Orabrush: How the YouTube community built a brand

Today one of our channel partners, Orabrush, hit a major milestone. After trying unsuccessfully to sell their tongue cleaners going the traditional route, Orabrush let the YouTube community decide what products they want to see on store shelves. Nearly 100 videos later, Orabrush tongue cleaners will now be sold at more than 7,000 CVS/pharmacy locations nationwide.

Jeffrey Harmon, the brains behind their videos, says of their success:

The YouTube community has helped a couple of college kids take an idea, put it in front of people and get an honest response. We didn’t do this on our own - all of our fans on YouTube have helped us turn Orabrush into a well-loved brand.

Hear more about their story on the Official Google Blog.

Lane Shackleton, Product Manager, YouTube recently watched, "Notorious B.I.G. calms down crying baby - original."

Ooh la la -- ask Gaga a question!

Attention little monsters! Channel your inner Oprah, because now is your chance to ask Lady Gaga everything you’ve always wanted to know. What’s life like on tour? What’s her favorite YouTube video? Was the meat dress really made of meat?

In Gaga’s own words:



You have until midnight PT on March 18 to submit a video or text question, so just head to Gaga's channel to submit your query or vote on the ones you want us to ask. You can also tweet your question with the hashtag #GoogleGoesGaga. We’ll share the interview with you shortly after it’s uploaded to YouTube.

So, what are you waiting for?

Andrew Schulte, Associate Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “LADY GAGA - Born This Way (Cover).”

Showtime’s “SHORT stories” recruits YouTube finest to make short films

For “SHORT stories,” Showtime contacted cutting-edge creators from across the Web and asked them to tell a tale in an innovative way. The series sports the work of some of YouTube’s top creators, so naturally we’re interested in learning a whole lot more about how “SHORT stories” came to be. Showtime's Trevor Noren tells us more.



1) What gave you the idea to use YouTube stars in this way?
YouTube has become a venue for animators and filmmakers to explore new ways to communicate a narrative. Whether it’s an established artist like Don Hertzfeldt or a talent the community has discovered, like Cyriak or Levni Yilmaz, YouTube has offered an opportunity for artists to experiment and find out what people respond to. That spirit of innovation seemed like a natural fit for our brand. Unique storytelling is the hallmark of what we do as a network: our shows challenge viewers with characters they haven’t seen before. “SHORT stories” is a way for us to bring our brand to a new audience while at the same time showing the work of these amazing artists to our subscribers.

2) What was the process of working with them?
Our mission statement to the artists was pretty simple: “Tell a story in a way people haven’t seen before.” We figured a directive that open-ended would create a huge range of results. They didn’t disappoint. Don Hertzfeldt made up a language. Michael Langan employed thousands of still images to show a run around his block. Cyriak used his hands to tell the story of evolution. Whether acquiring a film already in the works or commissioning something entirely new, we did not interfere with the artists’ creative process. The filmmaker explained what they planned to do and we let them run with it. As a result, we ended up with an incredibly diverse collection of films.

3) What have you learned about the YouTube community over the course of this project?
How much they embrace the bizarre. It doesn’t matter if they know exactly what the filmmaker is trying to say with their video. They recognize the dedication that goes into creating the piece and they recognize the personality and vision behind it. It’s really amazing and inspiring how open-minded the community is to new ideas.

4) Will you pursue more of these and if so, how are you finding the filmmakers?
“SHORT stories” will be ongoing. We’ve identified a few potential candidates. We’d like to keep who they are a surprise. That said, the YouTube community is already helping us identify potential filmmakers. Names pop up all the time in comments on the videos. Everyone from Czech great Jan Svankmajer to Mystery Guitar Man. The best way for us to find new talent is to watch and listen to the YouTube community.

5) What’s something no one would know about these videos by looking at them?
The sheer amount of time that went into the creation of some of the films. Inspired by a vintage nutcracker that looked like a fish, it took PES five years to find all of the objects that went into “The Deep.” For Michael Langan, stitching together all of the still images for “Dahlia” took one month for every minute of the film. “Pretty, Dead” by Jeff Scher consists of more than 3,000 individual drawings. The final products themselves are incredible, but when you really start to understand what went into creating them, it’s remarkable. 

