverage the power of YouTube for good.
Last September, we launched the YouTube Nonprofit Program with the help of 13 nonprofit partner organizations. Today, thousands of nonprofits have joined the program and are using YouTube to raise awareness about important issues, fundraise for their causes, and engage with their supporters. But there are lots of nonprofits out there who still haven't ridden the YouTube wave. Take it from a former nonprofiteer--it's totally worth it. If you're a U.S.-based 501c(3) organization, you can sign up now for a designated "Nonprofit" channel, which comes with a slew of awesome perks like increased branding and video uploading capacity, the chance to be featured in one of the "promoted videos" areas on YouTube, and the option to embed a Google Checkout gadget on your channel to drive fundraising.
Also, I want to give a shout out to all of my activists out there who aren't affiliated with a particular organization. Whether you're a filmmaker trying to expose new AIDS prevention techniques, a student organizer working to make your campus greener, or a citizen who just wants to make the world a better place, we want to help you share your ideas and experiences through YouTube. Just a few months ago, YouTube debuted the Nonprofits & Activism video page, a place where your content can bubble to the top and get seen by YouTube's global audience. Our goal is to build a vibrant community that draws attention to the world's most pressing issues.
I'll be checking in with the YouTube community on my channel, www.youtube.com/agentchange. And I'd love to hear your feedback and ideas about nonprofits and activism on YouTube - email me at any time at agentchange@youtube.com. Also, if you see brilliant uses of YouTube popping up on the Nonprofits & Activism page, please let me know!
Peace,
Ramya R.
YouTube Nonprofits & Activism
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Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Calling all Reporters
Posted: June 6th, 2008, 9:00pm HKT
The new media revolution has been changing the media landscape for several years now, and we've had a front row seat to the action here at YouTube. People around the world have been using YouTube to report on the events and issues affecting their lives, shedding light on stories that might otherwise not be told and offering new perspectives on events covered by the traditional media. Today, to highlight these journalists on YouTube, we're announcing the launch of the Reporter channel type.
Reporter channels are just like other YouTube channel types –- such as Comedian, Guru and Musician -- but are specifically intended for citizens and professionals dedicated to informing others about the news and events in their local communities and around the world. This includes but is not limited to:- People who tote around their cameras offering "on-the-scene" coverage of local news and events
- Students producing their own weekly newscasts
- Active community members who conduct interviews with local leaders
- Engaged citizens who love providing commentary and analysis on important issues affecting the world at large
- Professional journalists using YouTube as an additional outlet for their work
We look forward to welcoming a new fleet of Reporters to the site, and don't forget to keep us posted on your best news content by emailing CitizenNews@youtube.com.
Yours,
Olivia M.
YouTube News & Politics -
How Can the Internet Make the World a Better Place?
Posted: June 6th, 2008, 4:15am HKT
Trying to remember what life was like before the Internet gets a little bit harder every day. How did I buy a plane ticket again? We wrote letters by hand and sent them in the mail, you say? What did I do when I needed driving directions?
The Internet has become a necessity in the daily lives of people all around the world, and on June 17 and 18, ministers from more than 40 countries will meet with global business leaders, technical experts, and academics in Seoul, Korea, at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s meeting on the "Future of the Internet Economy." Here they will discuss how the World Wide Web can make the world a better place, and they want to hear from you.
Similar to YouTube's Davos Question framed around the World Economic Forum back in January, the OECD wants to give you the opportunity to ask questions and share your ideas with global leaders about the future of the Internet and how it can be used for good. The best videos will be shown during the meeting in Seoul, and responses from the ministers will be posted on YouTube during the event.
So share your questions and ideas on YouTube now! Visit the OECD's "Future of the Internet" channel and tell the world what you think by submitting a video to it.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team -
New Beta Feature: Video Annotations
Posted: June 4th, 2008, 9:00pm HKT
We're happy to announce a new way to add interactive commentary to your videos -- with Video Annotations. With this feature, you can add background information, create branching ("choose your own adventure" style) stories or add links to any YouTube video, channel, or search results page -- at any point in your video.
Uploaders have control over creating and editing an unlimited number of annotations on their videos. To start annotating, first make sure you have videos uploaded into your account. Log in, then go to view one of your videos. On the Video page, click the blue "Edit Annotations" button to the right of the video.
