Official Blog
Your Video Second-by-Second
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
YouTube Insight
has helped you learn more about your YouTube videos, enabling you to establish when and where your videos prove popular. But what if you could learn not just which of your videos are hot on the site, but which specific
parts
of those videos are hotter than others? What if you could know exactly when viewers tend to leave your videos, or which scenes within a video they watch again and again?
Happily, this information is now available to all YouTube video uploaders via an innovative new feature for Insight called "Hot Spots." The Hot Spots tab in Insight plays your video alongside a graph that shows the ups-and-downs of viewership at different moments within the video. We determine "hot" and "cold" spots by comparing your video's abandonment rate at that moment to other videos on YouTube of the same length, and incorporating data about rewinds and fast-forwards. So what does that mean? Well, when the graph goes up, your video is hot: few viewers are leaving, and people may be rewinding on the control bar to see that sequence again. When the graph goes down, your content's gone cold: viewers are moving to another part of the video or leaving the video entirely.
Here's an example of Hot Spots in action, based on a video of YouTube employee Michael Rucker
making like Soulja Boy
.
You can see that many viewers are not initially impressed with Rucker's efforts; they're leaving the video at a faster than average rate almost immediately after the video begins. But the longer the video plays, the more people tend to stay, generating a hot spot at the end of the video. Better late than never.
We think you'll find Hot Spots useful in several ways. For example, you can figure out which scenes in your videos are the "hottest" and edit them accordingly, or insert annotations at key moments to keep your audience more engaged. Now that Insight shows what parts of videos viewers are watching and skipping, you'll no longer have to guess why people watch your work – you'll know. You can find this new feature under the "Hot Spots" tab within the
Insight dashboard
(you must be logged in to your YouTube account).
As with all of Insight's features, we learn about
the most creative examples
from you. Are you using Insight in a new and interesting way?
Upload
a video to YouTube and let us know.
Have fun,
The YouTube Team
Project: Report: 6 Days Left to Submit in Round One!
Monday, September 29, 2008
In response to
our call for aspiring journalists
with untold stories to tell, reporters from around the globe have been sharing profiles of interesting, compelling individuals in their communities. Already, we've heard about
a former truck driver who lost his job
and found himself on the streets, a
World War II veteran
who served his country heroically on D-Day, and an
11-year-old baseball player
diagnosed as deaf at the age of one.
Check out
wisselvallig's
profile of Pakistani-born Muslim, Sohail Khan, who teaches high school physics in Flower Mound, Texas, a mostly-white, affluent suburb 10 miles north of Dallas.
Do you know someone whose life or work is inspiring? Someone you think the world should know about? Now is your chance to tell their story!
There are just six days left before the deadline for Round One of Project: Report. To be eligible for the grandprize $10,000 journalism fellowship with the Pulitzer Center to report on a story abroad and technology prizes from Sony & Intel, submit your video profile (which must be three minutes or less, and in English or with English subtitles) to the
Project: Report
channel by
midnight PST on October 5.
Good luck!
Yours,
Olivia M.
YouTube News & Politics
New Video Upload Redesign Beta
Sunday, September 28, 2008
We're excited to unveil our new and improved video uploader. A random sample of YouTube users have already been using the beta version, but now we're inviting everybody to check out this more streamlined uploading experience. Just login to your YouTube account and click
this link
to opt in. The new video upload flow includes these cool features:
You can enter in your video's metadata (title, description, tags, etc.) while the upload is processing.
Upload multiple files at once, without downloading a plugin (separate progress bars will display for each file).
The file-size limit for uploads has been raised from 100MB to 1GB.
We want your feedback, so don't be shy. Please leave a comment here, upload a video (using our
new upload beta
, of course) or
join the discussion
on our Community Help Forums.
The YouTube Team
YouTube FANalysts Contest: Two Days Left!
Friday, September 26, 2008
YouTube's
FANalysts
-- the site's resident sports experts --have been pulling out all the stops in their bid to break-down the week's NFL news and serve up the most fantastic fantasy football advice available this side of the locker-room door. This week's hightlights include Cowboys' loyalist Shango's waiver-wire pick-up tips, which are nothing short of
heroic
, and Boston superfan Fitzy being rendered mute from shock over the Patriots mauling by the lowly Dolphins:
If you live and die by your analysis of NFL stats the way these guys do, you should hurry up and join the FANalysts ranks by submitting up to five original videos giving original football and fantasy football commentary to Circuit City's
Join The Squad Contest
. Get your tips ready -- the last day to submit is Sunday, September 28th.
