Update 12/10: The team that designed and built the recent YouTube update will answer your questions in a Hangout on Air Thursday 12/13 at 4pm PT on the YouTube channel. To ask a question, submit it here before Noon PT on Thursday 12/13. If you can’t make that, we’ll also hold a Reddit “Ask me Anything” on Monday 12/17 starting at 1pm PT to answer your questions.
Those of you who use YouTube most have learned the secret to making it even better—find the channels you love and subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. Last year we began to make it easier to subscribe to the channels you care about by introducing a Guide on the home page. When you add subscriptions to your Guide, you organize YouTube around what you like, available whenever you watch YouTube. Today, we’re taking the next step by bringing your subscription-filled Guide with you across both the site and all devices, as your best source of what to watch on YouTube.
Your Guide to YouTube
Just subscribe to your favorite channels and the Guide lets you know when there are new videos waiting for you to enjoy, suggests the latest and greatest channels you might like, and shows you what your friends are sharing across the web. You’ll also find the Guide and your subscriptions on apps across hundreds of millions of devices including Android, iPhone, Playstation 3, Google TV and more.
A cleaner, simpler look
You come to YouTube to watch the videos you care about, so it’s important that the videos stand out. In this new layout, you’ll find the most crucial elements are front and center when you watch a video: the video is right at the top of the page and the subscribe button, social actions and video information are all combined directly below the player. Playlists are now available to the right of the video so you can browse through while you watch. You’ll also see this cleaner and simpler design across the entire site.
Your feedback matters
We’d love to get your feedback on these updates, so we’ll be hosting a Google+ Hangout on Air and a Reddit IAmA in the coming weeks--stay tuned here for details. If you’re a YouTube creator, you can learn more about these updates on our YouTube Creator Blog.
Josh Sassoon, Senior Unicorn eXperience Designer, recently watched “Hipster Thanksgiving” and Alex Nicksay, Staff Engineer, recently watched “Crystalfilm.”
Since the launch of the first YouTube NextUp program, a competition that we ran to help creators succeed back in 2011, we’ve helped turbocharge the careers of over 215 YouTube creators in 15 different countries. Today we’re re-launching YouTube NextUp for video creators in the United States: we’re looking for passionate, motivated YouTube creators who want to collaborate. To enter? Find another creator you’d like to partner with, and tell us what you’d like to film together.
If you’re selected as one of the top 30 channels, you will receive:
$3,000 to help you make your video dreams a reality
$4,000 of production equipment to up-level your skills
Two one week-long Creator Camps at the brand-new YouTube Space LA in January and March 2013 to film your collaboration and to learn some more tips and tricks of the trade.
You can apply through our program site: applications are due December 27, 2012.
Venture into an apocalyptic future where the human race is hardwired to the Internet and a virus has entered the system with H+ The Digital Series. Or watch Julia Stiles in Blue, the story of a single mom trying to evade her past and protect her son from a secret she’ll do anything to keep.
In the mood for some comedy? What's funnier than a kid's wild imagination? Watch these tales come to life in hilarious live-action and animated shorts on Written by a Kid. Or indulge your ironically-pop-loving side as The Key of Awesome makes a mockery of hipsters and hobbits alike with music videos, fake movie trailers and other ridiculous sketches.
When you’re ready to enlighten yourself, join John Green with his quirky, fast-paced and entertaining teaching style for a Crash Course on The Fall of Rome, The Dark Ages and The Mongol Empire.
Bringing YouTube aboard Virgin America is part of a larger effort to bring you more of the videos you love, at heights you’ve never seen them before. Sample these great series on your flight, and then visit YouTube to enjoy the full seasons. New series and shows will become available every two months.
So pack up your 3 oz containers, fasten your seatbelt, and join YouTube and Virgin America 35,000 feet in the air. Happy flying!
You love watching YouTube on the go—in fact—more than 25 percent of all YouTube watching happens on mobile. This past September you got the YouTube app for iPhone and iPod touch to make it easier to find and share the videos and channels you love on YouTube, and you made us the #1 free app in the App Store for two months. Since then, we’ve been hard at work to improve the app based on your feedback.
Just in time for the holidays, now you can download or update the YouTube app with a look designed for the iPad and iPhone 5, enhanced AirPlay support, videos that start faster and play more smoothly, and improved accessibility with VoiceOver. Enjoy Tastemade on iPad in full screen glory, or hours of flipping through Ryan Higa videos on your iPhone 5 or iPod touch.
Please keep giving us feedback on features you’d like to see so we can keep making it better. In the meantime, we’ll be kicking back with some egg nog and a holiday favorite on our iPad.
More than 34 million people around the globe are living with HIV but only half of those eligible for life-saving treatment receive it. Today, on World AIDS Day, many organizations are using social media to convey the personal stories of those fighting to end the disease. We asked Jeff Davidoff, Chief Marketing Officer of One.org, about their new people-powered campaign, “my story. our fight.”