As you play your video, you can insert commentary by adding speech bubbles, notes and highlight boxes anywhere you want. You can also use the menu on the left to save a draft, delete commentary, edit start/stop times or add links to your annotations. Once you save the final version, click "Publish" to reveal your annotated video to other users. (Note: Video Annotations are shown by default, but the viewer can turn them off while watching a video through the "Menu" button on the bottom right of the video player).
Looking for some creative ways to use annotations? Check out these examples: a shell game, skydiving adventure and magic trick.
For more information on how to use annotations, please visit the Help Center.
We're really looking forward to the endless ways you'll annotate your videos and will add more fun tools and features soon!
Don't forget to share your feedback with us,
The YouTube Team -
Trendspotting Tuesday: Citizen Reporting on YouTube
Posted: June 3rd, 2008, 12:00pm HKT
Newsflash: A friend just called to tell you that there's an abandoned convertible teetering over the edge of a bridge, about to fall into the river just a mile from your house.
You:
a) Return to the couch and finish watching the season finale of Lost, which you TiVoed last week.
b) Turn on your laptop to see if CNN has published a story yet on its website.
c) Grab your video camera and sprint to the scene of the action, ready to capture the car's dramatic plummet into the rushing waters below.
If you answered c, you might be one of the many citizen reporters here on YouTube -- those who may not be practicing journalism for a living but are certainly helping to tell news stories that might not otherwise be covered by mainstream media outlets. More and more users are reporting the news on YouTube every day, which is why we're dedicating this week's Trendspotting Tuesday to the burgeoning community of citizen reporters on the site offering alternative perspectives on the news.
A few weeks ago we spotlighted how users in China had used YouTube to share video clips from the devastating earthquake in the Sichuan province. We've noticed lots of other types of on-the-scene accounts: from raw tornado footage captured by dare-deviling storm chasers facing harrowing twisters to rarely seen perspectives from soldiers in Iraq on life in a combat zone. Still others have contributed more in-depth investigations on social issues like the panhandling and check-cashing problems in urban America and international incidents that haven't gotten much attention in the press. Here's the full playlist.
Today, anyone with a camera can participate in reporting and spreading the news, and they're doing it right here. So make sure to check out the latest breaking news stories on YouTube, and stay tuned to this blog on Friday for an announcement about a new channel type that will officially recognize citizen journalists on the site.
As always, if you see great reporting and journalism being done by your fellow users here on YouTube, hit me up at CitizenNews@youtube.com.
Yours,
The YouTube Team
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VFS / YouTube Scholarship Winners Announced
Posted: June 2nd, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Back in March, Vancouver Film School and YouTube announced a first-of-its-kind competition. The challenge was to make a three-minute video about the theme, "What matters most to me." The prize: three full-tuition scholarships to one of VFS's world-class programs. After months of submissions and many fantastic entries, our judges whittled the competition down to ten worthy finalists. Now, after a week of voting by the YouTube community, we are pleased to announce the winners of the VFS/YT Scholarship Competition.
From Mexico in the program of Digital Design, Jorge Rolando Caneda Estrada:
From Germany in the program of Foundation Visual and Art Design, Stefan Ramirez Perez:
And from the United States in the program of Digital Design: Christopher Harrell:
Congratulations -- we know the YouTube community will be waiting with baited breath to see what you all do next!
Finally, to everyone who submitted videos to the competition and to those of you who voted for your favorite video, thank you from everyone here at the YouTube Team for making this great competition possible.
Happy Filmmaking,
Sara P.
YouTube Film -
Budget Travel Tips on YouTube
Posted: May 30th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Is vacation planning giving you your first case of the summertime blues? With gas prices and airfares skyrocketing, embarking on an exciting/bank-breaking getaway is probably the least appealing thing on the thrifty traveler's mind.
Some travel gurus on YouTube feel your pain and are here with helpful tips for turning those dollar-draining days into dog days. For instance, to avoid the costs of pricey hotels or hostels, you might try Couch Surfing:
In case you're not into the whole Bohemian thing, these tips on booking travel arrangements might be more appropriate:
Finally, for those who just can't stomach opening up their wallets, there's always the lure of the Great Outdoors (available in your own backyard):
Have some crafty travel ideas of your own? Then ">send them along -- we're always looking for more tips and tricks.
