Gangnam Style Makes YouTube History: First Video to Hit 1 Billion Views

A million views? You know what's cool? A billion views.

Today, a 34-year-old K-Pop artist made online video history when his viral video, Gangnam Style, smashed our records and became the first video ever to reach one billion views. Yup, that’s right one BILLION views!

PSY's success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music-- and er, great equine dance moves. In the past, music distribution was mostly regional. It was more difficult to learn about great artists from around the world. But with a global platform at their fingertips, people are now discovering and sharing amazing music from all over the planet, by artists like Brazilian Michel Teló and Belgian-Australian Gotye.

One billion views is an incredible number, but the PSY-nomenon goes beyond that. Check out these stats:

• PSY was already big in Korea, but in 2012, he became a global celeb as Gangnam Style quickly spread from Seoul and the pacific to North America, South America, and Europe. It’s been seen at least 1 million times in close to 75 countries, making it one of the most global music sensations ever! 
• From a one-thousand person flash mob in Jakarta to cover videos from Ai Weiwei and Mitt Romney, hundreds of thousands of parodies have been uploaded to YouTube, some of which have tens of millions of views. In fact, fan tributes to Gangnam Style are now being viewed 20 million times every single day. 
• PSY's own remix with Hyuna has 200 million views alone. 
• "Gangnam Style" was YouTube's top rising search of 2012 and on October 6th, we saw more than five million searches for “gangnam style” in a single day. Check out this video demonstrating some of our most popular YouTube searches this year. 
• For those interested in the business side: a number of assessments and projections have been posted claiming “Gangnam Style” has generated over $8.1 million in advertising deals, hit more than 2.9 million in song downloads since July, and achieved other incredible feats! 
• Since late last month, people have clicked to buy the track on iTunes over 600,000 times helping make PSY the first Korean artist ever to rank #1 on the U.S. iTunes chart and #1 in over 30 more countries. 

Perhaps what’s most impressive about this feat is that it took just over five months to happen. To give this milestone some context, here’s a chart of Gangnam Style’s rise to popularity versus Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” the video that previously held the most-watched video title:

Congratulations to PSY, the flash mobbers, K-Pop fans and people who love fun across the globe. Considering the Gangnam Style dance was the number one dance-related search on YouTube this year, you better make sure you brush up on your moves before New Year's Eve.

The kind of amazing creativity and unique connection between people all over the world that resulted in this one billion views is only possible with an incredible community of people we're so lucky to have on YouTube. And we can't wait to see what you'll come up with next!

Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, recently watched “Rewind YouTube Style 2012”

News on YouTube: 2012 in review

When something big happens in the world, the YouTube community responds. Our news partners race to get footage live on the site. On-the-spot reporters upload video directly from their smartphones to let us all know what it’s like to be there. Leaders express their outrage, and their sorrow. And our 800 million users around the world head to YouTube to better understand what just happened, from multiple perspectives. For years, YouTube has been the global living room - today’s it’s becoming a global newsroom.

2012 was a year in which one of the most respected voices in reporting, The Associated Press, hit one billion views on YouTube - a milestone only reached by a few dozen channels in YouTube history, and shared this year by one of the newest voices in reporting, Phil De Franco.

It was a year in which one of the world's most exciting stories on Earth came in the form of a four frames-per- second video from Mars.

It was a year in which The Weather Channel live-streamed its coverage of Hurricane Sandy for more than 70 hours, to millions of people who would have struggled to get the news any other way.

And it was a year in which people from more than 200 countries tuned in to youtube.com/politics to watch the US Presidential Elections.

We’re proud of our news partners, and the work they do to bring the events of the world to their growing audiences around the world. Here’s our recap of 2012, which we put together with the help of Nieman Journalism Lab and Storyful. As we head into the new year, subscribe to the new youtube.com/news channel to stay on top of the biggest news stories of 2013.

Tom Sly, Director of Content Partnerships for News and Education, recently watched “The Year in 60 seconds: 2012.”

YouTube in Rewind: What you were watching in 2012

It’s that time of year again to pause, rewind and remember the videos, the entertainers, and the moments that captivated you in 2012.

This year, Korean Pop music transcended boundaries and took the world by storm. Cover songs, parodies, and "do-it-yourself" music videos from all genres entertained us in countries near and far. And you participated in conversations at a global scale, uploading videos to share ideas on everything from nonprofit campaigns, to political satire, to new and surprising voices and talents. Plus, all over the world, you tuned in for the most up-to-date news footage of presidential elections, natural disasters and more.



