Selasa, 23 Januari 2007

New YouTube Known Issues Page

In an effort to keep users more informed on current bugs, fixes, and quirky site issues, we've launched the new YouTube Known Issues Page.



When possible, we'll also tell you about temporary workarounds that can solve the problem until our engineers have fixed it completely. If you find something on the site that doesn't seem to be working quite right, come here to find out if we've already addressed the issue. If one of the issues matches a problem you've experienced, please let us know by clicking "This is my issue!" That'll help us understand which problems are affecting the most people so we can get to them as quickly as possible.



You can find the Known Issues link in the right column of most pages in the Help Center.



We'll update the Known Issues page often. Please note that if there's a more widespread problem (like the homepage disappearing!), you can go to the Help Center homepage where we'll broadcast the issue in a bright red box we call the Status Module. You can review past Status Module posts here.



Keepin' it real,

The YouTube Team

Selasa, 16 Januari 2007

Behind the Features

People always wonder how videos are chosen for the homepage and as part of our effort to improve communication with you, I thought it was time to introduce you to some of our editors and give you a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes here at YouTube. First up is Big Joe Smith -- everyone say, "Hi Joe!" -- who made this video for you and then outlined a typical week on homepage duty (including some extra video goodies). Let us know if you like this kind of stuff and we'll make it a regular feature. I'm even charging up the battery on my own video camera and getting out the rouge and mascara... -- Mia





Mon
1/8



Ask
and you shall receive.  A while back we got a request from a
user to feature color=black>picniccasket's
href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z8CiP-PedEU" target="_blank">color=black>Monument Valley
I was quite impressed with the energy in the video and the fact that it was a
solo project, so it had to go on home.  Rock on, my man, rock on.color=navy>



It
was color=black>Mac World
last
week and this color=black>spoof of "The
Special Christmas Box" by target="_blank">RandiandJen
couldn't have come at a better time.  Mac love runs deep here in w:st="on">Silicon Valley and these ladies figured out how to steal
back some of that affection and shared their secret with us.color=navy>



Tues
1/9



href="http://youtube.com/user/Triponic" target="_blank">style='color:windowtext'>Triponic taught us how to make our
own color=black>steam room

inexpensively.  The video was set to great music and made his idea
seem all the more inviting… I got to make me one of those things -- have any of
you tried it yet?



Talk
about cuteness, color=black>The Cuppycake Song

has been a classic in many homes for many years and finally credit can be given
where it is due thanks to the target="_blank">sonoman
posting the original material to YouTube.  Make sure to check out
the color=black>bloopers for even
more adorableness.



href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=cEZsB3sQLnY" target="_blank">color=black>Big Dancing, Small Town…I
have to commend target="_blank">QuadMagicalNESS
for their hard work. We received this video via email from a user and I'm
pretty sure it hit the homepage the next day. My favorite scene is a toss-up between when they are dancing on top of the Goodwill building and when they are dancing on the billboards. Excellent way to turn your small town
boredom into something unique, productive and well…big. Nice job, guys.color=navy>



Wed
1/10



From
the hills of Matheran came a video chock-full of sincerity and love. Congratulations David and target="_blank">Susie
on your color=black>engagement
.
Check out this href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzDxtqw7sgM" target="_blank">color=black>video response
after seeing the original video -- href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRHPOOvRuDM" target="_blank">color=black>even Susie liked it!



We
also like to feature videos that encourage community interaction. href="http://youtube.com/user/zakgeorge21" target="_blank">style='color:windowtext'>Zakgeorge21
's latest href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=z7JgtjeIsuY" target="_blank">color=black>video
did
just. If you haven't submitted your video response yet, please do because we're watching!  In the meantime, here's a color=black>great response to
his video from target="_blank">NicholasPickolas.color=navy>



style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Thurs 1/11color=navy>



Our
ears were sent tingling by the playing of href="http://youtube.com/user/DukeRightious" target="_blank">style='color:windowtext'>DukeRightious
when we heard his
"color=black>C minor Etude
". 
This original composition evoked emotion and was a perfect way to start the
day.  Duke actually emailed us himself to nominate his video
and when I reviewed it, I knew it had to find its place on the homepage. He's got some other
great material as well; I'd recommend checking out his short version of href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_i3fQ2yQpA" target="_blank">color=black>"Things".



