Diposting oleh
Greatest on Minggu, 30 Desember 2007
Some of you told us you were looking for our roundup of the most buzzed about videos of ’07. Based on view counts, most shared, most discussed, top rated and general popularity, here is the list:
There's no telling exactly how YouTube's creators will try to trump these videos in 2008, but we have a feeling that you'll find a way.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Sabtu, 29 Desember 2007
Our staff continues to reminisce on the moments and videos that stood out for them this year.
Chocolate What?
Any YouTube music '07 roundup has to start with the captivating baritone of Tay Zonday, whose Chocolate Rain sparked a flurry of video responses by everyone from McGruff the Crime Dog to Tre Cool from Green Day. (With all that attention, is it surprising that even Dr. Pepper picked up the trend?) Tay was in good company in a wider sense, too, as the site surged with top-notch unsigned talent. A few of these musicians participated in YouTube launch events around the world, including German user Tuaana, who performed a new song at the gathering in Berlin, and French Canadian Dee Montreal, who not only raised the roof in Toronto to celebrate YouTube Canada with his band but also brought his DJ skills to wrap up the YouTube Russia bash. It was the year you got unique access to bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and The New Pornographers, both of whom jumped wholeheartedly into this thing called the YouTube community. I'll leave you with one of my personal favorites, a faux-vintage clip from mighty soul songstress Sharon Jones, which we premiered on YouTube a few months ago.
If there is one thing that 2007 has taught us, it's that "viral video" is about as unpredictable as Beyoncé and a flight of stairs. And in an equally unexpected turn, many of the Most Viewed Entertainment videos this year were uploaded as part of an original series or web show. Creators like pinktheseries, epic-fu, GOODmagazine, and wwwBLACK20com share their videos week after week hoping to catch the eyes of millions. Here are a few of the most buzzed about Entertainment videos of 2007 – they're the ones I certainly can't get out of my head.
Skateboarding Twins, Frying Pan Flexure, 15 Laterals and More…
When I joined YouTube last June, the NBA Playoffs were in full swing and, being the committed (some would say "insane") basketball fan that I am, I was naturally drawn to hoops highlights, such as Baron Davis' in-de-face! dunk over Andrei "AK-47" Kirilenko. Along those lines, I was thrilled to find that some of the biggest stories in pro sports lived on our site, like David Beckham's first goal for the L.A. Galaxy and Appalachian State's David-vs-Goliath upset of mighty Michigan.
But over the past half year I've also come to love our cadre of wildly creative sports vloggers like Paul "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, Kige Ramsey aka SlyFox4569, Braves Girl 5 and, of course, the Bleacher Bloggers. For any big event in sports - amazing play, major trade, controversy, whatever - I'm as interested in their collective reaction as in seeing the event itself. Like a lot of people, I also became fascinated with young talent, including Aussie soccer prodigy Rhain Davis and the incredible Skateboarding Twins, Nic and Tristan Peuhse. And in the the slightly-weird-but-somehow-compelling category, the images of body builder Aneta Florczyk bending a frying pan are permanently burned into my retina, as is skateboarder davetheknave riding in a giant bowl of blue balloons.
If there's one video from the past year that I can't get enough of, though, it's Trinity University's desperate, ridiculous, absurd, amazing 15 lateral passes on the final play of the game to beat Millsaps College. Ladies and gentlemen, this play is proof that miracles can and do happen.
With the presidential election only a year away, 2007 also saw the viral success of the political parody: from Obama Girl to Giuliani Girl to Hott4Hill, almost every front runner was in on the action. The celebrity ode also rose to prominence, with Paris in Jail receiving 12 million views and counting, and Chris Crocker practically taking over the world with Leave Britney Alone.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Kamis, 27 Desember 2007
With 2008 around the corner, we pause to reflect on the year that was. There's a lot to say, so this is just part one of our year-end musings...Comment below and tell us what your highlights were, and/or make a video -- you can even pin it to this map. (We'll be looking to feature a few of these around the new year.)
A Vibrant Community
Through YouTube events like 7.7.7., the debates, and programs like the Community Council, I've had the opportunity to meet many wonderful 'Tubers in the flesh. Observing how you guys love, loathe, and live through YouTube has been phenomenal and inspiring. The stories I've heard of how this site has brought people together would make you cry (in a good way).
As diverse as the YT community is, you all have one thing in common: dedication. It's quite astounding when you stop and really think about how much time goes into creating, editing, watching and sharing videos, building and maintaining relationships, and having a real life all the while.
Although you don't see me, I'm constantly sifting through your feedback to find out what features you guys would like to see, where you think we can make improvements, and making sure your voice is heard.