Good luck!
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports
GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY, OXFAM, SAVE THE CHILDREN, COMIC RELIEF, YOUTUBE TAKE ACTION TO END POVERTY WITH IN MY NAME VIDEO CAMPAIGN
Thursday, September 25, 2008
SAN BRUNO, CA--(September 25, 2008) –
Global Call to Action Against Poverty, Oxfam, Comic Relief, and Save the Children are joining with YouTube™ today in announcing the launch of the "In My Name" YouTube Campaign
(www.youtube.com/inmyname)
. The dedicated YouTube channel will raise global awareness about the importance of the Millennium Development Goals -a set of time-bound and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women to be realized by 2015 - and will provide an opportunity for every citizen to amplify their voices in the global fight against poverty.
Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.Am has participated in a call-out video for the campaign, encouraging citizens from around the world to upload a video to the YouTube "in my name" channel, stating their name, their country and a specific ask of their government to end poverty. At the conclusion of the Campaign, a mash-up video of the most powerful submissions from around the world will be broadcast to world leaders at a General Assembly meeting, as a demonstration that global citizens are holding them to their commitment to create a better world.
“‘In My Name' enables individuals to send the powerful collective message that we can be the generation to end poverty," said Steve Grove, Head of News & Politics for YouTube. "Working with these great organizations, we can help ensure that the Millennium Development Goals receive the attention they deserve."
As the world enters the second half of the journey to meet the Millennium Development Goals, YouTube users, activists and those interested in being a part of the campaign to end global poverty will have an opportunity to make their voices heard around the world.
"This is a poverty emergency and there needs to be a massive shift in the way our leaders are tackling it. A child dies in a poor country every 3 seconds. There is absolutely no excuse for not delivering on the promises governments have made to end this tragedy,” said Alison Woodhead of Oxfam International. “Oxfam and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty are joining up with YouTube to make sure we give everyone in the world an easy way to use their power to demand action from their governments."
About Millennium Development Goals
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets - with a deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.
Announcing "In My Name," a Global Effort to End Poverty
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Today, in New York City, world leaders will meet to discuss the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight time-bound, measurable goals that they set in the year 2000 to combat global poverty. These ambitious objectives were promises made to the poor, meant to hold world leaders accountable for ending global poverty by 2015. Today, we are halfway there.
That's why YouTube, Will.i.am, and nonprofit organizations
Oxfam
,
GCAP
,
Save the Children
and
Comic Relief
are launching "
In My Name
," a global effort to raise awareness around these goals -- and to give you the opportunity to tell your leaders to do more. See Will's message on the project here:
John Legend, Scarlett Johansson, Fergie and others are joining Will to speak out about the importance of achieving these goals. But world leaders also need to hear from you.
From now through November 1, visit
www.youtube.com/inmyname
to upload a video stating your name, your home country, and your simple message to your government about the need to meet the MDGs. Be as creative, compelling, simple, or wordy as you like -- this is your chance to join the video petition to end world hunger.
At the end of the program on November 1, a mash-up of the most powerful submissions from around the world will be broadcast directly to global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, as proof that global citizens are holding them to their commitment to create a better world for everyone.
You can make a difference in the fight against poverty -- all it takes is your name.
Sincerely,
Ramya R.
YouTube Nonprofits & Activism
YouTube Comes Alive With YouTube Live
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
SAN BRUNO, CA (September 24, 2008) –
YouTube™, the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, today announced YouTube Live, a celebration of the vibrant communities that exist on the site including bedroom vloggers, budding creatives, underground athletes, world-famous musicians, gut-busting comedians and more.
YouTube users have been gathering informally for years, but this is the first time that YouTube is officially leaping off screens with a live community celebration. Part concert, part variety show and part party, YouTube Live will be held on November 22 in San Francisco at the Herbst Pavilion in Fort Mason Center. The two-hour event will begin at 5:00 pm (PT) and will be streamed for a worldwide audience of millions through YouTube at
http://youtube.com/live
.
"For nearly three years the YouTube community has been defining pop-culture and in the process has made the site both a place to find and be found," said YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. "YouTube at its core is a platform where everyone from the famous to the seemingly unknown shares a single stage and YouTube Live is a physical manifestation of this idea."
