Official Blog
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.
"
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