Official Blog
Spaghetti Western Viewing Party Tonight
Monday, November 30, 2009
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who watch Spaghetti Westerns by themselves and those who watch them with their YouTube buddies.
If the latter sounds like fun, join us for a live viewing party of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" at 6pm PT in t
he
Screening Room
. T
o the right of the player, you'll see a Twitter feed collecting real-time tweets from other fans watching the film. If you want to contribute to the conversation, just log in to your Twitter account through the gadget and send your tweets, being sure to use the default hashtag, #screeningroom.
We'll be right there with you, sharing our own thoughts on one of the best westerns of all time. See you there!
Nate Weinstein, YouTube Entertainment, recently watched "
Lego Matrix Trinity Help
."
YouTube Community Gives Thanks to Those That Help the Hungry
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Earlier this month, as part of
YouTube Video Volunteers
, we asked you to create a short video for the nonprofit organization of your choice tackling the issue of hunger in America. Today, we're featuring the top three submissions, chosen by our partner
Feeding America
and curator David Arquette, on the YouTube homepage in honor of Thanksgiving, to recognize the important work that is being done to feed those in need.
We were surprised and excited by the range of videos submitted. For example, partner
bigedude33
penned an
original song
about the Food Bank of Central New York, while
HavilahTower
lent her voice to the Capital Area Food Bank in Texas:
Filmmakers like
CassieJaye
and
nsmith345
powerfully depicted the faces of American citizens being helped by their local food pantries, while vlogger Shawn Ahmed went inside the L.A. Regional Food Bank to demonstrate exactly how they provide support to the Los Angeles community:
To view all Video Volunteer submissions for this month, please visit
www.youtube.com/videovolunteers
. And be sure to check the channel again next week when we kick off another Video Volunteers round, focusing on human rights, with curator Morgan Freeman.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism, recently watched "
Charter for Compassion
"
Giving Thanks
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Last week,
ABC News
' Good Morning America
asked you
to share videos about what you're thankful for. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, many of you have
answered their call
and
invited others
on YouTube to create their own "
thankful for" lists
.
You're thankful for lots of stuff, including your
families
, your
good health
, and the
everyday things
in your life that often go unnoticed. Some of you even shared deeply
personal stories
about why you're grateful.
We're running a special spotlight on the homepage today to showcase some of these videos, and this morning, Good Morning America featured a selection on television in honor of today's holiday. Take a look
here
.
Happy Holidays -- with thanks.
Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched
"Thankful'" sung by 'SAT'
Alicia Keys Live! on YouTube
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
If you were one of the millions who tuned in to watch U2 perform
live
on YouTube last month or if you just love music, you should put this in your calendar: On December 1, R&B superstar
Alicia
Keys
will be performing at an intimate theater in New York City in honor of World AIDS Day. We'll be
live
-streaming the event worldwide and encouraging viewers to donate to
Alicia
's charity of choice,
Keep a Child Alive
.
Here's
Alicia
's special message about the concert and what it hopes to achieve:
This show, presented by American Express, will start at 8 p.m.
(ET)
on Tuesday, December 1. Tune in
here
t
o watch
Alicia
live
and help raise funds for children with HIV/AIDS.
Michele Flannery, Music Manager, recently watched
"Song of Mable" by Matryomin Ensemble Mable
Iraqi Government on YouTube
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Governments, heads of state, and leaders from around the world are on YouTube, including
the Pope
, the
Royal Famil
y, and
Queen Rania
, and presidents from the
United States
to
France
,
South Korea
to
Estonia
. Today we're especially pleased to announce that the Iraqi Government has launched a dedicated YouTube channel, at
youtube.com/iraqigov
. Learn more from Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki:
Earlier this year, I visited Baghdad as a guest of the U.S. State Department to engage in conversations about the role of technology in Iraq. In discussions with elected officials, private companies and NGOs, I routinely heard the desire to connect with fellow citizens, Iraqis outside the country's borders, and cultures across the world. But it wasn't just the Iraqi Government who expressed an interest in YouTube — I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of awareness from a wide variety of Iraqis. One young student told us she uses YouTube to understand what is really happening in her country based on the variety of opinions, citizen journalism and news reports uploaded to the site. There was little difference between her examples and those we often hear in other countries, which speaks to both the global community on YouTube and the universality of the video experience.