1. Why did you make video a core component if the "my story. our fight." campaign?
ONE is all about the power of voice. As we often say, "we're not asking for you money we're asking for you voice." And while it's true that your voice alone may struggle to be heard or make a difference, we have concrete proof that our voices together are impossible to ignore. Our over three million members around the world prove this time and again. The inspiration for this particular campaign was to get at why people are involved — the personal stories and experiences they have that changed their lives, and committed them to getting off the couch and doing some real good in the world. To us, video was the obvious solution to bring these unique stories to life in a way that people can experience them, share them, be inspired by them and make their own commitment to action because of them.
2. You empowered people to share their messages and experiences. How did you encourage them to promote the campaign's goals while still allowing the campaign to feel organic and authentic?
Great question. Authenticity is really at the heart of this idea. And the answer is simple: don't write scripts. Instead, just ask people to share their own stories, and really push them to open up and be personal. I remember asking Cleve Jones, "Do you have a particular experience or memory that got you started on the path of AIDS activism?" And he said, "Absolutely." I said, "Great why don't you sit at my computer and share it?" And as he shared his beautiful and very personal story right in front of me, I knew we were onto something.
3. What actions are you asking viewers to take and how are you measuring the success of these videos?
We're using the call to action: "Watch one. Share one. Join ONE." We want people to be inspired by the stories we've curated, share them with their friends and, most importantly, take action by signing our petition to protect funding for lifesaving AIDS programs. There's a lot of talk now in America about the "fiscal cliff." This can seem like a vague and distant idea. Let's put it in concrete terms: if an agreement is not reached, and cuts to life-saving programs goes into a effect, real lives will be lost. These aren't numbers, these are people. That's why we're in the fight, and that's why we're hoping more people will join us.
4. Did you promote the campaign videos outside of YouTube as well? How do you think about distribution and helping the videos find their audience?
We're aggressively promoting the campaign both inside and outside of YouTube, including to our over three million members around the world via email, Facebook and Twitter and asking them to share with their much larger social networks. We're also rolling out an aggressive PR strategy that matches storytellers to particular audiences — movie stars to entertainment, AIDS activists to the AIDS community, college students to other students, etc. It's less about trying to bring people to us, and more about trying to get our story embedded in already-scaled audiences.
5. What advice do you have for cause-based campaigns in how they approach using YouTube?
We've been through quite a learning curve with YouTube. In the beginning I think we had a very old-world approach by making our own videos and trying to use YouTube as a free broadcast medium. We're now much more focused on tapping into the power of existing YouTube creators, and getting them to naturally include our message in their stories to their pre-existing audiences. It's a much more authentic and contemporary use of the medium. And we're already thrilled with the results.
Special note: DANCE (RED), SAVE LIVES this weekend. Watch the livestream of Tiësto and some of the biggest names in dance music from Stereosonic, Australia's biggest dance music festival. Live at youtube.com/joinred starting at 11pm ET on Friday, and looping all weekend long.
Take eight steps back, Psy and Biebs. Another YouTube star is born today as Nefertiti, the first-ever “spidernaut” who was the key element to the winning YouTube Space Lab experiment has made it home safely and will live out the rest of her life at the Smithsonian Museum.
Nefertiti is the first jumping spider to successfully return from space and adjust to life on Earth after a 100-day stay aboard the International Space Station. “Neffi,” as she’s called by friends, will take up residence starting today at the Insect Zoo in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Courtesy of NASA. Nefertiti, the red-backed jumping spider hunting for flies inside her space flight habitat on board the International Space Station.
The jumping spider experiment was one of two winners from thousands of ideas submitted to YouTube last year with the hopes of being sent to space as part of the Space Lab competition. Relive the epic story of YouTube Space Lab below.
Captions are important to make sure everyone—including deaf, hard-of-hearing, and viewers who speak other languages—can enjoy videos on YouTube.
In 2009, you first saw a feature that automatically creates captions on YouTube videos in English, and since then we’ve added Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Today, hundreds of millions of people speaking six more languages—German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Dutch—will have automatic caption support for YouTube videos in those languages. Just click the closed caption button on any of these videos to see how it works:
Now in 10 languages, automatic captions are an important first step in the path toward high-quality captions for the 72 hours of video people upload per minute. As automatic captions will have some errors, creators also have several tools to improve the quality of their captions. Automatic captions can be a starting point, where creators can then download them for editing, or edit them in-line on YouTube. Creators can also upload plain-text transcripts in these languages, and the same technology will generate automatically-synchronized captions.
You now have around 200 million videos with automatic and human-created captions on YouTube, and we continue to add more each day to make YouTube accessible for all.
England had The Beatles. Ireland has U2. Taiwan has Mayday.
Taiwan’s Mayday (五月天) is the biggest name in Chinese rock today, with tens of millions of fans across the globe. No doubt they will be making even more fans when they perform at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California on Wednesday, November 28 at 7pm PT, and livestream it to the world on YouTube Presents and Mayday's YouTube channel.
After the concert at 8:30pm PT, Mayday will hold a Hangout with fans on Google+. To get a chance at joining this Hangout, post a question you want to ask the band with the tag #HangoutsWithMayday on Google+. Seven lucky fans will be invited to participate.
