YouTube Blog

Content rules the social media roost

2012-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today we welcome Paul Kontonis of the International Academy of Web Television and Digitas to get us ready for Social Media Week, with a look at video on the web.

2012 is being touted as being THE year for web video. Between YouTube’s investment in original channels, Netflix’s original content deals, and Tom Hanks partnering with Yahoo on original programming, there is confidence that these investments help make this a game-changing year.

At the center of online video’s success is social. In fact the futures of both social and content are highly intertwined. Content needs social and social needs content. Social allows for the discovery and sharing of content and video gives people something to share and discover through their social graphs.

Social Media Week reflects the global impact of social media on all aspects of business, society, and culture, and content is no different. From the importance of quality and engaging content, to the distribution and measurement, content’s role is highlighted in a series of events listed below.

Guest to the YouTube Blog Paul Kontonis, International Academy of Web Television Chairman of the Board of Directors, and VP/Group Director at Digitas, recently watched “Working with Brands and Content Creators - 2012 IAWTV Awards Panel.”

Introducing our February “On The Rise” Nominees

2012-02-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Each month, we identify four YouTube Partners whose Channels have experienced significant growth and are on the cusp of really taking off for our On The Rise program. Our February nominees include both entertainers and educators. Need a car repair tip or fun baking ideas? Want to learn about music production, or watch a drawing come to life? Look no further than the Partner videos below.

So, where do you come in? One of these partners will be featured on the YouTube homepage, and you can help them get there. Check out their videos below and vote for your favorite in the top right corner of this blog. In addition to your votes, each Channel will be evaluated on criteria such as audience engagement and Channel optimization to decide which Channel will be featured on the homepage, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.

In past months, Partners like ThePortraitArt and CaliforniaTravelTips have seen tremendous growth in their audience thanks to your support. You have until February 17th at 5pm PT to vote for your favorite Channel. Check back to see who secured the homepage feature on February 28th.

marydoodles
Hailing from Los Angeles, Mary’s day job involves creating props and costumes for Epic Rap Battles of History. Her real hobby, though, is drawing - she’s been doing it her whole life. Check out Mary’s channel to witness her talent in motion.

yoyomax12
Need creative baking ideas for Valentine’s day, birthdays, or other special occasions? Whether you’re an experienced baker or just learning to bake, Tammy’s channel offers easy-to-follow instructional videos packed with fun ideas and recipes for cookies, bars, and cupcakes.

wwwboyinabandcom
Dave is passionate about music. He’s in a band, and he’s dedicated his YouTube channel to hosting free music production tutorials. Listen to his original music, learn how to set up a home studio, read music software/hardware reviews, and more on this Telford, England, native’s channel.

EricTheCarGuy
Eric is a certified master technician dedicated to the art of auto repair and helping the “do-it-yourselfer.” He attended art school, but then shifted his focus to automotives and hasn’t looked back. Check out his channel to learn how to drive a stick shift, replace a fuel pump, or shim a starter.

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 “9 Year Old Jonny Mizzone - How Mountain Girls Can Love - Sleepy Man Banjo Boys.”

Syria unrest, Denver snowstorm, earthquake in the Philippines

2012-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Everyday on the CitizenTube channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Each week we post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week, as seen through the lens of both citizen-reported footage and professional news coverage.

We watched the situation in Syria deteriorate into almost relentless violence as military forces laid siege to neighborhoods in Homs.
We witnessed unrest in the Maldives as President Mohamed Nasheed resigned, handing over power to vice president Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik.
We monitored the harsh weather in the United States, as cities like Denver suffered record snowfall.
We saw the New York Giants win their fourth Super Bowl, and the resulting celebrations in New York City.
We followed the GOP candidates continue their toil on the US campaign trail as Rick Santorum pulled off the hat-trick of Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
We were saddened as scores were killed or injured after a powerful earthquake rocked the Philippines.
We viewed pro & anti-Putin protesters brave the cold in Moscow to voice their opinion of Russia's polemical Prime Minister.
We observed public anger in Greece despite officials announcing that coalition partners had reached a bailout deal.

Come back next week to see the news unfold on YouTube.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched "War Torn: An Iraq Veteran's Story."

Tighten your laces as we head to the “Fastest Track in the World”

2012-02-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

The Millrose Games is regarded as the most historic indoor track & field event in the world, and is now coming to YouTube for the first time.