Just this past week, our CEO Eric Schmidt traveled to Iraq to meet with government officials there about the challenge and opportunities they face. While in Iraq, Eric shot this video for
Citizentube
:
We hope that by launching on YouTube, the Iraqi Government and their citizens will also find it easy to use YouTube to engage in such conversations, and bring their proceedings, policies and ideas to a larger audience around the world.
Hunter Walk, Director of Product Management
From Bacon-Infused Drinks to Saving Money -- What *Can't* You Learn on YouTube?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ninety days ago, we started Tweeting a how-to video each day, to showcase the near-infinite amount of knowledge that exists on YouTube. From
high
to
low
,
life-saving
to
life-enhancing
, there's likely to be a video about it on YouTube (see the list of tweets so far below).
Starting today, we'll count down 10 of the most popular how-to videos of all time.
Follow us on Twitter
to find out what they are or just to remember some true classics. Hint: one of them employs an onion in a very unusual way.
In addition, we're looking for users with specific areas of expertise -- for example, you make excellent cooking videos or you've fashioned yourself to be the "Dear Abby" of the YouTube generation -- to make tutorial videos, co-host Webinars, and/or guest
blog
in our
Creator's Corner
, a hub for new uploaders. Leave a comment with your channel name below if you're interested in participating.
Otherwise, get clicking and learn something new!
How to print your own T-shirt:
http://bit.ly/159Hpi
How to speed read:
http://bit.ly/2FRRi
How to look like @
ladygaga
:
http://bit.ly/Rb9pv
How to tie a tie:
http://bit.ly/JXHZo
How to make fresh pasta:
http://bit.ly/TeKAS
How to make fire without matches or a lighter:
http://bit.ly/pSyZw
How to open a beer with a pen:
http://bit.ly/2usCi1
How to knit
:
http://bit.ly/16oQBg
How to cut your own bangs:
http://bit.ly/Ib3pq
How to make ice cream in a bag (preschool edition):
http://bit.ly/X8s65
How to do a banana kick:
http://bit.ly/1JJT0f
How to count to 20 in Japanese:
http://bit.ly/4gCv3q
How to peel a melon:
http://bit.ly/BmXlB
How to get better mileage:
http://bit.ly/2zdzm
How to create perfect red lips:
http://bit.ly/15sezH
How to escape from handcuffs:
http://bit.ly/jHQPr
How to flirt like a pro:
http://bit.ly/2Rv5Zm
How to surf:
http://bit.ly/Ga8Dk
How to train your dog to stay:
http://bit.ly/xJWUb
How to make a bacon-infused cocktail:
http://bit.ly/mameg
How to build your self confidence:
http://bit.ly/dwZpZ
How to beat writer's block:
http://bit.ly/3x5kek
How to be funny on a first date:
http://bit.ly/m8Dvx
How to be a DJ:
http://bit.ly/cfEj4
How to make mac & cheese, mmm:
http://bit.ly/Ov8tC
How to use gel liner:
http://bit.ly/TrMRD
How to give a presentation:
http://bit.ly/12ny4U
How to make a how to video:
http://bit.ly/6SKe8
How to do the Windmill:
http://bit.ly/RdWO9
How to get watermelon nails:
http://bit.ly/czp8n
How to shoot penalty kicks:
http://bit.ly/5qREA
How to wrap a gift professionally:
http://bit.ly/LhEpU
How to make your own bicycle crank:
http://bit.ly/10fe45
How to make chicken biryani:
http://bit.ly/4hqV9R
How to make wine:
http://bit.ly/tdafs
How to draw a "realistic" manga face:
http://bit.ly/108hUx
How to understand integrals:
http://bit.ly/Bzc6B
How to look sharp for a job interview:
http://bit.ly/hksI0
How to play violin - lesson one:
http://bit.ly/2DnJDh
How to properly chop vegetables:
http://bit.ly/1dq9I4
How to make a camisole in one minute:
http://bit.ly/rLNCx
How to grow strawberries indoors:
http://bit.ly/Mo5bz
How to shave:
http://bit.ly/3kv7IE
How to crack a coconut:
http://bit.ly/3XTfvw