Talk
about talented: the eight-year-old target="_blank">Puehse twins
could show a lot of veterans a thing or two about skating.  href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=8X2_zsnPkq8" target="_blank">color=black>Check out the air

these kids can get off the ramp.



Fri
1/12



When
I happened to stumble on the target="_blank">World Freehand
Circle Drawing
Champion, it was already gaining some traction
on the site, but I felt it deserved even wider exposure.  A lot of users said that it's easy to draw a perfect circle, but I encourage you to try it. I did and well…let's just say I'll leave the perfect circle making to the pros.
style='color:navy'>



Sat
1/13



href="http://youtube.com/user/nalts" target="_blank">style='color:windowtext'>Nalts gave us insight into the world
of a color=black>Viral Video Genius

Special thanks go out to Nalts for deciding to be nice from now onsize=2 face=Wingdings>.size=2 face=Arial> .color=navy>



Sun
1/14



So
we know most of you are qualified to have a Bachelors Degree in YouTubery (here
I go making up words) but target="_blank">The YouTube
Guided Tour
by target="_blank">JackDanyells
is very informative.  What's even better is that if you watch the video
response by color=black>Therapix
, you can
learn how to make your own target="_blank">green screen.color=navy>



href="http://youtube.com/user/BaratsAndBereta" target="_blank">color=black>BaratsandBaretta…pretty
much 'nuff said.  These guys are legends and have been bringing us viral
classics for quite sometime.  href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=NFwvs8eYt6E" target="_blank">color=black>The Other Son is a
funny venture into the life of Jesus' other brother Wesley.  Make sure you check
out href="http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=BaratsAndBereta"
target="_blank">their other videos.style='color:navy'>



Mon
1/15



The
great thing about a holiday like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is that it not only inspires progressive thought but also (hopefully) progressive action (hint hint… make your video response,
like this color=black>one
).  color=black>Daniel Stringer
brought a strong target="_blank">message
to YouTube. What's your dream?



There
is a great story behind target="_blank">Drawing
YouTube
target="_blank">Marcoseiji
contacted our video target="_blank">Czarina
style='color:windowtext'>Mia
about his channel.  It was
a simple message that said he felt his channel could make a lot of YouTube users happy.  When Mia checked it out, she was in awe and asked Marco to make a compilation video for a possible feature.  This all happened yesterday within about three hours (despite the Brazil-San Francisco time difference) and the video made it to the homepage the same day.









Keep on Tubin',



href="mailto:bigjoe@youtube.com" target="_blank">style='color:windowtext'>Big Joecolor=navy>

The YouTube Team

Kamis, 11 Januari 2007

Messaging, Vlogging and Guest Editors

Hello! Wanted to update you on some progress this week:



• We know there were some major things wrong with commenting and private messaging. Our engineers looked into it and discovered an over-enthusiastic spam filter. (There are people with racks of machines sending out spam and the filter helps to cut down on the junk that gets through.) Anyway, things should be working smoothly again in messaging land, but please let us know if you continue to encounter problems. **UPDATE (1/12): Messages that contain URLs and email addresses are still problematic. We're testing a new spam filter to see how well it catches spam that includes URLs. Based on that performance, we will lift the URL restriction.**



• Many of you have pointed out that we should be vlogging more ourselves, including site updates like this. I’m terribly camera shy, but we’ve asked a high-profile and well-connected member of the YouTube community, Damien Estreich, to help broadcast these messages (in addition to the ones we produce ourselves). He’s working on his first one as we speak.



• Of course you can expect to hear from (and see) the YouTube staff more often too. Every month we’ll be asking you a thought-provoking question which we’ll introduce by answering ourselves. The first will revolve around Valentine’s Day, so get ready to film some lovey-dovey (or not!) video responses. We'll be asking you to tell us about the person or thing you love the most in this world.



• Finally, we’re opening up the programming of our home page to guest editors. We’ll pick one user a month to take over for a few days. All you’ll have to do is send us 10 videos you’d like to place on home (make sure they adhere to the terms of service!) along with a short video about why you chose what you did and how you found the experience. If you’re interested in participating, please let me know.