Trevor Noren, Creative Director, Digital Content, Showtime, recently watched “Shameless Trailer and Behind the Scenes.”

Your questions, your State of the Union

It’s the biggest speech of the year, and next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET, people across the country and around the world will sit down to watch. But as President Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union Address, which will be streamed live on YouTube along with the Republican response, you can do more than just watch the speech: you can also submit your questions for the President for an exclusive YouTube Interview that will take place just two days later, on January 27.

In fact, you can get started today. Health care. Education. Foreign policy. What would you like to ask the President about the most important issues our country faces? Go to youtube.com/askobama to submit your question now, or watch the speech on Tuesday night with your webcam or video camera nearby so that you can record and submit your question as soon as it strikes you. This year, you'll also be able to ask your question via Twitter: just include the hashtag #askobama in your Tweet. And be sure to have your say in what should be asked by voting on questions submitted by others, too.



A few suggestions before submitting your questions:

1. Video questions are highly preferred (though we also accept text). Videos should be about 20 seconds long and be sure to ask the question directly.
2. Speak clearly and try to film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible.
3. Feel free to be creative (use props, charts, etc.) to help your question stand out. If you have time, find an interesting backdrop that may help reinforce your message.
4. Submit your question early. The final deadline is Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET.
   

President Obama’s responses to a selection of your top-voted questions will be streamed live from the White House on youtube.com/askobama at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday January 27.

This interview is the first in a series of world leader interviews coming to YouTube in 2011 as part of YouTube World View. These interviews will give people around the world the chance to engage in conversation with their elected officials and other influential people from the world of business, philanthropy, technology, media and the arts. Check back on the channel in the next few months for more opportunities to participate.

You have until Wednesday January 25 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama. The YouTube community made history last year when the President answered your questions in the first ever citizen-powered interview of a United States president. If you didn’t get an opportunity to ask the President a question last year, make sure you don’t miss out this time -- get your submission in early.

Remember, after the President’s address you’ll have the opportunity to watch Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) deliver the GOP response to the State of the Union as well. And within the month, we’ll be holding a similar YouTube Interview with a prominent Republican leader - more details soon.

*Update - that should read "You have until Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama".*

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Submit your question for President Obama”

Choose the next community member to go on the homepage

On the Rise is a program where you determine which YouTube upstart appears on the homepage. emilynoel83, a morning news anchor who creates makeup tutorials, won the inaugural edition and was featured in November, promoted socially, and covered in the blogosphere. Emily doubled the number of subscribers she acquired in the month (compared to the month before), and her catalog also saw a boost in views.

It was so much fun that we want to do it again, taking four more channels that’ve recently seen good subscriber growth but still have less than 100,000 subscribers and putting them up to your discerning tastes. Please vote for your favorite channel in the poll in the top right corner of this blog by Tuesday, December 7, and we’ll put the lucky winner on the homepage on Saturday, December 11. Here are the nominees, in alphabetical order:

corycotton is home to a group of trick-shot basketball entertainers whose swooshes and dunks will leave you floored:



JustJesse197 is a showcase for the amazing tricks and utter cuteness of a five-year-old shortie Jack Russell Terrier named Jesse:



ShowMeTheCurry is Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasubramanian, who offer easy-to-follow lessons in Indian cooking:



tjw1963 features Teresa teaching the world to crochet one stitch at a time:






Now go vote!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Candlelight - The Maccabeats.”

Community-run music label DFTBA thrives

In this post, we're turning the floor over to the proprietors of DFTBA, a community-owned and run record label whose moniker stands for "Don't Forget to be Awesome" (not too hard for these guys). On their label's second anniversary, they announce a significant milestone and predict a promising future.



Somehow in the last hundred years "musician" became a nearly impossible profession. The best of the best could get by, pouring their lives into touring or into other people's careers, watching most of their profits go to the record companies, agents, managers, bookers, distributors and others. Now, if you happen upon a song that catches on the radio, you get to sell that one song for sixty cents of profit, instead of a whole album for six dollars of profit. Good luck turning that into a check that could even pay for the production of your next album.

