Support Free Expression: Vote for the Netizen of the Year

One in three Internet users suffers from restricted access to the web due to government censorship, filtering or online surveillance, according to the free expression advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Around the world, bloggers and cyber-dissidents are jailed for expressing their views. Reporters Without Borders makes sure their struggles are not forgotten.

We believe in a free and open Internet where everyone can express their opinions and learn from others. For this reason, for the past several years we’ve partnered with Reporters Without Borders to organize their annual Netizen of the Year Award, which honors an Internet user, blogger or cyber-dissident who has made a notable contribution in defense of online freedom of expression.

This year for the first time, Reporters Without Borders is asking you to help decide who will win the award. Nine “netizens”—from Bulgaria, Egypt, Honduras, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mali, Russia, Senegal and Vietnam—have been nominated for consideration. Watch the videos showing their stories and then vote at youtube.com/netizen2013.

We hope you’ll be as inspired as we have been by these brave people. The winner, based on votes from people like you around the world, will be announced on March 7. He or she will be invited to the award ceremony taking place at Google’s Paris office on March 12—the World Day Against Cyber Censorship.

Posted by Florian Maganza, Policy Analyst, Paris

Autism Speaks Premieres Inspiring Documentary on YouTube

Occasionally, we invite special guests to share their thoughts on the YouTube Blog. This guest post is from Autism Speaks about a documentary they are premiering on YouTube. The film was previously only available at small regional screenings and will now be available to viewers across the globe. 

Today we’re announcing the online premiere of "I Want to Say," a documentary short about technology and hope. It tells the story of how technology is making a difference in the lives of some people who need it most: children with autism.

This documentary is part of our Hacking Autism initiative to facilitate and accelerate technology-based ideas to help give those with autism a voice. Technology is radically remaking the world of autism. It is creating opportunities for those with autism to find their passion, develop their skills and eventually compete for jobs.

Autism Speaks is supporting the development of therapies and assistive technologies by promoting collaboration among designers, engineers, scientists, and individuals and families affected by autism.

We wanted to premiere this documentary on YouTube to show the world the power of technology for people with autism. Our hope is that you find "I Want to Say" as compelling and powerful as we do.




Alison Dyer, Social Marketing Manager at Autism Speaks, recently watched “How to BEND light !!”

TED’s Ads Worth Spreading 2013 Winners

Today’s guest blog post comes from Ronda Carnegie, Head of Global Partnerships from TED.

For the third year, TED and YouTube teamed up on Ads Worth Spreading, an initiative to recognize ads that inspire, educate and engage. Today at the TED2013 conference in Long Beach, Calif., this year’s ten winners were announced.

Ads were nominated in six categories: Talk, Social Good, Cultural Compass, Creative Wonder, Brand Bravery, and Education. Six nomination teams made up of one TED speaker and one rising thinker in advertising searched for ads in each category, while 25 leading figures in the ad industry searched for ads across categories.

Each of these ten ads go beyond the creative brief to spark imagination and create moments of emotional connection with audiences. The winning work will be showcased at TED2013 as well as on TED.com and you can watch them all here on YouTube. Combined, they have been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube.

 

TED 2013 Ads Worth Spreading:

1. Expedia - “Find Yours”
2. Coke - “Security Cameras”
3. Melbourne Metro Rail - “Dumb Ways to Die”
4. Dell - “Meet Annie: The Girl Who Could Fly”
5. TNT - “Your Daily Dose of Drama”
6. Rainforest Alliance - “Follow the Frog”
7. Channel 4 (UK) - “Meet the Superhumans”
8. GlaxoSmithKline - “The Crowd”
9. Dodge - “The Farmer”
10. The Guardian - “Three Little Pigs”

Guest to the YouTube Blog Ronda Carnegie, Head of Global Partnerships from TED, recently watched “Young-Ha Kim: Be an artist, right now!”

DevinandErica Are Your February Featured Rising Partner!

Congratulations to Devin and Erica, whose YouTube channel DevinandErica is our featured “On The Rise” partner this February. These loving parents have documented their family’s development, creativity and silliness on YouTube for more than three years, and today they’re featured on the YouTube Spotlight channel.

This channel was born when Erica was pregnant with the couple’s eldest daughter, whom they affectionately refer to as "Baby Bug." Their "reality show" on YouTube has grown to include a variety of content ranging from vlogs to homemade skits to original songs, and this fun-loving family has developed a dedicated following. In fact, support from their viewers helped them with the expense of a second IVF cycle, and Devin, Erica and Bug welcomed baby "DudeL" about six months ago. After more than three years and 300 videos on YouTube, Devin and Erica have amassed a library of heartwarming moments--get to know their family with channel classics like the ABCs "Baby Jam" and Devin’s baby proposal, and then check out some of the other fun videos from the playlist linked in the video below.



Here are a few words directly from Devin:

We would like to thank our subscribers first and foremost. Without you, we would not have come so far within this community. For that our utmost appreciation will now and always play the biggest role. Our subscribers have helped us grow as a YouTube Partner, as well as a family by helping give us a son just by watching and following our crazy family. For those who have not seen us before, our channel is packed full of family fun! We do vlogs, skits and original songs about our crazy life and family in Charlotte, N.C. We like to have fun and would love to have you with us! Thank you for watching and we look forward to you joining our journey. 

If you’ve enjoyed this monthly "On The Rise" blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our Google+ Hangouts with past featured partners on the YouTube Creators channel.

You can participate and help us surface YouTube talent by nominating a YouTube partner to be considered for the “On The Rise” program. Feel free to submit nominations for your own channel, or for channels you follow that you think deserve more attention or could be the next YouTube sensation. We’ll continue to feature promising partners who have fewer than 100,000 subscribers and produce engaging content on a regular basis. See you next month!

Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “Evolution Of Mom Dancing (w/ Jimmy Fallon & Michelle Obama).”

Context Is King: Share Your Story

From artists to activists, teachers to students, kids to grandparents, YouTube is a place for people all over the globe to share their stories. YouTube’s Community Guidelines represent the rules of the road for all of them. They state that, in general, YouTube is not a place for shocking or violent content. When material of this nature is flagged by our community, our teams work around the clock to remove anything that breaks the rules.

That said, YouTube is an important global platform for news and information, and we realize that sometimes graphic material is vital to our understanding of the world. It can be posted to document wars or revolutions, to expose an injustice, or to ensure local events are seen globally. Because of this, we take great care when reviewing flagged videos, and allow graphic videos that are intended to have news or documentary value. This is where we need your help.

Why adding context to your video is so important

For all types of content you share on YouTube, but particularly with graphic content, adding context is very important. The information you add in the title and description is what helps other people find and understand your video. It will also help the YouTube team review your video if it does get flagged. 

Take a look at the following examples.

Example 1:

Example 2:

 



















While the content of these videos is similar, the experience of viewing them is quite different. In the first example, the user provides very little information. In the second, we understand what we see, and see that the user’s intent is to educate and tell a story.

How to contextualize your videos: some tips to follow

• Provide an informative and relevant title--you can pack in a lot of information here, even if you’re on the move on a mobile device
• Fill your description with information: who, what, when, where and why did it occur?
• Think about narrating what you see as you film, or add detail later using our annotations tool
• Feel free to link to relevant websites, such as a related news story or artist statement
• Organizations such as Witness and Small World News also produce great tip sheets
• Remember YouTube’s tools--if your footage is sensitive and requires visual anonymity, check out YouTube’s blurring tool. If you feel your content was removed in error, you can appeal the decision.

Our goal at YouTube is to allow as much content as possible on the site, and still ensure that our Community Guidelines are followed. It is a delicate balancing act, and we depend on our uploaders to help. So whether you’re a performance artist, a citizen journalist or a human rights activist, remember: context is king. The information you add to your video helps tell your story, find an audience, and make an impact--it could even help your video be an important part of history.

Ali Glenesk, Policy Associate, recently watched “Grandma’s Advice.”

YouTube Just Got Hotter: Views Added to Billboard’s Charts

Billboard and Nielsen have shaped the core measures of success for entertainers around the world. These institutions created the standard we all look to when assessing the popularity of an artist, an album or that song you just can’t stop playing. Each week, their rankings are eagerly awaited by budding musicians, bona fide rock stars and music executives alike.

Of course, the music industry has changed dramatically in recent years. We’ve seen artists become stars through channels that simply didn’t exist a decade or two ago. From Gangnam Style and grandpa style to the Alabama Shakes and the Harlem Shake, YouTube has become a place where artists connect with new audiences, and music fans are finding songs, bands and genres they never knew they loved.

That’s why we’re partnering with Billboard and Nielsen to include our U.S. data into their “Hot” charts--the Hot 100 List, Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B Songs, Rap Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Dance/Electronic Songs. Meaning, all official videos on YouTube, including user-generated clips that utilize authorized audio, will now factor into how a song’s popularity is determined.

This announcement marks a big step in accurately reflecting how music lovers are finding their new favorite songs. And it builds upon our efforts to share this kind of data with key industry analytical tools like Next Big Sound and BigChampagne, which also help artists succeed both on and offline. Most importantly, we hope this news will excite our users, who have helped us discover some of the biggest stars and songs of the past seven years.

AJ Frank, New Business Development, recently watched “Harlem Shake (Matt and Kim Edition).”

A-Pop Channel Brings the Best Pop From Asia to You

Over the past seven years, YouTube has become a global stage where music lovers can follow their top bands and find new favorite artists. After all, it wasn't so long ago that K-Pop exploded with PSY's "Gangnam Style" becoming the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. Similar music movements have continued to cross borders with legendary Taiwanese rock band Mayday live streaming a concert from the YouTube headquarters and Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu starring in a new channel about Tokyo's ultra-cute Harajuku fashion neighborhood.

Keeping up with the latest in Asian pop on YouTube will be even easier after today's official launch of A-Pop. The channel will be a hub for live-streaming concerts from Asian artists, directly hosting shows in progress or otherwise displaying a calendar of upcoming events. You can also find the newest videos from Asian pop artists and a playlist of the week's Top 20. There are also individual tabs for K-Pop, C-Pop or J-Pop if you want to narrow down to one of the three.

The A-Pop Channel already has a few big events planned. A-Pop Star Week kicks off on March 8 and fans will be able to connect with top A-Pop stars using Google+ Hangouts. Here's the lineup so far:

March 8 SHINee (K-Pop)
March 9 Wang Leehom (C-Pop)
March 10 Super Junior (K-Pop)
March 11 Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (J-Pop)
March 12 flumpool (J-Pop)
March 13 2PM (K-Pop)
March 14 Mayday (C-Pop)

You can tune in to Hangouts from A-Pop and ask questions of the stars by submitting questions on Google+ via a special hashtag. Visit www.google.com/+jpop, www.google.com/+kpop, or www.google.com/+cpop for more information on how to participate. The stars will be hand-picking five lucky participants for each Hangout, so be sure to submit a creative question!



There are a lot of exciting things yet to come from the Asian pop explosion, so make sure you subscribe to the A-Pop channel to get the latest news and updates.

Sun Lee, YouTube Asia-Pacific Marketing Manager, recently watched "Super Junior-M - Break Down."