YouTube Creator Blog: August 2012

RSVP for our last 2012 YouTube Partner Meet-Ups

Friday, August 31, 2012

Registration is still open for our remaining 2012 YouTube partner meet-ups! We are excited to meet with more of the YouTube community and facilitate our partners mingling with each other. Each of these meetups will offer you a chance to meet your fellow partners, learn about program and product updates, and take your content creation and audience development techniques to the next level.

Details and registration forms are at these links:

NYC meet-up Oct. 29: http://goo.gl/WSnWB

Note: form closes Oct. 8
Our schedule in NYC includes:

Another episode of "Partner Support Talks with..." featuring ImprovEverywhere.
Panels on audience development and Creator Playbook updates.
Product updates and announcements.
Opportunities to discuss channel optimization directly with Partner Support.

LA meet-up Nov. 12: http://goo.gl/QG9aM

Note: form closes Oct. 12
Our schedule in LA includes:

Presentations by well-known partners such as LisBug and RatedRR, who will discuss their experience with audience engagement, production/post-production, and Analytics.
An episode of "Partner Support Talks with..." featuring OlgaKay.
Product updates and announcements.
Group critiques of sample videos and channels, and an opportunity to discuss optimization best practices.

Space is limited, so please take note of the date each form closes and RSVP soon! We'll be sending confirmation emails with details to those we can accommodate.

We look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events!

Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “11 Month Old Twins Dancing to Daddy's Guitar.”

Want to use your full name on YouTube? Partners can opt in now

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Until June, cutepuppies99 was stuck with a name he may have outgrown, and origamigirl1981 couldn’t reveal the name of the person with the skills. We wanted to fix this, so we started allowing them to use their name from their Google+ profiles on YouTube.

Today, we are happy to announce that YouTube partners can now get in on the action by opting in.

Opting in allows you to replace your username with your Google+ profile name (spaces included!), replace your photo with any you’ve uploaded, and include a direct link to your profile. See this example from creator Rob Scallon, formerly known as “robs70986987”:

This provides you with a seamless way to connect with and be discovered by your audience across YouTube and Google.

Despite some nifty benefits, opting into a Google+ profile isn’t for everyone. Currently, YouTube only supports using a Google+ profile identity, which is designed for individuals who want to use their full names. If your channel is built around a brand or organization, and you want to use that name instead, you should wait until Google+ Pages are available to be connected with channels. (We’re working hard on that, too.) Google+ Pages can be named after a brand or organization, and up to 50 people may administer the account. (You’ll also be able administer up to 50 channels from an account.)

If you think a Google+ profile is a good fit for you, you can start opting in by going to the advanced section of your account settings and clicking “Begin using my full name on YouTube.” Note that this is only available if you have your Google+ profile on the same account as your Channel.

And if you change your mind, you can always switch back to cutepuppies99.

For more information on Google identities on YouTube, visit our help center.

David Boyle, YouTube staff, recently watched “Oppa Gangnam Style”

Our August featured “On The Rise” partner is thevfxbro!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Congratulations to Aaron of thevfxbro! As a result of strong fan support and recognizable efforts to optimize his channel and videos according to our best practices, Aaron is our featured “On The Rise” YouTube partner for August. His channel and four engaging videos are featured on the YouTube homepage today.

As a film student at Biola University, Aaron perfected his video editing skills and special effects knowledge while mastering programs like Final Cut and Adobe AfterEffects. This work was a natural fit for YouTube, and he’s found success by sharing his expertise with the YouTube world. The thevfxbro channel hosts such videos as the walkthrough of the video effects Aaron used in his “I Am Legend” spoof, his adorable “copy cat,” and how the “Hunt for Pikachu” video was created. Check out his library of video editing tutorials as well as behind-the-scenes footage explaining how Aaron - and his friend Zach from FinalCutKing - use special effects to create their videos.

