Official Blog
Now Playing: "Bram Stoker's Dracula"
Friday, October 30, 2009
Update (11/1)
Thanks to everyone who voted. Here are the final results of the "Who's the greatest Dracula" poll:
+++++++
Everywhere you look, vampires seem to be all the rage. But before the broody youngsters of "Twilight" and the Southern nightwalkers of "True Blood" took center stage, there was one Count who ruled the bloodsucking roost: Dracula.
In honor of the world's most famous monster (and everyone's go-to Halloween costume), we're pleased to bring you
Bram Stoker's Dracula
, courtesy of our friends at
Crackle
. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman in one of his most memorable roles, it's the story of darkness's cursed prince searching for his suicidal bride in 18th-century England. With Academy Award-winning costumes, killer performances from Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, and a healthy dose of horror, this flick has something for film buffs of varying tastes.
Before you
watch
, there are a few things we need to note. First, this film is rated R for violence and brief nudity. This means that you'll need to verify that you're 18 years of age or older by either
signing into your existing YouTube account
or
creating a new one
. Second, this video is limited to audiences in the U.S. (apologies to our international users). And, third, the film will only be available on YouTube through November 9.
How do you think Gary Oldman ranks in the pantheon of Count Dracula actors? Cast your vote in the poll in the upper right hand corner.
Happy Halloween!
Nate Weinstein, YouTube Entertainment, just watched
"Vampires: Is it Real?"
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival Hits the YouTube Screening Room
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Today marks the first day of the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival, a partnership between the Qatar Museums Authority and the Tribeca Film Festival, to celebrate the best of Arabic and international cinema through an annual film festival and year-round workshops in Doha, Qatar's capital. The festival hopes to inspire, engage and educate a new generation of cinema appreciation in the Middle East, much in the same way that the Tribeca Film Festival has stimulated the local film community in New York.
To celebrate the festival's launch, we've turned the
YouTube Screening Room
over to the expert curators at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, who have put together a lineup of five films (four shorts and one feature), selected to highlight diverse filmmaking voices with a strong Middle Eastern connection. Each of these films possesses the ability to entertain and to educate, and we hope that after watching you'll feel compelled to continue the conversation by commenting on, sharing and rating those that move you. Here's a sneak peek....
"
Clear Cut, Simple
," directed by Vineet Dewan, is based on a true story about an American soldier in Iraq, torn between his duty to the military and his friendship with his Iraqi interpreter. "
Eclipse
," directed by Mark Lapwood, is a meditative visual journey featuring stunning images of Mumbai. "
Itmanna: Make A Wish
," directed by Cherien Dabis, explores the tensions of a politically charged environment through the prism of a young girl's quest to buy a birthday cake. "
The North Road
," directed by Carlos Chahine, tracks a middle-aged man's return to his home country of Lebanon to deal with his father's remains. And
"Ramchand Pakistani,"
a feature film directed by Mehreen Jabbar, is based on a true story about a Pakistani Hindu family's accidental crossing of the Pakistani-Indian border in 2002.
Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched
"Easy to Assemble #1: What's In Store."
We Interrupt This Broadcast to Thank the PowerPosters
Monday, October 26, 2009
The
YouTube Help Forum
is nearly entirely community-powered. In it, users answer each other's questions, share tips, and discuss the best ways to use the site and make videos.
The system works pretty well: 78% of questions receive a response within three hours.
While there are a lot of helpful folks in the forum, we'd like to take a second to commend a group of exceptionally engaged and active users whom we've dubbed "the
PowerPosters
." They are:
anmoose
,
battlefielddoktor
,
ebbixx
,
epontius
,
happycabbie
,
kohpelord
, and
rewboss
. These folks are usually the first to offer advice, to set the record straight, or even just to provide a friendly word to other users looking for support. They've devoted tons of their personal time and boundless amounts of energy toward assisting users all over the world; they've helped to escalate about 250 site issues
and contributed 5 tutorial videos to our Help Center. Sincere thanks to the
PowerPosters
for all they've done for our community and the betterment of the site.
So, if you're having trouble uploading, need video formatting advice, or wonder how to participate in AutoShare, we invite you to stop by the
YouTube Help Forum
and post your question. While you're there, see how you can make a difference by participating as well. Who knows, you could be the next PowerPoster.