It's a testament to how much we humans love to create music that this didn't decrease the number of excellent musicians and songwriters. Few people write songs to make money; they do it because it's a wonderful experience.

Two years ago, when we here at DFTBA Records were watching wide-eyed as YouTube grew from WTF to OMG, we realized that there was a chance that this could change. We saw people making great music and posting it on YouTube, but still assuming that "musician" was an unattainable job for them. However, they were using online video to grow their audiences in new ways. And they were building audiences that, while not humongous, were extremely loyal.

We did some calculations and figured out that, if we could dramatically increase the amount of money artists make per CD they sell, and let our artists’ authenticity increase the listener-to-purchaser ratio, "musician" could suddenly be a real job for a lot of people.

Now, on our two-year anniversary, we’re happy to say that we've succeeded. DFTBA Records provides the services that this new crop of musicians needs. They're already geniuses at growing their audience, and they certainly don't need help writing fantastic songs. So while we handle the details, our artists are free to cultivate audiences in the thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands, while we make sure that as much of that payoff as possible goes to them. We're not trying to create Lady Gaga; we're trying to create professional musicians.

DFTBA Records is proud to announce that we have now sold a total of $1,000,000 in music and merchandise. We've sent orders to tens of thousands of satisfied customers. We've grown "DFTBA" into a brand that people want to be associated with and want to help spread, from DFTBA initialisms on T-shirts, to our dft.ba URL shortener. We're both extremely proud to have helped people get a hold of this great music, and helped these musicians take their work to the next level. And we're looking forward to continuing to grow this new model.

Alan Lastufka and Hank Green, YouTube Community, recently watched "Ted Hu - Funèbre (Official Music Video)."

Next New Networks shares the spotlight with YouTube comedians

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.

From GoPotatoTV to Cyr1216, 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.

Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched "Vader VS Hollywood." You can follow all the videos and channels participating at youtube.com/comedythunder.

1 billion subscriptions and counting

Early on (we're talking '06 here, people!), the yellow subscribe button made its debut so the latest videos from your favorite channels could make a beeline to your YouTube homepage/eager eyes. Today, the button that’s been immortalized as a throw cushion hits an important landmark: it’s been clicked over one billion times. And who was the lucky channel to get that billionth hit? It was MachinimaSports, who are, not coincidentally, on our homepage on Friday.

In fact, there is so much subscription activity that over a billion subscription updates are sent to our users' homepages every week, and 15 YouTube channels have crossed the one million subscriber mark: fred, nigahiga, kassemg, shanedawsonTV, shanedawsonTV2, smosh, universalmusicgroup, machinima, sxephil, mysteryguitarman, davedays, kevjumba, realannoyingorange, raywilliamjohnson, collegehumor and failblog.

So what’s next for subscriptions? Turns out, we’ve got a spankin’ new widget that any video-maker can embed on his/her website or blog. It lets people subscribe to your YouTube channel with a single click, without having to leave your site to log into YouTube or to confirm their subscription. The entire process happens in the widget.

Give it a try! All you need to do is embed the code below into the source code of your website or blog, in the same way you embed a YouTube video:

<iframe id="fr" src="http://www.youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=add YouTube Username here" style="overflow: hidden; height: 105px; width: 300px; border: 0;" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0"></iframe>

For example, here it is for the YouTube channel:


And if all this is new to you, let us suggest you check out this video, in which dear Cuddles tells you all you need to know about subscriptions:



Georges Haddad, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Annoying Orange: The Exploding Orange.”

Dunk your favorite YouTube star on Prank House

Editor's Note: Today’s guest blogger is Brigham White who, together with Taran Chadha, created the new video reality game Prank House. The app is a live streaming reality show similar to Europe’s Big Brother, with one major twist: viewers can participate in pranks live via the Internet through robotically controlled devices like paintball guns and shockers.