The first ever Chinese-speaking band to perform at YouTube Presents, Mayday announced their visit at Google’s office in Taipei last week, as they start their U.S. tour promoting their newest album Album No. 8 (作品8號).
Tune in to the livestream for a bit of Mayday to warm up your November, and subscribe to Mayday’s YouTube channel to get the latest videos from the group.
The new YouTube app for Nintendo Wii U brings the YouTube videos and channels you love to your living room, and with the Wii U GamePad you can quickly search for great videos to watch. From the new Super Mario Bros to music videos, there’s endless HD entertainment available to you on the YouTube app.
Nintendo's GamePad makes it fast and easy to find YouTube videos, with the GamePad touchscreen keyboard.
Take advantage of your big screen TV and enjoy YouTube HD videos in up to 1080p. When you're watching a video, you can also see all the video details on your GamePad.
Looking for something new to watch? Flip through your subscribed channels and categories like Gaming and Music.
The YouTube app for Nintendo Wii U is now available for free download from the Nintendo Wii U main menu.
Starting today, channels across YouTube will host concerts from some of the most vital musicians in the game -- and you’ve got a free ticket to watch them all live. Because we know you’re going to have to plan your schedule carefully to catch all the shows, we’ve laid ‘em out for you: when, where and how you can watch.
Saturday, November 17: Bud Light Port Paradise with Pitbull and more Pop stars in paradise? Sounds like a recipe for success to us. Watch Far East Movement, FloRida, Wiz Khalifa and Pitbull live from the Bahamas, starting at 1:30pm PT on youtube.com/budlight.
Saturday, November 17: Zac Brown Band These dudes define country cool -- they’re low-key, but they have true cred and lots of hits. Who doesn’t want to see them play Madison Square Garden? 6pm PT on youtube.com/fuse.
Sunday, November 18: American Music Awards Red Carpet For those of you who prefer music’s glam side, watch pop stars strut in all their finery before Sunday’s American Music Awards show. Word is some guy named Psy will make an appearance. Starts at 2pm PT on youtube.com/awardsshownetwork.
Monday, November 19: Rihanna The pop princess returns with a new album next week, and to celebrate, she’s doing seven shows in seven days, all over the world. Catch her London show live at 1pm PT on youtube.com/rihannalive.
Tuesday, November 20: Alicia Keys And last, but SO not least, the divine Alicia Keys will premiere her entire new album on Tuesday via a Google Hangout streamed live on youtube.com/aliciakeys. Just when you thought you couldn’t love her any more than you do.... Tune in at 4pm PT.
Designed for the big screen and Wii Remote, the new YouTube app for Nintendo Wii brings the YouTube videos and channels you love to your TV. Wii owners in the U.S. can download the app today from the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel, and we’re bringing the app to more countries in the coming months. Here’s what to expect with the new app:
Start your YouTube journey on Wii by signing in to find the channels you’re subscribed to. You can also flip through categories like Gaming, Music, trending videos and more.
Last night in Washington DC, YouTube was proud to accept the News Innovation Award from the International Center for Journalists, an organization dedicated to promoting a free, independent press around the world.
As CEO Salar Kamangar told the audience, YouTube is an unusual recipient because we are not journalists. But we are news junkies, and we know you are, too.
Fully a third of searches you do on YouTube are news-related. You share events unfolding in your backyard to bring new perspectives to breaking news. You watch live streamed events from our news partners in the millions, no matter where you are in the world. And some of you even risk everything to provide a window into global conflicts that would otherwise go unseen.
So thank you ICFJ for recognizing YouTube’s community in this way. Here is Salar accepting the award on behalf of all of you.
In our monthly On The Rise program, we identify four partners whose channels are seeing significant growth but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 subscriber mark. This month, we’re sharing with you four dedicated partners who are getting quite close to hitting that milestone so you can help give them a chance to jumpstart their audience development and channel growth. Our November nominees have already built strong follower networks by sharing their passions about fashion and beauty, VFX and cinematography, songwriting and music, and green science education.
Here’s where you come in - you actually have the chance to help push these partners even further on YouTube. Review their videos below, vote for your favorite here, and one of these candidates will have the opportunity to be featured on the YouTube homepage later this month. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner will be featured on the homepage, Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.
In past months, featured On The Rise partners like GoneToTheSnowDogs and RichardGaleFilms have gained many subscribers and seen their careers take off, in large part due to your support. This month’s poll will be open until November 20, 5pm PT, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite channel. Check back to see who secured the homepage feature on November 28.
AllThingsFabulous101 Asia gets back to basics in her videos, offering style and beauty tips and tricks for beginners. A self-described fashion and makeup lover, her channel is a great resource for a ton of easy how-tos, tutorials, and hauls.
polcan99 Simultaneously wearing hats as a director, cinematographer, and animation/video effects artist, Tom Antos has nearly 15 years of experience in the film industry. You can check out a sampling of his projects (which range from music videos to feature films to DIY projects), VFX skills, and even behind-the-scenes tutorials on polcan99, one of several channels Tom manages.
krissysings Krissy and Ericka Villongco are sisters who play and sing pop-acoustic music. This duo hails from the Philippines and released two albums in 2012 and 2009. Their channel features a variety of their covers and original songs. Check it out for some feel-good music.