Here are a few words from Aaron:

Wow! Having started film school 4 years ago I never thought that it would have ended with me running a YouTube channel with an audience that I not only get to share my videos with, but help along the way. The crazy thing about YouTube is that it’s so new and we have no idea where it’s going to take us. I am so excited to see where this platform takes us filmmakers. Feel free to check out my channel that has awesome videos with visual effects as well as training and tutorials to help you take your own videos to the next level!

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 Content Partnerships, recently watched “Bentley the Bulldog Puppy is fussy.”

Expanding custom thumbnails to more partners

Friday, August 24, 2012

Why not just give custom thumbnails to everyone?focus on watch time when suggesting videosCommunity Guidelinesabuse of this featureAndy Stack, YouTube Product Manager, recently watched “Written By A Kid: Scary Smash.”

Channel templates just got simpler and more flexible

Thursday, August 23, 2012

To create a simpler and higher-impact experience for creators and viewers on YouTube, today we’re making two changes to channels.
First, we’re merging the Creator and Network featured tab templates into the Everything template. By default your featured tab will look as it did before, but you will now have the option of showing both playlists and channels. This allows you to more easily feature your content and promote other channels at the same time. This update is happening automatically this week, and requires no changes from you.

Second, we’re introducing a new template called Overview. The Overview template displays a featured video with “shelves” underneath. Shelves are groups of videos or playlists, such as Popular Uploads, Recent Uploads, and Likes.
Content is automatically populated into shelves based on the shelf type; you don’t have to do anything. When your viewers click on a shelf title, they’re taken to a full page to browse that content type.

These changes simplify creator choices and enhance the browsing experience for viewers. Try out the new templates and let us know what you think.

Stace Peterson, Software Engineer, recently watched Oddisee - You Know Who You Are

New feature: Easily create video intros and outros

Thursday, August 23, 2012

We’ve noticed more and more playlists with interstitials in between videos -- short intro or outro videos that recap the previous video and introduce the next one. You’ve been using interstitials to weave individual videos together into a bigger story, and frankly, we’re impressed. For example, Eat Your Kimchi uses interstitials to turn a music playlist into a K-POP news show.

So, to make it easier for you to tell great stories through playlists, we’re making it easy to add interstitials right in the playlist editor.

To do so, create a playlist or go to edit an existing playlist, then click + Introduction:

A window will pop up prompting you to record a video with your webcam:

If you prefer, you can create a text-only video instead:

You can choose from a variety of styles for text introductions and even add royalty-free music tracks. Interstitials will appear as unlisted videos in your account, and are eligible for monetization if they are at least 15 seconds long.

We hope this makes it easier to program great playlists by curating your own and others’ videos!

Eric Lundberg, Software Engineer, recently watched “Falcon Eye - Abu Dhabi 2011”

Helping you monetize mobile traffic more effectively

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

You’ve seen the numbers -- more and more traffic is coming from people watching video on smartphones and tablets. People are watching video when out with friends, while waiting in line, or on the bus home. Mobile growth on YouTube has been phenomenal.

So to help you monetize your mobile traffic as effectively as on PCs, today we’re launching TrueView in-stream video ads on mobile devices.

With TrueView video ads, we’ve developed a model where user engagement matters -- people can skip ads they aren’t interested in after five seconds. Giving viewers choice over ads they watch has lead to a better, more engaged viewing experience, benefiting the entire YouTube community of users, partners and advertisers. TrueView in-stream ads tend to earn equal or higher revenue compared with standard video ads. And since they now comprise the majority of the video ads on YouTube, TrueView allows you to access a broader base of advertisers.You don’t need to make any changes to your channel to take advantage of TrueView on mobile. If you are opted to show TrueView ads on your videos, this will now also include traffic from mobile devices. For questions about monetization options, check out the ads Help Center page.Phil Farhi, YouTube group product manager, recently watched “Volvo Trucks - The Ballerina Stunt”

New "Project: YouTube" video series keeps creators current, with a smile

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Want to keep up with recent changes to YouTube? The YouTube Partner Support team has launched a new video series called Project: YouTube, so you can stay on top of things from your own YouTube subscription feed.

