The CNN/YouTube Debate: How Did They Do?

Did you see it? Last night's CNN/YouTube Debate was easily the most exciting debate of the presidential primary season. With your questions driving the debate, and with the presidential primaries just weeks away, the Republican candidates sparred on important issues like the economy, Iraq and immigration. It was a lively discussion and you can see all the clips here.



We also had some stellar YouTube users in attendance who provided a great behind-the-scenes look at what took place. Check out some of their videos in this playlist.







But you didn't have to be at the debate in order to offer your opinions on what happened. Upload your post-debate thoughts, ideas, analyses or rants to our special post debate page and tell the candidates how you think they did!



Yours,



Steve aka Citizentube

YouTube News & Politics

Tonight: The CNN/YouTube Republican Debate!

Tonight is the night of the much-anticipated CNN/YouTube Republican Debate. At 8 PM ET, live on CNN, the eight Republican candidates on our You Choose '08 platform will stand on a stage at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg, Florida, peer up at an enormous video screen hanging from the ceiling, and watch video questions that you've submitted right here on YouTube.



Take a quick peek at what the debate set looks like:







You submitted almost 5,000 questions for the candidates (um, 4,927 to be exact), which is almost 2,000 more than for our first CNN/YouTube debate with the Democratic candidates. Make sure to tune in tonight to see how the candidates handle your questions, and then log on to YouTube and go to our You Choose '08 platform to let the candidates know how you think they did.



Tell your friends and enjoy the show!



Steve aka Citizentube

YouTube News and Politics

Fantasy Football Crunch Time

If you're one of the millions of fans out there with a fantasy football team, the next few weeks are crucial: every point, every yard, every tackle can make all the difference in the final rankings. It's time to get your lineups ready: who are you going to start and who are you going to sit? Ultimately, it's up to you, but there's no shortage of fantasy sports experts on our site with timely tips and advice. Here's a few armchair experts:



* Not sure how to construct your roster in these final weeks? The crew behind the Fantasy Football Show pride themselves on personally answering email questions:







* Fantasy Fanatics Rob Shaw and Rob Nucatola from SHPORTSTALK offer an overview of the NFL and key insight into who's performing and who's not, week in and week out.



* David from ABTFantasyFootball scours the waiver wire so you don't have to.



* Whom to pick up and whom to dump? The Fantasy Sports Girls have indispensable advice as you're making the playoff push.



* Reporting live from his kitchen, Geno from statbeastsports weighs in with his picks and analysis.



* With the stated goal of dropping kick-ass fantasy football insight in an entertaining and creative way, the fellas at Testosterone Sports bring the noise every week.



* Last but certainly not least, CBS Sports has weekly tips for fantasy owners from Amber Wilson and Jamey Eisenberg.



If your team is hopelessly out of the running, you can still play spoiler with some shrewd moves. And, hey, there's plenty of time to put together a team for fantasy basketball and hockey.



Good luck,

Andrew B. aka playactionpass

YouTube Sports

Project Direct: Go Vote!

In October, we announced Project Direct, YouTube's first film competition for aspiring directors.



The response was overwhelming. We were blown away by the number of exceptional films that were submitted – both from experienced filmmakers and first-timers.



After reviewing the entries, Jason Reitman, the award-winning director of Thank You For Smoking and the upcoming film Juno, and a panel of industry experts selected 20 finalists.



Now it's up to you to decide which filmmaker is ready for the big time. Check out this video to see exactly what's at stake (well, almost exactly -- our first, second and third place winners also walk away with cash debit cards).







We hope you enjoy these entertaining and thought-provoking films as much as we have. And stay tuned to YouTube's Film & Animation category to see spotlights on some of the excellent entries that may not have made the top 20 but certainly deserve your attention.



Happy voting,


Sara P. aka TheStoryBoard


YouTube Film

Leftover Perfection

With another Thanksgiving under our belts (literally), we're not quite sure what to do with our leftovers (besides eat them). Naturally, we turned to YouTube, where we found lots of inspiration, starting with the Culinary Institute of America. Their channel has some interesting recipes, including this helpful video about making turkey pot pie:









ChefMelissaTV isn't having any of it -- casseroles, sandwiches and pot pies, that is -- and promises a "fresh look at leftovers" in a special post-Thanksgiving edition of her cooking show:









Annietothemax also takes an unconventional approach to leftovers with this video about turning leftover mashed potatoes into gnocchi:









Finally, enot2 pontificates on what Thanksgiving leftovers could mean for our canine friends. It's a philosophical note on which to end the holiday:









We'll be back soon with more blog posts (and videos!) to serve all your holiday needs.


Cheers,


Sadia aka sublinx


YouTube HowTo & Style

Thanksgiving Rescue!

Here in the States, everyone’s mouths are watering at the thought of Thanksgiving. Chefs like Jolene Sugarbaker, Martha Stewart, and Jamie Oliver may have everything under control, but if you’re like us you haven’t even started shopping yet. But there’s no need to panic: our community of gurus is here to help with recipes and tips to make your holiday dinner super scrumptious. These videos reveal the secrets that make the classic dishes work, including how to cook a turkey, make mashed potatoes and concoct cranberry sauce to die for:









So create that grocery list, go to your 24-hour market, and make Thanksgiving magic. Then, when the tryptophan sets in and you can’t get off the couch, we have just the thing that can help with that too…




Gobble, gobble,


The YouTube Team

CNN/YouTube Debate: Submit Your Question Now!

There's just one week left to upload your video question for the next CNN/YouTube Debate, which takes place on November 28, in St. Petersburg, Florida. All eight Republican candidates on the You Choose '08 platform will be there to answer your questions, so what are you going to ask them?



Chris Nandor, aka pudgenet, just posted the following song about the debate. If you ask me, it's an instant classic in YouTube politics:







To see some other great examples of questions from the YouTube community, check out this playlist.



So flip on those web cams and fire up those camcorders -- the deadline to upload your video is November 25th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. Click here to submit your question today!



Yours,

Steve aka Citizentube


YouTube News & Politics