The YouTube Support Team
Today, Animals Take Center Stage on the Homepage
Monday, October 26, 2009
Earlier this month, through the YouTube Video Volunteers program,
we asked you
to create an amazing video on behalf of your favorite animal welfare organization and submit it for the chance to be featured on our homepage.
Over 100 users submitted videos about their animal org of choice. User mordeth13
talked about
the plight of stray dogs in Taiwan, while partner
ZackScott
discussed how FoundAnimals is helping animals in the United States:
On Saturday, you voted on which videos you liked the best, and today the top three are featured on the homepage alongside a video for the Humane Society from
actor Ben Stein.
If you'd like to view all of the videos that were submitted, you can visit the
Video Volunteers channel
and click "Gallery."
Didn't have a chance to make a video for this month's round? Don't worry. We'll be kicking off our next installment of Video Volunteers on November 1, focusing on hunger in America.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism, recently watched "
In Regards to Defenders of Wildlife
."
U2 Plays Live on YouTube
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Did you miss the live event that everyone's still buzzing about? Check out the concert in full on
U2's YouTube channel
.
++++++++++++++
We are counting down the hours to this evening's
U2
concert at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, CA. The live stream begins at 8:30 p.m. PT, and YouTube users all around the world can tune in. (To figure out what time the concert starts where you are, simply click the time converter
here
and select the name of your country in the pull-down menu.)
Once the show starts, scroll down on
U2
's channel
for a Twitter gadget displaying real-time comments about the webcast. If you Tweet from this tool, you'll see that each message is pre-populated with the hashtag #U2webcast, instantly plugging your comments into wider discussions about the show.
For those of you who miss the live event, the full performance will be re-broadcast two consecutive times after it ends. It will also be archived as a video on the
U2
channel -- so there's really no excuse to miss Bono's distinctive wail, the Edge's guitar mastery, the roll of Larry Mullen's drums, or
Adam Clayton's thumping bass lines.
Let this preview whet your appetite for the experience up ahead...
Michele Flannery, YouTube Music, recently watched
"They Come From Everywhere"
Hollywood Honors Top "Come Clean 4 Congo" Video
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tonight at the Hollywood Film Festival's Human Rights Symposium, Matt Smith will accept his award for submitting the winning video to YouTube's Video for Change program,
"Come Clean 4 Congo,"
in partnership with the Enough Project. Back in May,
we asked you to make videos
demonstrating the connection between the "conflict minerals" used in cell phones and the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Matt's winning video, voted #1 by the YouTube community, used spoken word to take a far-away, complex issue and make it understandable and compelling:
To say things aren't going well in the Congo would be an understatement. It is the deadliest conflict since World War II, and militias continue to use rape as a weapon of terror. The UN reports that in the first half of 2009, more than 5,000 women have been raped in the South Kivu province of the Congo. Al Jazeera News reports on the conflict from a clinic in the Congo, where many of the victims are being treated:
The Enough Project saw the connection between the minerals that are mined in the Congo and used in our cell phones, and wanted to use that connection to bring this issue home to people living in the U.S. Thanks too to all the YouTube users who made videos to raise awareness of this issue. If you'd like to learn more about what you can do to help, go to the
Enough Project's website
.
And if you're in the LA area and want to register to attend the Human Rights Symposium, sign up
here
.
Steve Grove, Head of News, Politics & Nonprofits, recently watched "
Ask a Nobel Laureate, John Mather
."
Celebrating free expression 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Friday, October 23, 2009
In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall became a striking symbol for free expression far beyond the borders of Germany. Just 20 years later, Iranian citizens used online tools like YouTube and Twitter to share
firsthand accounts
of the brutal government crackdown waged against protesters disputing the country's election results. Many Iranians
risked their lives
to document the violence, despite the government's attempts to expel journalists and stifle any voices of dissent.
The democratizing power of the Internet has enabled individuals to share their stories with a global audience in ways never before possible, and given a voice to those who wouldn't otherwise be heard.
To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we're launching a YouTube channel —
youtube.com/GoogleFreeExpression
— to highlight and celebrate free expression around the world, and
we want to hear from you
.
This channel is designed to feature your stories and reflections on free expression. Tell us about how you or someone you know has taken a stand for free expression. Perhaps you've
protested against
something you didn't agree with,
taken action
when someone else's free speech was being suppressed or
been inspired
by someone who has stood up for the right to speak out. Make a short video sharing your experience, upload it to YouTube, and add it as a reply to this one:
We'll be featuring the best submissions on the
Google Free Expression channel
, so be sure to check back in the weeks to come. We look forward to hearing from you.