With live performances, celebrity guests, original videos, surprise collaborations and much more, this event will be a celebration of all things YouTube. Expect to see Internet-born stars like Soulja Boy Tell‘em, Esmée Denters (viewed more than 111 million times on YouTube), and "Canon Rock" virtuoso Funtwo dazzling the crowd, along with mainstream acts like Akon who has the #12 Most Viewed YouTube Video of all time. There will also be a global b-boy showcase featuring dancers from the movie Planet B-boy; Discovery Channel’s MythBusters will add their signature style of explosive experimentation; that humble little instrument, the ukulele (itself a giant YouTube trend), taking center stage; and perhaps a free hug or two. The Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, three-time Grammy Award winner and Emmy winner for his groundbreaking video "Yes We Can," will unveil a brand new awareness raising video consisting entirely of user generated videos.
In addition, the "Vlog Squad," a group of long-time YouTube community members, will offer exclusive, behind-the-scenes access from different areas of the venue; WilliamSledd, Michael Buckley (What the Buck), LisaNova, and TayZonday have already been named as part of this ace reporting team. Tay Zonday will also put his unique pipes to work as the announcer for the show and Mike Relm will serve as house video jockey.
YouTube Live's sponsors, Activision, Lionsgate and Virgin America will seize the YouTube spirit. Activision will immerse the YouTube Live audience into the Guitar Hero® World Tour experience with gameplay kiosks, live demos, and other attractions to promote the Guitar Hero World Tour launch this fall. Lionsgate will leverage YouTube Live as a platform to build buzz and excitement around four of their major Q3 and Q4 film releases, including Saw V. The Saw franchise has not only sparked fan reviews and discussion on the site, but several trailers and a spoof have together generated millions of views. As the official Airline Sponsor of YouTube Live, Virgin America will be flying in YouTube celebrities from all over the country on new planes that feature a host of innovative, tech-savvy amenities. Virgin America will also bring the excitement of YouTube Live to 35,000 feet, through a unique in-flight event and exclusive YouTube video premieres on the airline’s touch-screen in-flight entertainment system.
Tickets for YouTube Live will be extended to hundreds of users who can sign up through the site
(http://youtube.com/live)
or who will get special invitations due to their status as partners. Other YouTube partners, clients and advertisers will also be in attendance.
Further YouTube Live details will be announced in the coming weeks.
YouTube User Rocks the Red Carpet
Monday, September 22, 2008
Chescaleigh
, the winner of the
Red Carpet Reporter
contest, has returned from her celebrity-filled weekend with plenty of videos to share with you.
This summer, YouTube teamed up with
People.com
to find a new entertainment reporter. Hundreds of you rose to the challenge, and after two rounds of community voting, Chescaleigh was anointed the winner. She earned a weekend in Hollywood filled with parties, stylist appointments, and a spot on the red carpet alongside People.com's Michelle Beadle. Her videos give an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at the big weekend, from a
Revlon make-over
to
designer dress selection
and
dinner at the Four Seasons
. Best of all, she captured some of the TV industry's top personalities at a major awards show and got them to share their enthusiasm for their favorite YouTube videos. You can check out Chescaleigh's interviews with stars like
Ricky Gervais
,
Jorge Garcia (a.k.a. Hurley from
Lost
)
and the queen of celebrity snark,
Kathy Griffin
, on the
Red Carpet Reporter
channel.
Thanks to all who entered and voted,
Mark D.
The YouTube Team
Getting "Religulous" in The YouTube Screening Room
Friday, September 19, 2008
Today marks the beginning of something new in
The YouTube Screening Room
, our recently launched platform for premium film content. It's the beginning of a one-month sponsorship by
Lionsgate
, during which upcoming releases from the Hollywood studio have set the theme for the selection of independent short films you'll see featured in the program.
For the next two weeks, we're showcasing a hilarious line-up of religious satires in honor of Bill Maher's forthcoming documentary,
Religulous
, directed by Borat's Larry Charles, in which Maher examines the state of religious fundamentalism around the world.
Our selection of short films, which broach the topics of religion and spirituality with irreverence reminiscent of Mr. Maher's, include Bob Odenkirk's "The Pity Card," from the US, in which Odenkirk, a former Saturday Night Live writer, explores modern Jewish identity through the awkward lens of a first date at the Holocaust Museum; Stephen Irwin's "Ascension," from Australia, in which a man accidentally stumbles upon his neighbor's apocalyptic cult, risking more than a good night's sleep; the Oscar-nominated, "Give Up Yer Aul Sins," from Ireland, a cartoon in which a young Irish schoolgirl offers a rather unconventional retelling of the story of John the Baptist; and Zam Salim's BAFTA-nominated, "Laid Off," from the UK, in which a recently deceased young man mourns his own carelessness in concealing his "private reading material" before his death.