This event serves as a homecoming for the country’s top men’s and women’s athletes aiming for Olympic Gold in London as they sprint to the finish line on the "world’s fastest indoor track." You can watch the Millrose Games livestream in HD on YouTube starting at 1pm PT Saturday, February, 11, 2012. The premiere showcase begins at 3:45pm PT and runs through the famed Wanamaker Mile around 7pm PT.

Highlights of the event include Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt in pursuit of the first sub-minute 500m dash. Also, three of the women slated to run in the 400-meter dash have won Gold at the Olympic Games, so you can watch Sanya Richards-Ross, Natasha Hastings and Mary Wineberg go head to head.

Get your stopwatches ready as the 2012 Millrose Games are expecting to see top talent challenge long-standing records. You can get even more into track and field on YouTube Sports.

Julie Kikla, YouTube Sports, recently watched “Worlds fastest man meets his match.”

Your front row seat to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC

2012-02-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicks off today, and you can be front row at the Lincoln Center. YouTube Live From the Runway, presented by Maybelline NY, is your ticket to the hottest shows including Diane Von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, and Vera Wang.

Fashionistas from around the world can watch around 30 of today’s hottest designers live streamed from NYC. You can also find fashion and beauty tutorials, behind-the-scenes action, interviews with designers, models, celebrities and more, all at www.youtube.com/liverunway.

Tune in today through February 16 for the live stream. You can also add your favorite shows to your calendar from the designer line-up schedule on the channel.

Jamie Reichstein, lifestyle program manager, recently watched “Sporty Look for Spring 2012: Trend Report.”

Lightsabers Out: May the Force Be With Us!

2012-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today we’d like to welcome Chris Hardwick, actor, comedian, writer, and general nerd enthusiast, to the YouTube Blog to announce a truly “out of this world” event. Keep an eye out for Chris on The Nerdist Channel coming to a YouTube near you!

Humans of the ‘Tube! I am BEYOND pleased to blab about something which has been brewing and bubbling at Nerdist Industries for the past few months that is finally ready to spill over into the public consciousness. And now, a leading question! Are you going to San Diego Comic-Con this year? If so, how are you getting there? Plane? Bus? Rickshaw? Pack mule? Some type of matter disassembler/reassembler? Whatever your answer, I’m sure that “on foot” was not on the list….UNTIL NOW!!!

Nerdist Industries—in an exclusive partnership with Lucasfilm and Machinima—is proud to announce COURSE OF THE FORCE, a five-day Olympic-torch-style lightsaber relay run that begins at Santa Monica pier on Saturday, July 7th and ends in San Diego on Wednesday, July 11th (just in time for preview night of SDCC ’12)!

Yes! You heard right (with your eyes)! We are going to run down the California coast—lightsaber ahoist (not a real word)—and pass it off, one nerd at a time. Segments are purchasable in quarter-mile increments and ALL proceeds from your segment monies will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. See? It’s not just a vanity exercise! It actually benefits a wonderful charity.

Here’s some backstory you didn’t ask for! In 2012, I will be attending my 9th San Diego Comic-Con. While I always look forward to that extended weekend of Nerdvana, I sometimes feel a bit like the commercial shininess of it slightly eclipses its intended spirit. To me, going to Cons as a kid was all about having a safe haven—a place where like-minded folks could come together to celebrate nerdly passions and accept each other for the oddball (by the larger and more boring sector of society’s standards) stuff we were all into. Ultimately, it should be the most fun thing of the year. For poop sake, most of you save up your whole year of cash and vacation time to go to SDCC so why not run at it screaming?? This is a rare opportunity to dress like a Sith (or ANYTHING of your choosing, Star Wars-y or not) and run down the beach while power chanting with a glowing sword made of light in your hand. On ANY OTHER DAY that would easily get you arrested or at the very least, detained. Don’t feel like running but want to support someone who is? FINE! Join us for parties, live music and comedy each night along the way.

Space is limited to about 500 running slots so snatch yours POST HASTE at courseoftheforce.com. In addition to a place on the Course, you’ll also get a limited edition lightsaber of your very own and a swag bag that would make a scavenging Jawa jealous. Great swag, general public silliness and a celebration of Nerd pride...all for an amazing cause. Please join us in taking the Con out of the hall and stretching it to a full week of activities as we storm the yellow brick road (sand) to Oz (SDCC)!

