As the world is starting to see Life in a Day—the documentary distilled from 80,000 videos submitted to YouTube from 190+ countries—many people have asked us how the film is structured. Woven into the collage of videos from Australia to Zambia, from the heart of bustling cities to the remote reaches of the earth, are responses to three universal questions: What do you love? What do you fear? What’s in your pocket? Check out some of the answers to these questions in the Life in a Day trailer:
To celebrate the one year anniversary of Life in a Day’s filming date, we’d love to hear your answer to these questions. So tell us, what do you love, what do you fear and what’s in your pocket? Upload a video to YouTube, share a photo on Google+, tweet us with the #lifeinaday hashtag and invite your family and friends to join. Let’s spark a dialogue and continue the passion of Life in a Day by highlighting the things that connect us across the globe.
For more information about Life in a Day and where to see it this weekend, visit the Life in a Day channel.
Raymond Braun, Entertainment Marketing, recently watched “Life in a Day Teaser #1: Slim Up.”
Friday, July 29, 2011
Gone fishin’—piloting community supported fisheries at Google
(Cross-posted on the Google Green Blog)
I've always loved the ocean—I was born in Shanghai, which means "upon the sea.” And as a chef, I'm always drawn to food that claims a spirit of place. After moving to California, near Half Moon Bay, I began visiting the docks to buy seafood, and got to know the fishermen.
Over time, it became evident to me that this part of our food supply is broken: many consumers purchase stale, unsustainably-raised fish from chain grocers. Meanwhile, fishermen often sell their diminishing catch to wholesalers at a very low profit, meaning their livelihoods are no longer sustained by their catch. There’s also the environmental factor to consider: Overfishing and illegal practices cause worldwide decline in ocean wildlife populations and wreak havoc on underwater habitats—not to mention the carbon footprint of transporting seafood far from its origin.
Google’s chefs have long been committed to sourcing food for our cafes as locally, seasonally and organically as possible. And in our Mountain View headquarters, many employees cook with the same ingredients at home thanks to on-site Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. When I joined the team as an executive chef in Mountain View, I wanted to make a difference in our purchasing program for seafood. For the five years leading up to then, I wrote a column for the San Francisco Chronicle called “Seafood by the Season,” and I knew it could be done. In early 2010, we began a push to apply the most rigorous standards to our seafood-buying practices, and respond to the in-the-moment fluctuations of the catch from small, independent fishermen.
Things took off from there. My colleague Quentin Topping dreamed of providing the same high-quality seafood we serve in our cafes for Googlers to take home to their families. That idea became the Google Community Supported Fishery (CSF), which we launched in May 2011. In this program, Googlers sign up to purchase a weekly supply of local, sustainable seafood, supplied through a partnership with the Half Moon Bay (HMB) Fisherman’s Association.
We tend to think on a massive scale at Google—whether it’s how to deliver instant search results around the globe or help thousands of small businesses get online—but when it comes to feeding our employees at work and at home, it really comes down to a local touch. Knowing where our seafood, meat and produce come from, as well as knowing how they’re raised, farmed or harvested, makes all the difference in the on-the-ground work of sustainability. We see many bright spots ahead for our Community Supported Agriculture and Fishery programs, such as expansion to other offices and adding a grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry program. It’s exciting to work someplace where we can think big and local.
We know of two CSFs in the Bay Area. The Half Moon Bay Fishermen’s Association supplies only Google at the moment, but will soon add public drop-off sites—keep posted by visiting Farmigo.com. The other is CSea out of Bodega Bay. If you live elsewhere, we hope you’ll consider stepping up to create one in your area.
And even if you don’t live near the ocean or have direct access to fresh-caught seafood, the choices you make about what fish to purchase or order in restaurants can make a real difference. You may want to consider following the guidelines that we used for our Google Green Seafood policy: Whenever possible, purchase species caught locally and in-season, by small, independent fisher-families, using environmentally-responsible methods. We think it’s important to be responsive to the fluctuations of catch too, and source from fisheries that enforce catch limits or are guided by ecosystem-based management programs. As for us, we’ll continue to research and source responsibly managed farmed seafood, and always keep transparency and Googler health at the center of our program.
Posted by Liv Wu, Executive Chef
I've always loved the ocean—I was born in Shanghai, which means "upon the sea.” And as a chef, I'm always drawn to food that claims a spirit of place. After moving to California, near Half Moon Bay, I began visiting the docks to buy seafood, and got to know the fishermen.
Over time, it became evident to me that this part of our food supply is broken: many consumers purchase stale, unsustainably-raised fish from chain grocers. Meanwhile, fishermen often sell their diminishing catch to wholesalers at a very low profit, meaning their livelihoods are no longer sustained by their catch. There’s also the environmental factor to consider: Overfishing and illegal practices cause worldwide decline in ocean wildlife populations and wreak havoc on underwater habitats—not to mention the carbon footprint of transporting seafood far from its origin.
Google’s chefs have long been committed to sourcing food for our cafes as locally, seasonally and organically as possible. And in our Mountain View headquarters, many employees cook with the same ingredients at home thanks to on-site Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. When I joined the team as an executive chef in Mountain View, I wanted to make a difference in our purchasing program for seafood. For the five years leading up to then, I wrote a column for the San Francisco Chronicle called “Seafood by the Season,” and I knew it could be done. In early 2010, we began a push to apply the most rigorous standards to our seafood-buying practices, and respond to the in-the-moment fluctuations of the catch from small, independent fishermen.
Things took off from there. My colleague Quentin Topping dreamed of providing the same high-quality seafood we serve in our cafes for Googlers to take home to their families. That idea became the Google Community Supported Fishery (CSF), which we launched in May 2011. In this program, Googlers sign up to purchase a weekly supply of local, sustainable seafood, supplied through a partnership with the Half Moon Bay (HMB) Fisherman’s Association.
The Google Culinary team on a visit with fishermen in Half Moon Bay, Calif.—Quentin and I are the second and third from the left, in black.
We tend to think on a massive scale at Google—whether it’s how to deliver instant search results around the globe or help thousands of small businesses get online—but when it comes to feeding our employees at work and at home, it really comes down to a local touch. Knowing where our seafood, meat and produce come from, as well as knowing how they’re raised, farmed or harvested, makes all the difference in the on-the-ground work of sustainability. We see many bright spots ahead for our Community Supported Agriculture and Fishery programs, such as expansion to other offices and adding a grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry program. It’s exciting to work someplace where we can think big and local.
We know of two CSFs in the Bay Area. The Half Moon Bay Fishermen’s Association supplies only Google at the moment, but will soon add public drop-off sites—keep posted by visiting Farmigo.com. The other is CSea out of Bodega Bay. If you live elsewhere, we hope you’ll consider stepping up to create one in your area.
And even if you don’t live near the ocean or have direct access to fresh-caught seafood, the choices you make about what fish to purchase or order in restaurants can make a real difference. You may want to consider following the guidelines that we used for our Google Green Seafood policy: Whenever possible, purchase species caught locally and in-season, by small, independent fisher-families, using environmentally-responsible methods. We think it’s important to be responsive to the fluctuations of catch too, and source from fisheries that enforce catch limits or are guided by ecosystem-based management programs. As for us, we’ll continue to research and source responsibly managed farmed seafood, and always keep transparency and Googler health at the center of our program.
Posted by Liv Wu, Executive Chef
YouTube is what you make it
Did you ever think you’d be a part of a revolution? Wonder if your contributions to the world would add up to something greater?
As we take the stage today at VidCon 2011, I can tell you for certain that they have. This two day gathering of annoying oranges, ukulele stars, voracious vloggers, super fans and thousands of other YouTubers like you is about changing the media landscape—one upload, view and mashup at a time. Not satisfied with just watching media, you've become the media. Not satisfied with flipping channels complaining there’s nothing on, you’ve created new ones with hundreds of millions of viewers, some of which will become as well known as networks like MTV, CNN and ESPN.
To all the people who are creating content on YouTube, THANK YOU. You have built the site into what it is today and we’re as committed as ever to providing you with the tools you need to make high quality videos and drive audiences to your channels. Initiatives like YouTube NextUp, the YouTube Creator Institute, and the revamped Creator Hub are part of this effort, as is the work we’re doing to make YouTube easy to watch on TV. And keep the feedback coming on Cosmic Panda—we look forward to re-inventing with you how YouTube works and feels in the future.
If you weren’t able to make it to VidCon this year and are eager to catch some familiar YouTube faces, we’ll be livestreaming a special VidCon performance on Saturday at 5pm PT. Come by and check it out!
Salar Kamangar, Head of YouTube, recently watched “VidCon 2011 Approaches.”
As we take the stage today at VidCon 2011, I can tell you for certain that they have. This two day gathering of annoying oranges, ukulele stars, voracious vloggers, super fans and thousands of other YouTubers like you is about changing the media landscape—one upload, view and mashup at a time. Not satisfied with just watching media, you've become the media. Not satisfied with flipping channels complaining there’s nothing on, you’ve created new ones with hundreds of millions of viewers, some of which will become as well known as networks like MTV, CNN and ESPN.
To all the people who are creating content on YouTube, THANK YOU. You have built the site into what it is today and we’re as committed as ever to providing you with the tools you need to make high quality videos and drive audiences to your channels. Initiatives like YouTube NextUp, the YouTube Creator Institute, and the revamped Creator Hub are part of this effort, as is the work we’re doing to make YouTube easy to watch on TV. And keep the feedback coming on Cosmic Panda—we look forward to re-inventing with you how YouTube works and feels in the future.
If you weren’t able to make it to VidCon this year and are eager to catch some familiar YouTube faces, we’ll be livestreaming a special VidCon performance on Saturday at 5pm PT. Come by and check it out!
Salar Kamangar, Head of YouTube, recently watched “VidCon 2011 Approaches.”
Thursday, July 28, 2011
2-step verification: stay safe around the world in 40 languages
(Cross-posted on the Online Security Blog)
Earlier this year, we introduced a security feature called 2-step verification that helps protect your Google Account from threats like password compromise and identity theft. By entering a one-time verification code from your phone after you type your password, you can make it much tougher for an unauthorized person to gain access to your account.
People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries. There’s never been a better time to set it up: Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.
We recommend investing some time in keeping your information safe by watching our 2-step verification video to learn how to quickly increase your Google Account’s resistance to common problems like reused passwords and malware and phishing scams. Wherever you are in the world, sign up for 2-step verification and help keep yourself one step ahead of the bad guys.
To learn more about online safety tips and resources, visit our ongoing security blog series, and review a couple of simple tips and tricks for online security. Also, watch our video about five easy ways to help you stay safe and secure as you browse.
Update on 12/1/11: We recently made 2-step verification available for users in even more places, including Iran, Japan, Liberia, Myanmar (Burma), Sudan and Syria. This enhanced security feature for Google Accounts is now available in more than 175 countries.
Posted by Nishit Shah, Product Manager, Google Security
Earlier this year, we introduced a security feature called 2-step verification that helps protect your Google Account from threats like password compromise and identity theft. By entering a one-time verification code from your phone after you type your password, you can make it much tougher for an unauthorized person to gain access to your account.
People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries. There’s never been a better time to set it up: Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.
We recommend investing some time in keeping your information safe by watching our 2-step verification video to learn how to quickly increase your Google Account’s resistance to common problems like reused passwords and malware and phishing scams. Wherever you are in the world, sign up for 2-step verification and help keep yourself one step ahead of the bad guys.
To learn more about online safety tips and resources, visit our ongoing security blog series, and review a couple of simple tips and tricks for online security. Also, watch our video about five easy ways to help you stay safe and secure as you browse.
Update on 12/1/11: We recently made 2-step verification available for users in even more places, including Iran, Japan, Liberia, Myanmar (Burma), Sudan and Syria. This enhanced security feature for Google Accounts is now available in more than 175 countries.
Posted by Nishit Shah, Product Manager, Google Security
Introducing Smarter Every Day, your July On The Rise winner
Congratulations to Smarter Every Day (aka destinws2), who received the most votes in July’s On The Rise poll to become this month’s winner. Smarter Every Day will own the homepage spotlight all day today, thanks to your support.
Smarter Every Day is the result of Destin's fascination with the scientific method and his job as a rocket tester, bringing science to life with experiments like tracking movement patterns of chicken’s head and a DIY high-speed camera. Destin aims to have the channel leave you a little smarter about the science behind our world, while also hoping to motivate his children to explore and even to help with their college education. To kick off your experience with Smarter Every Day, Destin put together a Rube Goldberg system of rockets that’s eye-popping for both the visuals and the fact that he made it in 36 hours.
Here’s a word from Destin about Smarter Every Day:
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched “Magnet making Current - Smarter Every Day 16.”
Smarter Every Day is the result of Destin's fascination with the scientific method and his job as a rocket tester, bringing science to life with experiments like tracking movement patterns of chicken’s head and a DIY high-speed camera. Destin aims to have the channel leave you a little smarter about the science behind our world, while also hoping to motivate his children to explore and even to help with their college education. To kick off your experience with Smarter Every Day, Destin put together a Rube Goldberg system of rockets that’s eye-popping for both the visuals and the fact that he made it in 36 hours.
Here’s a word from Destin about Smarter Every Day:
Imagine a Junior High school science fair except the kids have Master's degrees in Rocket Propulsion and have access to much cooler resources. Since I could talk I've always asked ‘why,’ and I frequently setup experiments to answer just that question. I love to explore creation using the tools of the Scientific method as my map and compass. The saying I've taught my children is that ‘in a world of talkers we are to be thinkers and doers.’ I am very thankful for those who took the time to vote for ‘Smarter Every Day’ in the On The Rise video contest. Come join the fun and contribute science projects you'd like to see in this science fair!If you’ve enjoyed monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel or look for our playlists on the browse page. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched “Magnet making Current - Smarter Every Day 16.”
Catch the London Underground with Google Maps
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog)
Starting today, you can get public transport directions for London within Google Maps. One of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas, London is a major destination for both business travelers and tourists. More than 1 billion passengers are serviced by Transport for London (TfL) every year across over 18,000 bus stops and over 250 Underground stations.
Let’s say you’re at Trafalgar Square, and you want to visit Madame Tussauds. With a simple directions search, you’ll see all the possible public transport connections. In Maps, click “Get directions” in the left-hand panel, and then the train icon to see public transport directions. Enter your departure location next to A, and your destination next to B. These can be either street addresses or names of popular places, businesses or restaurants. When you’re done, click the “Get directions” button and suggestions for your trip will appear below.
Public transport directions are available on both Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile, so you always have access to a trip planner. When you’re on mobile, Maps even uses your current location to determine the best trip to your destination. Just search for your destination location, select it on the map and choose the “Directions” option. The suggested trips will be based on your location by default, and provide you multiple alternatives whenever possible.
If you’re using an Android-powered device, you can also get public transport directions with Transit Navigation (Beta) in Google Maps. With this new feature, which we launched earlier this month, you’ll get alerts when it’s time to get off the bus or train at your destination or to make a transfer. Transit Navigation is available in all regions where public transport directions are available, including London.
TfL is among the first agencies in a major European city to make its timetable information publicly available through the London Datastore. We’re strong supporters of open data and bringing information out into the open, and believe that making information publicly accessible can be an enormous engine of economic growth and innovation. ITO World has been a great partner in this launch by ensuring TfL’s data was adapted correctly and ready for our use.
Public transport directions are available for all Underground, bus, tram and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lines, and we’ll include more public transport information as soon as it’s available. Whether you use public transport every day or infrequently, as a commuter, on a business trip or as a tourist, we hope that public transport directions in London make planning your trips more convenient!
Posted by Thijs van As, Associate Product Manager, Transit Directions
Starting today, you can get public transport directions for London within Google Maps. One of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas, London is a major destination for both business travelers and tourists. More than 1 billion passengers are serviced by Transport for London (TfL) every year across over 18,000 bus stops and over 250 Underground stations.
Let’s say you’re at Trafalgar Square, and you want to visit Madame Tussauds. With a simple directions search, you’ll see all the possible public transport connections. In Maps, click “Get directions” in the left-hand panel, and then the train icon to see public transport directions. Enter your departure location next to A, and your destination next to B. These can be either street addresses or names of popular places, businesses or restaurants. When you’re done, click the “Get directions” button and suggestions for your trip will appear below.
Public transport directions are available on both Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile, so you always have access to a trip planner. When you’re on mobile, Maps even uses your current location to determine the best trip to your destination. Just search for your destination location, select it on the map and choose the “Directions” option. The suggested trips will be based on your location by default, and provide you multiple alternatives whenever possible.
If you’re using an Android-powered device, you can also get public transport directions with Transit Navigation (Beta) in Google Maps. With this new feature, which we launched earlier this month, you’ll get alerts when it’s time to get off the bus or train at your destination or to make a transfer. Transit Navigation is available in all regions where public transport directions are available, including London.
TfL is among the first agencies in a major European city to make its timetable information publicly available through the London Datastore. We’re strong supporters of open data and bringing information out into the open, and believe that making information publicly accessible can be an enormous engine of economic growth and innovation. ITO World has been a great partner in this launch by ensuring TfL’s data was adapted correctly and ready for our use.
Public transport directions are available for all Underground, bus, tram and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lines, and we’ll include more public transport information as soon as it’s available. Whether you use public transport every day or infrequently, as a commuter, on a business trip or as a tourist, we hope that public transport directions in London make planning your trips more convenient!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Congratulations Russia, the National Geographic World Champions
(Cross-posted from the Lat Long and Student Blogs)
This island has a population of about 57,000 people, with the most settlements concentrated on the west coast. Very little of this island is suitable for agriculture.
After eight rounds of questions from none other than quiz king Alex Trebek himself, the team from Russia was crowned the National Geographic World Champions today at our Mountain View, Calif. headquarters after answering this final question correctly.
(By the way, the answer is Greenland.)