Curious to see which upcoming film sets the tone of the next selection? Then
check back in two weeks
to find out!
Happy viewing,
Sara P.
YouTube Film
You, Too, Can FANalyze
Thursday, September 18, 2008
If you're a football fan and you haven't checked out our
FANalysts
channel, it's a one-stop shop for all things football: color commentary, timely fantasy advice and no shortage of trash being talked. This week, Fitzy recovered from the loss of Tom Brady to rediscover his
love of fantasy football
, Shango's alter ego brushed up on his
Madden skills
and
K-Fed
himself big-upped Uncle Joey's fantasy acumen.
If you've got the goods to be a FANalyst -- to provide original, timely, snappy football analysis and fantasy advice -- then shoot, upload and add your videos (up to 5) to Circuit City's
Join The Squad Contest
. The last day to submit is Sunday, September 28, so you've got plenty of time to sharpen your sportscasting skills and take the other FANalysts by storm.
Thanks, and good luck!
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports
Join YouTube's Facebook and Twitter Groups
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Did you know YouTube has an official presence on Facebook and Twitter? Sign up for these groups to receive the latest company news, product updates, hot video alerts, and much more. Here's how...
...to become a YouTube Facebook fan:
* Create a
Facebook account
if you have not already
* Sign in to your account
* Go to
http://www.facebook.com/pages/YouTube/7270241753
* Once you are on the YouTube page, you will see an option to "Become a Fan" on the top right hand corner of the page. Click it to join!
...to become a YouTube Twitter follower:
* Create a
Twitter account
if you have not already
* Sign in to your account
* Go to
http://twitter.com/youtube
* Click the "follow" button under the YouTube logo to start getting tweets every day
Long live social networks,
The YouTube Team
Trendspotting Tuesday: Awesomely Annotated
Monday, September 15, 2008
Back in June, we launched
Video Annotations
, a feature that allows you to 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.
Being the creative lot you are, we should have anticipated all of the amazing uses that you would have found for this feature: you are putting it to work to create elaborate narratives and games, teaching tools, promotional enhancements, and much more. To that end, this month's
Trendspotting Tuesday
(yes, the program is now monthly) is devoted to innovative applications of Video Annotations. Check out some examples on our home page or right here:
Inspired? Try adding Video Annotations to one of your own videos. Here's a helpful instructional video from user
DestinyHomeBusiness
:
Best,
The YouTube Team
Animated Mondays
Monday, September 15, 2008
Stretching the limits of our imaginations and endlessly wowing us with their dazzling visuals, animators constitute one of the most creative -- and sprawling -- communities on YouTube. That's why we're devoting every Monday's
Film & Animation spotlight
to a YouTube animator in a feature we're calling "Animated Mondays." We figure there's no better way to start the week than with a healthy dose of mind-twisting storytelling, as only YouTube's finest can provide.
Kicking things off,
funymony
uses good ol' fashioned doodles to tell the tale of an unfortunate waitress and an uninvited dinner guest in "Dinnersaur."
Are you an animator or know a great animation? Visit the
Animated Mondays YouTube channel
to share your findings.
Happy viewing,
Sara P.
YouTube Film & Animation
Rise of the "Staycation"
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The summer of 2008 might be remembered more for where people didn't go than where they did. Rising gas prices and sluggish economies forced many people to give up their originally ambitious vacation plans in lieu of options that weren't so hard on the wallet. Enter the "staycation."
As the YouTube community so often proves, it's all about how creative you can be with the resources available to you. Finding and forging adventures in their own backyards, countless users documented just how much fun can be had close to home. From taking a tour of Japan by way of New York, to building a personal wildlife sanctuary, to hitchhiking across the country, these intrepid domestic travelers teach us that "off the beaten path" just might be a lot closer than we think.
Cheers,
Nate W.
YouTube Travel
Help Center Videos Made By You: Call for Submissions
Saturday, September 13, 2008
YouTube is, well, a video product. So we thought, why not use videos to provide help to our users? That's where you come in...
We know you know how to make informative, creative videos -- the site's full of them. We're asking you to use your skills to create videos that we can embed in our
Help Center
. If selected, your video will be seen by many of the 1 million+ users who visit the Help Center each day!