And for the record, I watched this video obsessively in 2007.
With dorm-room presidential interviews, citizen-created campaign commercials, question-and-answer sessions, two presidential primary debates, and much more, you've made 2007 a big year for YouTube politics. Just a year ago, YouTube had gained a reputation as a place where voters held candidates accountable for their mishaps. Your use of YouTube has been making the political process more transparent, and the pressure you've applied brought candidates to the platform to join the discourse as well. Now we have a big, video-powered Town Hall where everyone is at the table -- you might say it's the largest and most diverse political discussion in our nation's history. Looking forward to continuing the dialog in '08...
2007 was a groundbreaking year for film on YouTube: M dot Strange made it into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival with his YouTube-grown film, WE ARE THE STRANGE; Four Eyed Monsters released their critically-acclaimed feature length film on the site; Project Direct, the first ever short film competition on YouTube, and also the first international contest, received stellar submissions, and the winner, celioclarice, came from Brazil; renowned film schools, including, USC School of Cinematic Arts Vancouver Film School and New York Film Academy joined or grew on the site; prolific content creators and aggregators like, Future Shorts, Aniboom, Future Thought and Mondo Media became partners; and incredibly talented filmmakers and animators like SCADshorts, Walter Robot, Andrewhu, Bridle Films, Agent XPQ and so many more shared their work with us. 2007 showed how much room there is for artistic creativity online, and there is no doubt that in 2008 the film community on YouTube will innovate even more and continue to reshape the way film content is created, shared and consumed.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Sabtu, 22 Desember 2007
There's just a few days left to complete your shopping or make a gift; now it's time to think about the actual feast and festivities. So put aside silly notions of calories (that's for later) and dig into these recipes for Christmas pudding, hot winter soup, "cookie bark" (huh?), and a whole lot more:
Once the pots have been washed and it's time to kick back and finally relax, don't settle for the same ol' holiday tunes. Embrace the DIY spirit and play your own. These videos will teach you how to do just that on instruments like the guitar, harmonica, and piano:
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Selasa, 18 Desember 2007
Every year, the world's top leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum to grapple with global problems. They discuss everything from climate change to world poverty to global governance. This year, we get to join them via video.
Here's how it works: First, upload your video to YouTube answering The Davos Question: "What one thing do countries, companies, or individuals need to do in 2008 to make the world a better place?" Then, submit your video to the Davos channel on YouTube.
You can watch and rank other YouTuber's ideas, and the highest-rated videos will be screened at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 23-27. World leaders will see your videos and respond with their thoughts right here on YouTube.
So get crackin' with your answers to the Davos Question. By connecting with each other and our leaders, we can build support around ideas that will make our world a better one in 2008.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Senin, 17 Desember 2007
Anime may have its roots in Japanese pop-culture, but it has undoubtedly developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Indeed, Naruto and Pokemon have become part of our global lexicon.
Accordingly, the company behind New York Comic Con has now created a festival devoted entirely to anime: The New York Anime Festival, featuring exclusive anime screenings, manga, cosplay, video games, live-action Japanese cinema, Japanese fashion and food.
If you weren't in New York last week to catch the festivities, have no fear – IFCNews is bringing the festival to you. Check out the Film & Animation page for your anime update!
Still not hip to the anime phenomenon? Check out some of these videos from YouTube partners and you will be.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Minggu, 16 Desember 2007
The Wood Whisperer may claim that homemade gifts are for those who are "too cheap to buy real presents," but we don't buy it: There's something special about receiving a handcrafted gift that's unlike anything else. There's even a pledge going around right now to buy nothing but handmade gifts this holiday season.
On YouTube, you don't have to look very far to find DIY inspiration. Our gurus give lessons on how to make everything from holiday cards and one-of-a-kind gifts for your family -- creative pencil holders, crazy quilt stockings, Christmas aprons, anyone? -- to decorations for your home. They are YouTube's elves, video'ing in workshops all over the world:
Have a great handmade gift idea that you'd love to share? It's not too late to respond to Todd Oldhams's holiday call out. Your DIY video could be featured on the home page with other great guru! The last day for entries is December 19th so hurry!
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Jumat, 14 Desember 2007
Check out the latest updates made to YouTube during the wee hours. This list is jam-packed with greatness and some improvements that many of you have been requesting. Enjoy!
NEW VIDEOS TAB
We've merged the Categories and Video browse pages into one new, easier-to-navigate home for video search. All the old search options can be found there, along with a new "Spotlight" section that allows you to scroll through featured videos. You'll find some design improvements on the Channels and Community tabs as well.