If you are geographically challenged and can’t make it out to Southern California in July, the entire relay will be livestreamed at YouTube.com/nerdist, aka, The Nerdist Channel. WHAT IS THAT??? Excellent query, Person! The Nerdist Channel on YouTube is a partnership between Nerdist Industries, The Jim Henson Company, and Broadway Video. We officially launch April 1 and will be bringing you nerd-centric programming with such folks as me, Neil Patrick Harris, Rob Zombie, Awkward Family Videos, The Dudesons and The Kids in the Hall, just to name a few. Additionally, we’ll have programs that cover gaming, science, tech and cosplay. Shows with other people you may recognize as being relevant to your interests will be announced VERY soon so keep an eye glued to Nerdist.com for that business!

Also, if you’ve read this far, you are a nice person and I heartily thank you.

Guest YouTube blogger Chris Hardwick hosts The Nerdist Podcast, AMC’s Talking Dead, and recently watched “COURSE OF THE FORCE - An Epic Journey”. He also enjoys synth-driven rock music and Salt & Vinegar chips.

Rev the engine: Motor Trend and Drive now on YouTube

2012-02-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

If it’s got wheels and a motor, it’s on YouTube. This week we’re going full throttle with two new original channels dedicated to the wide and wild world of motors — Motor Trend and Drive.

The Motor Trend YouTube Channel, created by Source Interlink Media, brings together eight shows from automotive brands you know and love. Like a never-ending auto expo (without the lines), expect to see original programming from the folks behind Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Motorcyclist, Lowrider, FourWheeler, Dirt Rider, Car Craft, Automobile, Import Tuner and more. From speed to style, the Motor Trend Channel will have something for every car lover, and they’ll be listening closely to your feedback to learn what you want to see more of.

If getting under the hood is only the beginning for you, check out the new Drive YouTube Channel, which celebrates the rich culture of cars. From the road to races to factories to studios, Drive will take you as far behind the scenes as as possible. Expect to see news, reviews and commentary from names like Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli, Leo Parente, Alex Roy and more.

With millions of you already coming to YouTube for all things auto, we hope you buckle up and enjoy these new channels!

Graham Bennett, original programming content partnerships, recently watched “Cavitation.”

Vacation inspiration from travel experts at YouTube Vacationer

2012-02-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

If you’re planning a vacation, check out the new YouTube Vacationer Channel. Vacationer is a one-rest-stop destination for travel videos from folks like National Geographic, LonelyPlanet and the TravelChannel, and is presented by Alamo Rent-A-Car.

Whether you’re already planning spring break, getting ready for a road trip or hungry to experience new cuisines in exotic places, Vacationer can take you around the world and back. Not ready to leave the house? Vacationer also has travel eye-candy and on-the-road reporting, so you can broaden your horizons from the comfort of your home, couch or commute.

So pull over to the Vacationer Channel and start planning your next great adventure.

Alison Walker, lifestyle marketing program manager, recently watched “Hungry in San Francisco - Three Babes Bake Shop.”

After NextUp, Next Chef and Next Trainer, What’s Next? You tell us!

2012-02-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

One of the most rewarding projects I worked on in 2011 was the Next Creator program (comprised of YouTube NextUp, YouTube Next Chef, and YouTube Next Trainer). These programs worked to catapult 91 content creators’ careers across 15 different countries, by providing them with production and audience development training, new video equipment, promotion, and mentoring from DeStorm, FreddieW, Michelle Phan, Chow.com and Billy Blanks.

But what’s next for the Next Creator program? There are still millions of creators who could benefit from participating in the program, so we’re excited to continue to expand the program further. That’s where you come in — we'd like to hear which type of content we should launch for the next round. Maybe you're a budding beauty guru and want to see YouTube Next Beautician; or, perhaps you're a habitual big personality vlogger and have been waiting for YouTube Next Vlogger.

Whatever you want to see next, let us know by voting on some categories and by suggesting your own here. You may vote and submit as many as you’d like before February 19th. We'll then evaluate the top-voted suggestions and bring some of these to you this year!

2012 is going to be an incredibly exciting year for YouTube creators. Stay tuned for more initiatives that will empower you to take your YouTube career to the next level — coming very soon!

Bing Chen, global creator initiatives manager, recently watched Ryan The Truth Higa’s “Word of the Day - Swog."

Lights, camera, causes: The 2012 Nonprofit Video Awards

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

For the third year, YouTube is teaming up with See3 Communications to present the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards, a celebration of the best non-profit videos on the site. If you’re a nonprofit who made a video in 2011, you’re eligible and encouraged to submit.