Happy Travels,
The YouTube Team -
It's National BBQ Month
Posted: May 30th, 2008, 5:00am HKT
As summer officially approaches (at least here in the U.S.), it's time to move the cooking outside. Luckily, your fellow YouTubers have no shortage of advice on how to blow everyone away with your grilling skills. You'll find a plethora of videos on making many of the staples everyone loves, including baby-back ribs, chicken, and hamburgers. Expertvillage has a series that teaches you everything you need to know about barbecuing sausages, thanks to Lawrence Holmes of L.A.'s Big Papi's BBQ joint.
For something lighter, try seafood. Bobby Flay from the FoodNetwork has a recipe for lobster that looks fast, easy and delicious, while ChefAustralia will show you how to cook salmon on a smokeboard. Dave at BBQMyWay is convinced you will be loved forever if you grill his Mediterranean scallops, but if that doesn't work, try any of these BBQ-centric recipes:
Grill it up and chow down,
Sadia H.
YouTube Howto & Style -
23 Days: Euro 2008 on YouTube
Posted: May 29th, 2008, 5:00am HKT
On June 7th, the UEFA Euro 2008 Football Championships (that's soccer to us Americans) kicks off with Switzerland – who share hosting duties with Austria – taking on the Czech Republic in Basel. Over the following 23 days, the 16 finalist countries will play 31 games to see who gets to raise the trophy – and enjoy bragging rights across Europe until 2012.
One of the defining characteristics of the European Championships is its unpredictability. Since its launch in 1960, the 12 stagings of the event have produced nine different winners – a fact that seems to drive players to produce some of the best play of their careers and whip fans into a frenzy.
Where YouTube sees excitement, it sees opportunity. Cue our 23 Days program, which is designed to share your skills, passion and soccer knowledge with the wider world. To this end channels have been set up in Germany,France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and Russia – not to mention a pan-European channel – designed to showcase your soccer skills (All About Football), your passion for the game (Fans In Action) and your analysis of the on-pitch action (Football Reporter).
So, whether you're inspired to show your footy skills, want to root for your favorite European team or looking to talk through the drama as it unfolds, 23 Days is for you. Head for the channel, do your thing and who knows – maybe the world will get to experience an important slice of Euro 2008 through your eyes.
Have fun,
The YouTube Team -
Accuracy Restored to Subscriber Counts
Posted: May 28th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
If you notice a significant change in your subscriber count within the next few days, don't be alarmed - this is due to a fix we are running to rectify a bug which has affected subscriber counts on some users' channels. Normally, when a user subscribes/unsubscribes from your channel, this change is reflected in your subscriber count almost immediately. We discovered an issue which was preventing these numbers from being updated. We expect the fix to take just a few days to reach affected accounts. Once it is complete, everyone's channels will reflect the current and accurate number of subscribers.
Thanks for your patience,
The YouTube Team -
Trendspotting Tuesday: Robots are Like Kittens for Nerds
Posted: May 27th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Domo arigato, YouTubers, especially those who love all things robotic. We hope you'll enjoy this week's Trendspotting Tuesday, for which we can truthfully say, "The robots are taking over!"
Robots are running rampage through pop culture these days, from disco 'droids Daft Punk to Pixar's much-anticipated new movie, WALL-E. Of course, not all robots are CGI film stars or French funksters. Real-life robots are rolling out of university tech-labs and inventors' garages, wowing people at events like the Bay Area's Maker Faire, where robots and their creators are the rock stars of the do-it-yourself community.
Whatever your favorite aspect of robo-culture, you should be able to find footage of it on YouTube. This homepage takeover is only a taste of the mechanical menagerie that's just a search and a click away. From a giant robot spider that doubles as a vehicle to a Guitar Hero-playing Slashbot, robots are taking new shapes and taking up new hobbies. Check out this playlist for examples of ways in which 'bots are all around:
Presuming that robots haven't taken over the planet by this time next week, you can tune in for another slice of video culture next Tuesday. And if there's a trend you'd like us to highlight, leave a comment or drop us a note on the Trendspotting Tuesday channel, where you can find playlists from our previous trendspotting features.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team
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Win a trip to the GOP Convention
Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
It may be three months away, but the GOP has been planning the Republican National Convention for some time -- and YouTube is a key part of their strategy. The Party plans to use the site to help you to get involved in the action, and they're starting today with their American Neighbor contest.