How to buy a house:
http://bit.ly/RSVng
How to make Rigatoni Carbonara:
http://bit.ly/MsK57
How to make a BristleBot:
http://bit.ly/unPlZ
How to do makeup for small eyes:
http://bit.ly/1McfOw
How to make a custom beer pong table:
http://bit.ly/1D5n2i
How to fuse plastic grocery bags into a reusable shopping bag:
http://bit.ly/1eS6zf
How to fold a fitted sheet:
http://bit.ly/4kxbJI
How to save money:
http://bit.ly/3sd0u6
How to improve your memory:
http://bit.ly/eCILa
How to sew a dress:
http://bit.ly/13xkKx
How to backflip:
http://bit.ly/1Awqto
How to curl hair:
http://bit.ly/WpwdS
How to recycle beer bottles with limes:
http://bit.ly/1z8yM8
How to hem pants:
http://bit.ly/k7sW3
How to make a green screen:
http://bit.ly/pPtJW
How to polish shoes:
http://bit.ly/45dXNu
How to repair a bicycle puncture:
http://bit.ly/ocqzX
How to make kimchi:
http://bit.ly/3kFvLs
How to recycle used computers
http://bit.ly/3SkN6a
How to make veggie sushi:
http://bit.ly/oE6tZ
How to record better webcam videos:
http://bit.ly/2rbn5E
How to speak French - meeting and greeting:
http://bit.ly/OTfiU
How to make a "Where the Wild Things Are" Halloween costume:
http://bit.ly/28qjv1
How to do yoga:
http://bit.ly/1cGeeW
How to cook Cola BBQ pork chops:
http://bit.ly/3eWonX
How to deliver a baby in an emergency:
http://bit.ly/469fc5
How to melt away pounds:
http://bit.ly/2BW8BE
How to wear different types of scarves:
http://bit.ly/2sGH8s
How to Casper:
http://bit.ly/1WwYHI
How to fold origami:
http://bit.ly/1Q9T84
How to do self-defense when confronted with a gun:
http://bit.ly/2l47Fz
How to make a camisole in one minute:
http://bit.ly/rLNCx
How to make ramen noodles:
http://bit.ly/16JKhC
How to care for a pet shark:
http://bit.ly/1is544
How to apply fake eyelashes:
http://bit.ly/2AvRV3
How to make a card:
http://bit.ly/2M8YaO
How to make simple, delicious compound butters:
http://bit.ly/Q2USo
How to dye your clothes:
http://bit.ly/4nkbEZ
How to transform a boring school uniform:
http://bit.ly/49P2I5
How to plant a vegetable garden in 30 minutes:
http://bit.ly/1qdPEn
How to solder copper pipe:
http://bit.ly/3Fsit2
How to make an upholstered headboard:
http://bit.ly/iCh9a
How to dress appropriately (according to Tim Gunn):
http://bit.ly/2Jjiux
How to make sage risotto (as taught by a kid):
http://bit.ly/27jyEd
Sadia Harper, Howto & Style Manager, recently watched
"How to find your bra size."
UPDATE (12/2):
The final stretch:
How to hand-wash your delicates:
http://bit.ly/6D3c9j
How to peel a potato:
http://bit.ly/6cTG2O
via Dawn Wells, aka Mary Ann on Gillian's Island
How to look like @
ladygaga
:
http://bit.ly/Rb9pv
How to create desktop virtual reality displays using the Wii remote:
http://bit.ly/8bKaea
How to charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion:
http://bit.ly/7aAFEU
How to get six-pack abs:
http://bit.ly/7BJIPH
How to fake abs:
http://bit.ly/65kAQr
How to kiss with passion:
http://bit.ly/7Bs3GS
How to solve a Rubik's Cube:
http://bit.ly/71lB1X
How to moon walk like Michael Jackson:
http://bit.ly/5AhE48
The most popular how-to video of all time? How to Crank That by
@souljaboy
:
http://bit.ly/5D2bb6
44M+ views
Innovation in accessibility
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Creating captions for your videos on YouTube becomes much
easier
today, thanks to automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology.
Auto-Timing:
Upload a transcript (a simple file with the text of what's said in the video), and through speech recognition technology we'll turn it into synchronized captions. Timing is the toughest part of creating captions, but now this should be much easier. The technology works best for videos with good sound quality and clear spoken English.
