Tuesday, December 11, 2012

YouTube Next How-to Guru: Could you be next?

Picture this. You’re almost ready for that cocktail party and you realize you don’t know how to tie a bow-tie. Or you’re packing for the holidays and have no idea how to fit everything in your bag. Tons of people turn to YouTube to watch tutorials on everything from doing a perfect braid to learning how to poach an egg.

So we’re launching YouTube Next How-to Guru and are on the hunt to find the coolest, cleverest, canniest and most creative makers out there. Do you crochet with the crafters? Do you give tips about your Toyota? Do you offer pointers about pasta? No matter your speciality, whether it’s scrapbooking or baseball or anything else, we’d love to hear from all the How-To Gurus out there - you know who you are!

All you have to do is submit your channel which focuses on how-to videos, as long as it’s educational and family-friendly.

The top 16 YouTube Next How-To Gurus will be chosen, and will be awarded a special, private Google+ workshop series from industry experts and YouTube staff, $4,000 worth of production equipment, and promotion on YouTube to help bring new eyeballs to your videos.

The program is open to creators in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand; it opens today and entries close on December 28, 2012.

We’re looking forward to seeing what you can teach us!

Austin Lau, YouTube Creator Programs Manager, recently watched “How To Kill a Mustache

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Improved YouTube is Here


Update 12/10: The team that designed and built the recent YouTube update will answer your questions in a Hangout on Air Thursday 12/13 at 4pm PT on the YouTube channel. To ask a question, submit it here before Noon PT on Thursday 12/13. If you can’t make that, we’ll also hold a Reddit “Ask me Anything” on Monday 12/17 starting at 1pm PT to answer your questions.

We are excited to announce an improved YouTube, one you helped us build! The new site design will help you build a bigger, more connected audience by improving new channel discovery, simplifying subscriptions, and keeping your fans plugged in and aware of your new videos no matter where they are. Click here to learn more.

 



So, what does this improved YouTube mean for you as a creator?  

Here are the key changes:

  • The subscription Guide is now everywhere, and it showcases your channel activity to your fans
  • All the video information and engagement are consolidated below the video player, helping your video take center stage on the viewing page


  • We are making it easier to subscribe with enhanced channel recommendations.  

Check out this one-pager for more information.

Your feedback matters

We know change isn’t easy, so we don’t take it lightly. Our experiments show that the new design drives subscriptions and keeps fans better connected to their favorite content.  We’ll be hosting a Google+ Hangout on Air as well as a Reddit IAmA to answer any questions you may have.  Stay tuned for more information.

Let’s keep building the future of video together.  

Alandha Scott, Content Creator Communications Lead, recently watched "Written By A Kid - the tale of a paper, panty-clad horse in ‘La Munkya

YouTube NextUp: Get Collaborating

This is a cross-post from the Official YouTube blog

Alright stop, collaborate and listen.

YouTube has seen some pretty amazing collabs in its time. From exploring the possibility of a hollow earth to raging office warfare, you guys love to partner up and get creative. Collaboration, along with developing your audience and learning production best practices, has helped previous YouTube NextUp program alumni such as FinalCutKing, chescaleigh, TheCraftyGemini, and RatedRR take their channels to the next level.

Since the launch of the first YouTube NextUp program, a competition that we ran to help creators succeed back in 2011, we’ve helped turbocharge the careers of over 215 YouTube creators in 15 different countries. Today we’re re-launching YouTube NextUp for video creators in the United States: we’re looking for passionate, motivated YouTube creators who want to collaborate. To enter? Find another creator you’d like to partner with, and tell us what you’d like to film together.

If you’re selected as one of the top 30 channels, you will receive:

  • $3,000 to help you make your video dreams a reality
  • $4,000 of production equipment to up-level your skills
  • Two one week-long Creator Camps at the brand-new YouTube Space LA in January and March 2013 to film your collaboration and to learn some more tips and tricks of the trade.

You can apply through our program site: applications are due December 27, 2012.

Austin Lau, YouTube Creator Programs Manager, recently watched “Silent Disco

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

YouTube Creator Playbook and Creator Hub: fresher, bolder, and live on the web

The new YouTube Creator Playbook, your definitive resource for building an audience on YouTube, is now live, both on the web and available for download. Check it out and bookmark youtube.com/playbook.  


 
Since we released the second edition of the Creator Playbook in February 2012, much has changed in the world of YouTube. This new version provides fresh tips and strategies to help creators grow their audiences. It includes brand new sections to address YouTube’s recent focus on watchtime, such as, how to captivate your audience and how to create the best channel experience for your viewers. The latest edition also highlights new tools like paid promotion, Hangouts on Air, and InVideo programming to help you reach the widest audience possible. And, what’s YouTube without video? On the Creator Playbook site, we’re featuring great new video examples from inspiring creators who are finding creative ways to use YouTube. So go ahead and check it out - share it with other creators. And most of all, let us know what you think so that we can continue to make this the best resource for you! We’ve also completely rebuilt, refreshed, and revamped the YouTube Creator Hub at youtube.com/creators, which is chock full of resources and tools to help you build larger audiences, improve your skills, and make more money. On the new Creator Hub, you’ll be able to:
  • Stay up to date on the latest feature announcements with our blog, social media outlets, and new bi-weekly Product Bulletin
  • Learn from other creators via video tutorials and find new tools to help you grow your success
  • Find new opportunities to join programs like Next Creator
The new Playbook is currently available in English, but will be available in more languages in the next week. We’ll continue to keep both the Creator Playbook and Creator Hubs updated, so keep them bookmarked, and remember to follow us on Google+. Lauren Vilders, Audience Development Coordinator, recently watched “You need to toughen up a bit

Our November featured On The Rise partner is polcan99!