Annette Kroeber-Riel, European Policy Counsel, recently watched "
Getting past the 'Barbed Wireless'
"
Thanks, YouTube! 140,000 Children Have Lunch Because of You
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Last Friday, on World Food Day, we
asked you
, the online billion, to turn your YouTube views into action to feed the billion hungry people in the world.
You blew us away with your response, collectively donating enough money to the United Nations World Food Program through
this video
to give school lunch to close to 140,000 children. And your donations are still coming in.
Some of you donated $1, others donated $50. Some even
created video responses
encouraging others to give. The WFP is so thrilled with your efforts that their Executive Director Josette Sheeran recorded this special thank you message to the YouTube community:
Added Pierre Guillaume Wielezynski, WFP's Head of Online Communications, "It is heartening to see the YouTube community step up and help. We often forget about the billion people who go to bed hungry. If every web user does a little, we can achieve a lot." YouTube user
angelinthesky26
echoed this sentiment, commenting "
we can all make a difference in our own simple way."
So, thank you YouTube, for making a difference. We're incredibly inspired by you.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism, recently watched "
Human Rescue Plan/Sean Penn
"
Search Comments on YouTube in Real-Time
Monday, October 19, 2009
Today, Comments Search moves into
Test Tube
, the place where our engineers and developers test out new features and gather data and feedback before pushing them out to a wider audience. This feature allows you to search the comments people are making on YouTube in real time. The full comment will appear on a continuously updated results page, and "trending topics" indicates the hottest topics of conversation on YouTube at that particular moment. Comments Search is a way you can find out what YouTube users are saying about everything from the news stories of the day (below, see results when we typed in "balloon boy") to your individual channel or brand.
So try it out, enter your feedback
here
or comment below,
and help us get this feature ready for the masses. We're always working on new ways to enhance search across YouTube and give quick and easy access to the information people are looking for.
Jamie Davidson, Product Manager, recently watched
"Strange Cloud Over Moscow Oct 2009."
U2 on YouTube -- Live!
Monday, October 19, 2009
If you are a fan of the Irish rock band
U2
, you may have already caught wind of a little secret. Earlier today, the band
alerted fans
that they will be able to watch their upcoming performance from the Rose Bowl in L.A.
on
their
YouTube
channel
.
If you live in one of the 16 countries listed below*, you can join
U2
live
on
Sunday, October 25 at 8:30 p.m. (PT). In addition with pumping your fist along with Bono, you'll be able to join
YouTube
's global listening party via a Twitter gadget embedded
on
U2
's
YouTube
channel. And if you miss the concert, just press play when you wake up or get to a computer: the uploaded rebroadcast of the full show will be available the next day.
Michele Flannery,
YouTube
Music, recently watched
U2360 "The Cow Man"
.
*Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, U.K., U.S.
Wanted: Travel Videos of American Journeys
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The
My Journey program
is all about creating and sharing videos
of your memorable American journey
s. Some great videos have come in so far, but we want more! You've got one week left to submit a video about
your favorite American spot or trip. (Entries are due October 25, 2009.) The YouTube community will then decide who earns a
seven-day travel reporting assignment in San Francisco, as well as a feature on LonelyPlanet's
website
and
YouTube
channel. The
winning videographer will also receive video equipment and advice from the Lonely Planet team on how to take his or her reporting skills to the next level.
You're always showing us the world through your eyes, and we can't wait to see your American journeys. Get inspired by the examples below, and enter your videos
here
.
My Journey is presented by
The T-Mobile® myTouch™ 3G
.
Sadia Harpe
r, YouTube Travel, recently watched "
The Cheeseburger Show: Episode 11.
"
Taxi Driver Viewing Party Tonight!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Movie buffs of YouTube unite.
Tonight, we'll be hosting a live viewing party of the critically-acclaimed feature film
Taxi Driver
in the YouTube Screening Room, courtesy of our friends at
Crackle
.
Visit the
Screening Room
at 6pm PT to start watching. You'll see an embedded Twitter feed collecting real-time tweets from other fans watching the film. If you want to offer your own comments, log in to your
Twitter account
and post them with the hashtag #yttaxidriver.