Taran and I both wanted – as in really wanted – to take the internet’s virtual world and make it real, and we were just silly enough to try it. The result is Prank House. Blend Survivor and Halo, and you’re halfway there. On Prank House, you can shoot real people (including some of your favorite YouTube stars) with paintball guns, release angry goats, shock people, play foosball, drop water bombs, and drive remote control cars around a 200 square foot track.

It’s pretty simple: you download a free desktop app from our site, prankhouse.com, and choose a team to support. You then buy tokens to drive different types of pranks, controlled through robotic devices within the “prank house.” It’s your job to help your team through competition in scheduled events.

We officially started Season 1 on October 4 with an impressive lineup of YouTube celebrities. ShayCarl, Charles Trippy and Cory Williams are just a few of the YouTube stars actually living and competing for the title of Top Prankster in a reality show setting in a 10,000 square foot house in California. (Ask yourself – would you have the nerve?) So far, more than 65,000 viewers have tuned in.

We have 10 different rooms in the house that can be viewed 24/7 on 35 live cameras. You as the viewer can interact with – and influence – the outcome of the daily competitions. For example: one morning you might find Charles Trippy and ShayCarl suspended with ropes from the ceiling, swinging back and forth trying to grab the other’s flag. Using the Prank House desktop app, you can shoot the opposing team’s celebrity with a live paintball gun to help your team win. Basically, it’s all a matter of teamwork, and the people in the house are working with their fans and supporters on the Internet to prank the other team and win. It hurts (but only a little), and it’s hellaciously fun. See the trailer below.

Serena Satyasai, Marketing, recently watched “Swing time in the Prank House.”

The Station premieres Hot Girls Season 2 on YouTube

Today’s homepage spotlight marks the premiere of the second season of Hot Girls, an original web series produced by The Station. The series follows the exploits of “BFFFFs” Ariel, played by LisaNova, and Jazzy, played by KassemG (in drag!).



We asked series writer Ben Donovan for some background on the new season and his words of advice to other online content creators.

1) How did you come up with the idea for Hot Girls?
LisaNova, KassemG and I came up with the one-off video “Teen Cribz” for The Station at the end of last summer. We wanted to parody some of the content on MTV and “Teen Cribz” was one of the most ridiculous shows we came across. Lisa and Kassem created two hilarious characters that really resonated with our audience. The parody ended up being one of our most popular videos and was so much fun to make we decided to turn it in to a six episode web series on the LisaNova channel which Michael Gallagher of Totally Sketch directed. After the success of the first season, we decided to try a second season, which I wrote and directed.

2) How did you get KassemG, ShayCarl and so many other YouTube stars involved?
Kassem, Lisa and Shay are all founding members of Maker Studios and The Station so they naturally wanted to be involved. Also, as I mentioned, Kassem and Lisa created the characters. I think after the success of Season 1 it was easier to get other YouTube stars like Ryan Higa and Timothy Delaghetto to participate because they knew what it was and were interested in working with Kassem and Lisa.

3) What are the components of a great web series?
First and foremost: great characters. Without relatable, engaging characters, you have nothing. The audience really connected with Ariel and Jazzy. I feel like they would watch them in almost any situation. That combined with a good story, fun guest spots and high production value go a long way to making a quality web series.

4) With over 5 million views to Hot Girls Season 1, what advice would you give to other web series creators looking to build an audience like yours?
I'd say to have a successful web series with a large audience on YouTube you probably want to hire some of the big YouTube stars to be in it. They're essentially the "movie stars" of the Internet and have real, committed audiences that want to see them in various projects.

5) Can fans expect a Season 3? If so, how do you see the series evolving?
Obviously, we have to wait to see how Season 2 is received before deciding on a third season, but we definitely have some fun ideas on where to take the characters. We shot on location in Las Vegas for part of this season, which was challenging but also a lot of fun. It'd be great to take Ariel and Jazzy on the road again. The possibilities for story lines really are endless.

Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched “HOT GIRLS IN LOVE! Episode 2.”