Students from 17 regions around the world competed in the 2011 National Geographic World Championship. Today’s final round included answering a series of challenging questions like the one above. The students also interpreted maps and museum artifacts from the University of California Berkeley and fielded questions about live animals from the San Francisco Zoo during the earlier rounds of the competition.
Congratulations to the Russian team and to all of the students who participated. We look forward to seeing where your explorations and knowledge take you.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
This island has a population of about 57,000 people, with the most settlements concentrated on the west coast. Very little of this island is suitable for agriculture.
After eight rounds of questions from none other than quiz king Alex Trebek himself, the team from Russia was crowned the National Geographic World Champions today at our Mountain View, Calif. headquarters after answering this final question correctly.
(By the way, the answer is Greenland.)
The National Geographic World Champions from Russia (photo courtesy of National Geographic)
Students from 17 regions around the world competed in the 2011 National Geographic World Championship. Today’s final round included answering a series of challenging questions like the one above. The students also interpreted maps and museum artifacts from the University of California Berkeley and fielded questions about live animals from the San Francisco Zoo during the earlier rounds of the competition.
Congratulations to the Russian team and to all of the students who participated. We look forward to seeing where your explorations and knowledge take you.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
OK Go play with Chrome
(Cross-posted on the Google Chrome Blog)
We all have a song or a personal soundtrack that speaks to us. But it doesn’t always say exactly what we want it to say.
In All is Not Lost — an HTML5 music collaboration between the band OK Go, the dance troupe and choreographers Pilobolus, and Google—you can embed your message in a music video and have the band dance it out. The band and Pilobolus dancers are filmed through a clear floor, making increasingly complex shapes and eventually words—and messages you can write yourself.
All is Not Lost is built in HTML5 with the browser Google Chrome in mind. Different shots are rendered in different browser windows that move, re-size and re-align throughout the piece. With HTML5’s canvas technology, these videos are drawn in perfect timing with the music.
OK Go are well-known for their delightfully creative music videos, including Here It Goes Again, their first work featuring half a dozen treadmills, and This Too Shall Pass, based around an extraordinary Rube Goldberg machine—both of which have become extraordinarily popular on YouTube. We’re excited to collaborate with them on another project that finds its natural home on the web.
This project also has a special significance for the team here at Google Japan, who worked on this collaboration alongside OK Go. In the wake of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake, the band suggested using All is Not Lost as a message of support to the Japanese people during this difficult time.
All is Not Lost is best experienced in Chrome at allisnotlo.st. For web developers curious about how the experience was created, you can read more on the Google Code Blog.
Posted by Keiko Hirayama, Senior Marketing Manager, Google Tokyo
We all have a song or a personal soundtrack that speaks to us. But it doesn’t always say exactly what we want it to say.
In All is Not Lost — an HTML5 music collaboration between the band OK Go, the dance troupe and choreographers Pilobolus, and Google—you can embed your message in a music video and have the band dance it out. The band and Pilobolus dancers are filmed through a clear floor, making increasingly complex shapes and eventually words—and messages you can write yourself.
All is Not Lost is built in HTML5 with the browser Google Chrome in mind. Different shots are rendered in different browser windows that move, re-size and re-align throughout the piece. With HTML5’s canvas technology, these videos are drawn in perfect timing with the music.
OK Go are well-known for their delightfully creative music videos, including Here It Goes Again, their first work featuring half a dozen treadmills, and This Too Shall Pass, based around an extraordinary Rube Goldberg machine—both of which have become extraordinarily popular on YouTube. We’re excited to collaborate with them on another project that finds its natural home on the web.
This project also has a special significance for the team here at Google Japan, who worked on this collaboration alongside OK Go. In the wake of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake, the band suggested using All is Not Lost as a message of support to the Japanese people during this difficult time.
All is Not Lost is best experienced in Chrome at allisnotlo.st. For web developers curious about how the experience was created, you can read more on the Google Code Blog.
Posted by Keiko Hirayama, Senior Marketing Manager, Google Tokyo
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
National Geographic World Championship comes to Google
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long and Google Student blogs)
It’s summer vacation for many kids, but 51 students from 17 different regions have been spending their time off polishing and fine-tuning their geographic skills to prepare for this year’s National Geographic World Championship, a biennial geography competition hosted by the National Geographic Society.
This year, Google is the proud sponsor and on Wednesday, July 27, we’ll host the three final teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei and Russia at our campus in Mountain View, California. The preliminary rounds included a written exam on Sunday and activities at the San Francisco Zoo on Monday morning. Teams ventured to various zoo exhibits and were asked to identify climate maps and geographic locations associated with 10 different animal habitats housed throughout the zoo.