Auto-Captions:
We use the same speech recognition technology to create machine-generated captions (which can then be
translated into 51 languages
). You can see auto-caps in action right now on a range of educational channels, such as
UC Berkeley
,
Stanford
,
MIT
,
Yale
,
UCLA
,
Duke
,
UCTV
,
Columbia
,
PBS
,
National Geographic
,
Demand Media
,
UNSW
and most
Google
channels, including
YouTube
's. Click on the menu button at the bottom right of the video player, then click CC and the arrow to its left, then click the new "Transcribe Audio" button. In time, we hope to expand this feature for many more YouTube videos.
Auto-caps is a continued step towards YouTube's goal of making video accessible everywhere (web, mobile, TV) and to everyone (other countries, languages, alternative access modes). It's also an example of using technology to enhance the video experience. For more details, please check
this post
on the Google Blog.
To learn more about how to use auto-caps and auto-timing, check out our
help center article
and this short video:
Hiroto Tokusei, Senior Product Manager, recently watched "
(HD) 夜のゆりかもめ（新橋→豊洲） 01
."
Update (11/29):
On November 24, we posted a full-length video of this feature's announcement event in Washington, D.C. We have included English captions using the new auto-timing capabilities:
Hub for parents launches
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
YouTube and Kodak have teamed up to launch
For Mom
, a robust resource for anyone raising children today. The videos housed on this channel cover everything from cooking and parenting tips, to the best toys and games for kids, to easy ways to maintain your own health and beauty routine. There are even responses to some of life’s most difficult questions, like how much to pay the tooth fairy:
Browse through
For Mom
(and come back often!) for more videos from YouTube partners who know a thing or two about parenting, including
Better
,
Parents TV
,
Lifetime
and
popular mommy bloggers
who expertly find humor in what's often called the hardest job on earth.
Sadia Harper, Howto & Style Manager, recently watched
"Things My Kids Will Never Know."
Curator of the Month: Michael Wesch
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Anthropology professor Michael Wesch has the awesome job of studying YouTube and thinking about what it all means. We asked him to curate
a playlist
of his favorite videos, and he came back with an impressive list of clips that exemplify how the "wonderfully playful participatory culture" you've created manifests itself on YouTube. Four of those videos are on our
homepage
today, but he also wrote this thoughtful blog post to accompany his picks. Reading it, you'll get a sense of how a single video or person can create a ripple that swells into something so much bigger than ourselves.
What I love about online video is the way that it has allowed more people to join a global conversation. Television was a medium whose content was controlled by the few and made for the masses. It created a one-way conversation, and you had to be on TV to get your turn. We have all been excluded from that conversation for so long, it is no wonder that so many people are now jumping in (over 1 million videos uploaded online every day by my count).
One of my first favorites was Gary Brolsma's "
Numa Numa dance,"
which he posted on Newgrounds.com in late 2004. When YouTube came along a few months later and made it so much easier for people to upload videos, thousands of people joined the dance. A search for "Numa Numa" now brings up over 125,000 videos, most of which are people doing their own rendition of the now-famous dance. And it is still going. [Recently],
Brolsma led the Michigan State Band
(and the whole stadium) doing the "Numa Numa."
There is a wonderfully playful participatory culture popping up all over the online video landscape.
A few days ago, I was having lunch with a guy who told me that he and his kids (ages 2 and 6) were working on their own rendition of
blinktwice4y's YouTube hit "Mario Kart Love Song"
. When they are done, they will join hundreds of others who have also created their own rendition. And if you love participatory culture as much as I do, you might just find the more obscure ones to be the most entertaining (like
matrock records jamming it out Brady Bunch style
) and sometimes heartwarming (don't you just love
these kids playing it live
? Or how 'bout these
young kids acting out the video
? You just know they will be watching this with the tears rolling and hearts warming in 30 years. Or even
this wedding serenade
).
And speaking of weddings, almost everybody saw the
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
, but the remixes and remakes are a real treat. There is of course the
"Divorce Dance,"
the live remakes at weddings everywhere (here's
one from Spain
) and even
babies are getting in on it
.