We'll be there with you, dropping some trivia, quotes and favorite moments for your communal viewing pleasure. Remember, Taxi Driver is rated R, so you'll need to be logged into your YouTube account to watch, and unfortunately, the video is restricted to users in the U.S. only.
To stay on top of great new films from Crackle, be sure to subscribe to their
YouTube channel
.
See you in the Screening Room.
Nate Weinstein, YouTube Entertainment, just watched
The Most Dramatically Normal Day Ever
.
Can a Billion Views Help a Billion People?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Last week,
we announced
that YouTube serves over one billion video views per day. It's a pretty staggering number, right? That's also the number of people in the world who don't have enough food to eat. According to the
UN World Food Program
, for the first time in history, there are
over 1 billion hungry people on Earth
-- that's one in seven humans.
Today, on World Food Day, the World Food Program (WFP) is showing how you, the estimated one billion internet users, can help the one billion people who live in hunger:
The WFP isn't alone in their efforts. Nonprofit Action Against Hunger is
calling on Al Gore
to create a video about hunger as he did for climate change with
An Inconvenient Truth
(after all, who better to mobilize the internet community than the man who invented it?) And singer Christina Aguilera is lending her voice to the cause with this video:
So
internet people
, we're challenging you to make a difference today. Just think...if every person
donated $1
to feed the hungry each time they viewed a YouTube video, we'd be a lot closer to a hunger-free world.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism. This blog is
cross-posted
on the Huffington Post.
"The Key to Curation Is Curiosity" Meet Our Curators of the Month
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
We're thrilled to have the folks behind the Wooster Collective, one of the Web's most-trafficked sites devoted to urban and street art, curating our
homepage
today. For anyone interested in cool art videos,
their YouTube channel
is a must-subscribe; from their vast network of artists, they're often the first to know about videos like
notblu's MUTO
, which has gone on to garner more than 5 million views.
The Wooster Collective are a model of an important -- but often under-the-radar -- group on YouTube: curators, those people who have a knack for finding great videos, organizing and archiving them on their YouTube channel, and perhaps also distributing them off of YouTube via a blog or social media. In this case, the curators post daily to the
Wooster blog
, while on their YouTube channel they cluster finds into playlists with themes like
The Classics
,
Outdoors
,
Timelapse
,
Geek Graffiti
, and
Guerrilla Knitting.
Learn who they are, how they find such gold on the site, and a bit about their philosophy on all this:
How do you find such great videos?
A few different ways. First, amazingly talented artists and videographers from all over the world share links with us of new videos they upload to YouTube. We receive a hundreds of emails about new work every day. But, in addition to this, we use the terrific tools that YouTube offers to keep up with what's new on the site. We subscribe to many artist and videographers' channels. We also check out the videos that are recommended by YouTube. Every day we discover new things.
For us, the key to curation is curiosity. The best curators in the world, both online and off, are curious people by nature. We love seeing new things, learning about new artists, and exploring new subjects. We’re constantly wanting to be inspired and wanting to share what’s inspiring us with others.
Can you offer any tips about organizing these videos on your YouTube channel?
We love organizing the videos into playlists. The playlists feature is great because you can show both breadth and depth of what you’ve curated. We also like changing the featured video three or four times a week so when you go to the Wooster YouTube channel, it’s different each time.
If someone's into street art, what are some of the must-subscribe channels on YouTube relating to that topic?
Some of our favorites are:
Walrus TV
,
Wallkandy
and
Romanywg
.
Which video that you've found do you think is criminally under-seen?
Here’s one of our favorites,
a timelapse by our friends The Barnstormers
.
Subscribe to the
Wooster Collective's YouTube channel
to get a notice in your feed every time they favorite, rate or comment on a video.
Know of other great video curators on YouTube or on the Web? Leave their channel name or site URL in the comments below.
Go Mobile! It's Tips & Tricks Week for YouTube on Your Phone
Monday, October 12, 2009
This week we're joining in Google's
celebration of all things mobile
to make sure you're aware of the power you hold in your fingertips with YouTube on your phone. Not only can you watch millions of videos, but also you can upload videos directly from your device; maybe it's footage of a breaking news event, the drama unfolding at the party Saturday night, or your baby's first steps. Since we want to provide the best experience for each of you, we occasionally have different solutions for different phones -- so read on to find out what's available for yours.