To participate, here's what you need to do:
1. Decide which
Help Center entries
you'd like to make an original video about:
Captions / Subtitles definition
Editing my video
Make a playlist
How to upload
Customizing channels
Contact lists
Transferring from camera to computer
Add/Change Profile Picture
Viewing Higher Quality Videos
Video annotations definition
2. Upload your video to your YouTube account, then submit it through
this page
.
Here are a few tips to help you along the way:
Keep it brief
(1-2 minutes is perfect)
Be creative, clear and 100% original
Stay on topic
(only submissions which address the Help Center entries included in the list above will be accepted)
Keep our
Terms of Use
and
Community Guidelines
in mind
Have fun with it
The deadline for submitting your video is
October 10, 2008
, so get up off of your keester and make some videos to help your fellow users!
Good luck,
The YouTube Help Team
An Invitation to Video Your Vote
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Less than four weeks from today, one of the most exciting presidential campaigns in history will come to head, and millions of voters from every state in the nation will set out for the polls to cast their ballots. On November 4, we invite you to document your experiences on Election Day and share them with the world here on YouTube.
Today, in partnership with
PBS
, YouTube presents
Video Your Vote
, a project designed to shed light on voting in America and show democracy in action through the eyes of voters like you. Together, PBS and YouTube ask you to share videos of what you experience on Election Day. We're looking for perspectives from polling places across the country that chronicle the excitement and energy at the polls, as well as any problems that may arise -- like long lines or broken voting machines -- that could prevent citizens from exercising their right to vote.
Hear more from Judy Woodruff of the News Hour with Jim Lehrer:
Some of the best videos uploaded to the Video Your Vote channel will be showcased on PBS throughout
PBS's election coverage
. Be sure to tag all of your election day videos with the tag "videoyourvote" -- and if you witness or encounter anything problematic at the polls that is hindering the voting process, also use the tag "pollproblem" so your video can be easily found.
From now until Election Day,
Video Your Vote
will be your go-to destination to learn all about voting. Here you'll find interviews with the world's most knowledgeable election experts, in-depth reports on this year's election and elections past, and inspiring "Get Out the Vote" videos from some of YouTube's champions of democracy.
Ready to see democracy first-hand?
It's time to jump in and Video Your Vote.
Yours,
YouTube News, Politics & Nonprofits
New Features For Channels: Category Browsing & Comments Moderation
Friday, September 12, 2008
New features for channels we hope you dig:
BROWSE CHANNELS BY CATEGORY
All channels are now categorized so you can more easily find your favorite creators and videos. On the
Channels
page, under
All
, you can browse for channels uploading videos to categories like
Film & Animation
,
News & Politics
,
Sports
, etc. You can also use this functionality to filter your results to show
Partners
only.
MODERATE COMMENTS ON YOUR CHANNEL
Now you can moderate all comments other users leave on your channel page.
To turn this feature on, go to the
Edit Channel Info
page in
My Account
. There you can change your settings to allow comments from "Friends" or "Everyone" to display on your channel automatically or only once you have approved them. All comments waiting for your approval are highlighted on the
"see all"
page of your channel comments. Once you have chosen which individual comments you want to approve, click the "Approve Selected" button. If your
email options
are set to notify you of new bulletins or comments on your channel, the link in your email brings you to the page where you can approve selected comments.
We're always interested in hearing your feedback! So, if you've got something to say about the aforementioned features, please leave a comment on this post or join active discussions on our
Community Help Forums
. You will find pinned topics for the site improvements listed above in the
Feeback & Suggestions
section.
Holler at us,
The YouTube Team
PrincessDiana161's Top Guru Challenge Responses
Friday, September 12, 2008
Although summer is over, we couldn't deny that the
summer Guru Challenge
was one of our most successful to date. Cooking expert
PrincessDiana161
had almost 80 users take her up on her challenge and send in their favorite summer recipes. There were so many great responses that we invited her to be a
guest editor
and feature her top 12 on our home page. Take a look:
Thanks to all who heeded Diana's call, and thanks also to those who participated in the
Lance Armstrong Guru Challenge
. If you want to find all of the Guru Challenge content in one place, check out
this channel
.
Keep Creating,
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style
YouTube FANalysts: Join the Squad
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Hey sports fans,
Football season is in full swing, and over on our
FANalysts
channel our crew of sports experts are pontificating, debating and generally FANalyzing every aspect of NFL info for your edification and entertainment. If you're a serious fantasy football owner, you're contemplating player moves to give your team an edge week-to-week, and our FANalysts can provide that strategic mindset or piece of advice that could make all the difference.