Or remember how OK Go made their career with that
amazing treadmill dance
? But what could be cooler than doing it
live at your high school
in front of all your friends? Of course, Granbury High was not the only remake. There are
hundreds
, yes, hundreds of groups of high school kids who somehow wrangled together several working treadmills, rolled them into high school auditoriums all over the world, and did their thing.
Undoubtedly, some people performing on YouTube are hoping to be the next Esmee Denters. It wasn't so long ago that Esmee was just a young girl singing (beautifully) in front of a
crappy webcam
-- until one day she was singing a Justin Timberlake song in front of a slightly better camera, which slowly panned right to reveal that none other than Justin Timberlake himself was in the room, and that
he had just signed her
to a record deal.
There's still a lot of unsigned talent out there, like
Megan Tonjes
or
mandyvbats
, who was brought to my attention by the absolutely amazing work of
Kutiman
, a musician who brought together snippets of YouTube artists from all over the world, working in so many genres, to create such beautiful music (which to me is the
real
YouTube orchestra).
But my favorite online video moments are those where the participatory culture spills out into the real world. There is probably no better example than the
Free Hugs movement
. Now three years old, it is still going, and it's global. But of course it wouldn't be participatory culture without the clever parody, which Greg Benson of mediocrefilms performed brilliantly by offering his
"Deluxe Hugs"
for $2.
The tools for such clever commentary and remixing are always growing, and several of my new favorites are coming from the creative uses of Auto-Tune. The Gregory Brothers have really mastered this with their
Autotune the News series
.
Melodysheep is now bringing his amazing talents to set the beautiful insights of the best scientists of recent years (like
Carl Sagan
) to some moving music.
So much of this creativity relies on the freedom to remix and build on the material created by others, a freedom that's constantly being challenged. Which brings me to one of my more serious recommendations:
Brett Gaylor's RIP: A Remix Manifesto
. Or for a wonderfully artistic statement within the same theme, one of the most amazing videos on all of YouTube is
Us by Blimvisible
.
My favorite video of all time still remains
MadV's "The Message."
It comes from the early days of YouTube, when so many of us were still just amazed that we could reach out to millions of people through our webcams. MadV invited us to write a message for the world on our hands. The resulting compilation may just become one of those iconic videos that our descendants hundreds of years might look back on and say, "So this is what they had to say when they first wired up all those computers and cameras throughout the world..." He's now doing an
HD version
if you want to join in.
If you are interested in how we try to make sense of all of this in anthropological terms, check out
"An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube
," where my students and I discuss many of these videos and a whole bunch more:
Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Kansas State University
Connecting citizens and journalists with YouTube Direct
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Every day, people with video cameras are changing the ways we get our news. We see it during
elections
. We see it during
earthquakes
,
fires
and other
natural disasters
. We see it on our
freeways
, in our
schools
and in our
public spaces
. Almost any event that takes place today has a chance of being captured on camera. As YouTube has become a global platform for sharing the news, media organizations have been looking for a good way to connect directly with citizen reporters on our site so they can broadcast this footage and bring it to a larger audience.
That's why we created
YouTube Direct
, a new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users. Built from our APIs, this open source application lets media organizations enable customized versions of YouTube's upload platform on their own websites. Users can upload videos directly into this application, which also enables the hosting organization to easily review video submissions and select the best ones to broadcast on-air and on their websites. As always, these videos also live on YouTube, so users can reach their own audience while also getting broader exposure and editorial validation for the videos they create.
Though we built YouTube Direct to help news organizations expand their coverage and connect directly with their audiences, the application is designed to meet any organization's goal of leveraging video content submitted by the community. Businesses can use YouTube Direct to solicit promotional videos, nonprofits can use the application to call-out for support videos around social campaigns and politicians can use the platform to ask for user-generated political commercials. The opportunities to use the tool are as broad as the media spectrum itself.
Already, we've seen
ABC News
, the
Huffington Post
,
NPR
,
Politico
, the
San Francisco Chronicle
, the
Washington Post
, and
WHDH-TV/WLVI-TV
in Boston using YouTube Direct. We look forward to seeing many more organizations to do the same.
To get started, visit
youtube.com/direct
.
Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched "
The WonderScope Challenge
"
"Holiday Solutions" channel debuts
Monday, November 16, 2009
It's getting to be that time of year again, when hosting dinners, attending parties, and finding the perfect gifts are top of mind. To help you navigate through it all, we're partnering with Target to bring you a channel full of videos from YouTube partners who know how to master every element of the holiday season. The channel is called
Holiday Solutions
and on it you'll find videos about seasonal cooking, party planning and creative gift ideas. For example, here are a few melt-in-your-mouth recipes:
In fact,
Food Network
chef Alton Brown is taking your questions now about Thanksgiving recipes and will answer a handful in a special video series next week.
Submit your query in the comments portion of the Holiday Solutions channel
and stay tuned for Brown's responses.
Sadia Harper, Howto & Style Manager, recently watched "
Cooking the Perfect Turkey
"
1080p HD Is Coming to YouTube
Thursday, November 12, 2009
We're excited to say that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full resolution is on its way. Starting next week, YouTube's HD mode will add support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today.
As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience.
Just how much larger is 1080p? Take a look at the following screenshots from
this video
:
Standard - 360p
HQ - 480p
HD - 720p
HD - 1080p
Have an HD camera? We would love to see your awesome 1080p videos! Be creative and choose subjects that really show off the beauty of your camera. We will run the best examples on our homepage in a future spotlight.
And those of you who have already uploaded in 1080p, don't worry. We're in the process of re-encoding your videos so we can show them the way you intended.
Billy Biggs, Software Engineer, recently watched
"Toy Story 3 - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]."
How We Think About Social
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Social features like commenting, rating, video responses and even just emailing or IMing a video's link have always been a part of the YouTube experience. So that's why we spend a lot of time here thinking about how to make the site an even more social place. We're especially focused on wanting to make it as easy as possible for you to find the people you know on YouTube and to follow their activity (what videos are they rating? favoriting? commenting on?) by subscribing to their channel; it's a great way to stay up on what they're into as well as discover new content yourself. As you consume these videos and start sharing your own
,
you in turn "feed"
your
friends a tasty helping of video goodness. It breaks into this virtuous distribution cycle:
As we've built these tools directly into YouTube itself, with things like
friend suggestions based on your Gmail address book
and
connecting your YouTube account to social networks
via our
AutoShare feature
, we've started to see people becoming even more social. Some of this activity is hard to quantify -- every day millions of YouTube links are sent via email, IM, Twitter and other communication methods --
but we can tell you that:
Over one million people are AutoSharing videos to Twitter, Facebook and Google Reader
Each AutoShared Tweet you send out from YouTube turns into an average of seven new sessions on YouTube.com
Over a million people have found and subscribed to at least one friend on YouTube based on our Friend Suggest feature
Most Tweeted video yesterday?
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
More than one million new subscriptions are created every day
We hope these numbers will only rise as we focus on giving you the tools you need to connect with the people who matter most to you. In the process, expect to be entertained and informed by the videos circulating amongst your most trusted friends, subscribers and networks. You can get started today by ensuring that you're discoverable on YouTube (click
here
and check off "Let others find my channel on YouTube if they have my email address") and by connecting your account to your external networks via AutoShare (click
here
to set that up).
What do you think "social" on YouTube means, and where would you like to see it go? Leave a comment below.
Brian Glick, Product Manager, recently watched
"
Michael Jackson - Beat It,"
and James Phillips, Software Engineer, recently watched
"
New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less."
YouTube Salutes Vets and Their Supporters
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Today, we're shining the spotlight on the men and women who have bravely served -- and are presently serving -- in all branches of the U.S. military. Video has become a vital tool for current soldiers who are trying to
communicate their wartime experience
to the public and for older veterans who want to share their stories from past battles, like Lewis Bennett, the youngest member of the 84th District in World War II:
In addition, on the homepage, we're featuring content from those institutions and organizations that provide much-needed support to veterans. For example, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has
created a social network
specifically for veterans and their families, while UCLA provides an adaptive sports therapy program for injured soldiers from the U.S. Army, including a regiment of rock climbing, wheelchair basketball, and table tennis. Here's a preview:
To see more video content from soldiers and veterans, please visit
www.youtube.com/veterans
.
Ramya Raghavan, YouTube Nonprofits & Activism, recently watched "
Interview: Army Sgt. Valdez"
We're Hiring Engineers!