Your questions about ads and advertising answered

For the next edition of “YouTube Answers,” a series in which you’re invited to ask us questions on a broad topic, we’re tackling your queries about ads and advertising. You submitted nearly 50 questions about our ad business, and here we have Rick Silvestrini, Product Marketing Manager, addressing the seven most popular:



Next up: head over to the YouTube channel where we’re using Moderator to collect questions on the topic of “Building an audience on YouTube.” This is a good opportunity to ask about how to build a robust subscriber base and how to engage those viewers, and to get answers from partners who’ve already done this well, earning hundreds of thousands of subscribers in the process. We’ll be taking questions until Wednesday, October 13, and then we’ll be back as soon as possible afterward with a new illuminating video.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Star Wars Tai Chi.”

Behind the scenes of Weezer’s YouTube community invasion

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest blogger is Ben Patterson. Ben is the founder of DashGo, Inc., a digital marketing and distribution platform servicing music, video and podcast content. Clients include Weezer, This American Life and Delicious Vinyl. Last week Weezer launched its new album, Hurley, with the YouTube community.

It all started at VidCon.

VidCon is an event I attended this past July. My company, DashGo, markets, distributes and manages catalogs for indie labels and bands, and the vast majority of our content is audio. VidCon was eye-opening: an army of YouTube content creators--some meeting for the first time following years of online sharing and collaboration--pumped energy into the room. In panel discussions, everyone credited their success to two entities: YouTube and other YouTube users.

One of my clients is Weezer, an alternative-rock band known for hits, including “Buddy Holly,” “Beverly Hills” and “Pork & Beans.” Weezer's always been a fan of innovation and collaboration and is no stranger to YouTube. Back in 2008, Weezer went on a Hootenanny tour, inviting fans to perform alongside them with whatever instruments they could play. Rivers Cuomo, lead singer, co-wrote a song with hundreds of YouTube content creators in a project called "Let's Write a Sawng." And, of course, Weezer invited a number of YouTube content creators to appear in their own "Pork and Beans" video, a video viewed over 20 million times.

Weezer was getting ready to launch their new album, Hurley. Our concept for the band this time was simple. Instead of inviting YouTube content creators to invade a Weezer video, we’d flip the tables. Rather than make our own video a needle in the haystack we decided to build a whole stack of needles. First we all asked our friends and co-workers about their favorite YouTube content creators. We asked fans on Twitter and Facebook who they liked on YouTube. Then I sent an email to the dozens of recommended YouTube content creators letting them know Weezer was interested in participating in their programs. Acting, performance, interview, make-up, comedy--whatever they wanted Weezer to do, Weezer was game.

The response was overwhelming, especially considering I sent the request out six days before shooting was to begin. Two weeks later, the shooting was done and each YouTube partner prepared his or her own video. Weezer wouldn't see anything until the videos went live on 9/14.

We were amazed by the range of creativity. The Gregory Brothers AutoTuned Weezer's "Memories." Weezer got to cover StSanders' "Kiss Shreds,” a band favorite, and the Magic Hugs guys brought them back to their days as a brand new band. Four of the videos made it into the Top 20 chart within 24 hours. We were also featured on YouTube’s Music Tuesday showcase.

Weezer reached more than 10 million folks if you count the aggregate number of subscribers of the participating content creators. That's more than triple the ratings of most late night talk shows. Ray William Johnson alone gets more viewers per episode than Comedy Central's Tosh.0. And best of all, the new album Hurley hit the top 10 on iTunes charts and #1 on Amazon MP3.

Of course, none of this would be possible without all of the content creators who invited Weezer into their channels. A huge thanks to them and their fans for letting Weezer into your house for the day. And we thought you’d enjoy this outtake:



Serena Satyasai,  Marketing Manager,  recently watched “I spanked Weezer.”

New additions to the YouTube team

Whether you’re looking for a video of your kid’s first day of kindergarten, instructions on how to dance the waltz, the latest upload from a hot YouTube star, or a favorite Hollywood movie or a global sporting event, we’re committed to growing our content library and global footprint to make more of the world’s video available to you.

Today, we’re pleased to welcome two new additions to our leadership team who will help us continue to expand our offerings for users. These new leaders will have many external touchpoints, so we wanted to take the unusual step of using our blog to announce them.