Between now and June 26, the Convention staff is asking you to upload video profiles of someone from your community who goes "above and beyond the call of duty." Senator John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis explains here:
The YouTube community will get to vote on the best videos, and the winner -- plus the person he or she is profiling -- will get to attend the Convention this fall in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In addition to launching the American Neighbor contest on YouTube, the Convention has been quite busy using their YouTube channel to build buzz around the big event this fall. They've upload clips of great moments from past conventions, like this video of Ronald Reagan's 1980 acceptance speech. They also asked YouTubers to help them name their Convention blog (the winner: "Grand Old Blog"), and they uploaded this clip from an interesting -- and surprising -- visit to the Convention offices by a Democratic superdelegate...dressed as a donkey.
Yours,
Steve Grove
YouTube News & Politics
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Voting Begins for Film Scholarship
Posted: May 21st, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
The challenge: To create a short video addressing the theme, "What Matters to You."
The prize: A scholarship to an internationally renowned film school.
After parsing through hundreds of amazing entries, Vancouver Film School has narrowed down the field to ten finalists. Hailing from five different countries, these filmmakers, designers, and animators represent some of the best emerging young talent on YouTube.
Now, it's up to you to decide which 3 of these deserving artists receives a full-tuition scholarship to the VFS program of their choice. To vote for your favorite videos, just visit VFS's YouTube channel. The competition ends on May 27, so go ahead and cast those ballots!
Good luck,
Sara P.
YouTube Film -
Trendspotting Tuesday: How to YouTube
Posted: May 20th, 2008, 3:00pm HKT
Do a quick search for "how to YouTube," and you'll find thousands of videos offering advice, tricks and tips on the art of online video. This week, Trendspotting Tuesday is dedicated to those 'Tubers who want to give back to their fellow users by offering free, genuine advice on how to make the most out of your YouTube experience.
These seasoned experts have learned that making a quality video is easier then it seems, and they're sharing their hard-earned knowledge so that your videos can also be well lit, tightly edited, and even graphically innovative. One of the UK's Most Subscribed channels, Blade376, gives great advice on how simple vlogging can be, while experts like digitaljuicetv dig deep into more technical questions, such as how to make video with a green screen. Meanwhile, users like natashahenare realize that not everyone on YouTube makes videos, so instead she offers great advice on how to personalize your channel page. Here's the full playlist:
So, as you can see, help is usually just a quick search away and there's no shortage of helpful YouTubers eager to offer a hand. We'd expect nothing less from this community!
Cheers,
The YouTube Team -
Dialogue with Sen. Lieberman on terrorism videos
Posted: May 20th, 2008, 2:00am HKT
Last week, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) contacted us to voice his concerns about seeing videos from several Islamic terrorist organizations on YouTube. We appreciated our dialogue with Senator Lieberman and his staff and wanted to explain to the YouTube community how we responded to his concerns.
First, some background: hundreds of thousands of videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. Because it is not possible to pre-screen this much content, we have developed an innovative and reliable community policing system that involves our users in helping us enforce YouTube's standards. Millions of users report potential violations of our Community Guidelines by selecting the "Flag" link while watching videos.
Senator Lieberman's staff identified numerous videos that they believed violated YouTube's Community Guidelines. In response to his concerns, we examined and ended up removing a number of videos from the site, primarily because they depicted gratuitous violence, advocated violence, or used hate speech. Most of the videos, which did not contain violent or hate speech content, were not removed because they do not violate our Community Guidelines.
Senator Lieberman stated his belief, in a letter sent today, that all videos mentioning or featuring these groups should be removed from YouTube -- even legal nonviolent or non-hate speech videos. While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds. Of course, users are always free to express their disagreement with a particular video on the site, by leaving comments or their own response video. That debate is healthy.
We appreciate Senator Lieberman alerting us to videos that violated our policies -- and encourage our users to continue to do the same through the flagging tool. And while we disagree with him about the details of our policies, we respect his views and thank him for giving us the chance to respond to his concerns.
The YouTube Team -
Meet the new YouTube News Manager
Posted: May 18th, 2008, 4:00pm HKT
Hey, YouTube!
My name is Olivia, and I'm the new News Manager here at YouTube.
Thanks to better, cheaper, and easier access to video equipment, there's an amazing amount of news being reported on YouTube every single day by citizens in all corners of the globe. You're conducting interviews with local community leaders, doing weekly reports on the latest campus news for your school television station, and investigating untold stories you think the world should know about. This stuff is fantastic, but we want to see more from you all and to bring more citizen journalists into the fold.