Monday, November 9, 2009
A billion
video views per day.
Twenty hours of video
uploaded every minute.
Social and political impact
.
The latest in pop culture
. Second only to Google in search traffic. YouTube is constantly evolving and finding the right talent to go on this journey with us is of paramount importance. Think you have what it takes to join the ranks?
We're especially interested in recruiting top engineers. In return for your mean coding skills, we offer a dynamic environment that fosters openness, creative freedom, and a ton of interesting problems to be solved. "I'd compare it to working on an open source project with friends; people want to know what you're working on, have advice and help out however they can," says Phil, an engineer who's been with YouTube for 1 1/2 years. A typical day might entail intra-cube technical collaborations, tech talks, team lunches and "Don't bother me, I'm coding" sessions. There's also the leeway to work on
projects you're passionate about
, great perks and, ahem, a bunch of awesome people who work hard but also love to have
fun
.
Check out our listings and apply today!
Fred Soriano, Recruiter, recently watched
"Archon Defender."
Last Chance for "Bram Stoker's Dracula"
Monday, November 9, 2009
Update (9pm PT):
Unfortunately, this viewing party had to be canceled. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Update (6pm PT):
We're experiencing a technical glitch in the Screening Room, so we'll be pushing the viewing party back 1 hour to 7pm PT. See you there!
+++++++
Tonight is your last chance to watch "
Bram Stoker's Dracula
" on YouTube, and your only chance to watch it with other vampire lovers from around the United States.
Join us in the
YouTube Screening Room
at 6pm PST for a live viewing party. To the right of the player, you'll see a Twitter feed collecting real-time tweets from other fans watching the film. If you want to contribute to the conversation, just login to your Twitter account through the gadget and send your tweets, being sure to use the default hashtag, #screeningroom.
We'll be there, along with our friends at Crackle, reacting to your thoughts and dropping a few of our own.
Remember to subscribe to
Crackle's YouTube channel
to stay on top of new feature-length movies coming to YouTube.
See you at the party - we'll be "stoked" to have you...
Nate Weinstein, YouTube Entertainment, recently watched
"SpatSolver."
Android 2.0 Introduces Improvements for Mobile Video
Friday, November 6, 2009
Earlier this year, we revealed the
rapid growth in mobile video uploads to YouTube
, largely spurred by the launch of powerful devices (like the iPhone 3GS and increasing Android adoption).
Uploading and sharing mobile videos on YouTube are getting kicked up another notch with today's launch of the
Verizon Droid by Motorola
. The Droid is the first device to run the latest version of Android (version 2.0) and introduces some remarkable improvements:
DVD quality recording and easier sharing:
It is now possible to shoot DVD-quality videos and upload them to YouTube with a single flick of a finger. Droid is the first Android powered phone with DVD-quality recording, and it offers the ability to add effects like sepia, solarization and red tint to your videos. In addition, the new YouTube widget gives single-tap access to recording and sharing capabilities right from the home screen, making it even easier to broadcast those special moments or sights, or even silly ones like this video exploring six ways to have a fruitful finish to a lunch meeting:
It's more like the YouTube you're used to:
The controls on the new YouTube application on Android 2.0 now have a look and feel that's much more like the YouTube desktop experience. We've also added the ability to manage personal subscriptions in 'My Account,' and so now, with the ability to search, share, rate, comment and of course view videos, the on-the-go YouTube experience is closer to the one you're used to on your computer.
High quality playback and brilliant screen:
The Droid by Motorola has a brilliant 3.7 inch screen with noticeably high resolution and crisp colors: 854x480 pixels with 16M colors. The YouTube App on Android 2.0 plays videos in HQ automatically when you are on wifi, bringing the best possible YouTube watching experience to a mobile device. And if you are out of wifi range, you can still watch videos in HQ by selecting "Menu -> More -> Watch in high quality."
Happy watching, recording and sharing -- if you like, include links to your best Android-filmed videos below. We'd love to see the creativity that springs forth from this technology.
Jonathan Matus, Android Lead Product Marketing Manager, recently watched
"Stealth Bomber."
Funny or Die Joins YouTube
Thursday, November 5, 2009
We're happy to welcome a comedy legend to YouTube today, as Will Ferrell's comedy think-tank
Funny or Die
joins YouTube as a partner. YouTube viewers around the world will now have access to a collection of Funny or Die classics, plus a steady stream of new videos being uploaded each week.