Since most of you can’t be here to witness the action in person, we’re going to live stream the finale, hosted by Alex Trebek of the game show JEOPARDY!. Tune into the National Geographic YouTube Channel Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. PDT to cheer on these young competitors from wherever you are in the world.
Through this competition, we aim to inspire the future generation of leaders and innovators to become more geographically literate and have a deeper understanding about the world they live in. We hope you are as excited as we are to see such enthusiasm and passion around geographic education.
Please join us in wishing all of these young geographic experts the best of luck!
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP, Google Earth and Maps
It’s summer vacation for many kids, but 51 students from 17 different regions have been spending their time off polishing and fine-tuning their geographic skills to prepare for this year’s National Geographic World Championship, a biennial geography competition hosted by the National Geographic Society.
This year, Google is the proud sponsor and on Wednesday, July 27, we’ll host the three final teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei and Russia at our campus in Mountain View, California. The preliminary rounds included a written exam on Sunday and activities at the San Francisco Zoo on Monday morning. Teams ventured to various zoo exhibits and were asked to identify climate maps and geographic locations associated with 10 different animal habitats housed throughout the zoo.
Teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei and Russia will move on to the National Geographic World Championship
Since most of you can’t be here to witness the action in person, we’re going to live stream the finale, hosted by Alex Trebek of the game show JEOPARDY!. Tune into the National Geographic YouTube Channel Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. PDT to cheer on these young competitors from wherever you are in the world.
Through this competition, we aim to inspire the future generation of leaders and innovators to become more geographically literate and have a deeper understanding about the world they live in. We hope you are as excited as we are to see such enthusiasm and passion around geographic education.
Please join us in wishing all of these young geographic experts the best of luck!
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP, Google Earth and Maps
Celebrating the creativity of YouTube’s Partners
(Cross-posted on the Public Policy and YouTube blogs)
College friends make trick basketball shots into a career. A small blender company gets international attention by blending glow sticks and iPads. A musician goes from bagging groceries to beatboxing around the world. One of the most inspiring things about YouTube is the way people across the U.S. and around the world use it as a way to express their passions—and to turn those passions into careers.
There are more than 20,000 people in the YouTube Partner Program, and numerous other companies and organizations use YouTube to draw attention to their causes and promote their businesses. Hundreds of people are making six-figure incomes on the site, enabling them to hire editors and producers and create even more original content. We’re helping our Partners grow their careers by running programs like YouTube NextUp and Creator Institute, and working to make the site a better and better place for people to grow businesses and build audiences.
To shine a light on the many inspiring things happening on YouTube, we’ve put together a report sharing the stories of 20 YouTube Partners who are changing lives, businesses and in some cases, history. You can download a PDF version of “YouTube: Celebrating the next generation of creative video” or visit it online at youtube.com/awesomeytpartners. YouTube is a very special place because of the passion of our Partners and the positivity they bring, and we hope you’ll find these stories as uplifting as we do.
Posted by Tom Pickett, Director of Content Operations and Online Creators, YouTube
College friends make trick basketball shots into a career. A small blender company gets international attention by blending glow sticks and iPads. A musician goes from bagging groceries to beatboxing around the world. One of the most inspiring things about YouTube is the way people across the U.S. and around the world use it as a way to express their passions—and to turn those passions into careers.
There are more than 20,000 people in the YouTube Partner Program, and numerous other companies and organizations use YouTube to draw attention to their causes and promote their businesses. Hundreds of people are making six-figure incomes on the site, enabling them to hire editors and producers and create even more original content. We’re helping our Partners grow their careers by running programs like YouTube NextUp and Creator Institute, and working to make the site a better and better place for people to grow businesses and build audiences.
To shine a light on the many inspiring things happening on YouTube, we’ve put together a report sharing the stories of 20 YouTube Partners who are changing lives, businesses and in some cases, history. You can download a PDF version of “YouTube: Celebrating the next generation of creative video” or visit it online at youtube.com/awesomeytpartners. YouTube is a very special place because of the passion of our Partners and the positivity they bring, and we hope you’ll find these stories as uplifting as we do.
Posted by Tom Pickett, Director of Content Operations and Online Creators, YouTube
Celebrating the creativity of YouTube’s Partners
College friends make trick basketball shots into a career. A small blender company gets international attention by blending glow sticks and iPads. A musician goes from bagging groceries to beatboxing around the world. One of the most inspiring things about YouTube is the way people across the U.S. and around the world use it as a way to express their passions—and to turn those passions into careers.
There are more than 20,000 people in the YouTube Partner Program, and numerous other companies and organizations use YouTube to draw attention to their causes and promote their businesses. Hundreds of people are making six-figure incomes on the site, enabling them to hire editors and producers and create even more original content. We’re helping our Partners grow their careers by running programs like YouTube NextUp and Creator Institute, and working to make the site a better and better place for people to grow businesses and build audiences.