So here's where I turn to you guys for help! If you see examples of fellow YouTubers doing great work in journalism and reporting, please let me know. If you're a citizen journalist yourself, tell me how YouTube could better serve you. I want to hear how you guys envision news on YouTube and what you'd like to see. My ultimate mission is to make the site a go-to destination for news on the web.
I'd love to hear from as many of you as possible, so please email me any thoughts, suggestions, questions and feedback at citizennews@youtube.com.
Signing off from San Bruno,
Olivia M.
YouTube News & Politics
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China's Earthquake Captured on YouTube
Posted: May 17th, 2008, 11:30pm HKT
According to the Chinese state media, there are nearly 600 million cell phone users today in China, resulting in a corps of citizen journalists equipped with the technology to give eyewitness accounts without a moment's notice. Last week's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province produced an enormous number of photos and videos uploaded by Chinese on their mobile devices. Users documented the havoc wrought by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the deadliest the nation has seen in more than 30 years, and within hours, raw footage of trembling buildings and panicked citizens began to appear on YouTube. Many of these videos presented an emotional, firsthand account of what it was actually like to experience the disaster:
Several users uploaded footage from surveillance cameras that kept on rolling throughout the disaster -- like this eerie video from a parking lot in Chengdu, comprised of a single, stationary shot of four parked cars throughout the six minutes before, during, and after the earthquake. People run frantically in and out of the wobbling frame, but the video has no sound to accompany the alarming visual.
People have also been using YouTube in a range of other ways relating to the earthquake: as an outlet for educating people on the science of tectonic plates, a place to pay tribute to those who have died, and a vehicle for raising money and supplies for those whose lives have been damaged or destroyed.
While the situation in Sichuan will undoubtedly get much worse before it gets better, China's reaction has been encouraging -- not only with its effective and unified emergency response to the tragedy, but also the Chinese people's eagerness to humanize the tragedy by broadcasting their experiences and sharing information with each other and the rest of the world.
Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics -
YouTube's Living Legends: The Rolling Stones Respond
Posted: May 16th, 2008, 6:00am HKT
The Rolling Stones were the first official Living Legends to join the program that connects luminaries with the YouTube community – they asked for questions, you heeded their call, and now they've responded with gusto. Here's a sneak peek:
The questions submitted to the band came from old fans as well as new recruits, and ranged from Zapterazor's query about internet piracy (which he asked dressed as a pirate) to Banteron's probe into Mick Jagger's voodoo past. TheBladeRunnerShow wondered how they thought they would be judged by the American Idol gang at the start of their career, but our nod for cheekiest question goes to Jamieroko, who offered her opinions on the band's "hotness" throughout the years, ultimately asking if they still feel "exhilarated":
Intrigued? You can find all of Mick and Keith's answers and plenty of off-the-cuff rock star remarks on our Living Legends channel. You also have the opportunity to answer a question that Keith pitches back to the community:
With sticky fingers,
The YouTube Team
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New Comments System Released!
Posted: May 16th, 2008, 4:15am HKT by micah
Hola! We’re excited to launch the new Comments system – we’ve listened to your requests and feedback and have incorporated many of your suggestions. Some highlights include:
PRESENTATION
- Comments are much more lightweight. Some submissions get hundreds of comments, which used to require a lot of bandwidth to load and even more CPU to render. The display of each page of comments is now managed by a processing queue, which allows the pages to load quickly without hammering your browser with all of the discussions and replies at once. We hope this will allow for a solid balance between your desire to avoid loading replies via AJAX and our shared desire to avoid crashing your browser. Initially, to speed up the rendering time, only the first level of each discussion is shown, but you can easily choose to expand comment threads one at a time or all at once – and hey, no more waiting for replies to load when you open them!
- Increased transparency. Instead of showing only the total Digg count for each comment, you can now click the Digg count to see the total number of Diggs and buries for each comment.
- Improved timestamp. If a post is less than 24 hours old, the timestamp will be displayed in hours and minutes instead of just hours like it was before.
SORTING
- New sorting fields. We’ve added a new ‘Controversial’ sort that highlights comments with the most divergent ratings from Digg users. It’s also easier to see comments posted by you and your friends by selecting ‘Only Mine’ or ‘Only Friends’ when you’re logged in.
- New sort methods. When sorting by ‘Most Diggs’, comments are shown in order of Digg count regardless of the level of the comment. To make it easier to view each comment in the context of its discussion, we provide a link to view the original thread or to reply to that individual comment inline.