As comedy fans know, Funny or Die works with some of Hollywood's top comedic talent to create a trademark blend of humor, celebrity and web originals.
Jack Black
,
Natalie Portman
and
Lindsay Lohan
are just a few of the famous names you can catch in hilarious Funny or Die sketches, and you never know who will show up next.
To celebrate this new partnership, Will Ferrell has selected his favorite Funny or Die clips for the spotlight on today's
YouTube homepage
. Here's a message from the man himself, and his Funny or Die co-creator Adam McKay :
Thanks, Will and Adam! So if you want to keep up with all things funny, "subscribe or die" to Funny or Die's
new YouTube channel
.
George Strompolos, Strategic Partnerships, recently watched
"BAT FIGHT with Will Ferrell."
Help the Hungry This Thanksgiving
Monday, November 2, 2009
On World Food Day,
we asked you
to donate to feed the billion hungry people in the world and your response was incredible: over 140,000 children got meals because of you. Thank you.
Now, we're looking at the facts close to home: one in eight Americans don't have enough food to eat, a fact that becomes even harder to digest at this time of year, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, a celebration of food and family.
Through
Video Volunteers
, we're hoping you can make a video for any nonprofit tackling the issue of hunger in America. You could
create a video
profiling the work your local food bank is doing or even volunteer to serve a meal at a shelter and record your experience. Hear more from David Arquette, our guest curator for this month's edition of Video Volunteers:
The top three videos submitted on the
YouTube Video Volunteers channel
will be featured on the YouTube homepage around Thanksgiving, alongside a video from our partner in this effort, Feeding America. Videos must be submitted by November 21 for consideration.
Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism, recently favorited "
Raising Malawi with Madonna.
"
Can You Beat Michael Phelps?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Face facts: in a swimming race against 14-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, you'd have no chance whatsoever...but you may be able to beat him in speed putting! If you can make more than 12 five-foot putts in a minute, you'll have bragging rights forever:
This is "
The Best of Us Challenge
," presented by the International Olympic Committee, where Olympic athletes challenge the YouTube community to compete in some truly unique events. For example, you can challenge American Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson by
tapping-your-ears-while-doing-a-handstand
. (FYI: she did it 54 times in 30 seconds.) Or take on one of the world's fastest men, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, who
balanced a stick on his foot
for two minutes and 30 seconds. Six-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal
picked up 24 tennis balls
in 30 seconds (making great use of his groin area) — how many can you get?
If you've got the moxie to best these world class athletes, check out the
The Best of Us Challenge channel
on YouTube to learn how to submit your video. Prizes include a trip for two to the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in February 2010 and a trip for two to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August 2010, as well as T-shirts, video games and posters. Submissions end on Sunday, November 15, so whatever your skill is — putting, hand-standing, hula-hooping, etc. — get out there and show the world your best.
Andrew Bangs, YouTube Sports, recently watched
"Tiger Woods Golf Swing in Slow Motion"
Labels
3D
4k
accessibility
account info
activism
ads
africa
annotations
arts
awards
benefit
betas
bizblog
blogs
bulletins
buzz
captions
celebrity playlists
channels
chrome
citizen journalism
citizen reporting
citizentube
comedy
comments
community
community guidelines
contests
creator's corner
creators
curators
customization
dance
design
discovery
doodle
editor
education
embeds
entertainment
events
facebook
film
flagging
gaming
gmail
google
google tv
government
grants
groups
guidelines
hd
help center
holidays
homepage
howto
inspiration
investment
jobs
journalism
life in a day
live stream
marketing
meetups
mobile
moderator
movies
music
musicians wanted
news
nonprofits
open-source
partners
playlists
policy
politics
privacy
product update
quicklist
ratings
rentals
research
safety
science and technology
screening room
search
sharing
shows
social networks
sports
staff
stats and data
store
subscriptions
tags
test tube
travel
trends
tv
twitter
upload
vevo
video editing
video production
video volunteers
viral video
youtube api
youtube direct
Archive
2020
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2006
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2005
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Feed
Follow @youtube
Follow
Learn more in the
YouTube Help Center
.
Follow