GREENPOWERSCIENCE This environmentally-focused channel houses an array of educational videos about electricity, solar energy, and wind power. Dan and Denise, the creator-curators behind this project, also host live classes, but you can let your inner backyard scientist geek out and get a preview over at their channel.
If you’re interested in checking out more rising YouTube Partners, visit our On The Rise channel, which features nominees, trending partners and monthly blog winners.
Devon Storbeck and Christine Wang, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The World's Smallest Dog.”
What if you could send YouTube videos from your phone to your TV with a click of a button? It’s an idea we’ve been working on since 2010, and today we’re taking the next step.
Like a remote control, you can pause, scroll or skip to the next video with your mobile device as it plays on your TV. Since your devices are connected in the cloud, you can also do things like find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV. You can even connect multiple devices to the TV to have your friends add to the playlist.
Stay tuned to see this feature coming to more devices and screens in the future. The next evolution of TV is in your hands.
Timbo Drayson, Product Manager, recently watched all of H+ The Digital Series on his TV.
Today is the big day! For those of you in the U.S., today means any number of things -- the end of "I approve this message", an hour off from work to vote, or simply the day when the country chooses its leader for the next four years. Regardless, it’s a day we’ve all been waiting for and the suspense is almost over.
After you’ve come back from your local polling place, settle in with YouTube and watch the results come in. We’ll have live coverage on the YouTube Elections Hub starting at 7 p.m. ET, when the first polls close on the East Coast. Follow along as the votes are counted, and watch live-stream coverage from ABC News, Al Jazeera, Larry King, the New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision, and the Wall Street Journal until the next President is named.
We’ll also have a live results map featuring real-time updates from the Associated Press -- you’ll be able to visualize and interact with the Electoral College map, as well keep track of the popular vote breakdown throughout the evening.
Tomorrow, voters across the United States will head to the polls to cast their ballot in the 2012 election. Regardless of whether you’re a veteran or first-time voter, taking part in the electoral process is a powerful experience, and one that we know many of you will document in some way, just like you did in 2008.
We want to see and hear from you tomorrow. Whether you’re vlogging about which candidate you support, capturing footage of the long line at your polling place, or encouraging your friends to get out of the house and go vote, we’re inviting you to send us your Election Day videos. You can either tweet them to @YouTubePolitics or include #YouTubePolitics in the video title, and a selection will be featured on the YouTube Elections Hub.
Be sure to check your state law for guidelines about what polling place activities are allowed where you live, and consult the Citizen Media Law Project’s Documenting Your Vote project before bringing your camera to your voting location.
Congrats to Richard Gale from RichardGaleFilms, which is YouTube’s “On The Rise” spotlight partner this October. Richard’s channel is featured today on the YouTube homepage, thanks to your support and his strong channel optimization efforts.
A three-time Emmy award winner, Richard has been writing, directing, and producing films and TV shows for decades. His work spans a variety of genres including documentaries, suspense thrillers, parodies and comedy, as well as horror. Richard’s most recent project, the comedic horror short film, ‘The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon,’ has received multiple film festival awards and driven his YouTube viewership as well. The short film’s legacy lives on in a YouTube mini-series about the main character, Jack, and you'll just have to check out the channel to see how the story evolves.
Here are a few words from Richard himself:
I became a YouTube partner almost by accident--as a filmmaker making shorts for film festivals, I had a 10-minute comedy about a killer with a spoon (Horribly Slow Murderer) that had completed its festival run, and I uploaded it to hopefully give it some additional exposure. To my astonishment, the short went viral, and was seen by more people in one day than in a year of film festivals. So we expanded the story into a series, and it continues to develop a dedicated following. We are extremely grateful to all of our awesome fans and supporters, who voted for our channel and continue to enjoy our films. Thank you!!!!! We've got exciting things on the horizon, so stay spooned!
If you’ve enjoyed this monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!
I’m often asked what makes an ad great. For anyone managing a business, they will often tell me a great ad is one that drives sales for the brand. And while driving sales is usually the business objective, I think many of us would agree as consumers, that a lot of the ads we see are effective but they are not truly great and worth spreading. At times, we discover an ad that helps build the brand, helps drive sales and inspires something deeper and more meaningful in the world in which we live. One of my favorite examples right now is this ad from Coca-Cola.
Clearly, something deeper than just sales must be considered. How can you get people to truly take notice your brand? Rally a community around your ideas? How can you shape a movement that is both commercially successful and adds value to the world? In the words of TED curator Chris Anderson, how do you create ads so good that people choose to watch and share?
TED Ads Worth Spreading exists to bring clarity to these questions, and award those that transcend typical advertising by developing content with a greater purpose - ads that can spark change, raise awareness or create new ways of thinking.
For the third year, YouTube has teamed up with TED to support their Ads Worth Spreading initiative, a global search for the 10 most compelling ad campaigns of the year. The challenge reinforces TED’s overall mission of “ideas worth spreading” and YouTube’s belief in connecting brand’s ads with the people that will love them the most.