Along with the bi-weekly Product Bulletin, Project: YouTube will keep you current, teach you channel optimization strategies, and show you what other YouTube partners are doing. Here’s one of our recent episodes:
Be sure to subscribe to the Partner Support channel, and catch up on previous episodes in the Project:YouTube Playlist.

John Langan, YouTube Account Manager, recently watched Hover ‘Bike’ Flies on Pilot’s Intuition.

"Please Subscribe:" Join us for a screening & Q&A

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Join us Wednesday, September 5th for the debut screening of "Please Subscribe," a YouTube documentary directed by Dan Dobi.

The YouTube world is a fast-growing space with thousands of channels making six figures a year just by uploading videos to the internet. "Please Subscribe" is a feature length documentary that follows some of the most influential and interesting content creators who are raising the bar with online media.

Who are these people? How did they get here? How do they stay current in what's becoming an over-saturated market? With 72 hours of footage uploaded to the site every hour, how do these individuals continue to get millions of eyeballs per video?

We'll be hosting the debut of this film at Google's office in Venice, CA, followed by a Q&A with director Dan Dobi, Kevin Khandjian, creators Hannah Hart, Seananners, Joe Penna, and Will Hyde, moderated by Shira Lazar of What's Trending and the Partners Project.

What: Screening of "Please Subscribe," a YouTube documentary
Where: Google/YouTube Venice: Hampton Dr. & Sunset Ave., Venice, CA
When: Wed., Sept. 5th, 2012

7:00-8:00 - Arrive at Google/YouTube
8:00-9:20 - Film screening
9:20-10:20 - Q&A moderated by Shira Lazar
10:20-11:00 - Eat, drink, and be merry!

Who: You! Please indicate your interest by filling out this form. Your attendance is automatically confirmed once you fill out the form, but please be aware that this event is first come, first served. Security will close the doors once we reach capacity.

European creators: could you be YouTube’s next big thing?

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Our NextUp program has unearthed some fantastic creative talent over the last year and we’re delighted to announce that today we’re launching the project again for European YouTube partners.

NextUp is a development program exclusively designed for YouTube Partners with bags of potential. We’d love to see even more partners using the site as a launchpad to career success, so we’re supporting them through funding, education and promotions via NextUp. By helping them invest in new equipment and training, talented creators are going to develop whole new genres and online experiences for audiences around the world - ironing skydiving anyone?
Eligibility So, let’s get down to the details. If you’re an official YouTube partner in either France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, or the UK and are 18+ years old on the day of application, then you could be eligible to enter. Your channel must have between 5,000 - 100,000 subscribers as of August 17th 2012 and you must have uploaded at least 6 public videos to your channel in the last 6 months (February 17th 2012 - August 17th 2012). If you meet the eligibility requirements, then you can apply here. In order to apply, you’ll need to submit one pilot video and answer one free response question:
The pilot video should be an example of the project you want to create for your channel, and demonstrate your creativity, talent, and skill with video-creation and storytelling (the video should be max. 3 mins in length).

The open response question is a written outline of your YouTube project. It is required to provide additional context to your video pilot entry and has a 400 word limit.
Applications are open until September 23rd 2012. Once applications close, a panel of YouTube judges and the 2011 NextUp winners will select 25 winners from across Europe. Prizes Winners will receive an all expenses paid to trip to London, where you’ll be able to attend a week of hands-on training and mentorship in our brand new creator space, complete with studios, editing suites and the latest audio-visual equipment. In addition, winners will get a €4,000 video equipment package and €3,000 in cash to help boost the quality of your content as well as promotion across YouTube to help you build your audience We can’t wait to see what creative ideas you all come up with in 2012! Kinzie Kramer, YouTube Partner Marketing, recently watched "Come With Us -- Lindsey Stirling & Can't Stop Won't Stop".

Tags removed from video watch pages

Friday, August 17, 2012

upload interfacevideo managerShiva Rajaraman, Director of Product Management, recently watched “Y.N.RichKids - Hot Cheetos & Takis.”

