Holy Nyans! 60 hours per minute and 4 billion views a day on YouTube

This is a cross-post from the Official YouTube blog.

Since the dawn of YouTube we’ve been sharing the hours of video you upload every minute. In 2007 we started at six hours, then in 2010 we were at 24 hours, then 35, then 48, and now...60 hours of video every minute, an increase of more than 30 percent in the last eight months. In other words, you’re uploading one hour of video to YouTube every second. Tick, tock, tick, tock — that’s 4 hours right there!

In the past we’ve made charts and infographics to describe the kind of mind-boggling engagement you’re driving, and this time we let our dataheads run wild. They came back to us with onehourpersecond.com — an interactive collection of what happens in a YouTube second. Here’s a sample:



For all the hours of video you’re uploading—you’re watching more as well; we’ve now exceeded four billion video views globally every day. That’s up 25 percent in the last eight months and the equivalent of more than half the world’s population watching a video every day, the same number as there are US $1 bills in circulation, the same as number of years since there was water on Mars...it’s a big number, and you’re making it bigger every day.

With more original Channels rolling out this year, a new homepage to help you find and follow Channels you love, and new tools for creators always on the horizon, we’re excited to see how many times you’ll grow these numbers this year!

The YouTube Team recently watched “The Joy of Books.”

A global search for the world's best storytellers

Cross-posted from the Official YouTube Blog

One of the best parts of working at YouTube is helping connect creative voices from around the globe with the audiences they deserve. So, we've teamed up with Ridley Scott and Scott Free London, the Venice Film Festival, and Emirates to create Your Film Festival, a global competition that will provide one deserving entrant with a half million US dollars to work on their next great story. Here’s an overview:



Starting February 2, you can submit your short, story-driven videos (15 minutes or less) on Youtube.com/yourfilmfestival. Entry is free and open to people 18 years of age and above, and all genres and formats are welcome: live action short, animation, documentary, web-series episode, TV pilot — you name it. Your video must be story-driven, and cannot have been publicly shown or distributed prior to January 1, 2010. Full rules are available on the Your Film Festival Channel.

From there, the Scott Free team will select 50 semi-finalists from across the globe by June 2012. YouTube users will then vote for their favorites to select 10 finalists, whose videos will then be screened at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. A jury led by Ridley Scott will crown one grand prize winner, who will receive a $500,000 production grant to work with Scott’s team to create a new story for the world to see.



For more information, check out the Your Film Festival Channel, and get your entries in before March 31 at midnight ET.

We can't wait to see what you've got.

Nate Weinstein, entertainment marketing manager, recently watched “Panic Attack."

Sixty YouTube Space Lab Finalists Announced: Vote Now For Your Favorites

A few months ago we set 14-18 year olds the bold challenge to design a science experiment that could be performed by NASA aboard the International Space Station, something that has traditionally been the preserve of qualified astronauts and scientists. Coming up with a suitable idea required huge imagination, passion and scientific curiosity, which is why we were thrilled with your response—we received a total of 2,000 video submissions from students in more than 80 countries!

Expert scientists helped us check and rank all of the entries, and today we are very proud to announce the sixty finalists. All of their submissions can now be viewed on the YouTube.com/SpaceLab Channel, and from 17-24 January, you can vote for the ones you want to win. We need your help selecting the six regional winners, and ultimately the two global winners that will have their experiments performed 400 kilometers above Earth and live streamed on YouTube. Start voting today.

Among the finalists for the Asia-Pacific region were three teams of Australian students: Wyatt McCoach and Forrest Gerner and Thomas Gambuti, Francesca Mcgrath, and Ruby Wright in the 14-16 year-old category as well as Luke Ditria and Johnny Udall in the 17-18 year-old category.

And remember, the channel is also a launchpad to some of the best space and science videos on YouTube. We’ve already received more than 39 million combined video views worldwide and we’re adding new videos and playlists regularly, like this new playlist about the mysteries of the  Red Planet. Subscribe to the channel to keep up to date with all the latest content. 
Didn’t make it to the final round? Check out the newly launched Google Science Fair 2012 for another chance to enter an amazing global science competition.  Zahaan Bharmal, YouTube Space Lab lead, recently watched “Living in Space: 225,000 Miles Above Earth.”

Get Ready for a Grand Slam with Live Tennis on YouTube

The Australian Open Series is in full swing, and tennis fans around the world can catch loads of the action this year on YouTube. Tennis Australia is making the series more accessible than ever before by offering both live action and full-length match replays, as well as loads of training footage and player interviews.

This week we’ve got live streaming from the Australian Open Qualifying Tournament, and today you can also catch the live Australian Open draw featuring tennis legend John McEnroe.

Coming up there will be heaps of on-demand footage from the full Australian Open Series, including the Brisbane International , Sydney International, Hobart International and the Adelaide World Tennis Challenge. This will include match highlights, player press conferences, and perhaps — a few shirtless training sessions.

And if you are feeling nostalgic, you can recap all the Open action from the past decade through the Archive Playlist on the Australian Open YouTube channel. 

Last year saw some fun moments like a dead spot in Hisense Arena and John McEnroe with his pants down, so stay tuned to see what this year will bring!

Richard North, YouTube Australia/New Zealand Content Partnerships Manager, recently watched "Shaark!"

Get More Into: Top 50 Music Videos of 2011

From kitty-cam to kids with nerf guns to Thom York's peculiar dance moves, we bring you 50 of the greatest, weirdest and most innovative music videos of 2011.