To help answer the question of what makes ads great, today TED released a report summarizing the findings from Ads Worth Spreading to date.
For some great examples of what ads can be, check out this playlist of the 10 of the winning ads from last year’s program, as well as interviews with the winners. We are very excited to be part of this program again, and look forward to sharing the 2013 winners when they are announced at the annual TED conference in February.
Throughout the 2012 election, we’ve been bringing the most important events of the political calendar to you on YouTube, no matter where you are in the world or how you’re accessing the internet. As we enter the final days of this election, people across the U.S. -- and the world -- are watching.
Live streamed on YouTube for the first time in 2012, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates of the past month were viewed live by people in 215 countries and territories around the world. In total, the four debates drew 24 million views on YouTube.
While the U.S. was the clear leader in live stream views, people from Portugal to Paraguay, Australia to Austria watched Obama and Romney go head to head live on YouTube. Below is the breakdown of countries with the most viewership of the debate live streams:
United States
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Mexico
Brazil
Singapore
Japan
France
The worldwide interest didn’t stop with the live streams. The New York Times’ uploads of the first three debates have seen close to 13 million views, making them the most-viewed videos on their channel ever. Outside the United States, these videos have been viewed most heavily in the U.K, Canada, India, Germany, Australia and France -- with almost half the views coming from outside the U.S.
From the beginning of the 2012 election, we’ve seen people from all corners of the world watch and comment on the race. Now, as the final moments tick by, it’s becoming even clearer that no matter where you live, you can access the most important moments of the election on the YouTube Elections Hub. Tune in on Election Night (November 6) during primetime for real-time results and full live coverage from eight different partners including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Phil DeFranco, Al Jazeera, Univision, ABC News and Larry King.
Tonight, President Obama and Governor Romney will square off in their final presidential debate of the 2012 campaign, and once again, you can watch all the action live on the YouTube Elections Hub starting at 9 p.m. ET.
CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer will moderate the debate, which will have a special emphasis on foreign policy. Curious about what to watch for? This segment from ABC News’ “This Week” offers a preview of tonight’s event:
But that’s not all. Tomorrow night, Larry King will host a special debate between several of the the third-party candidates running for President -- Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party. The debate will be streamed live at 9:00 pm ET on the Ora TV YouTube channel. Al Jazeera English will also carry the debate live on their YouTube channel, and coverage from both partners will be available on youtube.com/politics.
As we head into the homestretch of the 2012 election, tune into these important debate moments live on YouTube to yourself about the issues and find out how all of the candidates stack up against each other.
Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “President Gaga.”
Ever pasted together 108 sheets of paper and drawn a giant thermometer to track your nonprofit’s campaign goal? Did you go through 27 red markers and then feel faint from their scent after trying to color it in?
Well, chuck those markers and recycle that paper, because through the YouTube Nonprofit Program there is a new thermometer in town. Check out the latest tool for nonprofits: Campaigns.
This new feature allows nonprofits to create campaigns with goals like increasing views or subscribers, track their progress, and let people to contribute to their goals.
A campaign consists of one or more videos. You can find instructions on starting a campaign here. Once a campaign is created, videos in that campaign will show an overlay on them, encouraging viewers to contribute to the campaign.
Additionally, a Campaign tab will show up on your channel, with a bar showing the progress toward your goal.
With more than 18,000 organizations in the YouTube Nonprofit Program we are always looking for ways to help nonprofits turn video views into greater awareness, petitions signed, laws changed, dollars raised, and lives saved. This year we released other tools you should check out like live streaming, a playbook with of best practices when using video, and other improved features like a more prominent donate button. We hope you enjoy our latest feature.
David D, Software Engineer, recently watched "Follow the Frog."
Ever since Sal Khan uploaded his first video (on Least Common Multiples) to YouTube in November 2006, the demand for educational content on YouTube has been growing and growing - to billions of views last year. Last month, we teamed up with Khan Academy to search for bright and inspiring educational content creators who have what it takes to build a global classroom - and we were overwhelmed by the response. More than 1000 creators applied, sharing videos on everything from science techniques to music theory. We whittled the group down to 10 YouTube EDU Gurus who we hope will continue to contribute to the great corpus of educational videos that make up YouTube EDU - more than 1000 channels at last count.
Get to know our newest educational channels below! And be sure to subscribe to their channels to get their latest videos.
Two down, two to go. We’re not sure about you, but last week’s energetic Vice Presidential debate left us wanting more. Luckily, you’ll have your second chance to watch Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama face off in the second Presidential debate tonight at 9:00 pm ET at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Tune in to the YouTube Elections Hub to watch the whole debate live from the comfort of your own chair.
But if you’re tired of watching the debates all by your lonesome, well, no longer. You can create your very own virtual debate “watch parties” tonight inside a Google+ Hangout. All you have to do is click on this link, which will open up a Hangout window. Then, you can invite some friends, name your debate watch party (if you like), and enter the Hangout. The ABC News debate live stream will already be loaded inside the Hangout.
You’ll each have to make your own popcorn, but it’s worth it to see your friends’ real-time reactions and exchange color commentary while the candidates go head-to-head. Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Frontline |The Choice 2012".