MOST ACTIVE & PREVIOUSLY POPULAR
The Videos tab now includes two new viewing options. Click "Most Active Today" and you'll see the current day's most buzz-worthy titles, which can then be filtered by category. Click "Previously Popular" to find the most-viewed videos from one week ago or one month ago.
CHANNEL RESULTS IN SEARCH
YouTube search results now include videos and channels, making it easier for you to access the content you're looking for. When you enter a search term, highly relevant channels may be displayed at the top of the results page.
MUSIC SUBCATEGORIES
Our Music section is now broken down into genres such as Rock, Pop, Rap & Hip-Hop, Classical, and more. This will make it easier to find and promote all sorts of music videos on the site.
RSS LINKS ON VIDEO BROWSE PAGES
To stay up to date on the searches you check frequently, subscribe to our video browse pages by clicking the RSS link located beneath the categories list.
PROFILE PICTURE
You can choose any image you want to represent your channel, instead of a video still. Just click the "Upload an image" option on your Account page.
SUBSCRIPTIONS UPDATE
Closed and suspended accounts will now be automatically removed from your subscriptions. If you were subscribed to several closed/suspended accounts, you will notice a one-time large drop in numbers as your list is updated.
COMMENTS VOTING OPTIONAL
Now you can choose whether or not you want to allow users to vote on comments made on your videos (thumbs-up/thumbs-down feature). You can select this under a new "Comment Voting" section for both Upload and Edit Video and sharing options.
Your local correspondent now presents another installment of YouTube News! Take it away pzottolo...
Don't forget to comment here, email us or vlog and tell us what you think after poking around these new features.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Kamis, 13 Desember 2007
Title: Ask Raja
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer? Or to go one-on-one with LeBron James? Or catch a no-look pass from Steve Nash? Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns knows each of those experiences intimately well. In fact, those experiences are all part of his day-to-day job.
Hoop fans, if you're curious about the day-to-day life of a pro ballplayer, here's your chance to get an answer or two:
Use the Video Response function to post a video with your question. Raja will be taking your questions throughout the season, so check back to the Phoenix Suns YouTube Channel regularly.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Selasa, 11 Desember 2007
Anime may have its roots in Japanese pop-culture, but it has undoubtedly developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Indeed, Naruto and Pokemon have become part of our global lexicon.
Accordingly, the company behind New York Comic Con has now created a festival devoted entirely to anime: The New York Anime Festival, featuring exclusive anime screenings, manga, cosplay, video games, live-action Japanese cinema, Japanese fashion and food.
If you weren't in New York this weekend to catch the festivities, have no fear – IFCNews is bringing the festival to you. Be sure to check the Film & Animation page over the next few days for constant anime updates!
Still not hip to the anime phenomenon? Check out some of these videos from YouTube partners and you will be.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Senin, 10 Desember 2007
Recognizing YouTube users for their creativity and their role in building YouTube is of the utmost importance to our team. That's why earlier this year we launched a pilot of the YouTube Partner Program, our way of enabling some of the most popular and prolific original content creators within the YouTube community to earn money from their videos. These partners decide which of their videos they would like to generate revenue on YouTube, and in turn, they receive a portion of the revenue generated from ads that run next to those videos. Even in this limited release, the program has been an amazing success – already, millions of video views each week are earning revenue for our partners.
But we're just getting warmed up. Today we're announcing that we are expanding the YouTube Partner Program. Now, anyone living in the United States or Canada can apply to become a partner at www.youtube.com/partners. (We're looking forward to rolling out the program to additional international markets soon.)
We feel it's important to reward our most dedicated community members: those who are regularly uploading original content to YouTube. In evaluating applications, we will focus on the users who have built a significant audience on YouTube (as measured by video views, subscribers, etc.) and who consistently comply with the YouTube Terms of Use.
We previewed this new application process to a select group of users who previously expressed interest in becoming partners -- over 100 of these users have already been added to the program, such as tayzonday, hotforwords, apauledtv, and peteandbrian.
As always, our goal is to provide a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe. We hope that by expanding the YouTube Partner Program, more content creators will reap rewards from their work and be able to produce even more of the original videos that have made YouTube so successful.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Sabtu, 08 Desember 2007
If you're a fan of anything handmade, you probably know and love design expert Todd Oldham. Now the Texas native wants to see what kind of innovation you're capable of. In the spirit of the holidays, he's asking you to upload video responses to this video, which challenges you to show him your best gift-making and home decoration skills.