Hand-picked by the YouTube Australia music team who have been diligently scouring the depths of the internet, this list is a celebration of all things wonderful and weird in the world of music.

2011 was a year of power females. Who could forget Beyonce's ground-breaking 'Countdown' or Lana Del Rey’s washed out glamour throwback video for ‘Video Games’.

This year we’ve seen a crop of new talent and innovation with Alexander’s breakout video for ‘A Million Years’, featuring makeup landscapes - or ‘manscapes’ - being a notable mention. The Beastie Boys brought us the the Spike Jonze-directed epic masterpiece 'Make Some Noise' featuring more celebrities than the Betty Ford clinic.

A special shout out to the Aussies who made the cut - Children Collide's 'Loveless', directed by award-winning Australian filmmaker David Michôd (Animal Kingdom). It features a one-take shot of their lead singer getting a haircut. Bluejuice's granny-kissing antics, Strange Talk's interactive prize giveaways and last but not least, Gotye’s body-paint experiments also get a mention.

So sit back and raise a glass to the year that was 2011 in music! Watch the full playlist here.

Posted by Sophie Hirst and Cat Conroy, YouTube Team, just watched Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Little Drummer Boy

Opening up a world of educational content with YouTube for Schools

Cross-posted from the Official YouTube Blog


When I was in school during the 90s, watching videos in the classroom was a highlight of any week. The teacher would roll in a television on a cart, pop in a VHS tape, and then we’d enjoy whatever scratchy science video my teacher had checked out from the school video library that week. Sight, sound and motion have always had the power to engage students and complement classroom instruction by bringing educational topics to life.


We’ve been hearing from teachers that they want to use the vast array of educational videos on YouTube in their classrooms, but are concerned that students will be distracted by the latest music video or cute cat, or a video that wasn’t appropriate for students. While schools that restrict access to YouTube may solve this distraction concern, they also limit access to hundreds of thousands of educational videos on YouTube that could help bring photosynthesis to life, or show what life was like in ancient Greece.


To address this issue, we’ve developed YouTube for Schools, a network setting that school administrators can turn on to grant access only to the educational content from YouTube EDU. Teachers can choose from the hundreds of thousands of videos on YouTube EDU created by more than 600 partners like the Smithsonian, TED, Steve Spangler Science, and Numberphile.

We know how busy teachers are, and that searching through thousands of videos sounds like a daunting visit to the world’s largest library, so we’ve also worked with teachers to put together more than 300 playlists broken out by subject -- Math, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts -- and by grade level. Teachers can find them listed out at youtube.com/teachers. Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without your input -- teachers, what videos do you use in your classroom? Suggest your own education playlist here.

YouTube for Schools is just the latest initiative in our ongoing attempts to make YouTube a truly valuable educational resource, and to inspire learners around the world with programs like YouTube Space Lab. So how do you get started? To join YouTube for Schools or learn more about the program, head on over to www.youtube.com/schools.

Brian Truong, Product Manager, recently watched “The Challenges of Getting to Mars: Transporting a Mars Rover.”

Get more into what you love on YouTube with our new look

Cross-posted from the Official YouTube Blog.

From your favorite sports highlights and dance competitions to make-up tutorials, science experiments and great movies, there’s a ton of great stuff on YouTube — over three billion views worth per day by last count. More and more, behind every great video is a great Channel, and with our announcement last month that more of them are coming to YouTube, we want to make it easier for you to find and keep tabs of what you want to watch.

So, today we're introducing a new homepage, Channel design and a fresh coat of digital paint. Here are three ways these updates will improve your life on YouTube:

1. A new homepage
The YouTube homepage is your gateway to a vast entertainment universe. To help you get more into YouTube, we’re making it easier to find and follow great Channels when you arrive. On the left side of the homepage you can create your own, personal, customizable YouTube Channel line-up. Sign-in, or create a YouTube account. Then you can browse recommended Channels; customize your homepage’s feed; even link your YouTube account to Google+ and Facebook to see what your friends are sharing. The new homepage feed we launched earlier this year is now front and center on the homepage. You can switch between feeds by clicking on different Channels on the left. 

For step by step instructions on using the new YouTube homepage, you can go to our help center. 

2. Simpler, customizable Channels
Given the homepage’s new focus on helping you find and organize your favorite Channels, we would be remiss if we didn’t update the look and feel of the Channels themselves. Today we're launching an improved Channel design focused on what matters most: helping users find great videos. As different uploaders have different goals, we've created new Channel templates to meet your needs whether you produce one video a week or have thousands of videos for a fan to browse. Some partners have even uploaded videos talking about the features, or giving tips on how they’re taking advantage of the new design. To learn how to opt-in to and test this new Channel design, check out our help center. 

3. A new overall design
To bring the new homepage and Channels designs together we’ve also applied a fresh coat of digital paint across the whole site. In July, we unveiled an experimental design called Cosmic Panda. We’ve used your feedback to improve our overall design, and today, we’re presenting a cleaner and simpler YouTube, with a consistent gray background, bigger video thumbnails and a more streamlined watch page. 

Ready to get started? Your new YouTube is already shipped and waiting for you at YouTube.com, and like every new toy, we included an instruction manual (and video) to help.



Our recent Channels expansion, our grants and educational programs, and this new design are all focused on helping you discover a broader range of entertainment on YouTube. We’re always innovating and testing new stuff out to make the experience the best it can be for you. We rely on your feedback to figure out when we've gotten it right and when it needs further tweaks. So let us know what you think.

The YouTube team