To shine a light on the many inspiring things happening on YouTube, we’ve put together a report sharing the stories of 20 YouTube Partners who are changing lives, businesses and in some cases, history. You can download a PDF version of “YouTube: Celebrating the next generation of creative video” or visit it online at youtube.com/awesomeytpartners. YouTube is a very special place because of the passion of our Partners and the positivity they bring, and we hope you’ll find these stories as uplifting as we do.
Tom Pickett, director of content operations and online creators, recently watched “WWII hero and alumnus Louis Zamperini visits USC Annenberg class."
There are more than 20,000 people in the YouTube Partner Program, and numerous other companies and organizations use YouTube to draw attention to their causes and promote their businesses. Hundreds of people are making six-figure incomes on the site, enabling them to hire editors and producers and create even more original content. We’re helping our Partners grow their careers by running programs like YouTube NextUp and Creator Institute, and working to make the site a better and better place for people to grow businesses and build audiences.

To shine a light on the many inspiring things happening on YouTube, we’ve put together a report sharing the stories of 20 YouTube Partners who are changing lives, businesses and in some cases, history. You can download a PDF version of “YouTube: Celebrating the next generation of creative video” or visit it online at youtube.com/awesomeytpartners. YouTube is a very special place because of the passion of our Partners and the positivity they bring, and we hope you’ll find these stories as uplifting as we do.
Tom Pickett, director of content operations and online creators, recently watched “WWII hero and alumnus Louis Zamperini visits USC Annenberg class."
Music Tuesday: Bjork, Mick Jagger and bidding farewell to Amy Winehouse
The death of Amy Winehouse on Saturday has dominated music headlines. This week on youtube.com/music, we commemorate her talent and mourn her passing, while also turning our gaze to a famous rocker’s birthday and a video premiere.
RIP Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse came into the music world as a singer-songwriter who had the phrasing of a world-class jazz singer and the swagger of a hip-hop star. She left it as a tragedy and cautionary tale. Winehouse was just 27 years old when she died—the same age as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. It’s both auspicious and grim company to keep, and Ms. Winehouse fulfilled both attributes, grabbing the world’s attention with her ferociously good music (which succeeded, in no small part, thanks to the contributions from her borrowed band The Dap-Kings) and then slowly squandering that attention with increasingly addled behavior that was fueled by her multiple addictions.
After the story fades, the music will remain. People may think of the bravado-laden “Rehab” as her signature song, but the flipside of Winehouse’s bravado was intense vulnerability, which you hear in spades on wonderful songs like “Love Is A Losing Game” or the deceptively upbeat “He Can Only Hold Her.” To pay homage to Winehouse, we shied away from her official music videos and looked for live performances that let you experience her towering talent more directly -- as well as her charm and humor.
Happy Birthday, Mick
Rock’s most dynamic frontman turns 68 years old today. We salute the Jagger-meister with a playlist of videos capturing his onstage antics through the years.
Bjork “Crystalline” video premiere
The Icelandic singer has made a career of subverting expectations and pushing boundaries, so it’s no surprise that her upcoming album Biophilia is in fact not an album but an app that’s due out in September. You can chew on that, or you can check out her mystical new video for “Crystalline,” which debuts with us today.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “The DL - Amy Winehouse ‘Valerie’ Live.”
RIP Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse came into the music world as a singer-songwriter who had the phrasing of a world-class jazz singer and the swagger of a hip-hop star. She left it as a tragedy and cautionary tale. Winehouse was just 27 years old when she died—the same age as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. It’s both auspicious and grim company to keep, and Ms. Winehouse fulfilled both attributes, grabbing the world’s attention with her ferociously good music (which succeeded, in no small part, thanks to the contributions from her borrowed band The Dap-Kings) and then slowly squandering that attention with increasingly addled behavior that was fueled by her multiple addictions.
After the story fades, the music will remain. People may think of the bravado-laden “Rehab” as her signature song, but the flipside of Winehouse’s bravado was intense vulnerability, which you hear in spades on wonderful songs like “Love Is A Losing Game” or the deceptively upbeat “He Can Only Hold Her.” To pay homage to Winehouse, we shied away from her official music videos and looked for live performances that let you experience her towering talent more directly -- as well as her charm and humor.
Happy Birthday, Mick
Rock’s most dynamic frontman turns 68 years old today. We salute the Jagger-meister with a playlist of videos capturing his onstage antics through the years.
Bjork “Crystalline” video premiere
The Icelandic singer has made a career of subverting expectations and pushing boundaries, so it’s no surprise that her upcoming album Biophilia is in fact not an album but an app that’s due out in September. You can chew on that, or you can check out her mystical new video for “Crystalline,” which debuts with us today.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “The DL - Amy Winehouse ‘Valerie’ Live.”
Monday, July 25, 2011
Making local online advertising easy with Google AdWords Express
AdWords Express helps potential customers find your website or Place page, and gives you a quick and straightforward way to connect with them and grow your business. You simply provide some basic business information, create your ad, and your campaign is ready to go.
After you sign up, the campaign will be automatically managed for you. AdWords Express will figure out which searches should trigger your ad to appear and displays it when these searches happen. Your ad will be shown in the Ads section of search results pages—on the top or right hand side—and in Google Maps with a distinctive blue pin. Customers can see your ad whether they’re searching on laptops or mobile phones.
As with all our ad products, you pay only when a customer clicks on your ad. To make things even easier, AdWords Express optimizes your ads to get the most out of your advertising campaign and budget.
Many businesses are already finding success through AdWords, but we know many of you are looking for an easier way to begin advertising online. Visit www.google.com/awexpress to sign up or learn more about how it works.
Posted by Kiley McEvoy, Product Manager, AdWords Express
Watch Jane’s Addiction perform live tonight
The band who helped invent alternative rock is breaking new ground yet again—this time in partnership with YouTube and LG. Tonight at 6pm PT / 9pm ET, Jane’s Addiction will perform live at JFK Airport’s Terminal 5—and you can watch the entire show as it happens on youtube.com/comealive. But that’s not the half of it: intrepid audience members will be able to capture 3D footage of the show on their LG Thrill 4G phones and see it edited into a 60-minute 3D documentary which will premiere on YouTube on August 4 right here.
Jane’s Addiction are a combustible band who’ve always pushed boundaries in their videos. They ran afoul of MTV back in 1988 with their opus for the thundering single “Mountain Song,” off of Nothing’s Shocking, which featured full frontal nudity. The band learned their lesson, and the hilarious “Been Caught Stealing” got heavy rotation on MTV, maintaining the band’s irreverent sense of humor while slipping its celebration of theft past the censors.
But the band was always good for more than just shock value. For the post-punk generation, Perry Farrell’s keening caterwaul and Dave Navarro’s gigantic riffs made rock’n’roll exciting and dangerous again. Along with the Pixies, the band pioneered the “loud-quiet-loud” dynamic that Nirvana would quickly popularize. Though the band split up just as the alternative rock revolution got underway, their music remained a hallmark of the sound, and it’s aged well. Two new releases have proven the band remains a vital force.
So if you’ve got a budding rock photographer in you, or you’re jonesing to capture Perry Farrell’s primal squawk on camera, get yourself to Terminal 5. And for those of you getting excited for the live stream tonight, get a load of this classic song while you wait.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently rocked out to “Mountain Song [Clean Version].”
Jane’s Addiction are a combustible band who’ve always pushed boundaries in their videos. They ran afoul of MTV back in 1988 with their opus for the thundering single “Mountain Song,” off of Nothing’s Shocking, which featured full frontal nudity. The band learned their lesson, and the hilarious “Been Caught Stealing” got heavy rotation on MTV, maintaining the band’s irreverent sense of humor while slipping its celebration of theft past the censors.
But the band was always good for more than just shock value. For the post-punk generation, Perry Farrell’s keening caterwaul and Dave Navarro’s gigantic riffs made rock’n’roll exciting and dangerous again. Along with the Pixies, the band pioneered the “loud-quiet-loud” dynamic that Nirvana would quickly popularize. Though the band split up just as the alternative rock revolution got underway, their music remained a hallmark of the sound, and it’s aged well. Two new releases have proven the band remains a vital force.
So if you’ve got a budding rock photographer in you, or you’re jonesing to capture Perry Farrell’s primal squawk on camera, get yourself to Terminal 5. And for those of you getting excited for the live stream tonight, get a load of this classic song while you wait.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently rocked out to “Mountain Song [Clean Version].”
Think Quarterly: new insights and perspectives for our partners
We use research, analysis and insights—from inside and outside Google—to inform our decision-making and our products. We've spoken to a lot of our partners about how to help them access the same insights and conversations that inform our strategies, and today we're announcing a thought experiment for our clients called Think Quarterly. It’s intended to be a snapshot of what Google and other industry leaders are thinking about and inspired by today.
The first edition focuses on the broad concept of “innovation” and provides some perspectives on how it's possible to simultaneously lead and change the direction of an industry. We’ve included content from Macy’s CMO Peter Sachse on the future of mobile retail marketing, Ogilvy & Mather’s Russell Davies on the “Internet of Things,” and our very own Amit Singhal on how science fiction is becoming a reality in search.
Our aim with Think Quarterly is to regularly tap our homegrown visionaries, as well as heads of industry, innovators and experts from around the world, to lend their insights and analyses to our partners who are seeking to navigate the ever-changing digital world. We hope you enjoy (and +1) it at ThinkWithGoogle.com/quarterly.
Posted by Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President of Advertising
The first edition focuses on the broad concept of “innovation” and provides some perspectives on how it's possible to simultaneously lead and change the direction of an industry. We’ve included content from Macy’s CMO Peter Sachse on the future of mobile retail marketing, Ogilvy & Mather’s Russell Davies on the “Internet of Things,” and our very own Amit Singhal on how science fiction is becoming a reality in search.
Our aim with Think Quarterly is to regularly tap our homegrown visionaries, as well as heads of industry, innovators and experts from around the world, to lend their insights and analyses to our partners who are seeking to navigate the ever-changing digital world. We hope you enjoy (and +1) it at ThinkWithGoogle.com/quarterly.
Posted by Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President of Advertising
Friday, July 22, 2011
Google Apps highlights – 7/22/2011
This is part of a regular series of Google Apps updates that we post every couple of weeks. Look for the label “Google Apps highlights" and subscribe to the series. - Ed.
We’ve added more than a dozen new features to Google Apps so far in July. Read on to learn about a few of our favorites: a new look for Gmail and Google Calendar, ways we’ve made Gmail safer and easier to use, a couple new mobile capabilities and more.
Preview new looks for Gmail and Google Calendar
A couple weeks ago we began rolling out a visual refresh to Gmail and Google Calendar, which is consistent with design changes happening across many other Google products. The idea is to make the interfaces even more focused, elastic and effortless. If you’d like to see the new look, you can try it out in Gmail and Google Calendar now.

