Today, Google Earth 5.0 launched, and one of the most exciting features is Ocean, which you can read all about here. Partners like BBC, National Geographic , Cousteau, Tagging of Pacific Predators, Ocean Conservancy, and Kip Evans Photography have already taken advantage of the new subsurface Ocean in Google Earth to place their YouTube videos below sea level -- and now you can too. Simply go to the altitude field in the "Date and Map" section on your video's information page and select a negative altitude to indicate that your video was shot in an ocean, lake, river, crater, etc. or drag the pointer over a body of water and hit "Set."

We can't wait to see what you've captured beneath the surface (aside from lots of fish!).

Best,
Umang Sharan
Engineer
YouTube

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Anticipation is running high for today's Super Bowl clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are seeking their record sixth NFL Championship, and the upstart Arizona Cardinals, who are looking to continue their unlikely -- some would say destined -- run to the top.

Every year, advertisers pay millions of dollars for time during commercial breaks. Historically, these ads have pulled out all the stops -- think celebrity cameos and extravagant production values that could awe even the Jerry Bruckheimers and Michael Bays of the world.

Are these advertisers getting the most bang for their buck? Who's ad will everyone be chatting about on Monday? Ultimately it will be you who decides: immediately after the Super Bowl ends this Sunday, log on to our Ad Blitz channel to view all of the big ticket ads, and vote for for the most creative, most memorable spots.



Voting is open until Wednesday, February 4th, and the winning commercial will be posted on the homepage on Thursday, February 5th. All the ads will live on the Ad Blitz channel afterwards.

Enjoy!
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports

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Today marks the beginning of Black History Month and, with the recent inauguration of Barack Obama, it is a particularly appropriate time to celebrate the achievements of African-Americans. To contribute to the celebration, we're partnering with Grey Goose to present a month of special programming in the YouTube Screening Room.

We're excited to kick things off with four films that offer unique accounts of moments or themes from African and African-American history. "Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony," a winner of the Audience Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, examines the central role black South African freedom music played in the long battle and triumph over Apartheid. "Electric Purgatory," which screened at 10 international film festivals, reveals the struggles some black rock musicians have faced as they try to build audiences in a sometimes-unfriendly industry. "Hungu," an expertly animated short, recounts a story from the ancient African oral tradition detailing how the merging of life and death gave birth to a beautiful musical instrument: the berimbeau. And "The 13th Amendment," a 2008 award-winning short documentary, follows a 90-year-old great-grandmother as she casts her first-ever vote for an African-American President.



On February 13, we'll continue the commemoration with a fresh program of content, presented by Grey Goose. Stay tuned for the details, but prepare to be inspired!

Happy viewing,
Sara P.
YouTube Film

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Over the last few months, thousands of you joined the Davos Debates at youtube.com/davos, and answered the four big questions the World Economic Forum posed to the YouTube community:

• Economy: Are you confident that global growth will be restored in 2009?

• Ethics: Should company executives have a code of ethics similar to doctors and lawyers?

• Environment: Will the environment lose out to the economy in 2009?

• Politics: Will the Obama Administration improve the state of the world in 2009?

Today on our homepage, we're featuring four mash-ups of your responses to the questions above, in addition to some of the videos submitted by those in attendance at the Forum. You can hear Kofi Annan respond to a young girl in South Africa who asked about development on her continent; poet Pablo Coehlo talk about his view of corporate ethics; or Prime Ministers from South Korea and Turkey speak to their citizens back home.

The mash-ups of your responses to the Davos Debates are being broadcast on a giant screen at the major plenary sessions here in Davos, bringing real-world context to the issues being discussed and debated by participants. In other words, your voice is being heard loud and clear here at the World Economic Forum, so keep submitting your videos and watching the responses on the Davos Debates channel.

Yours,

Steve Grove
YouTube News & Politics

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Today, we are making it easier to add annotations directly to your YouTube videos. Simply login to YouTube, watch your video on the watch page and click on the video to start adding annotations. But don't worry - for those who need more control, you'll still be able to access the separate annotations editor.

We are also making it easier for your annotations to link to a variety of different YouTube pages. You'll be able to link to another video, channel page, playlist, group or search query. What's more, you'll even be able to link to a video response page or message window to prompt for feedback from your audience.