POSTING
- Change your vote. You can now change the up/down vote for any comment as much as you’d like. If you freak out and try to change it a bazillion times in a row, though, we’ll be forced to drop the rate hammer on you.
- More editing time. You now have five minutes to edit your comment, and we show a countdown indicating the time remaining to edit. You can also delete your comment during this time period.
- Increased text area. We’ve increased the font size, and the main text box will expand when you write a lot of text.
PREFERENCES
- New settings. When you’re logged in, you can now choose how many discussions to initially load as well as whether discussions should be collapsed or expanded by default. We also broke out the option to filter comments below a particular Digg count, so you can tweak it independent of your other settings. Due to this change you’ll have to redo your settings. But hey, that’s a small price to pay for a new Comments system, right?
Thanks for all of your feedback– you’ll see most of your suggestions implemented in the new Comments system. As always, we’re looking to you for your thoughts on how you want Comments to work, so keep sending us your ideas & suggestions!
- Micah
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Demographics now available in YouTube Insight
Posted: May 15th, 2008, 11:00pm HKT
When we first announced YouTube Insight, our free video analytics tool for YouTube, we were excited to see just how users, partners, and advertisers might creatively use information about the viewing trends of their videos. We've since learned that some users and partners are modifying their upload schedules based on when they know their audience is tuning in, and advertisers are studying geographic traffic patterns to assess the effectiveness of regional ad campaigns.
Today we've added some new features to Insight. One is a new demographics tab that displays view count information broken down by age group (such as ages 18-24), gender, or a combination of the two, to help you get a better understanding of the makeup of your YouTube audience. We show you general information about your viewers in anonymous and aggregate form, based on the birth date and gender information that users share with us when they create YouTube accounts. This means that individual users can't be personally identified.
Insight now also displays statistics based on the combined total views of all the videos you've uploaded. Just as you can explore the view counts and popularity of individual videos, with this feature you can see your account's total number of views, and your relative popularity on YouTube compared to other users, based on geographic location.
As with Insight's other features, we hope this new information helps you learn how to create more compelling content that best engages the audiences you want to reach. You can find these new metrics under the "Demographics" tab within the Insight dashboard. Click on the "Insight" button under Account > My Videos.
Enjoy,
The YouTube Team -
Cannes 360
Posted: May 15th, 2008, 2:30am HKT
Generally speaking, Cannes is considered the grand-mère of all film festivals. For 11 days every spring, the cinematic world descends on this beach town in the south of France to celebrate everything film, from the lowest-budget student shorts to the summer's biggest blockbusters.
Starting today and for the next 11 days, we'll be featuring a diverse selection of content from the French Riviera in our ">Film & Animation section, including industry panels from the Short Film Corner and the 2008 Real Ideas Studio Community Documentary Challenge, which consists of short works from the best student documentarians.
Finally, what would the world's most glamorous festival be without coverage from the red carpet, courtesy of IFC? With Clint Eastwood, Charlie Kaufman and Steven Soderbergh in the running for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, and world premieres from Stephen Spielberg and Woody Allen, there should be plenty to talk about.
So tune in to YouTube throughout the festival and get those cameras rolling. Whether you were there or not, ">we want to hear your perspectives on Cannes -- the films, the fashions, the French fabulousness!
Happy Festival-going,
Sara P.
YouTube Film
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Digg Townhall and Meet-up News
Posted: May 15th, 2008, 2:19am HKT by Jay Adelson
Hey all! Thanks for tuning in to our Digg Townhall on Tuesday night. Keep the feedback coming! If you missed it, you can catch the past Townhalls at digg.com/townhall.
Be sure to mark your calendar for a few upcoming events — Digg is coming to The Big Apple for Internet Week and we’re teaming up with Revision3 to throw a Digg Meet-up and live Diggnation on June 4th. Join us at Studio B in Brooklyn from 6pm-midnight to meet fellow Diggers and folks from the Digg team. There will also be a performance by Scam School’s Brian Brushwood, special guests and announcements. For a sneak peek into what to expect, check out some highlights from our first Digg Meet-up in San Francisco, below:
Our next virtual Townhall will be August 14th. Thanks again and hope to see some of you at our upcoming meet-ups! Thanks,
Jay
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Internet Explorer and del.icio.us
Posted: May 14th, 2008, 4:06am HKT by Nick Nguyen
Today, I’m happy to announce an early beta release of an Internet Explorer version of our del.icio.us bookmarks extension. For the first time our Internet Explorer users will enjoy most of the best features of our new Firefox extension. We’re very excited about this release, as we have many users who use Internet Explorer as their primary browser. Since there are some differences between Internet Explorer and Firefox, the two versions are not exactly the same, but you’ll find many of the same great features like the del.icio.us Sidebar and Toolbar. Here’s an overview of the IE features.