Almost any phone with a browser can access the YouTube mobile website at
m.youtube.com
. (Some mobile phone operators offer a pre-programmed link, so if a YouTube link displays on your phone, click it to visit our site.) Once there, you can access your YouTube account, your favorite videos, your uploads and your favorite channels. You can also share, rate, and comment directly from the mobile website to other YouTube users. Or, if you've captured a great moment,
upload your own video by sending it via MMS or email (sign in to YouTube and click
here
to get your unique address) and it will appear almost instantly on the website.
In addition to the website, you can also play high-quality YouTube videos with special applications on many devices, including Windows Mobile, Symbian S60, iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, and BlackBerry Storm v1 devices. For devices not listed, it means that there were either technical limitations to getting YouTube on the phone, or the experience wasn't a significant improvement over just visiting the mobile website. FYI, the apps for iPhone, Android and Palm Pre also support direct-to-YouTube uploads. To install the app on a compatible phone, visit
m.youtube.com/app
.
Keep an eye out this week as we
tweet
some useful tips and tricks for YouTube mobile. And be sure to let us know how you're liking it and what we can do to improve the mobile experience. To get started, just
Go Mobile
!
Robin Norvell, YouTube Mobile Operations, recently watched "
Mobile Tricks
."
Y,000,000,000uTube
Friday, October 9, 2009
Three years ago today, Steve and I stood out in front of our offices and
jokingly crowned
ourselves the
burger kings of media
. We'd just made headlines by joining with Google in our shared goal of organizing the world's information (in our case, video) and making it easily and quickly accessible to anyone, anywhere. Today, I'm proud to say that we have been serving well over a billion views a day on YouTube. This is great moment in our short history and we owe it all to you.
Looking back at those early days, we were committed to some basic principles that have since become fundamental tenets in the world of online video:
Speed matters:
Videos should load and play back quickly.
Clip culture is here to stay:
Short clips are voraciously consumed and perfect for watching a wide variety of content.
Open platforms open up possibility:
Content creation isn't our business; it's yours. We wanted to create a place where anyone with a video camera, a computer, and an Internet connection could share their life, art, and voice with the world, and in many cases make a living from doing so.
Three years after the acquisition, our platform and our business continue to grow and evolve. We are still committed to the same principles that informed the site early on, but we know things have changed. As bandwidth has increased, so has our video quality. As we've started to see demand for longer, full-length content, we've brought more shows and movies to the site. There are now more ways than ever to make and consume content, and more of you are
looking to turn your hobby into a real business
. We're working hard to keep up with the fast pace of technology to bring you everything you would expect from the world's largest video site: better quality; a full spectrum of choices and tools for users, partners and advertisers; and ways to make the YouTube experience your own anywhere, anytime.
Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-founder
You Talking To Me?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
If you don't know who Travis Bickle is, you probably should.
Widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, Taxi Driver paints a dark, gritty, and at times violent portrait of a lonely man in the urban jungle. Now, courtesy of our friends at
Crackle
, you can watch the
entire film
on YouTube through next Sunday, October 18.
Even if you haven't seen the film yet, you may be familiar with some of the memorable quotes (like "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here."). Well, if you think you've got a killer Bobby D. impression, now is the time to share it with the world. Film yourself reenacting a scene from the movie, and post it as a video response to Taxi Driver. The best impressions will be featured in a blog next week.
One quick note -- as you may know, Taxi Driver is rated R for violence and language. This means that in order to watch it on YouTube, you'll need to be signed into your account and confirm that you are 17 years of age or older.
We'll be partnering with Crackle to bring you more great films in the future. Be sure to stay on top of what's new by subscribing to their
YouTube channel
.
Enjoy!
Nate Weinstein, Entertainment Marketing, just watched "
Super Action Man
."
Webinar on Basic Shooting Techniques: Join Us!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Update (12/4/09):
Recording of the Webinar:
Update (10/12/2009):
Results of the poll, for topics you want covered during this Webinar:
Total votes: 1305
49% handheld camera techniques
46% microphone techniques
44% equipment buying advice
41% lighting & filtering
40% art of composition
25% button basics: using camcorder
+++
YouTube's Creator's Corner
and
Videomaker magazine
are excited to bring you the first in a series of Webinars that explore the basics of video production and will help you take your videos to the next level. Videomaker offers
intensive weekend courses
here in Northern California, and they've generously offered to share their knowledge with the global YouTube community for free, as well as take your questions.