It doesn’t matter if your organization is small and scrappy, large and global, or somewhere in between. We’ll award prizes like $3,500 grants, free admission to the Nonprofit Technology Conference, and a spotlight on the YouTube homepage to small, medium and large organizations, plus a special award for “Best Video Storytelling.”

Need more details? Watch this video:

The deadline to enter is February 29, 2012 and you must be a member of the YouTube Nonprofit Program at the time of judging, to enter. Full rules are available here.

Get those cameras rolling and good luck!

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube Nonprofits, recently watched “300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds”.

This week's top news stories on YouTube

2012-02-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

To help you learn about the big stories of the week, we’re kicking off a new series from CitizenTube, a YouTube channel focusing on global news and politics.

Everyday on the CitizenTube channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Each week, starting today, we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week, as seen through the lens of both citizen-reported footage and professional news coverage.

We witnessed widespread protests in Cairo, Egypt after the tragic deaths of over 70 people at a soccer game in Port Said.
We monitored reports of violence in Syria, where fighting intensified causing the Arab League to suspend its monitoring mission in the country.
We observed parts of Queensland and New South Wales being declared natural disaster zones due to flooding after days of heavy rainfall.
We watched Eastern and Southern Europe come to a standstill due to freezing temperatures and unprecedented levels of snowfall.
We followed the GOP candidates do battle in Florida as tensions grew on the US campaign trail, with Mitt Romney emerging as the comprehensive victor in the Sunshine state.
We watched social networking giant Facebook announce that it was going public, as it sought to raise $5bn in the largest IPO by a technology company.
We viewed Occupy Oakland protesters burn the Star Spangled Banner after clashes with police.
We saw Novak Djokovic defeat Rafael Nadal to claim the Australian Open final, in a match that will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.
And finally, we looked forward to Super Bowl XLVI, as some companies released advanced versions of their half-time commercials.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics Manager, recently watched “Inside Syria: Escalating violence pushes country toward full-blown war”.

Madonna premieres “Give Me All Your Luvin” on YouTube

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Game day can’t come soon enough? Get in the spirit today with the official premiere of Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Luvin” featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. on YouTube. You can find the video on the Madonna YouTube Channel, along with teasers for her halftime show performance.

We’ll also have her video up on the YouTube Ad Blitz Channel pre-game on Sunday, where you’ll be able to view and vote for your favorite commercials.

Love the song and can’t wait for the album? You can pre-order it now, and stay tuned to her Google+ profile for her latest news and behind-the-scenes photos leading up to the big game.

Craig McFadden, YouTube Partner Development, recently watched “‘W.E.’ - Official Trailer.”

Homework got you stumped? Our new lineup of educational channels is here to help.

2012-02-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

As I wrote in the Huffington Post recently, we here at YouTube believe that great educators can come from all walks of life, and we want to see more teachers - in the broadest sense of the word - turn YouTube into their global classroom. The demand on YouTube for educational content - from math to science to history and beyond - continues to grow. We did some math of our own recently, and found that views of educational content DOUBLED in the last year. We also found that nearly 80% of the views for this content came from outside the U.S., suggesting that our vision for a global classroom might be becoming a reality.

So for all you knowledge-hungry people around the world, today we’re welcoming the first six new educational channels coming to YouTube as part of the new original content initiative we announced last year (more to come later this year). Without further ado, and In alphabetical order … (what else?) ….

Crash Course
A weekly dose of world history, from one half of the vlogbrothers, John Green. The first episode tackles the agricultural revolution, and over the year, the show will tackle the entire 15,000 years of human civilization. Insider tip: the show is written in conjunction with John’s high school history teacher!

Deep Sky Videos
Back in the 1700s, astronomer Charles Messier was hunting for comets … and kept getting frustrated by objects that were NOT comets … so he made a list of these non-comet objects, which went on to become one of the most famous lists of cosmic objects in science. This channel is a quest by Brady Haran to make videos about all 110 so-called Messier Objects … starting with M1 (side note: Brady’s collaborator on another YouTube channel called periodicvideos is Professor Martyn Poliakoff, who was today awarded the Ron Nyholm Award for his role in chemistry education - congratulations!)

Intelligent Channel
This new channel hosts luminaries from education, art, and culture as they discuss the most topical subjects of the day. The hosts of the shows are actor/comedian Richard Belzer (from Homicide and Law & Order, and Paul Holdengraber of ‘Live from the New York Public Library’ fame. “Richard Belzer’s Conversation” will feature interviews with actors, comedians, directors, musicians, and writers. “The Paul Holdengräber Show will engage award-winning writers and artists about their work and passions.

Numberphile
Numberphile is a channel for people who love numbers and want to find out the stories behind them, also from Brady Haran. Numberphile’s very first video appeared on an auspicious date (the last binary date of a generation) - 11.11.11 - and of course, the video was all about the number 11 - and barcodes. The channel has gone on to feature videos about 98, 15, 31 … teaching us about grafting numbers and hexadecimals and Mersenne Primes in the process.

SciShow
From the other vlogbrother, Hank, SciShow aims to teach scientific concepts in an easy-to-understand way, covering everything from particle physics to DNA. The first episode is about "non-newtonian fluids," and the second episode focuses on the Higgs Boson particle and includes interviews with the director general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The Spangler Effect
YouTube was only five months old when Steve Spangler first taught people how to turn a bottle of Diet Coke and a roll of Mentos into an exploding geyser. Science videos are among the most popular viral videos on YouTube, and this channel will set out to make science more approachable and a whole lot more fun.

We hope you enjoy these additions to our YouTube Education corpus, which today has 700+ partners and more than 500,000 videos. If you’re a teacher, check out youtube.com/teachers for a set of education resources that includes more than 300 playlists of videos that align with core education standards. And if you want to make YouTube more accessible in your school, check out YouTube for Schools.

Angela Lin, Head of YouTube Education, recently watched “The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1”.

Music Tuesday: Busta Rhymes, Fresh Faces and more

2012-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

The good ship Wilco sailed into YouTube Music this week, with the premiere of their new video “Dawned on Me”, which believe it or not, is the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in 30 years. We also featured a curation from Black Bananas, a video from Cymbals Eat Guitars, and more...

Busta Rhymes with YouTube and Google Music

Back in November, Busta Rhymes offered you all a chance to appear in the music video for "Why Stop Now," his latest single. Hundreds of you took up his challenge, downloaded the song, learned the verse, and filmed yourselves spitting it. Busta watched the entries, selected his favorites, and had director Hype Williams splice them into the final cut. We're happy to debut the results. Take a look, and see which fans did the verse nice enough to earn Busta's seal of approval.

Chemical Brothers

For the first time in 20 years, electronica pioneers the Chemical Brothers have captured their audio-visual live show on film. The movie, titled “Don’t Think”, is directed by Adam Smith, and will be hitting theater screens around the world later this year. To celebrate, Adam and the Chemical Brothers collected some of their favorite YouTube music videos in a playlist:

January Fresh Faces

Every month, we feature a handful of newly-signed music partners on YouTube’s homepage. Amongst January’s picks, Jitta55 shows us his "Drink Face," and Shonsta performs an intense guitar solo:

Tim Partridge, YouTube Music Manager, recently watched Busta Rhymes “Why Stop Now ft. Chris Brown”

How to shape up your video marketing strategy in 2012

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Did you vow to get in shape in 2012? Maybe you committed take your business to the next level this year, too. Keeping either resolution can be a challenge, so we wanted to call out a few YouTube fitness Channels doing great work both with their videos and their advertising—without breaking a sweat.

Mike Chang has a growing following on YouTube thanks to his easy-to-do workout videos, steady stream of new content and special seasonal discounts offers on his Six Pack Shortcuts program. This January he gave YouTube subscribers 70 percent off from his new Insane Home Fat Loss program. He also uses YouTube TrueView video ads to reach new viewers, and now has more than 370,000 Channel subscribers interested in rock solid abs.

The Flex Belt and TRX Channels use their YouTube Channels to host tons of video content for beginners and experts alike, many featuring celebrities like Next Top Model winner Adrianne Curry for Flex Belt or NFL superstar Drew Brees on the TRX Channel. Talk about motivation. Through the power of video, Flex Belt and TRX can capture an audience’s attention, show how their products work, and then tell viewers how to buy the product with banner ads on their brand Channels or call-to-action overlays over their videos. TRX’s YouTube Channel banner ended up being responsible for 7 percent of all holiday sales through paid search Channels in December 2011.

If you’re a business owner, musician, filmmaker, fitness expert or all of the above, you can build an audience with YouTube video advertising tools by getting started with Google AdWords for video today.

Baljeet Singh, group product manager, recently watched “S*&t Silicon Valley Says.”

From the West Wing: Hanging out with President Obama on YouTube

2012-01-30T04:00:00.000-08:00

You asked, and today President Obama will answer. This afternoon at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 pm ET), President Obama will head to the Roosevelt Room of the White House to connect face-to-face with people across America over a live Google+ Hangout. This first-ever virtual interview will be streamed live on the White House YouTube Channel so you’ll have a front row seat.

In the past week, over 225,000 of you have asked a question or cast a vote on the White House YouTube channel, voicing your interest in everything from military benefits to online poker, outsourcing to the Occupy movement. During today’s post-State of the Union interview, a selection of the top-voted YouTube questions will be asked, and several participants will actually join the President in the live Google+ Hangout to pose their questions directly.

Tune in today to watch Your Interview with President Obama live at 2:30 p.m. PT on youtube.com/whitehouse and see how President Obama addresses the issues that you care about.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Ask Obama: Why Tuesday”

CaliforniaTravelTips is January’s rising YouTube partner

2012-01-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you’ve been to the YouTube homepage today, you may have noticed CaliforniaTravelTips featured in the Spotlight. Veronica Hill, the woman behind CaliforniaTravelTips, is our featured “On The Rise” partner for January.

Born and raised in California, Veronica has 30+ years of travel experience that she’s translated into an informative YouTube series about all the Golden State has to offer. Ever wondered what the best strategy is for tackling Disneyland? Planning a trip to San Diego and want advice about must-do sites and activities? Think you want to visit Yosemite but want a preview of the best wilderness hiking trails? Answer any of these questions and more with Veronica’s detailed and digestible travel videos, with more than 150 video reviews to watch.

Here are a few words from Veronica:

California is one of the most diverse and wonderful places in the world! We have sandy beaches, snow-capped mountains, breathtaking national forests, and vast stretches of lonely desert. After 20 years as an editor and writer for magazines, books and newspapers, I decided to try something new. In 2007, Tim Carter of AsktheBuilder.com suggested that we start a YouTube channel. That weekend, my husband, Jason, and I went to the local camera store and bought a cheap digital video camera, tripod and Radio Shack mic. We began filming our favorite vacation spots and attractions throughout California... We want to thank the YouTube community and everyone who voted. You guys are awesome, and we couldn't have done it without your support!

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!

Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube partner support, recently watched “driving on mountain top ORIGINAL!”

YouTube Creator Playbook: Use analytics to build an audience

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is part of an ongoing series sharing tips from the YouTube Creator Playbook, a resource of best practices and tips you can start using on your Channel and videos right away.

There’s tons of data and information available about your Channel, videos and audience in YouTube Analytics, but the power of this information rests in how you use it. Here are tips for how to monitor the overall performance of your Channel and how to assess your videos based on the what the data is telling you.

Find the Story Behind the Data

Learn what each metric means and how the different metrics correlate to one another to find the 'why' and 'how' of trends you're seeing. Don't just kick your feet up when you see a nice spike in views - dig deeper to learn more. Find what video is causing the increase or look at traffic sources to see where the new views are coming from.
Hear FreddieW discuss how he uses tracking and measuring to assess the impact of all the strategies he tries on his Channel:

Peaks, Most, Biggest

Use Analytics to investigate ‘peaks’ and ‘most’ of each metric. What videos are driving the most subscribers and why? What week did your Channel get the most views and what traffic source makes up the biggest portion of your views? Answers to these can help you plan your future videos based on where you’re seeing the most success.
Gunnarolla uses Analytics to find out where his views come from for his Channel:

Videos Driving Subscribers

Now you can not only track your daily subscriber gains and losses, but you can see what specific videos are driving your subscriptions. Find out which call-to-action are helping you get the most people to subscribe to your Channel.

Use Your Archive

YouTube Analytics is a great way to keep an eye on how your archive is performing, beyond just new uploads. The 'Top 10' and video level metrics allow you to see which videos from your archive are still performing well or maybe even spiking in viewership. Use this information to prioritize what videos to optimize with annotations, new thumbnails or playlists.

To learn more about using YouTube Analytics to help your Channel succeed and many other tips, check out the YouTube Creator Playbook.

Ryan Nugent, audience development strategist, recently watched “Echoes...”

This week's Trends: lights, wind, guitars

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:

We took in some dazzling videos of the Northern Lights captured on camera.
We collected video from Egypt's one-year anniversary of its revolution.
We examined how a certain very popular trend of 2012 has gone local.
We checked in on the ever-growing popularity of dubstep.
We were blown away by crazy footage of a California wind storm.
And we met an 8-year-old girl who might just be one of the best elementary school metal guitarist that we've seen:

Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends

Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Ignition."

A Billion Annoying Oranges Later....

2012-01-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

Today, we’re excited to welcome long-time YouTube Partner Annoying Orange to the blog to celebrate an impressive milestone - one billion views on his channel. Now, for a fresh perspective:

Hey! Hey Youtubers! HEEEEEEY! Thanks for letting me borrow your blog! I promise not to chop it! HAHAHAHA!

Wow. You know I've never actually written a blog before. Or read one. I usually just stick to emoticons. Oh! Oh! Here's one of me going NYAH, NYAH, NYAH, NYAH:

(:^)

And this is me smiling with waffle fries in my mouth:

(:#)

And this is pear with a mustache:

(:{)

No, he doesn't actually have a mustache. It's just peach fuzz! HAHA!

And that one:

(:O)

That one means, "Thanks to all our fans for tubing in… ONE BILLION TIMES!" I've been using that one a LOT lately!

Oh! Oh! One more! One more!

Do you know what this means:

!!!!

Hey! Hey! Do you give up yet!? You give up!? How 'bout now?! Now?! OH! OH! NOW!?

Okay, I'll tell you! It means "Holy smokes, the Annoying Orange is celebrating his BILLIONTH VIEW with an EPIC new video up now! You saw the action, now see the REVENGE! Wall-to-wall jokes, all your favorite guest stars, and lots and lots of FIRE!!! Don't miss it!"

See, with an emoticon like that, what else do you really have to say? You know, besides (:^)

See you then!

A to the O!

Annoying Orange, Guest to the YouTube Blog, recently watched, “Annoying Orange Comedy Roast!.”

Bringing the creativity of the Sundance Film Festival to YouTube

2012-01-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

The annual independent film extravaganza known as the Sundance Film Festival is underway in Park City, Utah. For film lovers who couldn’t make it this year to meet to-be-discovered filmmakers and rub shoulders with celebrities, we're bringing Sundance to you here on YouTube.

Last year, we showcased past and present short films in the YouTube Screening Room. This year, we’ve teamed up with Sundance Film Institute to premiere a collection of films that are available for the first time for digital stream.

Films include Obselidia (Independent Spirit Award Winner), Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade (2007 Sundance Film Festival documentary on the arcade gamer competitions in the ‘80s), New York Times Critic’s Pick Lord Byron and 1994 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award Winner What Happened Was.

To mark the last weekend of the festival, we’ll premiere Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie tomorrow at the same time the shock humor duo showcase their world premiere at the 2012 festival. This star-studded comedy features Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and is already picking up buzz in Park City.

For the best of Sundance and thousands of other titles, get more into movies at YouTube.com/Movies.

Mildred Padilla, Movies Merchandising Manager, recently watched “Brick.”

YouTube Release Notes: Updates to Browse page, Video Editor and Video Manager

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

This week we’re kicking off our recurring Release Notes post for 2012, highlighting some of the most recent updates to YouTube. Our scrappy engineers have been hard at work to make your experience even better, and here’s what’s new.

New look for Browse
Today we're giving the Browse page a fresh look-and-feel, to help you find even more great Channels on YouTube. Alongside the top lists like Most Viewed Today, you can now discover and subscribe to more YouTube Channels on browse pages, which will then regularly update on your homepage. You can also discover more content under categories including Entertainment, People & Blogs, Science & Technology and more. You’ll find it all on YouTube.com/browse.

Video Editor with new features
We first announced the YouTube Video Editor back in June of 2010 and since then we’ve added dozens of features that we hope you’ve enjoyed. With the recent YouTube homepage update we felt it was time to give the Video Editor a visual overhaul, as well as adding a cool new timeline, easier clip trimming and a moving playhead. Head over to YouTube.com/editor to see the changes. Here’s a shot of what it looks like:

Video Manager with oldies and new goodies
We’ve listened to your feedback from the Video Manager update in December, and have a bunch of new features and improvements. Along with a visual update, the Video Manager includes search history, and an improved display of scheduled uploads and claimed videos. You also wanted us to add back in the likes and dislikes statistics as well as sorting videos by popularity, so those features have returned. This will be rolling out over the next few days, and here’s a screenshot of what it looks like:

David Wang, product specialist, recently watched “Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover),” Alan deLespinasse, software engineer, recently watched “Extreme Sheep LED Art [HQ],” and Jung Kim, User Experience Designer, recently watched “[M/V] ITAEWON FREEDOM (with J.Y. Park).”

Music Tuesday: Nada Surf, Sundance and more

2012-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

This week on YouTube Music we’ve premiered Ryan Adam’s new video, enjoyed an exclusive playlist of Tiesto’s favorite tracks, and had, in the words of one YouTube commenter, our “brains tickled” by Matthew Dear’s In The Middle. Check back each day to discover more great music, including...

Nada Surf: live and playlisting!
Nada Surf are celebrating 20 years of work together, from the days of Popular, to the innovative covers, and even an early example of crowdsourcing music videos through a YouTube competition in 2008. They’ll be blowing the candles on their cake, and playing their new album live from the Bowery Ballroom this evening at 7pm PT. To get you in the mood, the guys have selected some of their favorite music videos, including tunes from The Wrens, Softback and Sea Wolf. Check out their playlist, then head over to the Nada Surf Channel to watch the show!

Sundance 2012
Robert Redford’s Sundance Festival has long been a major force in the world of independent cinema, and with the expansion of its music program has truly become the place to be in January. For our Sundance 2012 playlist, we combined videos from some of the artists performing live, with some of our favorite songs featured in the films on show. Strap on your snow boots and enjoy tracks from Public Enemy, Flying Lotus, The Charlatans and more.

Elizabeth Harper - Class Actress
Finally, earlier this month we featured Azari & iii’s video for “Reckless (With Your Love)”, which throws back to old school 90s house music. Tweaking sounds from the past has been a recurring theme with emerging talent and our pick for this week is Class Actress - “Bienvenue” - you’re sure to experience that 80’s feeling!

Tim Partridge, YouTube music manager, recently watched "Girls - 'Honey Bunny' Official Video."

Are you the next online beauty guru?

2012-01-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

L’Oreal Paris is kicking off a search across the U.S. to find the next beauty guru on YouTube. One aspiring expert will win a spotlight on the Destination Beauty YouTube Channel and have their beauty tutorial video shown among 10 of YouTube’s most popular tutorial stars. This lucky beauty aficionado will also enjoy a trip for two to New York City for some pampering at L’Oréal USA and a year’s supply of L’Oréal Paris cosmetic, hair care, hair color and skincare products to support their “how-to” video efforts.

If you think you have what it takes, sharpen your (eyeliner!) pencils and make sure your video is a cut above the rest. To get motivated, YouTube partner and beauty expert Kandee Johnson shares what you need to know about the contest.

How to enter and contest rules
To enter, submit a tutorial video here that shares your “how-to” tips and tricks behind your favorite red carpet-inspired hair and makeup look. You can submit as many videos as you’d like, so explore a variety of trends and styles. Video submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges measuring on the quality of instruction, production and end result, and full rules for the contest are here.

Good luck and can’t wait to see all of your glamorous videos!

Jamie Berkowitz, lifestyle program manager, recently watched "Make up look for the Office -Tuesday."

NBC Sports and YouTube bring the Super Bowl XLVI ads to you with YouTube Ad Blitz

2012-01-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl XLVI will be one of the biggest moments of the year for advertisers, commanding the attention of millions of Americans tuned in to watch the game. After the big plays on the field, you can join in on the action online with YouTube Ad Blitz — where you decide the best commercial of the game.

As the premier online gallery of Super Bowl commercials, YouTube Ad Blitz puts all the commercials in your hands, letting you view and vote on the top ads of the Super Bowl, whether you’re on a computer, mobile phone or tablet. This year, NBC Sports is the official partner for YouTube Ad Blitz, adding online promotion to its Super Bowl coverage.

Troy Ewanchyna, Vice President, Business Development & Digital Strategies, NBC Sports Group, noted, “YouTube’s Ad Blitz is the perfect platform for us to extend our online promotion for our coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. The post-game Ad Blitz and the next-day Google+ Hangout allow us to extend our coverage and continue to serve viewers even when the game has concluded.”

The Ad Blitz gallery will be hosted on NBCSports.com and the YouTube Ad Blitz Channel, where you can watch your favorite commercials after they’ve aired on NBC. Voting begins after the final whistle and will continue until Midnight ET on February 13. We’ll also host a Google+ Hangout after the game where you can chat face-to-face with an NBC celebrity. Stay tuned to our blog for details.

Let the ad game begin!

Suzie Reider, head of industry development, global video team, Google, recently watched “6 tips for an awesome football party - Super Bowl XLVI.”