- Near instantaneous searching with very large accounts (over 10K bookmarks)
- Full del.icio.us sidebar and toolbar implementation with bookmark sync and typedown search
- Toolbar indicators for new network activity and links for you
- Works on IE6, IE7, and IE8 beta on both XP and Vista
Interested? Download it here.
Since this release is so new, we’ve also created a Yahoo! Group for downloading and discussing the Internet Explorer release. Go to [groups.yahoo.com] to sign up. In the group we’ll gather your feedback and share the release notes for each version. We’ve been using it every day in the del.icio.us tagmines for a few months now, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve found all the bugs. Just like the Firefox 3 release, many of the features and interface choices are experimental and may change before we officially launch. As always, we’re eager to hear your feedback on the add-on.
In other news, we’re all humbled by the large and positive reaction to our Firefox 3 beta extension release announcement a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to everyone who tried our extension out, especially those who submitted bugs. This feedback is enormously helpful as we work towards a final release of that extension.
Nick Nguyen
Senior Product Manager, del.icio.us
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Trendspotting Tuesday: Helmet Cam POV
Posted: May 13th, 2008, 12:00pm HKT
Over the past couple years, more internally-powered, easily-mounted micro video cameras have come on the market for consumers, and the result has been a ton more first-person point-of-view sports footage available on the net. Sports enthusiasts now use these lipstick-sized helmet-, wrist- or foot- mounted cameras to capture the essence of the sports they love. Besides being fun to watch and re-live, these videos can also be extremely useful to athletes, riders and drivers for improving technique, selecting a better line on a track or off-road course, or adjusting speed for the sake of maximum efficiency or safety.
From a viewer's perspective, these videos put you right in the action. You can get a sense of the speed at which the athlete is moving, the angle of the slope, the sheer force of wind, and the total concentration required to pull off a tricky maneuver:
We hope these inspire you to get out on the course, run, slope or track, shoot some videos and share 'em with everyone you know. (And, of course, please be safe while you're at it…)
In the meantime, let us know if there's a trend we should be covering. (You already told us about a few, which we're currently exploring.) Leave a comment below or leave a note on the Trendspotting Tuesday channel, where you can also find previous trendspotting playlists.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team
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May 10th is Pangea Day!
Posted: May 11th, 2008, 6:30am HKT
Today is Pangea Day, a global event dedicated to bringing people together through film. With its eclectic mix of movies, live music and passionate speakers, Pangea Day aims to help us see life through the eyes of others. There are live events taking place right now in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro.
But don't worry if you live far from any of these cities or couldn't make the actual festivities: On today's YouTube homepage, you'll find a sampling of the 24 short films being featured in the Pangea Day program. Selected by Pangea Day's international competition from over 2,500 submissions from over 100 countries - many of which came from YouTubers heeding last year's call for entries - these films inform and inspire, and provide a taste of what this event is all about.
Pangea Day has also set up an official YouTube group for you to share your thoughts about the videos on the homepage. And if you were able to make it to one of the live broadcasts, then go on and tell us about that, too.
Be inspired,
Sara P.
YouTube Film -
Cannes Film Festival on YouTube
Posted: May 9th, 2008, 9:00am HKT
The Short Film Corner at Cannes is one of the world's premier destinations for shorts. But you don't need to make the trip to France to see the best of what the festival has to offer, thanks to the National Film Board of Canada's Online Film Competition Cannes 2008.
In its fourth year, the contest features ten shorts, selected from among 650 films from over 40 countries. Representing an eclectic mix of languages and genres, the finalists are all available for viewing on the NFB's YouTube channel. The prize? In addition to bragging rights, the director of the winning short film will receive a professional DV camera and a portable computer with post-production software.
Ready for the best part? You determine the winner. That's right -- the winning film will be chosen by audience voting, based on the one-to-five-star rating scale you know and love.
Film jurors, it's time to cast your votes.
Sara P.
YouTube Film
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Call for Topics: Digg Townhall this Monday
Posted: May 8th, 2008, 5:23am HKT by Kevin Rose