Dean Gilbert is joining us as YouTube’s new Global Head of Content and will oversee our global content team as we work to expand our existing relationships and forge new ones. A veteran of the cable industry, Dean’s leadership roles have included serving as Executive Vice President and General Manager of @ Home Network. Over the last four years, Dean has provided leadership at Google across across a wide range of media products, including Google TV, YouTube and Google TV Ads.

Robert Kyncl is joining us as our new Global Head of TV and Film Entertainment. Robert comes to YouTube from Netflix, where he was Vice President of Content Acquisitions, spearheading the company’s content acquisition strategy for streaming TV shows and movies over the Internet. He was also instrumental in transitioning Netflix’s business from DVD-by-mail to streaming. In his new role, Robert will build our content partner presence in Hollywood, overseeing our content partnerships across the studios, broadcasters, cable networks, talent agencies and new media companies. Chris Maxcy will continue his executive leadership role as Global Head of Music and Games, focusing on our global music business.

The means of creation, consumption and distribution have permanently changed, giving rise to the most diverse set of faces and voices ever seen or heard in human history. By expanding our content partnerships worldwide, we’ll ensure that YouTube remains the best place for our users to see, hear and discover this richness of talent. These leadership additions will help to pave the way.

Salar Kamangar, Co-Head of YouTube

Five Years After Hurricane Katrina

Five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast region, crashing through the levees that held the waters of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet at bay from the city of New Orleans. Overnight, 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged. To this day, only a fraction of residents in the hardest hit areas, like the Lower Ninth Ward, have returned to their homes.

Today, in partnership with ABC 26 (WGNO), a local television station in New Orleans, we commemorate the anniversary of Katrina with a selection of videos on our homepage from New Orleans residents.

Many of you have taken this anniversary as an occasion to upload videos to YouTube about the disaster and where things stand today, from never-before-seen footage shot in 2005 of the hurricane itself to stories of what it was like to leave your home of more than 50 years behind.

Some videos showed how much work is left to be done, like this one from the Ninth Ward, narrated by a resident returning home to survey the damage five years later:



Others discovered relics left behind but not forgotten:



And some chose to honor their city and its resilient spirit through song:



If you lived through Hurricane Katrina, we still welcome your reflections. Please submit your videos using YouTube Direct on ABC 26’s website. A selection of videos will also be featured on abc26.com, ABC 26’s YouTube channel, and broadcast on ABC 26 (WGNO).

Olivia Ma, News Manager, recently watched “Rebirth Brass Band: Do Watcha Wanna (in the French Quarter)”

Schedule (or join) a YouTube Meetup!

From events like VidCon and 789 to the sheer number of get-togethers reported by folks like YTGathering, we know how much YouTube users love to meet up in the real world. We’ve even crashed some of these shindigs and always come back to the office totally rejuvenated by your energy.

All of this got us thinking: how can we help spur on more of these gatherings? Turns out our friends at Meetup have just the thing for that: our new Meetup Everywhere page offers a global view of where YouTube users are meeting and an easy way for anyone to suggest a new locale. So if you don’t see your town listed, you can schedule a gathering near you, and you don’t even need to take on the responsibility of organizing it. Some other social maven may step into that role by clicking “learn more” under “This event needs an organizer,” or you can be the one to determine the where, when and why of your local YouTube meetup. Try it, and let's see this map populate with hundreds of happy hoedowns...

Wherever you end up congregating, do shoot lots of video (as if we need to say that!) and send the links to our YouTubeGatherings channel, where we like to create playlists from each event.

So, see you...soon?

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “YouTube news: YouTube EVENTS!”

You Report: What’s happening now in the Bay Area?

Though YouTube is a global site, it’s often local videos that are most relevant to your life. When people use camcorders and mobile phones to capture newsworthy events in their neighborhoods and upload them to YouTube, they’re broadening the window into our own communities. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area (where YouTube is based), we’ve seen several YouTube videos inform local news coverage, from the snapping of support cables on the Bay Bridge, to the shooting of Oscar Grant by an Oakland police officer, to fights breaking out on Muni, the local bus system.