If you think you've got the sports-commentator skills and expert pedigree to be a YouTube FANalyst yourself, submit up to five original videos of yourself providing original football and fantasy football opinion to Circuit City's
Join The Squad Contest
. The winner will be selected by community voting and will become a regular contributor to the FANalysts channel.
Your own passion, originality and creativity is key, but to get a sense of the level of insight you'll need to be a FANalyst, here's the latest video from Shango the Stonethrower:
The last day to submit is Sunday, September 21st, so fire up those cameras and let the FANalyzing commence!
Thanks,
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports
Updated Community Guidelines
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
As the YouTube Community expands and evolves, we're always trying to keep pace by creating policies that reflect innovative new uses of YouTube and the diverse content posted by users every day.
We realize it's not always obvious where we draw the line on content that's acceptable to upload. Our goal is to help you to be able to keep your videos up and also keep your account in good standing. With this in mind, we've updated the Community Guidelines to address some of the most common questions users ask us about inappropriate content. Included in the update are a few new things to steer clear of, like not directly inciting violence or encouraging other users to violate the
Terms of Use
.
If you haven't taken a look at the
YouTube Community Guidelines
lately, go check them out. We've also added
tips and examples
to explain our policies on hate speech, violence and other content.
We know most of you video heads are not necessarily interested in reading a novel, but this is an essential read for anyone with a YouTube account.
The YouTube Team
Project: Report - YouTube's First Journalism Contest
Monday, September 8, 2008
Today, in partnership with the
Pulitzer Center
, YouTube presents
Project: Report
(www.youtube.com/projectreport), a journalism contest (made possible by
Sony VAIO
and
Intel
) for non-professional, aspiring journalists to tell stories that might not otherwise be covered by traditional media.
In each of the three rounds of Project: Report, reporters will be given an assignment to complete. Each of these assignments gives you an opportunity to report on the important individuals, issues, and communities in your life that most people do not yet know about.
The assignment for Round 1 is to profile someone in your community, in three minutes or less, highlighting a story you think deserves to be heard by a wide audience. Submit your video entry for Round 1 by midnight EST on Sunday October 5, and a panel of journalists from the Pulitzer Center will narrow the field to 10 semi-finalists. The assignment for Round 2 will then be announced, and the judging for this round will be opened up to the YouTube community to determine the five finalists who will move onto the third and last assignment. Winners of each round will receive technology prizes from Sony VAIO and Intel, and the grand prize winner will be granted a $10,000 journalism fellowship with the Pulitzer Center to report on a story outside of their home country.
Even if you did not participate in or advance past Round 1, you may still complete the assignments for Rounds 2 and 3, though you will not be eligible for the grand prize. With
Project: Report
, YouTube and the Pulitzer Center hope to highlight as many of your stories as possible and draw attention to important topics that have been under-reported, misreported, or not reported at all.
So, it's time to pick up that video camera, take on this assignment, and start reporting your stories to the world.
Yours,
Olivia M.
YouTube News & Politics
YOUTUBE, PULITZER CENTER TO PUT MEDIA IN HANDS OF THE PEOPLE WITH PROJECT: REPORT
Monday, September 8, 2008
SAN BRUNO, CA--(September 8, 2008) -
YouTube™, the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, announced the launch of Project: Report
(http://youtube.com/projectreport)
in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and made possible by Sony and Intel. The first of its kind program begins September 8 and encourages aspiring journalists to produce short, high-quality video pieces focused on stories that are not usually covered by the traditional media.
The program will take place over three rounds. The first round will be judged by the Pulitzer Center and will narrow the field down to the top ten reporters. The YouTube community will then vote to select the top five finalists and the ultimate winner. The winner will receive a $10,000 grant for travel abroad and the opportunity to work with the Pulitzer Center on a story of global importance. The finalists will also receive high-end video and editing equipment from Sony and be featured on the YouTube homepage. Additional prizes will be given to the top ten and top five participants as the contest progresses.
“Central to the Pulitzer Center’s mission is coverage of stories that are being under-reported in today's media environment,” said Jon Sawyer, executive director of the Pulitzer Center. “With YouTube’s global reach and popularity we have the unique opportunity to offer a program that encourages aspiring journalists to tell these stories in a fresh and compelling way."
“Project: Report was inspired by the thousands of individuals around the world who have used YouTube to change the way news is reported in today's media landscape," said Steve Grove, head of news and politics for YouTube. “From videos of natural disasters to investigative reports on political candidates, YouTube has become a go-to site for rare and dynamic news stories from around the world. Project: Report will support and cultivate this type of content, encouraging aspiring journalists to continue informing the world through YouTube.”
Starting today and continuing through October 5, contestants will create and submit a profile of three minutes or less of an individual of significance in their community. An expert panel led by the Pulitzer Center will choose the top 10 entrants. Each of the 10 semi-finalists will receive technology from Sony. They will also participate in a journalism conference hosted by the Pulitzer Center.
The second round of the program will call on the 10 semi-finalists to create a video of four minutes or less to tell a local story that has global impact. The top five videos will be chosen by the YouTube community and the reporters who produced them will receive additional video equipment from Sony, as well as one-on-one mentorship with a journalist as they head into round three of the program.
In the third and final round, the five finalists will tell the story of an under-represented community -- with a further reporting technique required. Each of the finalists will be provided with two additional Sony video cameras to give to members of the group they are reporting on, so that they can participate in the telling of their own stories. The reporter will then use this footage and integrate it into the telling of the story of five minutes or less.
Each of the three rounds will feature model videos from work sponsored by the Pulitzer Center as well as videos on reporting techniques from the journalists involved. The contest channel page will also feature videos with tips on technique from Sony and Intel.
About YouTube
YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.
About the Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supports in-depth coverage of international affairs, focusing on topics that have been under-reported, misreported – or not reported at all. The Center funds reporting on all media platforms and partners with both traditional and new-media news outlets. The Center's Global Gateway engages directly with high school and university students across the nation, building a constituency among younger audiences for quality global news coverage. To learn more visit
www.pulitzercenter.org
Beijing Paralympics on YouTube
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The 2008 Paralympic Summer Games officially opened in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium yesterday, where over the next 11 days, 4000 athletes from 150 countries will compete in 20 sports for 472 gold medals. Be sure to check out
Paralympic Sport TV's YouTube channel
over the next two weeks for event footage, profiles, interviews and more.
A few athletes to watch for: world No. 1 wheelchair tennis player
Esther Vergeer
from the Netherlands, Canada's
Chantal Petitclerc
, German swimmer
Kristen Bruhn
and South African sprinter Oscar Pistorious, aka "The Blade Runner." Pistorious's recent attempt to qualify for the South African Olympic team electrified the sports world, but he'll be challenged by a highly-competitive field of sprinters. Here's a recent profile of Oscar:
Some interesting facts about the XIII Paralympic Games:
> The host country of China is looking to surpass the 63 gold medals they won in Athens in 2004. In preparation for the Games, the Beijing city government made subway stations wheelchair accessible and added 2000 wheelchair-accessible buses and taxis.
> Sixteen of the 213 athletes on the U.S. delegation are military veterans, including swimmer Melissa Stockwell, an Army veteran of the Iraq War, and discus and shot put thrower Scott Winkler, an Army veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan.
>
Wheelchair rugby
-- or "murderball" as it's known to most fans -- has its own welding shop in the Olympic Village to repair dents and busted chairs resulting from high-speed collisions.
In addition to watching all the action, you can upload your own Paralympic moment to YouTube and add it to
Paralympic Sport TV's YouTube group
.
Enjoy!
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports
Metallica's Favorite YouTube Shredders
Friday, September 5, 2008
Heavy metal rockers Metallica have inspired countless musicians on YouTube – think extreme guitar soloists, pounding drummers, violin trios, hard-edged vocalists and even animated kerrang-ing Lego musicians. Turns out the band itself has noted this phenomenon. Here's drummer Lars Ulrich revealing his favorite Metallica-inspired videos and wondering if some of these talented musicians might even out-play his own group:
The videos the band chose include an eight-year-old
guitar phenom
from Sweden, a Spanish
violin trio
performing "Nothing Else Matters," teenagers banging out
"Master of Puppets"
in their bedroom, and Canadian "Shred the Web" winner (and uber-fan)
Francisco Meza
. Lars shares the whole playlist on the
MetallicaTV
channel and today we are featuring them on YouTube's home page. Also featured is the new Metallica
video
, "The Day That Never Comes," an epic guitar-solo journey through the desert during wartime.
Happy Headbanging,
Michele K-Tel
YouTube Music
Hope on the Horizon
Friday, September 5, 2008
Over ten million people are currently living with cancer and millions more have been touched by the disease in a profound way. Dozens of these people are using YouTube to share their stories and to demand that funding for cancer research increase so that doctors can finally find a cure.