Let us know what you think about this new feature.

Happy annotating!
The YouTube Team

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You may have already noticed, but this past December we rolled out Hi-Definition-enabled video viewing here on YouTube. Just click the "watch in HD" option below any HD-enabled video, sit back and relax as the joy of YouTube comes to you sharper and more cinematic than ever before. And while you're certainly free to browse our new HD Videos area, we've taken the liberty to spotlight a few HD favorites of our own on today's homepage.

From an epic Internet history lesson, to the serenity of a snow-covered bridge, to a visit from comedy's most beloved fake messiah, we hope there's a little something here for everyone.



Want to learn more about uploading your own masterworks in HD? Just check out this FAQ in the Help Center.

Happy (HD) Viewing!

The YouTube Team

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We're happy to announce the launch of a feature many of you have been asking for. Now you have the ability to delete comments you've made on videos. We've all been there. Whether you misspelled "pwned", back in the day when you were just a n00b to the internets, or you simply said something you wish you could take back - now you can remove your commentary at any time.

The Abuse & Safety tool is here for you to resolve issues like harassment and bullying. This new feature will empower you to more easily and effectively handle these types of situations, without needing help from staff. Of course, we always encourage everyone to think things through before posting comments anywhere on the site. But if you don't get it right the first time, now you can simply delete your comment. To remove a comment that you've made, go to the "Text Comments" section below the video and click the "Remove" button next to your comment.

Helping you check yourself,
The YouTube Team

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The deadline is fast approaching to submit your audition videos to be a part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. We hope that you have been practicing, as your last chance to upload your two audition videos is 9pm PST on January 28. Need any last minute instruction? There are masterclasses available from members of the London Symphony Orchestra along with tutorials provided by those classical musicians who are also auditioning, like BenChanViolin and NinaFlute.



To get started, follow these simple steps:

1) Visit youtube.com/symphony and click "Prepare."

2) Select your instrument of choice and download the sheet music for "The Internet Symphony."

3) Click the Video #2 tab and pick one of the recommended public domain compositions.

4) Practice, practice, practice.

5) Record two videos of yourself playing each piece. Don't worry about having a professional camera crew -- we prefer something up close that zooms in on your performance and showcases your passion for music. Just make sure that the sound is turned on!

Finalists will be chosen by a judging panel and, next month, will be voted on by the YouTube community. Those selected will to travel to New York City in April 2009 to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and perform at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Here's the Maestro himself discussing the opportunity this unique collaborative orchestra project offers.



Follow MTT's advice and don't miss the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall along with musicians from around the world. We can't wait to hear you play!

Good luck,
The YouTube Team

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Anyone can buy a box of chocolates for their Valentine, but someone who makes something handmade? Now they're a keeper. This Valentine's Day, The Food Network and YouTube want to see all you aspiring pastry chefs shine. Helping us spread the culinary love is "Ace of Cakes" star Duff who is calling all baking Gurus to showcase your most love-inspired treat.



The possibilities are endless here, people. Big cake? Sweet. Cupcake? Nothing wrong there. Cake from a box? Do an impressive job decorating it and we'll still be impressed. The Food Network will scour the entries and feature their favorite video on Food Network's YouTube channel ... and we just might feature it on the YouTube homepage too!

Make a video response by February 10 and show the pros at the Food Network and the sugar addicts at YouTube how to make this Valentine's Day memorable.

Stay Sweet!
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style

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This Sunday marks the end of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, but the celebration will continue on YouTube.

The Sundance Film Festival recently launched a YouTube channel that allows all of you movie enthusiasts to get a glimpse of what took place during the 25th anniversary year of the influential festival.

For those of you interested in the filmmakers behind the films, there's the "Meet the Artists" playlist, featuring interviews with filmmakers from around the world and clips of the films that brought them to Sundance.

If you're looking for coverage on the ground – from premieres to parties and more – you can check out the Live@Sundance segments.

And to hear what some of the film industry's leading thinkers had to say about the state of the business today, check out the HP Presents playlist, featuring full coverage of all the panels that took place at the festival.

So if you didn't get to make it to this year's festival, fear not – we've got you taken care of.

Enjoy,
Sara P.
YouTube Film

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