Pick your favorite inbox style
In addition to Gmail’s new look, we added new options to let you choose an inbox layout that best suits your email habits. You can decide between Priority Inbox, important messages first, starred messages first or unread messages first—or stick with a classic inbox style.

Make multiple calls in Gmail
A while back we added the ability to place phone calls to land lines and mobile phones from your Gmail browser window for free or at greatly reduced calling rates. On Wednesday we made this feature better by allowing multiple simultaneous calls. You can place a second call by putting your first call on hold, or put your first call on hold to pick up another incoming phone call.

View ZIP and RAR contents from Gmail attachments
Before last week, when you received a ZIP or RAR attachment you had to download the file and extract its contents to view what someone sent you. Now you can simply view the contents of ZIP and RAR in your browser without the hassle of downloading and extracting. This is a faster, safer and more affordable way of viewing attachments than opening potentially harmful files with software on your computer.

Phishing detection
Gmail has also started keeping you safer by displaying more information about the origin of certain messages. Email coming from senders who aren’t in your contact list will display the sender’s full email address. We’ll also show you when messages come from an email-sending service (like a news site’s article sharing system) and display a warning when it looks like the sender may have spoofed a Gmail address.

Read receipts for business and government customers
Many organizations that use Gmail have asked for a way to tell if important sent email has been opened, and since Tuesday, Google Apps for Business and Government administrators can activate read receipts from the control panel. Administrators can control which users can request or return read receipts, and whether receipts are issued automatically or manually by recipients.

New spreadsheet keyboard shortcut menu and PPTX support
In Google Docs, this week we added a handy keyboard shortcut cheat sheet to help you work more quickly in spreadsheets. Just hit Ctrl+/ (or Cmd+/ on a Mac) to bring up the keyboard shortcut guide. We also launched support for PPTX conversions, so now you can bring all those PowerPoint files from your desktop into Google Docs, and edit them with your classmates and colleagues from the browser.

More options for videos in Google Docs
Recently we made it easier to work with videos that you upload Google Docs. Now you can embed Google Docs videos into Google Sites pages, embed them on other webpages and even add text captions to your videos.

Share files from the Google Docs Android app
In April we introduced the Google Docs app for Android devices, making it easier to find and open Google Docs files on your phone or tablet. A couple weeks ago we added the ability to share files right from the Google Docs app, so now you’re covered when you need to give others access to a document, spreadsheet, presentation or any other type of a file when you’re on the move.

Five new mobile site templates
The Google Sites mobile experience also got an upgrade. We added five new mobile site templates to make it easy to build and launch a site that looks great on the small screen. This video explains how:
Who’s gone Google?
It’s been another banner few weeks for new customers. A hearty welcome goes out to Aperam, Nexteer, Premier Salons, Quality Distribution and tens of thousands of other businesses that moved to Google Apps since our last update. We also welcome our new education and government customers, including the University of Connecticut and the City of Pittsburgh!
I hope these product updates and customer stories help you and your organization get even more from Google Apps. For more details and the latest news, check out the Google Apps Blog.
Posted by Jeremy Milo, Google Apps Marketing Manager
We’ve added more than a dozen new features to Google Apps so far in July. Read on to learn about a few of our favorites: a new look for Gmail and Google Calendar, ways we’ve made Gmail safer and easier to use, a couple new mobile capabilities and more.
Preview new looks for Gmail and Google Calendar
A couple weeks ago we began rolling out a visual refresh to Gmail and Google Calendar, which is consistent with design changes happening across many other Google products. The idea is to make the interfaces even more focused, elastic and effortless. If you’d like to see the new look, you can try it out in Gmail and Google Calendar now.
Pick your favorite inbox style
In addition to Gmail’s new look, we added new options to let you choose an inbox layout that best suits your email habits. You can decide between Priority Inbox, important messages first, starred messages first or unread messages first—or stick with a classic inbox style.
Make multiple calls in Gmail
A while back we added the ability to place phone calls to land lines and mobile phones from your Gmail browser window for free or at greatly reduced calling rates. On Wednesday we made this feature better by allowing multiple simultaneous calls. You can place a second call by putting your first call on hold, or put your first call on hold to pick up another incoming phone call.

View ZIP and RAR contents from Gmail attachments
Before last week, when you received a ZIP or RAR attachment you had to download the file and extract its contents to view what someone sent you. Now you can simply view the contents of ZIP and RAR in your browser without the hassle of downloading and extracting. This is a faster, safer and more affordable way of viewing attachments than opening potentially harmful files with software on your computer.
Phishing detection
Gmail has also started keeping you safer by displaying more information about the origin of certain messages. Email coming from senders who aren’t in your contact list will display the sender’s full email address. We’ll also show you when messages come from an email-sending service (like a news site’s article sharing system) and display a warning when it looks like the sender may have spoofed a Gmail address.

Read receipts for business and government customers
Many organizations that use Gmail have asked for a way to tell if important sent email has been opened, and since Tuesday, Google Apps for Business and Government administrators can activate read receipts from the control panel. Administrators can control which users can request or return read receipts, and whether receipts are issued automatically or manually by recipients.

New spreadsheet keyboard shortcut menu and PPTX support
In Google Docs, this week we added a handy keyboard shortcut cheat sheet to help you work more quickly in spreadsheets. Just hit Ctrl+/ (or Cmd+/ on a Mac) to bring up the keyboard shortcut guide. We also launched support for PPTX conversions, so now you can bring all those PowerPoint files from your desktop into Google Docs, and edit them with your classmates and colleagues from the browser.
More options for videos in Google Docs
Recently we made it easier to work with videos that you upload Google Docs. Now you can embed Google Docs videos into Google Sites pages, embed them on other webpages and even add text captions to your videos.

Share files from the Google Docs Android app
In April we introduced the Google Docs app for Android devices, making it easier to find and open Google Docs files on your phone or tablet. A couple weeks ago we added the ability to share files right from the Google Docs app, so now you’re covered when you need to give others access to a document, spreadsheet, presentation or any other type of a file when you’re on the move.