Think of inventive uses for ordinary materials, something cool from unlikely objects, or crafts projects that can be given as gifts. Explore every verb in the DIY vocabulary: sew, drill, hammer, tape, recycle, plaster, paint, collage – and videotape it all. Todd will pick his favorite of your videos and fast-track them to us for featuring on the home page.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Jumat, 07 Desember 2007
There are a lot of ways to say Happy Holidays: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Krismasi Njema (that's Swahili)…
No matter how you say it, a unique "video card" is the perfect way to spread some holiday cheer to friends, loved ones, chat buddies and even to your fellow 'Tubers. All you have to do is go here and upload a video or insert the URL of the YouTube video you'd like to send (or even select from our list of "holiday classics" created by other users). You'll also find a "Holiday Video Card" button on our watch pages, beneath the video description field. Once you know which video you'd like to dedicate to someone, pick a festive frame for it, write a personal message, enter email addresses and off it goes to in-boxes everywhere.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Selasa, 04 Desember 2007
Over the past week, many of you viewed and voted on the 20 films that Jason Reitman, the award-winning director of Thank You For Smoking and Juno, and a panel of industry experts selected as finalists in YouTube Project Direct.
Your votes have been counted and it’s time to announce the winners…
While we want to congratulate the talented filmmakers behind Lacos (Ties) , Gone in a Flash and My Name is Lisa on their achievement, we also want to congratulate and thank all of you who entered Project Direct and made YouTube’s inaugural short film competition such a success.
Be sure to check out the top 20 (and many more of the excellent contest submissions shortly!) in the dedicated Project Direct gallery!
Ready...set...shop! Now that Thanksgiving is over, the pressure is on to find the perfect gifts for your family and friends. For the folks on your list who love to create and watch videos, consider these cool products that are compatible with YouTube. Heck, why not buy one of these for yourself while you're at it?
Apple iPhone
Apple iPhone brings YouTube to your cellphone with a built-in player that launches from the home screen. You can easily share videos with your friends using the email option which automatically includes the link to the same videos you watch on your iPhone.
Apple TV
Apple TV brings YouTube right to your widescreen TV or home theater system. A new feature allows you to download free software which enables the same video browsing capabilities you're familiar with on YouTube. Just log in to your YouTube account on Apple TV to play and save music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and photos from a PC or Mac.
Casio EX-S880 and EX-Z77 Digital Cameras
Casio has introduced two new digital cameras which include YouTube Capture Mode. This technology makes the process of sharing those captured moments even smoother, without compromising the quality of your photos one bit. Both the EX-S880 and EX-Z77 include high resolution, a blur reduction feature and ideal compression settings for recording, storing and uploading high-quality videos. This device also allows you to upload multiple videos at once for a truly optimal photo sharing experience.
Flip Video Camcorder
The new Flip Video line of digital camcorders (from Pure Digital Technologies) is the first of its kind to enable direct video uploads to online video sharing sites like YouTube. This pocket-sized gadget plugs directly into your computer, making instant video sharing with family and friends that much easier. Flip Video is also the only camcorder that you can bring to a local photo lab for one-hour DVD processing.
LG Mobile
LG has made YouTube more conveniently accessible by providing a new user interface on your LG mobile phone. You can record, view and transfer videos from this LG cellphone, so you won't have to be at your home computer to get the full YouTube experience you're used to.
Logitech QuickCam Software
QuickCam software allows you to quickly upload videos directly to your YouTube account from your Logitech webcam. The QuickCapture function features a new one-touch YouTube button which pops up a separate screen for adding the title, a brief description, video category and search tags for your video clip before instantly uploading to your YouTube channel. After your video is uploaded, QuickCam sends you the web link to your clip so you can immediately start sharing your content with the world. Visit this page to download the new Logitech QuickCam (software version 11.5).
Nokia N95 Mobile
To surf and watch YouTube videos, just connect to the Internet and go to the "video center" option. You can also create and send high quality videos directly to YouTube from the Nokia N95.
Sony Net Sharing Cam
When using Sony's Memory Stick Pro Duo media card, you can store up to five hours and 2GB worth of footage, video stills and photos on this compact device. A special 'Sharemark' button using PMP software lets you customize settings on Net Sharing Cam to tag your files for automatic uploading via pre-programmed presets to sites like YouTube or personal blogs.
Diposting oleh
Greatest on Minggu, 02 Desember 2007
It's not often that one of the week's most subscribed channels on YouTube belongs to a labor union, but that's what's happened this week for the WGA America.
As the writers strike marches on, the guild, many of its members and some of Hollywood's best-known faces have been turning to YouTube and other sites to express their opinions, find public support, make people laugh and, well, just plain do something with all their newfound free time.
In this playlist of simultaneously funny and serious videos, writers from primetime, actors like Demi Moore and Martin Sheen, and well-known YouTubers like AskANinja and Zanzibar19 all weigh in on the situation: