I’m a movie buff, and love getting excited for upcoming releases by checking outtrailers on YouTube. It’s easy and convenient to watch the trailers online, but I’ve often wished I could get closer to the theater experience in my browser. So I did some research, and found a few really handyChrome extensionsthat can make your YouTube viewing experience bigger and better. For example,Window Expander for YouTubemaximizes YouTube videos to fill your entire browser. WithTurn Off the Lights, you can make the entire page outside the video fade to dark like you’re in a movie theater. Not sure whether a video is worth viewing? TheOpinionCloudextension summarizes comments on YouTube (and Flickr!), so you can quickly get the crowd’s overall opinion. And just recently the Google team releasedYouTube Feed, which notifies you whenever new videos are available in your YouTube homepage feed. You can directly access videos that your friends upload, rate and like right in your browser.
There are many other useful extensions in the gallery to make your YouTube experience more customized. Find out more about Google Chrome extensions here, or by checking out the video below.
Next New Networks has developed, produced or promoted some of the most popular web series on YouTube, including “The Key of Awesome,” “Obama Girl” and “Auto-Tune the News.” They recently launched a new series, “Comedy Thunder,” to help introduce you to some of the great comedy channels available on YouTube. We asked them some questions about the new show...
1. Tell us about "Comedy Thunder." Where did the idea come from and what can the YouTube community expect? It’s our version of a comedy festival. Each week the eight channels will tackle a topic that we select, like cute animals or blockbuster movies, and give their comedic take on it. We will also have surprise YouTube guests taking part in the series. FromGoPotatoTVtoCyr1216, we want to showcase the best, up and coming comedy talent that YouTube has to offer. We're re-creating the experience of going to Montreal for Just for Laughs or HBO's now-defunct Aspen Comedy Festival and bringing it to YouTube. Like popping into a showcase at a big comedy festival, viewers will see a range of comedic styles. 2. You've had previous success with series like "Key of Awesome" and "Obama Girl." What words of advice would you give to other YouTube content creators looking to build their audiences? YouTube is a social platform. Your audience wants to talk to you. Ask them questions. Get opinions and then feature them in your videos. You are leading a conversation. 3. Are you hoping to help the comedy groups you're working with get discovered? Is this kind of collaboration the future of online video? Collaboration and cross promotion between channels is not the future of online video – it is the present. It is what makes YouTube a unique and social experience. Fans get excited seeing their favorite YouTube users show up on other channels they love. I am hoping that the series helps these channels grow their audience so they can get closer to making online video their full-time jobs.
We know that sometimes people come to YouTube looking for a specific video, but at other times, they have only a rough idea of the kind of videos they want. We’ve been there too, and have been thinking for a while about this challenge of searching when you don’t yet know exactly what you’re looking for. Here’s a glimpse inside how we are approaching this challenge:
In coming up with a solution, we wanted to help you specify your search even if you started with something as vague as “funny”. We also wanted to surface varied sets of videos and make it easy for you to explore them further. To that end, we have a prototype we’d like you to try out. It’s called “YouTube Topics on Search” and you can get to it fromTestTube. Here’s a video showing you how it works:
Put simply, we try to identify topics on YouTube and associate videos with them. We use many different sources to find these topics, including frequently used uploader keywords, common search queries, playlist names, and even sources outside of YouTube such as Wikipedia articles.
When you search -- for example, let’s say for “obama” -- we suggest other related topics tied to videos that you might want to explore, such as “michelle obama” or “john mccain.” You can click to get to videos on these topics or you can find videos that contain both topics by clicking on the (+) next to the topic. This is handy for refining. For instance, try searching for “turkey” and you’ll see “thanksgiving” as a refinement option further down the page. We hope topics become a fun way to explore new and interesting corners of YouTube’s video universe.
To start you exploring, we’ve planted topic “Easter eggs,” which we challenge you to find. Here are a couple of hints relating to just some of the topics out there:
“Whoa, man. Whoa. Whoa! Oh my God! Oh my God! Woohoo! Oh, wow!” What did this person just see?
For more clues to other topic Easter eggs and for other questions you have, readthis articlein the Help Center. Give Topics on Searcha test driveand let us know what you think in theYouTube forum.
Well, we knowWill.i.amdoes after he called out the Korean girl group 2NE1 on YouTubeearlier this year. If you are not familiar with K-POP, check out some of the top Korean music labels like YG Entertainment, SM Entertainmentand JYP Entertainment, then come back between November 10 and 28 for your very own chance to be the next K-POP star. MBC, the No. 2 TV network in Korea, is partnering with YouTube to search the world for the next big talent. Top Korean music labels have found audiences all over the globe watching their music videos and now it’s your turn to do your own performance. Don’t worry if you don’t speak Korean; you can audition in any language.
Based on the video views and votes for your submission, you’ll have the opportunity to be sent to Korea for a second audition on national TV. The final winner will be awarded KRW 300 million as well as a sponsorship from MBC to be debuted as the next K-POP star. For more details, visit www.youtube.com/MBCAudition. Lois Kim, Head of Marketing & Communications, YouTube Korea, recently watched “Wonder Girls NOBODY US Debut Single HD MV.”
Meet Emilynoel83, a morning news anchor who's also a “makeup addict” who loves to make videos about beauty products. Today she's on our homepage. And you put her there.
Last week, we announced a new initiative to give rising channels greater visibility and hopefully also more subscribers. We selected four channels whose subscriber base flourished in the last month, and we asked you to choose which one should go on the homepage. As you can see, Emily won by a significant margin.
Here’s a few words from Emily herself: The growth of "Beauty Broadcast" has been slow and steady since late 2007, gaining subscribers that are more loyal than I could've imagined. My YouTube channel is my passion, and I'm thrilled to think that more people can become part of it as a result of this poll! As many have found, Beauty Broadcast isn't just about makeup... but also positivity, fun, and inner beauty. Thanks to this opportunity, I hope many people will go "On the Rise" right along with me! :)
We’ll be back soon with four new channels for you to vote on in the next edition of “On the Rise.” Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Katy Perry & Russell Brand Makeup Tutorial."
Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here. Last week, we made some arguments for why quality matters in web video, and we heard from Howcast filmmakerLuke Neumann, who said that it matters “because you never know who’s watching.” Duh! Watching Luke’s videos, you can tell he’s motivated by much more than that, but as we said last week, it’s a good starting point. Luke’s been making Howcast videos for about a year now and he’s got more than 50 under his belt. From the beginning, he impressed us with videos like “How To Yodel,” where he showed he could build a story around a simple script, work in some cool camera angles, and make us laugh. Last week we featured one of his newest spots, “How To Survive a Zombie Attack.” If we thought Yodel was pretty darn good when it came in a year ago, you can imagine "Zombie Attack" knocked our socks clean off. Luke clearly strives for the best every time he uploads. The web offers free access to audiences like no medium ever has. As filmmakers, we’re tasked with not squandering this access. Every upload should be better than the last to keep this audience coming back for more and to refine our skills for the day when perhaps we are handed that huge check to make something. We asked Luke to let us in on how he does it. How did he make this gorgeous zombie video on a budget that would barely cover the average wedding video? How did he create that apocalyptic feeling, complete with fiery explosion? And, how did he make his zombies look like they’re decomposing before our very eyes? Here’s Luke’s first “Behind the Scenes” video for Howcast. This is the first part of a new series where we’ll be letting you come behind the scenes to see how our filmmakers make the most creative how-to videos on a DIY budget.Step 1: Cover yourself in plain old dirt to look like you’ve been to hell and back.The Walking Deadproducers could learn something from Luke!
Want to learn more about how Luke created Zombie Attack? Visit hisblogwhere he posted in-depth tutorials, photos and a cool trailer. Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Howcast: Vlogger Wanted!”
Earlier this month, a small team from Google and YouTube spent a week in Iraq on a trip arranged by the Department of Defense’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Our goals were to explore opportunities for Google in Iraq, to understand the landscape of Internet access and connectivity in the country during this critical transition period, and to bring top-voted questions from YouTube to Iraqi leaders in a series of interviews. We met with students, private sector companies, NGOs and Iraqi leadership in the Kurdish city of Erbil in the north, and in Baghdad.
Regardless of your feelings about the Iraq War, it’s immediately evident upon arrival just how completely the country missed the Internet boom during Saddam Hussein’s regime. Internet penetration rates in Iraq are among the lowest in the Middle East—somewhere between one and eight percent. Only 15 percent of Iraqis say they use the web, and the largest percentage of them live in Baghdad. There are no commercial data centers in Iraq and much more fiber connectivity is needed to meet consumer needs. Most connections are via satellite, and those who do have connections pay dearly for it—we heard estimates of up to $150 U.S. dollars per month for a 512kb connection. To incentivize and enable private companies to lay more fiber in Iraq, a complex set of roadblocks must be addressed—from security concerns to regulatory frameworks to licensing structures. As the country is still struggling to form a government more than seven months after its last election, much of this progress has been stalled.
There are signs of progress, however. Mobile penetration has skyrocketed in Iraq in the past seven years, from effectively zero percent in 2003 to over 70% today. And the Iraqi people are highly educated. We met with dozens of computer science students at Salahaddin University in Erbil and at Baghdad University, and though they lack equipment and resources, they’re highly motivated to innovate and believe the web is a critical component of their economy’s future.
Many young people in Iraq and around the world submitted questions in Arabic and English for three interviews we conducted in partnership with Middle Eastern news agency Al Arabiya. Google Translate enabled anyone to vote on their favorite questions regardless of language, and we brought the top five questions to current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil, Dr. Barham Salih, and Iraqi politician and once the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi. Here is the television special that Al Arabiya produced showcasing their answers:
The Iraqis we met consistently expressed their desire for increased access to the web and for more access to content and tools in both Kurdish and Arabic. We believe access to information and high-speed connectivity to the cloud will be key to the future of the country. The power of the web to change people’s lives grows the further one gets from Silicon Valley, and we look forward to continuing our work with companies, governments and citizens in Iraq and other countries in transition. Mary Himinkool, New Business Development, and Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "Voices: Conversation Between Iraqi and American Students."