Five new mobile site templates
The Google Sites mobile experience also got an upgrade. We added five new mobile site templates to make it easy to build and launch a site that looks great on the small screen. This video explains how:
Who’s gone Google?
It’s been another banner few weeks for new customers. A hearty welcome goes out to Aperam, Nexteer, Premier Salons, Quality Distribution and tens of thousands of other businesses that moved to Google Apps since our last update. We also welcome our new education and government customers, including the University of Connecticut and the City of Pittsburgh!
I hope these product updates and customer stories help you and your organization get even more from Google Apps. For more details and the latest news, check out the Google Apps Blog.
Posted by Jeremy Milo, Google Apps Marketing Manager
Generating Genius in the U.K. with young black talent
On July 14, Google U.K. launched a partnership with Generating Genius at an event in our London office. Google director Adrian Joseph, Member of Parliament Simon Hughes and advisor on culture and youth Munira Mirza spoke alongside Generating Genius founder Tony Sewell. They stressed the importance of encouraging students from underrepresented backgrounds to receive higher education degrees and inspiring them to become innovators in the technology industry. Afterward, two program participants shared their Generating Genius experiences and their plans for university this fall.
Joining forces with Generating Genius is part of our ongoing commitment to provide exceptionally talented young black students from London’s inner city schools with the key computing and technology skills needed to apply for the very best computer science degrees. We believe it’s crucial to get students engaged in computer science early and enable them to become creators—not just consumers—of technology.
Students accepted into the Generating Genius program are guided via mentors through engineering summer schools and weekend programs for a full five years (from 13 to 18 years of age). Early results of the program have been fantastic: all of the first participants to graduate from the program have received offers to attend elite universities this autumn. Ninety-five percent of them are the first in their families to go on to higher education. Google's funding is enabling Generating Genius to include girls this year for the first time, as well as helping to expand upon the computer science component of the program.
Director of Generating Genius Tony Sewell (center) and two students who have completed five years in the program and are now headed to elite universities to study computer science and physics.
This partnership follows on the heels of the Top Black Talent Program that we kicked off in April, which recruits talented computer science students from African Caribbean Society chapters at U.K. universities for a mentoring program at Google. Paired with a Google mentor, the students attended a series of talks and workshops, including career-focused sessions with resume and interviewing advice and technical discussions that provided real-life insights into the tech industry.
You can hear more from Googlers, executives, scholars and partners about our programs and initiatives for minority students by watching our You Tube video. For further details on the Top Black Talent program or to register for the next cohort of Top Black Talent students, please get in touch. And for more on our general education outreach, visit google.com/edu.
Posted by Eleanor Mulligan, Diversity & Inclusion Programs Manager
This Week’s Trends: Rebecca/Rebekah, movie trailers, and the Marine Corps ball
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Here, PFC Hart asks Miley Cyrus to be his guest for the ball:
Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched "Wendy Deng Murdoch Smacks Pie-Throwing Protester."
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
- We savoured both Rebecca Black’s new video and the Rebekah Brooks’ “Friday” parody
- We highlighted hits from four corners of the globe
- We searched for eyewitness footage from the dramatic stage collapse incident during the Cheap Trick Show in Ottawa
- We watched the “Dark Knight Rises” trailer, along with other summer blockbuster teasers
- We saw the latest round of celebrity date video invitations to the Marine Corps ball
Here, PFC Hart asks Miley Cyrus to be his guest for the ball:
Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched "Wendy Deng Murdoch Smacks Pie-Throwing Protester."
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hometown love for the SF Giants
Since the postseason win and ensuing celebration of the World Champion San Francisco Giants last year, we’ve seen many more shades of orange and black around the YouTube office. We’ve even seen a growth of beards inspired by “certified ninja” Brian Wilson.
So when Showtime said they’d be airing the first episode of The Franchise for a limited time on YouTube, we wanted to share our excitement with you. Check it out:
There’s a lot to love about baseball—fans, highlights and rituals—and after a 56 year wait for a trophy, we’re still celebrating!
Elizabeth Ferdon, YouTube Content Partnerships, just watched “Willie Mays on AirForce One.”
So when Showtime said they’d be airing the first episode of The Franchise for a limited time on YouTube, we wanted to share our excitement with you. Check it out:
There’s a lot to love about baseball—fans, highlights and rituals—and after a 56 year wait for a trophy, we’re still celebrating!
Elizabeth Ferdon, YouTube Content Partnerships, just watched “Willie Mays on AirForce One.”
Tickets available for Life in a Day screening in 90 U.S. cities this weekend
Life in a Day, the documentary directed by Oscar-winner Kevin MacDonald, produced by Ridley Scott and made out of thousands of YouTube clips, has been inspiring audiences from the Sundance Film Festival to the Berlin Film Festival to the Sydney Film Festival.
On July 24, one year after thousands of you submitted videos to be a part of the film, many of you across the United States will finally have a chance to see the finished project on the big screen! Check out the channel for a list of the 90 U.S. cities where the film will play this weekend, ranging from Los Angeles, CA to Louisville, KY to Providence, RI to Dallas, TX.
Critics have called the film “ingenious and warmhearted,” an “amazing compilation of videos…[that] is one for the ages” and “a spellbinding montage depicting a day in the life of the planet Earth.”
If you don’t see your town listed, don’t panic. You can still vote to bring the film to a theater near you after its theatrical release on July 29 and the folks at National Geographic will do their best to get it to you.
This is your film, and now’s your chance to see a piece of film history!
Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Lead, recently watched “Cobra vs. Mongoose.”
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Auto-Captions now available in Japanese
Cross Posted from the YouTube Japan Blog.
Last March we offered everyone the ability to automatically create captions on your videos, and the response has been exciting to see: auto-captions have been generated on nearly 40 million videos, and the number of manually-created caption tracks has more than tripled. We’re eager to see more videos captioned in more languages, so we just rolled out this feature to a new language — Japanese.
Now on any video with a clear Japanese speech track, a red “CC” button will appear at the bottom of the player, where you can click it to generate automatic captions from the speech. We’re also working closely with the the Japan Federation for the Deaf to improve this technology and make it more useful.
Here’s an example of how it works from our partner ANN News Channel:
And if you really want to get multilingual with YouTube videos, when these auto-captions are combined with our auto-translate feature, you’ll be able to generate subtitles into more than 50 languages.
Keeping up with our Japanese partners just got that much easier.
Brad Ellis, Product Manager, YouTube Japan, recently watched “手話あいらんど手話教室入門コース.”
Last March we offered everyone the ability to automatically create captions on your videos, and the response has been exciting to see: auto-captions have been generated on nearly 40 million videos, and the number of manually-created caption tracks has more than tripled. We’re eager to see more videos captioned in more languages, so we just rolled out this feature to a new language — Japanese.
Now on any video with a clear Japanese speech track, a red “CC” button will appear at the bottom of the player, where you can click it to generate automatic captions from the speech. We’re also working closely with the the Japan Federation for the Deaf to improve this technology and make it more useful.
Here’s an example of how it works from our partner ANN News Channel:
And if you really want to get multilingual with YouTube videos, when these auto-captions are combined with our auto-translate feature, you’ll be able to generate subtitles into more than 50 languages.
Keeping up with our Japanese partners just got that much easier.
Brad Ellis, Product Manager, YouTube Japan, recently watched “手話あいらんど手話教室入門コース.”
Music Tuesday: Portugal. The Man and vintage global sounds
Summer music festivals are in full swing here in the States. Music fanatics gathered in Chicago this past weekend to attend the Pitchfork Music Festival, and to celebrate, we rounded up videos from some of the best acts appearing there. Last week we also took a look at parodies of Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” video. The unofficial head of the Odd Future hip-hop crew is controversial, but it’s clear his aesthetic has pushed a lot of buttons—and the results are hilarious. And if you need a little mindless fun, we threw up a playlist of ‘80s Summer Party songs for your (guilty) pleasure, which leads us into this week’s heavy dose of retro music.
Portugal. The Man’s sci-fi obsession
People label the enigmatically-named Portugal. The Man an indie rock band, but take one listen and you’ll hear these guys are drawing straight from the classic rock songbook, whether it’s The Beatles, Mark Bolan or Led Zeppelin. That grounding in musical history gives a sense of warmth and even inevitability to their songs—this is sweeping music that frequently sounds bigger than its years. The band also happens to be huge film buffs, which translates into a body of videos which range from the epic to the strange, and which are always visually arresting. Today they take to the homepage to celebrate their new album In The Mountain In The Cloud and to share their two major obsessions: kung fu and sci-fi, with a heaping helping of Wu-Tang Clan thrown in for good measure.
Global Retro
A music movement is afoot. The sound is vintage psychedelic, funk and soul recordings from remote corners of the globe. The labels are Analog Africa, Soundway Records, VampiSoul...the list goes on and on. In the past few years crate-digging for undiscovered music from countries like Ghana, Nigera, and Colombia has been raised to the level of an art form—and the gems these label unearth have given music lovers a new cause for celebration. Now the labels are making videos to introduce us to the often psychedelic radness that went on in other countries while the rest of us were listening to The Beatles...or were more likely not even born.
Joe Clausell “Hammock House”
Continuing in the vintage vein: New York dance music DJ Joe Claussell was recently given unlimited access to the vaults of the classic salsa label Fania Records. Fania was home to the titans of New York salsa, from Celia Cruz to Hector Lavoe. Faced with such riches, Claussell dug deep, remixing a melange of Latin soul and salsa cuts for his new album. We’re psyched to premiere a new, extended video that features the DJ in his native habitat, playing music that still defines the city that never sleeps.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Tinariwen - TENERE TAQQIM TOSSAM.”
Portugal. The Man’s sci-fi obsession
People label the enigmatically-named Portugal. The Man an indie rock band, but take one listen and you’ll hear these guys are drawing straight from the classic rock songbook, whether it’s The Beatles, Mark Bolan or Led Zeppelin. That grounding in musical history gives a sense of warmth and even inevitability to their songs—this is sweeping music that frequently sounds bigger than its years. The band also happens to be huge film buffs, which translates into a body of videos which range from the epic to the strange, and which are always visually arresting. Today they take to the homepage to celebrate their new album In The Mountain In The Cloud and to share their two major obsessions: kung fu and sci-fi, with a heaping helping of Wu-Tang Clan thrown in for good measure.
Global Retro
A music movement is afoot. The sound is vintage psychedelic, funk and soul recordings from remote corners of the globe. The labels are Analog Africa, Soundway Records, VampiSoul...the list goes on and on. In the past few years crate-digging for undiscovered music from countries like Ghana, Nigera, and Colombia has been raised to the level of an art form—and the gems these label unearth have given music lovers a new cause for celebration. Now the labels are making videos to introduce us to the often psychedelic radness that went on in other countries while the rest of us were listening to The Beatles...or were more likely not even born.
Joe Clausell “Hammock House”
Continuing in the vintage vein: New York dance music DJ Joe Claussell was recently given unlimited access to the vaults of the classic salsa label Fania Records. Fania was home to the titans of New York salsa, from Celia Cruz to Hector Lavoe. Faced with such riches, Claussell dug deep, remixing a melange of Latin soul and salsa cuts for his new album. We’re psyched to premiere a new, extended video that features the DJ in his native habitat, playing music that still defines the city that never sleeps.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Tinariwen - TENERE TAQQIM TOSSAM.”
Friday, July 15, 2011
This week's Trends: contraptions, rainbows, and Harry P
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
- We reviewed the most-watched Harry Potter fan-videos of all time.
- We uncovered the most-viewed Rube Goldberg machines on YouTube.
- We saw some cool and funny moments and ads from around the world.
- We asked if Grand Rapids, Michigan is becoming the U.S. capital for lip-dubs.
- We grew concerned about some pets that were now plotting and executing daring escapes.
- We celebrated the one-year anniversary of a famous Double Rainbow going viral.
- We highlighted the latest footage from demonstrations in Malaysia and Syria.
- And we saw LOTS of new Harry Potter parodies and music videos popping up. Here's one of the popular ones:
Thursday, July 14, 2011
July’s On The Rise nominees: educators and artists
Each month, we identify four YouTube Partners who are growing their subscribers but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 mark for our On The Rise program. You vote for your favorite in the top right corner of this blog, and the winner will be featured on the YouTube homepage and the videos channel.
For July, we're bringing you two partners who combine education with entertainment, and two performance artists we think you’ll enjoy. Check out the nominees’ videos below, and then cast your vote by July 21 at 6pm PT. We’ll announce the winner on July 28.
HowToLiz
In 2010, Liz decided she would learn 52 things in 52 weeks, documenting her progress in weekly videos. She’s scaled back to learning 26 things in 2011, and her educational and entertaining videos include how to be nice, job interviews and Rubik’s cubes.
destinws2
Destin is from Alabama and is a rocket tester by trade, and he’s transformed his passion for the scientific method into his YouTube channel. Under the series title “Smarter Every Day,” Destin educates his viewers with Mythbusters-esque investigations into scientific phenomena.
VSOHOTT
Musician VSOHOTT has worked with major labels and even American Idol winners. This Michigander writes, produces, and engineers his own music; his first album is currently in production; and he recently started a reality web series.
jeremiahjw
“All kinds of awesomeness” is how Jeremiah Warren describes his channel, where he combines his skills as a filmmaker and videographer for a broad mix of content. Looking for traditional films, animation, documentaries and special effects? You’ll find it here.
Devon Storbeck, Partner Support, recently watched “2D Photography Rube Goldberg.”