The first seminar will focus on "Basic Shooting Techniques" and it's scheduled for October 27, 2009, at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET. Click
here
to register.
Because we want these sessions to be really useful for you, we want you to help us set the agenda. Below is a list of topics the class could cover. Vote in the poll in the top right corner of this blog to tell us which topic(s) you most want to know about. You can also submit and vote on specific questions
here
. We'll use the results of the poll and the most popular questions as a guide when structuring the Webinar. Again, here are the topics you can vote for:
Shopping for a camcorder:
Learn what to look for before buying one
Button basics:
Master the most important buttons on the camcorder and how each of them works
Light and filter it right:
Creative tips on lights and filters that will improve the look of your videos
Microphone techniques:
Get the best sound from your mic with the least amount of hassle
The art of composition:
Simple composition rules to set your video apart from ordinary videos
Smooth moves:
Handheld camera techniques
Finally, if you've got a strong preference for days of the week or times when you'd most likely be able to tune in to a Webinar, please let us know in the comments below, and we'll take that into consideration when planning future events.
Thanks!
Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, YouTube, and Jennifer O'Rourke, Managing Editor, Videomaker
Follow the Announcement of Nobel Prizes in Real-Time on YouTube
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
This week, Nobel Prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories, and for the first time you can follow the proceedings live on YouTube. Through October 12, YouTube users can tune in to the
Nobel Prize YouTube channel
for live-streamed announcements of each prize. This marks the first time that a European event will be live-streamed via YouTube.
Missed the earlier announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine? You can view it here:
The complete schedule of awards announcements is below. Click
here
to watch them all, live as they unfold:
Physics
Tuesday, October 6: 11.45 a.m. CET, 09.45 a.m. GMT
Chemistry
Wednesday, October 7: 11.45 a.m. CET, 09.45 a.m. GMT
Literature
Thursday, October 8: 1.00 p.m. CET, 11.00 a.m. GMT
Peace
Friday, October 9: 11.00 a.m. CET, 09.00 a.m. GMT
Prize in Economic Sciences
Monday, October 12: 1.00 p.m. CET, 11.00 a.m. GMT
Kim Alltorp, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Nordic Region
Inside User Research at YouTube
Monday, October 5, 2009
If you think about watching a video online, it may seem pretty easy. A player, a play/pause button and some content. Done. But what about if the video is being played on a mobile phone? Or on a big screen? What if it's being viewed in Nairobi? Or Shanghai? Now let's say it's being viewed by
someone who wants to share her thoughts on the video and by someone who wants to do nothing more than watch more videos. Before you know it, watching a video becomes more complicated than you realize.
Enter user research. While far from providing all the answers, it can help illuminate how the site is actually used --
as opposed to guessing how it might be used or assuming the user is just like the people designing the site.
So what exactly is user research like at YouTube? Sometimes it means letting users design their ideal experience. For example, last year we used a method called
FIDO
(first utilized by Fidelity Investments) where we cut out different elements of various video sites, stuck them on magnets, and had users arrange their ideal organization of the elements (see below for an example). Other times we use a more standard research method called a usability study, which entails seeing whether a user can or can't complete certain standard site tasks in a
usability lab
.
Sometimes having users come into labs is not enough, though; we want to understand how users use YouTube in their context, in their living room, with their laptop on their lap, sprawled out on the couch. In this case we might have field studies where we interview users in their homes. In addition to such qualitative research, we look closely at the behavior of millions of users through traffic analysis and try to understand what users think of the site by deploying thousands of surveys.
We still have a lot left to learn about how people use YouTube, but some things have become clear. One of the most important findings has to do with the difference between the large group of users who are on YouTube simply to watch videos and a smaller, but very important, group of more engaged users -- often uploaders. The latter group will, unsurprisingly, care about details like how to make communication with their audience easier and more effective,
how to grow their audience, and even how to make money on YouTube. The former, on the other hand, want as simple of an interface as possible: "Just let me watch the video, please!"
You can see this difference in the results of the FIDO experiment we mentioned earlier -- note how differently each kind of user arranged features on the pageand the sheer number of elements in the scenario on the right:
To make matters more complicated, not
everyone
fits nicely into one of the two aforementioned categories -- for instance, there are users who like to watch videos, but they might also occasionally comment or favorite. Their ideal experience likely looks like something in-between the two examples pictured above.