Today the Red Bull Stratos Mission took Felix Baumgartner to the edge of space and back, and the world tuned in to Red Bull’s YouTube Channel to see it all. At peak, you were watching more than 8 million concurrent livestreams of this mission, which intended to break 50-year old records of human limits and break new ground in medical and scientific research.
Following five years of preparations and a two-hour livestream on YouTube, Felix and this mission now hold the world records for:
Highest jump from a platform: 128,100 feet
Longest distance freefall: 119,846 feet
Maximum vertical velocity: 833.9 mph (Mach 1.24)
We congratulate Felix Baumgartner and the entire Red Bull Stratos team for their successful mission, and for creating a livestream with the most concurrent views ever on YouTube. To keep following this Mission and other videos from Red Bull, subscribe to their YouTube channel here.
If you’re craving one last taste of summer, Austin City Limits is it: the perfect cap to a season of music festivals. If you can’t make it to Zilker Park this year, you can still imbibe the goodness -- all you need is a laptop. Starting today, YouTube will bring you a live webcast at youtube.com/aclfestival, in partnership with C3 Presents, powered by Dell. Choose between two packed channels of music all weekend; the webcast kicks off at 11:30am PT.
Canadian duo Tegan and Sara, newly back after a hiatus, even want you in the mix (they made their own video invitation) -- and The Shins shared a playlist of their favorite music for the occasion. So mark your calendars and cancel all your other plans; we’ve got you covered this weekend. Head to youtube.com/aclfestival at 11:30am PT and let the music play.
Last week, you made the first Presidential Debate of 2012 one of YouTube's biggest live-stream events ever. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, tune in as we live stream the first and only Vice Presidential debate on the YouTube Election Hub.
Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee, will square off against Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, for 90 minutes live from Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky. The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics.
Over the years, the Vice Presidential debate has featured many memorable moments, from Bob Dole’s reference to the Carter-Mondale ticket courting the “bunny vote” (1976), to Lloyd Bentsen’s characterization of Dan Quayle as “no Jack Kennedy” (1988), to Dick Cheney advising John Edwards that the debate was “the first time I ever met you” (2004).
Whatever tonight’s “Drill Baby Drill” moment will be, you’ll see it unfold live here on YouTube.
And if you can’t tune in tonight at 9 p.m. ET, we’ve got you covered. The full debate and highlights will be available for viewing at youtube.com/politics shortly after the debate concludes.
YouTube’s On The Rise program introduces four partners each month whose channels are growing but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 subscriber mark. Our October nominees have already established themselves strongly on YouTube, and we wanted to share their varied artistic talents with you to help them build an even stronger network of support as they work to build their YouTube presence.
One of these candidates will have the opportunity to be featured on the YouTube homepage later this month, so they need your help. Check out the videos below and vote for your favorite partner channel here. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner will be featured on the homepage, Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.
In past months, featured On The Rise partners like thevfxbro and GoneToTheSnowDogs have gained many subscribers and seen their careers take off, thanks to your support. This month’s poll will be open until October 17, 5pm PT, so check these channels out and vote for your favorite, and then see which partner is featured on the homepage on October 25.
RichardGaleFilms A three-time Emmy winner, Richard Gale has written and directed hundreds of cable TV programs and thriller films that received critical acclaim worldwide. His YouTube channel features videos from some of his most successful projects, including his most recent awad-winning short film, ‘The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon.’
calliemooremusic Callie Moore was 12 when she first learned to play the guitar, and she wrote her first song that same day. In the years since, she’s continued to develop her sound and is currently recording her second full album at home with her husband. You can find samples of her music as well as vlogs on her YouTube channel.
lover4FASHION Stay up to date on the latest hair and fashion trends with videos from Fash’s channel. She has over 100 videos on makeup reviews, outfits of the day, and highly requested hair tutorials.
docjazz4 David has been playing the ocarina (a flute-like instrument) since 1999. He shares his love of music through covers and original pieces on his channel and also teaches his viewers how to read sheet music for the instrument.
If you’re interested in checking out more rising YouTube Partners, visit our On The Rise channel, which features nominees, trending partners and monthly blog winners.
Yesterday, YouTube's Vice President and Global Head of Content, Robert Kyncl, delivered the Media Mastermind Keynote at the MIPCOM conference in Cannes, France. Robert was then joined on stage by Alex Mahon, CEO Shine Group, Peter Tortorici, CEO and Chairman of GroupM Entertainment, and Yair Landau, Partner at MK Capital for a panel discussion moderated by MediaLink’s Chairman and CEO Michael Kassan. It was standing room only in the auditorium, so we thought we’d give you an opportunity to hear and see Robert’s presentation for yourself.
While the speech and subsequent discussion were geared towards the content creators and distributors in the audience, we wanted to share it with you as it paints a broader picture of our long-term strategy to bring more great content to love on YouTube. You can also find a full transcript of Robert’s speech here.
Let us know what you think of the speech in the comments below.