Stand Up To Cancer
, a nonprofit organization who is leading the charge to raise funds for research, is shining the spotlight on these users by serving as today's homepage guest editor:
The videos Stand Up To Cancer has selected are a touching medley of narratives from
those living with cancer
,
celebrities using humor to draw attention to this serious subject
,
nonprofits working hard to raise awareness
, and
individuals showing their support for a cure in creative ways
.
In recent years, sizable breakthroughs in cancer research have created the opportunity to stop cancer in its tracks. However, for the first time in over three decades, federal funding for this research is decreasing. You can voice your support for increased federal funding or make a donation to support the next generation of cancer research by visiting
http://www.standup2cancer.org
.
Standing up,
Ramya R.
YouTube Nonprofits & Activism
A Proud GOP, Broadcast on YouTube
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Grand Old Party is having a big week as thousands of delegates, party leaders, celebrities, and honored guests are broadcasting themselves from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. At upload booths stationed in the Xcel Energy Center, and on a mobile camera roving through the convention hall, the party faithful are taking the opportunity to tell the world why Senator John McCain should be the next President of the United States.
Among those to upload from the Convention were
Jon Voight
,
Tom Delay
, and former House Speaker
Dennis Hastert
. Even former Virginia Senator George Allen, whose
"macaca moment"
arguably kick-started the era of politics on YouTube, stopped to say hello to
the YouTube community
. In addition, the GOP Convention staff has been studiously uploading all
speeches
to their
YouTube Channel
, as well as
behind-the-scenes footage
and videos from
events
around the Convention center.
Of course, the most anticipated speech of the week came from VP choice Sarah Palin, who addressed the crowd Wednesday night:
YouTube has been abuzz with
Palin chatter
and her selection has solicited viewpoints
from all over the spectrum
.
Stay tuned for the biggest speech of them all tonight, as the Senator himself takes center stage in St. Paul to accept the nomination. If you don't catch it live on TV,
you know where you can find it
.
Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics
Following Hurricane Gustav on YouTube
Monday, September 1, 2008
The country watched as Hurricane Gustav swept through the Caribbean and into the Gulf this weekend, making landfall in Louisiana on Monday. Memories of Hurricane Katrina, the powerful storm that devastated New Orleans exactly three years ago, remain fresh in the minds of area residents. To ensure that no one relived that experience, Louisiana leaders ordered a mandatory evacuation on Saturday that has pushed more than two million people to leave their homes and seek safer lodgings.
Those living in areas affected by Gustav have been uploading videos documenting the storm from their vantage points -- whether it be from
inside their homes
, braving the elements
in their backyards
, or even surveying empty streets while
riding on a bike
.
Check out this playlist of Hurricane Gustav videos:
Though thankfully Gustav's impact turned out to be less destructive than initially feared, many members of the YouTube community stood by with
prayersa> and
messages of support
, including
attendees of the Republican National Convention
in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Yours,
Olivia
YouTube News & Politics
Follow the GOP Convention, and Gustav, on YouTube
Monday, September 1, 2008
This week it's the GOP's turn to nominate their candidate for President, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. With Hurricane Gustav on the horizon, the GOP has announced that the Convention will take on a muted tone - and the videos coming in from St. Paul will likely be overshadowed by the footage being uploaded from the Gulf Coast. Here on the YouTube news and politics team, we'll be keeping track of both.
Like everyone, our thoughts are with those in the Gulf Coast. We hope that Gustav's damage is limited, and that the GOP is able to proceed with at least some of the Convention programming. If they do, our
Convention channel
will have a 360-degree view of the proceedings, and will house the latest video coming out of the Xcel Energy Center, including speeches that might not receive prime-time TV coverage. We'll also have behind-the-scenes footage from party leaders, and attendees will be uploading their video nominations of Senator McCain at booths set up around the venue. And as the Party manages and reacts to the events in the Gulf Coast, we'll post that footage to the channel as well.
Finally, our RNC convention contest winner,
Shawn Summers
, will be vlogging from St. Paul and keeping you in the loop on what's happening there. Shawn was on the campaign trail with McCain just a few weeks ago and says he's excited to witness this historical gathering, no matter how it plays out. Check out this mash-up of some of the best entries to the contest:
Stay tuned to YouTube for the latest in videos from both St. Paul and the Gulf Coast - our thoughts are with those facing the storm.
Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics
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