Summer in the City: Live on YouTube

Friday, August 17, 2012

This weekend we’re looking forward to attending Summer in the City in London, an annual gathering of the YouTube clans that has seen its audience grow to more than 1,500 in just four years.

Here’s a message from the founders:

This year the event will be held at The Brewery in Central London. Whether you’re a creator, producer, or a fan, there are activities including workshops, games, exhibitions, live musical performances and more. Admission is free, so if you’re in London head down from noon on Friday, and 11am on Saturday.

We’ll be hosting a room where you can speak directly with YouTube experts about your channel, including tips and tricks to get the most out of your videos. There will also be workshops on a range of topics throughout Friday and Saturday -- sign up for these here.

If you can’t attend, the Saturday evening event will also be live streamed from 9am (PST) / 5pm (BST) on the Summer in the City YouTube channel. Tune in to see what’s going on at the venue and see some of your favourite YouTube acts performing live on stage.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Kieran Doyle, YouTube Partner Operations, UK, recently watched “Team GB: Don’t Stop Me Now”.

YouTube Now: Why We Focus on Watch Time

Friday, August 10, 2012

This is the first of a series called “YouTube Now,” which we’ll use to explain how we’re evolving the site, and why. Would you like to suggest a topic of interest to creators for a future YouTube Now? Please drop it in the comments below.
Today’s topic: why we surface videos that drive watch time.

YouTube viewers watch a lot of video -- over 4 billion hours a month at last count. But the average household also watches several hours of video per day on their TVs. So for YouTube to become the most important media in more people's lives, we've got a lot of growing to do.

Over the past few months we have made some changes to YouTube to encourage people to spend more time watching, interacting, and sharing with the community.

To support this, we’ve updated what we call video discovery features, meaning how our viewers find videos to watch via search and suggested videos. These changes better surface the videos that viewers actually watch, over those that they click on and then abandon.

Why this shift? Our video discovery features were previously designed to drive views. This rewarded videos that were successful at attracting clicks, rather than the videos that actually kept viewers engaged. (Cleavage thumbnails, anyone?)

Now when we suggest videos, we focus on those that increase the amount of time that the viewer will spend watching videos on YouTube, not only on the next view, but also successive views thereafter.

If viewers are watching more YouTube, it signals to us that they’re happier with the content they’ve found. It means that creators are attracting more engaged audiences. It also opens up more opportunities to generate revenue for our partners.

These changes have so far proved very positive -- primarily less clicking, more watching. We saw the amount of time viewers spend watching videos across the site increase immediately, and this positive trend has continued as we’ve made additional tweaks to our suggestions. Improvements in the stats we measure, such as average view duration, provide a solid indication that the videos we are recommending throughout the site are even more engaging.

How can creators thrive in this new world?

The best thing creators can do to be successful on YouTube is make videos that people want to watch. Simple, isn’t it? Unfortunately, many of the tactics we’ve heard from creators to optimize for YouTube’s discovery features may in fact backfire.

For example, we’ve heard from some creators who intentionally made their videos shorter in an attempt to get a higher retention rate. Unfortunately, this won’t help. While high retention on your videos is a good indication of engagement, we are actually optimizing for how a video contributes to a longer viewing session on YouTube. So your video isn’t more likely to be seen just because it’s shorter.

Conversely, we’ve also heard from some creators who intentionally made their videos longer, assuming that longer videos lead to more watch time. This also isn’t necessarily true, because it can be more challenging to keep viewers engaged through a longer video. (Think of a comedy sketch that drags on... just... a little... too long.)

As a result, our primary recommendation is to simply continue making the great videos your audience loves, and stay away from questionable optimization strategies.
Watch your dataAnd here’s how we’re about to make this easier for you: In the next few weeks we will provide enhanced watch time information in YouTube Analytics. In sum, we aim to give you as much information about watch time as we do about views today.You'll start to see this in YouTube Analytics in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we currently offer a downloadable report available with time watched data. You can use this data to better understand what your audience wants to watch. More time watching your content means a more engaged audience and more revenue for you. That’s what our focus on watch time is all about.Eric Meyerson, head of creator marketing communications, recently watched Is Dubstep Avant Garde Musical Genius?