For July, we're bringing you two partners who combine education with entertainment, and two performance artists we think you’ll enjoy. Check out the nominees’ videos below, and then cast your vote by July 21 at 6pm PT. We’ll announce the winner on July 28.
HowToLiz
In 2010, Liz decided she would learn 52 things in 52 weeks, documenting her progress in weekly videos. She’s scaled back to learning 26 things in 2011, and her educational and entertaining videos include how to be nice, job interviews and Rubik’s cubes.
destinws2
Destin is from Alabama and is a rocket tester by trade, and he’s transformed his passion for the scientific method into his YouTube channel. Under the series title “Smarter Every Day,” Destin educates his viewers with Mythbusters-esque investigations into scientific phenomena.
VSOHOTT
Musician VSOHOTT has worked with major labels and even American Idol winners. This Michigander writes, produces, and engineers his own music; his first album is currently in production; and he recently started a reality web series.
jeremiahjw
“All kinds of awesomeness” is how Jeremiah Warren describes his channel, where he combines his skills as a filmmaker and videographer for a broad mix of content. Looking for traditional films, animation, documentaries and special effects? You’ll find it here.
On The Rise is all about giving a kickstart to the next generation of Partners who will go on to do big things on YouTube, and helping you discover new talent. Past winners like emilynoel83, joshsundquist, and CuteGirlsHairstyles have seen lots of new viewers thanks to your support. If you’re interested in checking out more rising YouTube Partners, visit our On The Rise channel, which features nominees, trending partners and monthly blog winners.
Devon Storbeck, Partner Support, recently watched “2D Photography Rube Goldberg.”
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Music Tuesday: The Needle Drop, fresh faces and more
It’s been a busy few weeks on youtube.com/music. We celebrated the July 4 weekend in the U.S. with a playlist of music to BBQ by and took a look at the women of Americana. Last Tuesday we were wooed by indie rockers YACHT, who made a completely adorable video introducing their curation of the YouTube homepage. We also paid homage to the Latin Alternative Music Conference, a gathering for Latino buzz bands that took place in NYC last week. Then it was on to a haunting new genre of music, and a look at the latest in live performances on YouTube.
Introducing The Needle Drop
This week we debut a new monthly series from Anthony Fantano, the DJ and music critic otherwise known by his channel name, The Needle Drop. Anthony quickly became one of our favorite music reviewers on YouTube for his witty and perhaps nerdy insights into a broad range of music. Sure, he skews indie, but as he admits himself, that’s only when he’s not reviewing major label releases, hip-hop or metal. His serious engagement with the music is matched only by his entertaining screen personality, and this week he begins a monthly round-up for us of his favorite releases, complete with music videos and reviews.
Fresh Faces: July
Oodles of under-the-radar musicians find a home for their work on YouTube, and every month we feature four of them on the homepage. Today we profile four very different artists who bring strong, distinct perspectives to their work. Shankar Tucker is a young clarinetist who got obsessed by Indian classical music, with awesome results. Jayanti’s now-burgeoning career got started when a friend took a video of her singing a song at dinner one night. LaTosha Brown is a crazily talented singer who actually stopped performing eight years ago and now heads the Gulf Coast Fund, a social justice philanthropy organization. (San Francisco micro-label Porto Franco Records caught one arresting video of her singing recently, and we decided it deserved a feature.) And we just liked Faded Paper Figures’ style.
Kurt Vile “Baby’s Arms”
Vile’s deceptively simple song gets its power from its stripped-down aesthetic, and it’s bolstered by an extraordinarily lo-fi video which was shot entirely on a smartphone. This is the kind of one-two punch you have to love.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “SBTRKT - Wildfire.”
Introducing The Needle Drop
This week we debut a new monthly series from Anthony Fantano, the DJ and music critic otherwise known by his channel name, The Needle Drop. Anthony quickly became one of our favorite music reviewers on YouTube for his witty and perhaps nerdy insights into a broad range of music. Sure, he skews indie, but as he admits himself, that’s only when he’s not reviewing major label releases, hip-hop or metal. His serious engagement with the music is matched only by his entertaining screen personality, and this week he begins a monthly round-up for us of his favorite releases, complete with music videos and reviews.
Fresh Faces: July
Oodles of under-the-radar musicians find a home for their work on YouTube, and every month we feature four of them on the homepage. Today we profile four very different artists who bring strong, distinct perspectives to their work. Shankar Tucker is a young clarinetist who got obsessed by Indian classical music, with awesome results. Jayanti’s now-burgeoning career got started when a friend took a video of her singing a song at dinner one night. LaTosha Brown is a crazily talented singer who actually stopped performing eight years ago and now heads the Gulf Coast Fund, a social justice philanthropy organization. (San Francisco micro-label Porto Franco Records caught one arresting video of her singing recently, and we decided it deserved a feature.) And we just liked Faded Paper Figures’ style.
Kurt Vile “Baby’s Arms”
Vile’s deceptively simple song gets its power from its stripped-down aesthetic, and it’s bolstered by an extraordinarily lo-fi video which was shot entirely on a smartphone. This is the kind of one-two punch you have to love.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “SBTRKT - Wildfire.”
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pororo the Penguin and the other Korean pop sensations
In Korea, we’ve seen our pop culture get big in Asia over the last decade, and through YouTube we’re seeing this expand even further around the globe.
Tickets for the recent SM Town concert in Paris featuring hit Korean groups Girls Generation, TVXQ, and SHINee sold out in 15 minutes. Female pop group 2NE1’s new video “I AM THE BEST” got 5+ million views in one week, and their audience is spread out widely over six continents. The six-episode spin-off of Korean TV sitcom “Playful Kiss” has now seen 21+ million views, with channel comments in a half-dozen languages. And when we worked with TV show MBC Star Audition last fall to find the next K-Pop star, Canadian Shayne Orok, who had never been to Korea before the contest, ended up as one of the remaining three finalists.
On top of that, the Korean animation studio Iconix Entertainment opened the PororoTV channel on YouTube this week for its iconic children’s show "Pororo the Penguin." This computer-generated show about Pororo and his friends is already televised in 110 countries, but now you can watch it whenever you want on YouTube. Iconix has put up the first two seasons of the show, and the full 52 episodes of Season 1 are available in English.
Pororo is so famous in Korea that he is called “President Pororo.” Hopefully he can also take the role as “Ambassador Pororo” in spreading Korean animation around the world.
Brian Suh, Head of YouTube Partnerships, YouTube Korea, recently watched the Pororo episode “A Magic Can.”
Tickets for the recent SM Town concert in Paris featuring hit Korean groups Girls Generation, TVXQ, and SHINee sold out in 15 minutes. Female pop group 2NE1’s new video “I AM THE BEST” got 5+ million views in one week, and their audience is spread out widely over six continents. The six-episode spin-off of Korean TV sitcom “Playful Kiss” has now seen 21+ million views, with channel comments in a half-dozen languages. And when we worked with TV show MBC Star Audition last fall to find the next K-Pop star, Canadian Shayne Orok, who had never been to Korea before the contest, ended up as one of the remaining three finalists.
On top of that, the Korean animation studio Iconix Entertainment opened the PororoTV channel on YouTube this week for its iconic children’s show "Pororo the Penguin." This computer-generated show about Pororo and his friends is already televised in 110 countries, but now you can watch it whenever you want on YouTube. Iconix has put up the first two seasons of the show, and the full 52 episodes of Season 1 are available in English.
Pororo is so famous in Korea that he is called “President Pororo.” Hopefully he can also take the role as “Ambassador Pororo” in spreading Korean animation around the world.
Brian Suh, Head of YouTube Partnerships, YouTube Korea, recently watched the Pororo episode “A Magic Can.”
Friday, July 8, 2011
This week's Trends: fireworks, verdicts, and lots of sand
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Can't Hug Every Cat."
- We celebrated the 4th of July with lots of fireworks.
- We tracked how searches have spiked for Selena Gomez.
- We followed the reaction to the Casey Anthony verdict.
- We discovered how the Game of Thrones theme has been covered by lots of talented musicians in lots of different styles.
- We learned of one very inspirational backflip.
- We saw a lot of interest in an unfortunate incident at a Texas Rangers' game.
- We collected wild footage from a dramatic dust storm in Arizona.
- And we came across one very cool way to paint a pool:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Can't Hug Every Cat."
Thursday, July 7, 2011
YouTube in the Palestinian Territories
There are few areas in the world where the ubiquity of the web means more than in the Palestinian territories. In a place where conflict is a part of daily life, and land disputes prevent the kind of geographical freedom most of us take for granted, it’s platforms like YouTube that are allowing people to broadcast their ideas to the rest of the world—and to tell stories that aren’t being told by other media outlets.
A few weeks ago, as part of our efforts to broaden YouTube’s news content partnerships, I spent a week with some other Googlers in Gaza and the West Bank. I met with news organizations, bloggers, local officials, and young people—all of whom were eager to tell their stories on video. In the last month, over 16,000 videos have been uploaded to YouTube from the Palestinian territories, despite low access to 3G networks and broadband Internet. And of the more than 75,000 videos uploaded from the territories this year, 5,000+ were tagged as news and politics videos:
Sleepless in Gaza is an innovative 90-part (!) reality show on YouTube featuring six women who travel in the Palestinian territories and document their experiences. It drew such a following on YouTube that it’s now being optioned for TV series in the U.S.
It’s in Gaza (the part of the Palestinian territories that are run by Hamas) where media freedoms have a ways to go. Journalists told us they’d been jailed for writing articles critical of Hamas, and one news organization had their office broken into and computers stolen when their pages held criticism of the government. And, after growing to 1,200 members, the Global Citizen Corps caught the attention of the government and was disbanded by the organizers for a while to protect members.
But the people of the Palestinian territories want desperately to tell a story of the region that gets beyond stereotypes. The images we see in Western media, of a place fraught with conflict and despair, doesn’t tell the real story of the territories, they told us. Some Palestinian entrepreneurs even created a new travel website, highlighting the best there is to see in the region.
It’s been said before, but it’s true: it’s the young people in the Middle East who will make change. Seventy percent of the people in Gaza are under 30. In Israel, 30 percent of the population is under 14. Several bloggers told us they had relationships with Israeli youth on the Internet; their hope is that YouTube and other platforms will help them communicate beyond the seemingly intractable political battles between their leaders and start conversations that will lead to new opportunities for peace.
Steve Grove, Head of YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Sleepless in Gaza, part 1.”
A few weeks ago, as part of our efforts to broaden YouTube’s news content partnerships, I spent a week with some other Googlers in Gaza and the West Bank. I met with news organizations, bloggers, local officials, and young people—all of whom were eager to tell their stories on video. In the last month, over 16,000 videos have been uploaded to YouTube from the Palestinian territories, despite low access to 3G networks and broadband Internet. And of the more than 75,000 videos uploaded from the territories this year, 5,000+ were tagged as news and politics videos:
Sleepless in Gaza is an innovative 90-part (!) reality show on YouTube featuring six women who travel in the Palestinian territories and document their experiences. It drew such a following on YouTube that it’s now being optioned for TV series in the U.S.
- The Maan News Agency, the top online Palestinian news site, has begun uploading its video reports to YouTube to share with the world.
- Videos covering the March 15 demonstrations (which were held to demand unity between competing Palestinian political parties, Hamas and Fatah) saw many views on YouTube as conflict broke out between demonstrators and Hamas.
- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has a YouTube channel they use to tell the stories of Gazans they work with in schools and other projects.
- The Global Citizen Corps, a group of young bloggers organized by the international NGO Mercy Corps to do community service and media training, has a robust YouTube channel with videos made by young people telling the story of Gaza through their eyes.
- The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, once the state media outlet of President Abbas’ Fatah, has recently decided to hire an independent board of directors and produce content outside the influence of the government (on a model that might end up quite like PBS).
Meeting with bloggers in Ramallah
Meeting with bloggers in Gaza
It’s in Gaza (the part of the Palestinian territories that are run by Hamas) where media freedoms have a ways to go. Journalists told us they’d been jailed for writing articles critical of Hamas, and one news organization had their office broken into and computers stolen when their pages held criticism of the government. And, after growing to 1,200 members, the Global Citizen Corps caught the attention of the government and was disbanded by the organizers for a while to protect members.
But the people of the Palestinian territories want desperately to tell a story of the region that gets beyond stereotypes. The images we see in Western media, of a place fraught with conflict and despair, doesn’t tell the real story of the territories, they told us. Some Palestinian entrepreneurs even created a new travel website, highlighting the best there is to see in the region.
It’s been said before, but it’s true: it’s the young people in the Middle East who will make change. Seventy percent of the people in Gaza are under 30. In Israel, 30 percent of the population is under 14. Several bloggers told us they had relationships with Israeli youth on the Internet; their hope is that YouTube and other platforms will help them communicate beyond the seemingly intractable political battles between their leaders and start conversations that will lead to new opportunities for peace.
Steve Grove, Head of YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Sleepless in Gaza, part 1.”
Check out Cosmic Panda, a new experimental experience for videos, playlists and channels
With nearly 8 years of video uploaded and 3 billion views logged every day on YouTube, it’s clear you like to watch and share YouTube videos. While you’re watching your favorite or new videos, we at the ‘Tube are obsessing night and day over how those videos are presented. Our team is constantly experimenting, tweaking and playing with new ways to make your experience exactly what you’re looking for.
Today, we’d like to invite you to play along with us by participating in one of our latest TestTube experiments: Cosmic Panda. To take this experiment for a test drive go to http://www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda and click “Try it out!”
Once you're in the experiment, much of YouTube will look different, including videos, playlists and channels.
Here’s what browsing a channel in the experiment looks like:

And here’s what the playlist viewing experience looks like in the experiment:

We’re eager to hear your feedback as it’s a great chance for us to incorporate your ideas into future designs for YouTube. To give us your thoughts, click on the blue flag on the left hand side of the page labeled “Feedback.” We'll be making changes to the experiment regularly, so check back to see if some of your suggestions have made it onto the site or to give us more feedback on the latest updates. You can go back to the older design by returning to Cosmic Panda and selecting to go back to the “older version.” For YouTube Partners, we're especially excited to hear your feedback, so stay engaged throughout these experiments!
We look forward to seeing your feedback and hope you enjoy hanging out with our Cosmic Panda.
Noam Lovinsky, Product Manager, recently watched “Radiohead - Lotus Flower,” and Alex Nicksay, Software Engineer, recently watched “White Arrows - 8050 (Too Fast Too Slow)."
Today, we’d like to invite you to play along with us by participating in one of our latest TestTube experiments: Cosmic Panda. To take this experiment for a test drive go to http://www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda and click “Try it out!”
Once you're in the experiment, much of YouTube will look different, including videos, playlists and channels.
Here’s what browsing a channel in the experiment looks like:

And here’s what the playlist viewing experience looks like in the experiment:

We’re eager to hear your feedback as it’s a great chance for us to incorporate your ideas into future designs for YouTube. To give us your thoughts, click on the blue flag on the left hand side of the page labeled “Feedback.” We'll be making changes to the experiment regularly, so check back to see if some of your suggestions have made it onto the site or to give us more feedback on the latest updates. You can go back to the older design by returning to Cosmic Panda and selecting to go back to the “older version.” For YouTube Partners, we're especially excited to hear your feedback, so stay engaged throughout these experiments!
We look forward to seeing your feedback and hope you enjoy hanging out with our Cosmic Panda.
Noam Lovinsky, Product Manager, recently watched “Radiohead - Lotus Flower,” and Alex Nicksay, Software Engineer, recently watched “White Arrows - 8050 (Too Fast Too Slow)."
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)