It's not always easy to know what the best balance is for everyone, but we are committed to working towards figuring it out. One thing we know for sure is that at the end of the day, we need to build a product that is easy to use and understand. If it becomes too complicated or cluttered, we'll all need to step back and think again.
If you have any thoughts on this, you can let us know
here
and see what a user research survey looks like if you haven't encountered one yet.
In addition, if you'd like to participate in any upcoming research we have, please fill out this
form
.
Sasha Lubomirsky, User Experience Researcher, recently watched
"Five Years Time."
Release Notes: 10/1/09
Thursday, October 1, 2009
News and notes from our most recent push:
Personalized recommendations on the homepage
: Recommendations for you aren't just for users with accounts anymore. Now everyone can visit the YouTube homepage to get an answer to the question, "What should I watch today?" We'll automatically generate some suggestions based on your past viewing history. Of course, you'll still get better, more specific and more consistent recommendations by creating a YouTube account.
Beginning the conversion of remaining old channels:
We're starting the process today to convert all remaining channels still using the older platform to the new one. (This migration could take up to two weeks to complete.) Once again, your comments and feedback have been instrumental in helping the new version evolve and grow (you can see a list of items we addressed
here
). Now customizing and editing your channel is a lot easier, with plenty of options for organizing videos, and the channel refocuses attention on engaging with you and your videos, which, after all, is the centerpiece of any YouTube experience. And we've got a lot of great ideas and input from you on things you'd like to see next.
YouTube in Portuguese (the European kind):
We've added Portuguese (as spoken in Portugal) to the list of languages in which you can experience YouTube. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, find "Current Language" and click on "Show languages." You'll see options there for both Português and Português (Brasil).
New discount in Creator's Corner:
Logitech is offering YouTube users in the U.S. 15% off select Webcams. Click
here
for the coupon code and link.
Always, The YouTube Team
The Global Classroom on YouTube EDU
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Class is back in session at
YouTube EDU
(youtube.com/edu). We're excited to welcome many new college and university partners and a few enhancements that will help you discover the wealth of educational material that they provide.
The open educational video movement is a worldwide phenomenon. That's why we're proud to announce that YouTube EDU now includes universities from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, and Israel.
Cambridge University
,
Open University
,
Bocconi University
and
Open University of Catalonia
are among the 45 new additions who've opened their doors to a global audience of students, teachers, alumni, and self-learners.
Meanwhile, the number of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada now participating in YouTube EDU tops 200 -- 2x what we launched with six months ago -- providing more than 40,000 videos of lectures, news, and campus life. Recent highlights include an
Art & Technology
lecture series from Columbia University and the seminal course
"Justice"
from Harvard.
Now that YouTube EDU is international, we are introducing a language menu so you only receive videos that you understand. In other words, if your YouTube EDU language
i
s set to English, you will only see YouTube EDU videos in English, be they from American, British or other schools. Viewers with the French language setting can enjoy videos from
HEC Paris
, as well as those from French-Canadian
University of Montreal
. You can change the language of YouTube EDU videos at any time or even set languages to All for the full spectrum.
With so many videos to choose from, we are also providing the ability to browse by subjects such as Business, Engineering, and Literature. This is English-only for now, but look for it to expand to other languages as more universities come on board.
Happy learning!
Obadiah Greenberg, Content Partnerships, recently watched
"
Save the University
."
Wanted: Puppy and Kitty Videos for Good
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Like many of you, actor Ben Stein cares deeply about animals (especially his dog Puppy Wuppy). That's why, with World Animal Day right around the corner, Ben is calling on you (and your pet, if you like) to make a video on behalf of your favorite animal welfare organization, as part of
YouTube's Video Volunteers
program.
The top three videos will appear on the YouTube homepage, next to Ben's video about the Humane Society, as part of a special spotlight on animal welfare at the end of the month. Here's Ben with more details:
This is just the beginning: each month, we'll feature a different relevant issue on the Video Volunteers channel with a new guest curator, and you could have the opportunity to showcase your work (and favorite org) to a huge audience.
For this month, you have until October 22 at midnight PT to submit your video to
www.youtube.com/videovolunteers
, so grab your camera and use it to make a difference! Then make sure to vote on October 24 for the videos you'd most like to see featured on the homepage.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism Manager, recently watched "
Jack Black Funding Women's Cancer Research.
"
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