Congratulations to Tom Antos of polcan99, our featured “On The Rise” partner for this month. His channel is featured on the “Spotlight” section of the YouTube homepage today.

Tom has been a YouTube partner for three years, but has dedicated his entire career to film direction, cinematography, and VFX. His expertise has earned Tom an array of awards as he’s worked on both large productions and small-budget projects including Hollywood features, short films, and music videos. On YouTube, Tom goes one step further, uploading tutorials to share his experience and knowledge with his filmmaking peers. He can help you design great-looking music video shots, entertain you with a Dragon Ball remake action video, or even let you choose your own real-life Angry Birds adventure! No matter what you choose to watch, you’ll be impressed with Tom’s innate talent and his dedication to both entertaining and educating his viewers.



Here are a few words from Tom:
I'm a filmmaker, and I love good entertainment. Doesn't matter if it's a good TV show, film, stage play or a book, I enjoy it all. Now I try to create entertainment on the internet... more specifically on YouTube, mainly because of their great tools. I now have 2 channels; Polcan99 is where I put up my action and VFX filled films along with filmmaking tutorials... and GalgaTV is where I put up comedy videos. I feel very fortunate to be able to entertain others for a living, and I'm thankful for being chosen by YouTube as the November "On The Rise" Partner. If you like what you see on any of my channels then please subscribe! 
If you’ve enjoyed this monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel. Keep an eye out next month for a chance to nominate some of your favorite channels for On The Rise in 2013 - we’ll be coming back to you in January with another round of rising talent.

Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “More Twilight - A Bad Lip Reading of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

Monday, November 26, 2012

YouTube Space Los Angeles: where creators learn, share, and create.

At YouTube we're only as successful as you, our creators. From our NextUp series and the launch of a new home page focused on your channels, to funding a small group of original channels, our goal remains the same: to help all our creators build big audiences on YouTube.

That’s why we’re thrilled today to announce the opening of YouTube Space Los Angeles -- our flagship collaboration and production facility built for the exclusive use of YouTube partners.  

The Space, a 41,000 square foot former helicopter hangar in Playa Vista, is a place where established and emerging creators from our Partner program can work together to cultivate big ideas and ambitious ways to tell their stories. And like the YouTube Space London, YouTube doesn’t charge you any fees for use of the Space or the production equipment that’s housed there.

At the YouTube Space LA creators can:

Learn: From training programs and workshops to master classes, there are plenty of opportunities to get hands-on experience from industry leaders.

Share: Attend events, meet fellow creators, spark new ideas and share your favorite ways to use YouTube.

Create: This is your space to bring your stories to life. You’ll have access to a variety of resources, including two production stages, a recording studio, three green screen rooms, a motion capture studio, a screening room, collaboration spaces, a backlot equipment room with cameras, lights, mics and grip equipment available for checkout, and more. Production access is on an application basis, open to YouTube creators who qualify. 


Watch this video for an inside look at the Space: 


Find more creator resources at youtube.com/creators and learn more about the YouTube Spaces in Los Angeles and London at youtube.com/space.
Want to be part of the Winter Creator Class at YouTube Space LA?  Submit your application for the class here by December 3.  Kathleen Grace, Manager of Production and Programming, YouTube Space LA, recently watched Thanksgiving Outfits for Jive Turkeys

Monday, November 19, 2012

Coming soon: Link your channel with a Google+ page (and keep your channel name)


Over the past several months we’ve been giving YouTube users the ability to change how they appear on YouTube, by using their Google+ profile on their YouTube channel.  Well-known creators such as Michael Buckley, Philip DeFranco, Kina Grannis, and Felipe Neto have chosen to use their Google name as their identity on YouTube, by linking their Google+ profile with their Channel. This has helped them access engagement and social features like Hangouts on Air.

You may have seen a prompt like the one below inviting you to use your Google identity on YouTube. If you haven’t, and you can opt in right now using your account settings.


Or you can keep your channel name!

While using a full name from a Google+ profile might work well for a creator who wants to build their brand as an individual, this simply doesn’t work if you don’t want a full name on your channel.  If you run a channel with a name like BlueXephos or VlogBrothers, you should create a Google+ page (as opposed to a profile) with that name.

In the coming weeks we’ll launch the option to link your channel with a Google+ page, which will allow you to use your channel name (even with spaces in it!) as your Google identity.  And yes, the advanced Google+ page management features that enable up to 50 people manage a single Google+ page, or a single person to manage up to 50 Google+ pages, will also work for channels that are linked with Google+ pages.

We’ve been beta testing this option with some channels such as Google Analytics and YouTube Creators, and we’re planning to make this feature available to all creators in the coming weeks.

Why should creators use a Google identity?

If you unify your YouTube identity with Google+, it will be easier for your audience to find and connect with you on YouTube, Google, and across the web, and it will help you build your brand across all of Google’s products.  We’re also continually developing new engagement features like Hangouts on Air that take advantage of the best that both YouTube and Google+ have to offer.

David Boyle, recently watched MEERKATS 3D