On March 5 of this year, Invisible Children uploaded “Kony 2012” to their YouTube channel. Today, the video has over 93 million views and has made Joseph Kony a household name. We caught up with Chris Carver, Chief Operating Officer of the organization to learn more about how Kony got to be such a viral sensation, the action (and controversy) it inspired, and their new documentary, “MOVE.”
1. KONY 2012 was the most viral nonprofit video ever on YouTube. What is your outreach strategy when putting out a new video?
We’re a grassroots movement so we first reach out to the supporter base we've developed over the past 9 years. A big part of Invisible Children's model is to tour our documentaries for free in schools, colleges and churches throughout North America. We do two tours a year, reaching around 500,000 students each tour. Prior to KONY2012, we had done 14 tours, with over 13,500 free screenings to over 5M students. There are over 500 Invisible Children clubs around the country, and we’ve put on 5 international events with over 400,000 people in attendance. I mention all of this to show how much importance we place on face-to-face interaction. The offline experience is just as important (if not more) than the online experience. Our supporters are truly the catalyst for getting our/their message out and we invest a lot of time cultivating these young, amazing leaders via phone, email, livestream, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
There are so many other factors we consider as part of the outreach strategy when putting out a new film: From the importance of strong branding and design, to clear and concise copy that's synchronized across all platforms, to making sure everything has a very clear call to action.
2. Your new documentary tells the story of Kony. What was your motivation behind putting out this documentary? Why now?
Actually, all of our documentaries focus on Joseph Kony and the LRA in some form or another (11 films total). I think we all got to the point where telling the same type of story year after year wasn’t resulting in the amount of awareness about Kony that was needed to put international pressure on him.
In putting out KONY 2012, we told the story differently. We felt that after 26 years of child abductions, terrible atrocities and mass displacement in central Africa, the time had come for Kony to become famous. Not to celebrate him, but to bring his crimes to light. Although we far exceeded what we ever could have imagined in terms of view count and awareness, we know that seeing a permanent end to LRA violence is going to take much more than that. It is going to take a continued awareness, continued mobilization, more protection of communities from LRA violence and more recovery programs to rehabilitate, educate and create jobs for people affected by LRA violence.
Our new documentary, MOVE, goes behind-the-scenes to tell the story of the KONY 2012 whirlwind, how we made an African warlord famous, and how we’re going to challenge our generation to take a stand for international justice.
3. There were more than 40k videos uploaded to YouTube in response to KONY 2012. Were you able to engage with any of these folks? Did the volume of video replies surprise you?
To be entirely honest, I think almost everything about this campaign was initially surprising. Millions of people responded and our infrastructure couldn't handle the response. I take responsibility for this, but I'm not sure anyone could see this coming. As a result, people couldn't get any context for who Invisible Children was. So although we love the fact that so many people responded with more videos (extending the conversation), it was a loss that we couldn't respond back. We've always tried to make our various platforms a two-way conversation, but we just weren't set up for this much volume. 4. How did the KONY 2012 viewership translate into offline action? KONY 2012 was/is an awareness campaign, and the international community responded with the most intense period of global engagement in the history of the LRA conflict:
March 5: The film went live
March 21: the KONY 2012 legislation was introduced in the Senate
March 23: the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) announced that 5,000 troops will pursue Kony
April 19: the European Union (EU) pledged their support
April 20: Cover The Night promoted global awareness & service
April 23: President Obama extended the deployment of U.S. military advisers to help stop the LRA
May 12: the Ugandan army captures Major Caesar Achellam, one of the top commanders in the LRA
May 24: U.S. Senate State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee approves $10,000,000 for humanitarian aid in LRA-affected communities
June 26: Invisible Children delivered 3.7 Million KONY 2012 pledges to the United Nations
June 29: the AU & UN released their strategy to combat the LRA
July 31: U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations Committee approves $50,000,000 for intelligence and surveillance of LRA activity
August 2: the KONY 2012 resolution that was introduced on March 21 passes the Senate by unanimous consent
On November 17, we’re encouraging thousands of supporters to gather for the largest global summit on the LRA in history. Participants will hear directly from the top 10 global leaders on the LRA conflict, surround the White House for a demonstration of unity, and end the evening by celebrating human connectivity through the universal language of dance.
5. KONY 2012 and MOVE are both quite a bit longer than the average YouTube video - how did you decide that a longer video was right for this subject?
For the past 9 years and subsequent 14 tours, we developed our films to be distributed in person. KONY 2012 was the first film that we released online, and its length was determined by how much time it took to tell the story. Because we knew it was longer than most online videos, we were strategic in making sure that every second held your attention, had a strong storyline, and was less than 30 minutes (clocked in at 29:59).
We took the same approach for MOVE and hope people who watch this time, share the film with the same idea as the first. Where you live should not determine whether you live and we have a responsibility to protect those that cannot protect themselves.