Our August “On The Rise” nominees need your help to reach the homepage!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

On The RiseherehomepageGoogle+FacebookTwitterworldfoodprogrammikeyssmailvahchefstrengthprojectmarchettinothevfxbroOn The Rise channelDevon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The 90-year-old world record holder in pole vault - BBC News.”

Launching today: updated video editing interface & features

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Last September we introduced editing tools for YouTube videos, allowing you to auto-stabilize footage, tweak the color balance, and more. You’ve used these tools on millions of videos each month, so today we’re making these tools even faster, easier to use, and more powerful.

Over the course of the day, we'll be rolling out an updated interface for video enhancements and throwing in some new features to boot. You now have a real-time, interactive preview of the edited video, a quick view of available filters, and a simplified interface. To try this out on your own videos, go to Video Manager > Edit > Enhancements. You can get a sense of what it will look like below:

As a reminder, we don’t delete your original video when you make enhancements––you can revert to the original upload (or keep editing) until your video hits 10,000 views. At 10,000 views, you should consider your masterpiece complete, but you can still save the original upload under a new name. If you want even more editing features, visit the YouTube Video Editor to combine multiple clips, add titles, insert transitions and much more.

John Gregg, Software Engineer, recently watched “Curiosity Has Landed”.

We've Updated the Feed on the YouTube Homepage

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Today we’re rolling out some updates to your homepage feed to provide an even better viewing experience. Most of these changes are a result of the feedback you’ve given us. Here’s what you’ll notice:

Bigger video thumbnails with more information about uploader activity
We restructured the design to show bigger, higher-quality thumbnails. We’ve also included more information related to the video. If an uploader has commented, posted, or added a video to a playlist, we surface this information so you can get a better picture of all the activity related to the video.

More control over what you see in your feed
We’ve introduced a menu that lets you quickly control what content appears in your feed. To bring up this menu, simply hover over an item in the feed and click the arrow that appears in the upper right of the item. You can then choose to hide the item you have selected, opt to only show uploads from that user, or unsubscribe from that user, all directly in your feed.

A differentiated view of videos you’ve already watched
Videos that you’ve already watched are clearly marked in the feed, so you can better decide what to watch next.

A note about Highlights view
The Highlights view, which is currently the default view of activity on the homepage feed, is designed to ensure that a diverse set of creators appear in a viewer’s feed based on their subscriptions. Some creators publish videos once per week, while others publish many videos every day. Highlights views helps ensure that prolific creators don’t crowd out more occasional publishers in your homepage feed.

We’ve seen the Highlights view increase overall video viewership, and we’ve heard your feedback on wanting a way to easily see all content from your subscriptions. If you want to see each and every item from all channels, you can always select the Everything view. We are continuing to build features to make it easy to know when your subscriptions have new content, so watch for more improvements in the future.

Kurt Wilms, Product Manager at YouTube, recently watched Pony jumps 5 feet

LOL: Introducing the 16 YouTube Next Comics!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Last month, we asked the funniest among you to step forth and apply for YouTube Next Comic. Those selected will participate in three months of educational workshops, including mentoring from comedic pros like CollegeHumor and Glozell, receive $5,000 worth of video equipment and $10,000 worth of promotion for their channel. The response was overwhelming and had us ROFL-ing, making the task of selecting the lucky 16 surprisingly difficult. After a few wet willies, some knuckle sandwiches and other intense negotiation tactics, we were able to narrow it down. Here are your YouTube Next Comics:

ZekeMahogany: From horror to action, commercials and more, this Southern California based original sketch comedy troupe is constantly trying to challenge themselves to go further and try new things with their channel. They claim they’re just getting started, which is impressive given their 7 million views to date!
iSekC: Part comedian, part gamer, full on funny, Kevin of Pennsylvania recently shifted from focusing more on pop culture and slapstick humor to comedy that is action-based, incorporating his love of gaming and his “crazy imagination” wherever possible.
SteveGreeneComedy: California-based Steve Greene loves sarcasm and puts it above everything else. He also tells us that he only uploads videos that are funny, but we don’t think he’s being sarcastic about that.
dicasp: This South African teenager realizes that two are funnier than one, so he collaborates wherever possible to bring his audience two times the laughs. His mom is a big fan of his. We’re sure you will be too!
IFockingHateThat - These Vancouver guys like to add their own unique, absurd and Canadian take on their lives (or what they wish their lives could be). Did we mention they’re Canadian and pretty funny, eh?
thekloons - While their name might sound like an 80s family sitcom, these Brooklyn, New York, comedians have become pros at showcasing the absurd and hilarity that exists in the everyday.
Drcoolsex: Laughter is just what the doctor ordered, and this New York comedy troupe serves it with a vengeance through their parodies of pop culture characters, events, movies, TV shows, incorporating pretty sweet special effects as an added bonus!
SeanKlitzner: Whether pranking or parodying, this California-based comedian, actor and general funny guy keeps it real for his fans (or as he calls them his “family”) with regular doses of videos that will have you tee-hee-ing.
Sawyerhartman: This Los Angeles based actor and film buff had his eyes set on the big screen. While comedy is his forte, he also showcases his versatility by tackling drama as well. He’s now focused his efforts full-time on YouTube, which is great because we want to continue to ROFL from his videos.
DashieXP: This high-energy, wacky Floridian’s most viewed videos incorporate popular video game and cartoon characters saying some pretty off the wall things, but he still likes to stay unpredictable and think of new ways to get people laughing.
petergilroy - Peter wants each of his subscribers to feel like they’re one of his good friends, which is great because he records most of his crazy videos to have fun with his friends (and to impress his mom)!
TheWingGirls: Los Angeles based comediennes Jet and Star who use a mix of sketch comedy, parody, and off-the-wall caricatures to comment on relationships and expose the truth about dating.
MalumTV: Mawaan is a loud Londoner who likes to act out what happens to him from day to day (his life is THAT funny). Often donning a wig, he likes to experiment and try new ways of making his audience (and himself) laugh!
Clisare: Top o’ the mornin’ to this Irish comedienne who aims to employ (and make fun of) Irish humor wherever possible. She tells us Irish humor incorporates a mix of irony, sarcasm, self-deprecation and shamrocks.
jasonhorton - Jason claims he’s the world’ only white male comedian. Hmm. Not so sure about that, but we can say that this hilarious sketch and improv maverick loves to share his screen time with other talented comedians, resulting in countless LOL moments in his videos.
jayfluent - This New Jersey native was told he talked too much. So, he decided to talk to his camera. Through his specialty, comedic vlogging, he seeks to establish empathy with and elicit tears of laughter from his audience.

So what do you think? Subscribe to their channels to keep up with the Next Comics on their journey over the next three months and beyond. Let’s have a roaring laugh and hearty applause for the group!

Austin Lau, Global YouTube Creator Programs, recently watched, “Olympics for Math Nerds.”

Creator Blog

RSVP for our last 2012 YouTube Partner Meet-Ups

Want to use your full name on YouTube? Partners can opt in now

Our August featured “On The Rise” partner is thevfxbro!

Expanding custom thumbnails to more partners

Channel templates just got simpler and more flexible

New feature: Easily create video intros and outros

Helping you monetize mobile traffic more effectively

New "Project: YouTube" video series keeps creators current, with a smile

"Please Subscribe:" Join us for a screening & Q&A

European creators: could you be YouTube’s next big thing?

Tags removed from video watch pages

Summer in the City: Live on YouTube

YouTube Now: Why We Focus on Watch Time

Our August “On The Rise” nominees need your help to reach the homepage!

Launching today: updated video editing interface & features

We've Updated the Feed on the YouTube Homepage

LOL: Introducing the 16 YouTube Next Comics!

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