Earlier this summer, we announced our CitizenTube News Feed, the first of two projects we're doing with the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Now, we’re participating in an experiment in citizen reporting right here in our own backyard. We’re joining forces with our local ABC station, ABC7 (KGO-TV), to launch the ABC7 uReport powered by YouTube. ABC7 will use YouTube Direct to collect news footage from people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Residents of the Bay Area are invited to document the news and events happening where they live, work and play, and to submit those videos via YouTube Direct to the producers at ABC7. The team at ABC7 will feature newsworthy videos on television (Channel 7 in the Bay Area), on their website (ureport.abc7news.com), and on their YouTube channel (youtube.com/abc7news).

Do you have a video camera and live in the Bay Area? You can participate in the project by submitting your news videos to ureport.abc7news.com, and be sure to follow along on Twitter (@abc7newsbayarea) and on Facebook (facebook.com/abc7news) for the latest news and updates.

Olivia Ma, News Manager, recently watched “Dancing at Sunday Streets Mission.”

YouTube answers your questions about “YouTube Worldwide”; next topic is advertising

“YouTube Answers” is a series we began in April to introduce you to a variety of people who work here and give you the chance to ask us questions about a broad topic relevant to the site. Camille Hearst and Shenaz Zack bravely went first, to answer your questions about partnerships. Next, we recruited Brian Truong, Product Manager; Shalabh Chaturvedi, Software Engineer, and Victoria Grand, Head of Policy, to tackle your queries about our international sites and policies:




Big thanks to everyone who asked a question! We saw a three-fold increase in questions and votes this round.

Next up: head over to the YouTube channel where we’re using Moderator to collect questions on the topic of “Advertising on YouTube.” This is a good opportunity to ask about how advertising on YouTube works, what the different ad formats are, what advertisers are looking for, and ways you might be able to connect with them. We’ll be taking questions until Monday, July 26, and then we’ll be back as soon as possible afterward with two new staffers in the hot seat.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, Community, recently watched “Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10.”

Our highlights from Vidcon

Wow. Let’s hope vlogbrothers Hank and John Green are somewhere tropical right now, resting up after the coup they just pulled off in Vidcon 2010. The sold-out online video conference took over L.A.’s Hyatt Regency Century Plaza from July 9 -11 in a flurry of cameras, Bieber-inspired hairstyles and coveted subscribe pillows. Feedback on Twitter was unanimously positive: Vidcon rulez!

We were lucky enough to be among the 1,300+ fanboys and girls who gathered to fete all things video and hear from some of the biggest names in the online video industry. It was invaluable to meet with so many of you in “real life” and, yeah, some of us may even admit to a quickened heartbeat when in the vicinity of our favorite creators.

Here are our highlights from the event, in no particular order:

• The energy and passion of everyone there. Wow! Just WOW. We should bottle that, keep it around the office, ration it and release it occasionally when we need a boost. RedBull and 5-hour-energy would not be needed in the micro-kitchens anymore... - Andy Stack, Product Manager
• The two-way interactions between YouTube staff and community -- the chance to go beyond the username and talk with people about what they need from YouTube's product to help them accomplish their goals - Hunter Walk, Director, Product Management
• iJustine giving out T-shirts to faithful fans in the lobby, using a bar stool as her table, showed her dedication to the YouTube community - Anna Richardson, PR Manager
• The Uncultured Project and the standing ovation it received after showing this video. It's one more reminder of how YouTube and its community are changing the world in both big and small ways. - Jim Woods, Director, Content Partnerships
• HiimRawn's performance on Saturday morning, featuring Rawn in a bikini, playing the accordion, dancers in gold lame body suits, John Green in a turkey costume and a small marching band. - Mark Day, Comedy Manager
• Meeting John Green while wearing a shirt with his face on it. John Green: "Nice shirt." My response: "Nice face!" - Rick Silvestrini, Product Marketing Manager
• I fell in love with the incredible passion from the audience and their desire to change the world -- invigorating and reminds me why we do what we do. Hank and John are especially awesome and genuine; they're leading a movement. - Brian Glick, Product Manager
• Being in the elevator with a sobbing girl after the iJustine meetup. - Lauren Siegal, Ad Programs Associate
• Sitting on a panel with DeStorm, who moved from the established music industry to make his musical career on YouTube without major label backing. It was great that he, like so many YouTube musicians I met, see a successful YouTube presence not as stepping stone to a label deal, but as the career in and of itself. - Chris LaRosa, Product Manger
• Seeing kids networking, getting involved in the culture, and wanting to apply for partnership. I'm amazed at the initiative they're taking when they're already so young. - Jeffrey Lee-Chan, Software Engineer
• Hearing an aspiring partner say that getting autoplay on his channel changed his life. - Josh Siegel, Product Manager
• ShayCarl, charlieissocoollike, sxephil, whatthebuckshow and many other partners highlighting how this is the best job they ever had. - Shenaz Zack, Product Manager
• Although it was a bit uncomfortable to hear a 13-year-old girl ask Shane Dawson to be the father of her children, it was truly inspiring to witness the enthusiasm, dedication, and excitement of fans and YouTube stars. Props to the Green brothers for their hard work and giving away conference proceeds to charity! - Falon Fatemi, Strategist, Business Development
• Seeing parents trying to understand YouTube and supporting their kids who were so passionate about it...and getting a glimpse of Rocktard. - Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager
• Ze Frank’s presentation - too many to name!