Well, that’s it for now. Keep on letting us know how we can improve things.



Ciao,

Mia

The YouTube Team

Jumat, 05 Januari 2007

2007: Get Set, Go!

Now that our hangovers have worn off and we’ve picked all the confetti out of our hair, it’s time to get down to business. We’ve got big plans for 2007, and while we can’t reveal all the details of our quest, we did want to let you get a whiff of what’s cooking.



First and foremost, we heard you loud and clear when you told us you don’t necessarily want more features added to the site, you just want the current features to be working well. High on our list of priorities is ensuring that private messages work the way you expect them to and it doesn’t take eons to reply to one.



We’re also aware of how frustrating it can be when you have a question or an issue and you get stuck in automated reply hell. We’re going to strengthen communication internally so that your biggest concerns are heard by the people who can fix them. And then we’re going to improve how we communicate with you – if we don’t address your issue via a personal email response, you can check this blog for more frequent general updates.



In short, we want you to know that we’re listening to you and doing our best to give you a site that you find as essential as oxygen. We’ll be tapping power users to help guide us along the way (more on that later), and we’ll be launching new programming initiatives that will encourage you to speak your minds, to show your limitless creativity, to reach out to us and to each other. I can't wait.



Be back soon,

Mia

The YouTube Team

Senin, 01 Januari 2007

Happy New Year! + Best of 2006

Wow. What a year 2006 was, eh? For us at YouTube, it exceeded our wildest dreams. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the year would end with a Time magazine cover that celebrated exactly why the site is so successful: you! We got to know you through your videos (what else!) and some of them stayed with us all yearlong.



Because I love lists and firmly believe that no year is complete without reflecting on (and savoring) those moments of pure delight, I took an informal poll among YouTube staffers to find out which videos were their favorites in 2006. Here are the highly subjective results, in no particular order, in general and music flavors.



Best of 2006






Best of 2006 – Music Edition






So what were your favorite YouTube videos of 2006? Send us your playlists and we'll feature a few here, and then start collecting your votes for 2007!



Happily hangover free,

Mia

The YouTube Team

Sabtu, 23 Desember 2006

MySpace Re-Enables YouTube Embeds

Well Tubers, thanks to all of your emails and blogging, we have been able to get in contact with Tom from MySpace. Turns out this was a simple misunderstanding, and MySpace has re-enabled all YouTube embeds. Everything should now be back in working order.



We can't thank you enough for your support. Happy Holidays from all of us here at YouTube.

Rabu, 13 Desember 2006

Out From the Underground

If you haven’t heard yet, the Underground contest was a huge success. We had about 2,200 submissions and four great bands rose up: Greenland, Ostrich Head, Pawnshop Roses and Maldroid. Not only are these bands extremely talented, but they are kind, funny and entertaining. We had a blast hanging out with them in New York. We worked hard to make sure that everything went well, and they worked even harder to make sure we had fun doing it. There was never a dull moment and one of the best parts was all the bands not only got along, but they became friends. There was a lot of intermingling of bands, and they jammed together as often as they could. I felt like it was the old days of rock 'n' roll, when bands were friends and played together constantly, unlike nowadays when it’s every member for themselves. We could not have asked for a better group.



We wined and dined them at the nicest spots New York has to offer, running up some hefty bar tabs, and schmoozed with press and record labels. One of the highlights was our appearance on Good Morning America. The GMA experience was pretty surreal. We were hustled passed the crowed into the backstage room, where we hung out with NASCAR drivers (I think Jeff Gordon was there). Then we were hustled into the studio where each band was presented a “Golden Mouse” award by Sam Champion and Diane Sawyer. Later that day we set up a cocktail party at the Gibson Showroom, which is in the old Hit Factory in Hells Kitchen, with record labels, press and friends. There were photo shoots, jam sessions, tequila shots, guitar hero competitions and the Gibson VIP Tour Bus. We could not have asked for a better end result from our first YouTube contest.



And with that, here are the winning videos/bands:

Greenland

Ostrich Head

Pawnshop Roses

Maldroid





Cheers,

Spencer

The YouTube Team