Ramya Raghavan, YouTube for Good team, recently watched “Protection Plan”
A lot has happened since we announced nearly 100 new original channels coming to YouTube: 7-year-old Ruby taught Amy Poehler about feminism. Rainn Wilson interviewed Deepak Chopra in the back of a mysterious van, and Phil DeFranco’s SourceFed became one of the hottest comedy news shows on the Web or TV. What do all these moments have in common? They’re being created for you on YouTube. And, when we look at the numbers, you’re liking what you watch:
Our top 25 original channels are now averaging over a million views every week
800 million of you are watching 4 billion hours every month, that’s up from 3 billion hours earlier this year
The number of people subscribing has doubled y/y
And partners this year are reaching the 100k subscriber mark 5x faster than they were just two years ago
Given the success of these and the tens of millions of other amazing channels already out there, we still know there’s more great content to find, follow and fall in love with on YouTube. That’s why today, we’re excited to launch a new generation of original channels coming from France, Germany, the UK and the US.
From local cuisine, health and wellness and parenting to sports, music, comedy, animation and news, this new lineup of original channels will have something for everyone. They are backed by some of the biggest producers, well-known celebrities and emerging media companies from Europe and the U.S.
You can get a sneak peek of the all the coming new channels here. So go and find something to love and stay tuned as this new generation of channels roll out in the months ahead.
It’s World Teachers’ Day, and to honor the hard-working and talented people in front of classrooms everywhere, we’ve put together some new resources to make YouTube even more useful for learning. (Oh, and we’re celebrating teachers in the YouTube logo today too! Check it out!).
First, we’ve created a special YouTube EDU Creator Playbook Guide (download it here), full of video best practices for online educators to learn from each other. The Guide suggests ideas for organizing curriculum videos on YouTube, attracting a bigger audience to your educational content, and explains how to use YouTube features like annotations and playlists to make educational channels more interactive.
Second, we asked James Sanders, KIPP Bay Area Innovation manager (and former YouTube teacher-in-residence), to create a presentation on 10 ways teachers can use YouTube to build a 21st century classroom. It’s full of great, proven ideas for using YouTube to bring educational topics to life. For more advice, and playlists of educational videos visit YouTube.com/Teachers.
This Monday, the launch window opens for aviation pioneer Felix Baumgartner to freefall from the edge of space back to Earth, hoping to break the speed of sound with nothing but his body and a parachute on the way down—live on Red Bull’s YouTube Channel. The mission aims to collect scientific data for the advancement of aerospace safety.
”All systems are a go” for The Red Bull Stratos Mission starting 6:00am PT on October 8. Since freefalling from space requires perfect weather conditions, the full launch window extends for two weeks. To find the exact time of the launch, check the Red Bull YouTube Channel or sign up for email updates at redbullstratos.com.
How it works The 120,000 foot jump over Roswell, New Mexico is the culmination of over five years of work by Felix and the Red Bull Stratos mission team, who are now prepared to break the 102,800 ft record set by US Air Force legend, Col. Joe Kittinger 52 years ago. After rising in a capsule propelled by 30 million cubic feet of helium, Felix will jump from 23 miles above Roswell, New Mexico. You’ll see a live data feed that will show exactly where Felix is in the sky, his rate of speed during the freefall, and how high above earth he is throughout the entire flight. You’ll also be able to hear Felix’s conversations with Col. Kittinger who will be the only voice from Mission Control advising Felix.
*Updated on 10/4: In the third paragraph we've clarified that potentially invalid claims are manually reviewed by the content owner.* In the nearly five years since we launched Content ID, it has helped everyone from large media companies to up-and-coming creators manage their content when it appears on YouTube. More than 3,000 content owners have supplied more than 500,000 hours of reference files to the system. Content ID hasn’t stood still over the last five years. We’ve been rolling out regular updates and we want to highlight three particular efforts that we think improve Content ID for everyone.
A New Appeals Process Users have always had the ability to dispute Content ID claims on their videos if they believe those claims are invalid. Prior to today, if a content owner rejected that dispute, the user was left with no recourse for certain types of Content ID claims (e.g., monetize claims). Based upon feedback from our community, today we’re introducing an appeals process that gives eligible users a new choice when dealing with a rejected dispute. When the user files an appeal, a content owner has two options: release the claim or file a formal DMCA notification.
Smarter Detection of Unintentional Claims Content owners have uploaded more than ten million reference files to the Content ID system. At that scale, mistakes can and do happen. To address this, we’ve improved the algorithms that identify potentially invalid claims. We stop these claims from automatically affecting user videos and place them in a queue to be manually reviewed by the content owner. This process prevents disputes that arise when content not owned by a partner inadvertently turns up in a reference file.
Smarter claim detection minimizes unintentional mistakes. Of course, we take action in rare cases of intentional misuse, up to and including terminating Content ID access.
Improved Matching Quality At the heart of Content ID is the matching technology that identifies partners’ content among all the videos on YouTube. Earlier this year we introduced a significant improvement to how the matching happens. We continue to work on ways to make the matching more precise through better algorithms and a more comprehensive reference library.
There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but we believe that these are significant steps forward in our efforts to keep YouTube a vibrant place where the rights of both content owners and users are protected and everyone can control their original content and make money from it - money which can be put towards the production of more great content.
For now, keep on watching, upload a video or two and please, please keep the feedback coming.
Thabet Alfishawi, Rights Management Product Manager, recently watched/danced to "Psy - Gangnam Style"
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