And what about you? What were your highlights? Share your thoughts and videos in the comments below! (Please note: comments are moderated due to spam and will be updated about once a day.)

So once again, thank you, Hank, John, everyone at Vidcon and in fact the whole YouTube community. We were honored to be part of your event.

The YouTube Team

Show off your dance moves

OK, YouTube. We know you love to dance. You've been shaking your stuff in front of the camera in your bedrooms, bathrooms and on the streets for years now. And all that practice is about to pay off: we’re joining forces with Jon M. Chu (and Dr Pepper Cherry) for the first-ever YouTube dance contest -- "YouTube Dance Studio.”




If you love dance, you know who Jon Chu is. From the Miley and Mandy ACDC Dance Battle to the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, to directing Step-Up 2 and the upcoming Step-Up 3D, Chu is at the nexus of some of the most energetic, funky dancers you’ve ever seen. Now he wants to find the next generation of extraordinary talents on YouTube.

Here's the deal: pick the style of dance that suits you -- hip-hop, jazz-funk or b-boys & b-girls. Prove you know how to dance by replicating the choreography in the video; then show off your personality in the freestyle section. If your talent and style stand above the rest, you could win a trip for two to Los Angeles, where you'll spend a day with Jon M. Chu at a jam session with some of the best hip-hop dancers around. You'll also have the opportunity to dance in an Ultra Records music video.

So bring it! Download the selected tracks, learn the moves, take out your camera, and show off your style. We know you have a passion for dance, and we want the world to see it, too.

Sadia Harper, HowTo & Style Manager, recently watched “Dance Studio Choreography: Jazz-Funk.”

YouTube answers your questions about partnerships (and next topic announced)

YouTube is a big place, but we’re trying to make it feel a little bit smaller. That’s why in April, we announced a new initiative in which you submit questions on a broad topic and then several employees who work in that area answer the most popular questions on video. It’s an opportunity to ask us anything you like relating to the subject at hand and to get to know many of the faces working at YouTube.

Our first topic was partnerships, and there were 2,017 votes on 96 questions from 223 people. After reviewing your questions, rehearsing, applying a little more makeup than usual, and rehearsing some more (because we’re not naturals at this like you are!), two members of our partnerships team -- Shenaz Zack, Product Manager, and Camille Hearst, Product Marketing Manager -- made this video response:



We hope the video helps to demystify any burning questions you may have had about being a YouTube partner.

Next up, head over to our YouTube channel where we’re using the nifty new Moderator tool to collect questions on the next topic: “YouTube Worldwide.” This is a good opportunity to ask about what goes into localizing the site, how to find cool content in your language, translation features, and lots more. We’ll be taking questions until Sunday, June 13, and then we’ll be back as soon as possible afterward with two new staffers in the hot seat.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, Community, recently watched “Mike Tyson’s Tea Time.”