2012 has been a big year for YouTube. You’ve been watching over 4 billion hours of video a month. Millions of creators are using YouTube channels to experiment with innovative forms of entertainment, explore their passions and interests, and take creativity and pop culture to new levels. 2012’s top trending videos showcase this creative ingenuity in ways we'd never before thought possible.

Check out the YouTube Rewind channel to explore the trending videos of the year in your country. Globally, here’s what we were all talking about in 2012: 

Top Trending YouTube Videos:  

1. PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V 
2. Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover) 
3. KONY 2012 
4. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! 
5. Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2. 
6. A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE 
7. WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW 
8. Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize 
9. Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen. 
10. Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k' - Mission Highlights 

Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, recently watched "Interactive Timeline: YouTube Rewind 2012"

A gift for you from Taylor Swift

When Taylor Swift unveiled her first single on YouTube back in August, you went a little crazy for it -- along with the rest of the country. During that same session, Ms. Swift secretly recorded an acoustic version of “We Will Never Ever Get Back Together” as well as never-before-heard acoustic versions of two other tracks off the new album: “Treacherous” and “Forever.” Today, she shares that session exclusively on YouTube, as a special holiday treat for her fans.



Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Toro y Moi ‘So Many Details’.”

Film and share videos instantly with YouTube Capture for iPhone and iPod touch

Life moves fast. To speed up recording, enhancing and sharing videos with your friends or the whole world, you can now use the YouTube Capture app on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Making sharing fast and easy
YouTube Capture is ready to record as soon as you open it. When you’re done filming, write a caption, select which networks you want to share to, and hit Share. Even if you minimize the app, the video will keep uploading in the background. You can control who sees your video by setting it to private (only you can view it), unlisted (only people with a link to the video can view it), or public (to let it shine to the world).

More than a point-and-shoot
Have a shaky hand or bad lighting when recording your video? Touch it up easily with YouTube enhancements like color correction and stabilization, or trim the length and add free background music from YouTube. These enhancements are also available on existing videos on your device, and you can always undo enhancements later on YouTube.com. YouTube Capture will remind you to rotate your phone to a horizontal position for filming, so your videos look high-quality and free of “Vertical Video Syndrome.”

YouTube Capture will be available today on the App Store. We’re also working to bring this to Android in the future, and learn more at youtube.com/capture.

Reed Morse, Software Engineer, recently watched “Ronald Jenkees - Red Lemonade Remixed.”

Who do YOU think is “On The Rise?” Nominate YouTube partners for the program in 2013!

By now, many of you may be familiar with the monthly On The Rise program, where we identify four YouTube partners whose subscriber numbers are growing but haven’t yet reached 100,000. You get the opportunity to vote for your favorite, each channel is evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques, and one of the four channels is featured on the YouTube homepage and across our social networks. In past months, featured partners like JoshSundquist, CuteGirlsHairstyles, and strskillschool have seen growth in their fan base and video engagement thanks to your support.

This month, we’re taking a brief hiatus from asking you to vote on emerging YouTube talent while the On The Rise program undergoes a bit of a face lift. We’ll be back in 2013, but in the meantime, we wanted to give YOU - the fans and viewers - more of a say about which channels really are on the rise.

We’re excited to announce that you can now nominate 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.

As always, thanks for participating and helping some of YouTube’s promising content creators grow their fan base!

Devon Storbeck and Christine Wang, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “M4SONIC - Virus (Live Launchpad Original).”

A YouTube winner in Google’s top trending searches

Each year here at YouTube, we take a look back at the videos that captured our attention and our imagination during the year. We’ll be releasing the top trending videos of 2012 next week, but today our friends over at Google are taking a look at the year through the eyes of search.

Google’s 12th annual Zeitgeist Year-In-Review, a.k.a. a “spirit of the times,” reviews the people, places, and topics that captured the world’s attention this year. YouTube favorite “Gangnam Style” came in as the #2 global trending search term this year, and topped dozens of country’s charts. PSY’s smash hit also left a lasting impression on search, with questions like “How to Gangnam” popping up in Malaysia, and “Gangnam Style costume” coming in as the #4 trending Halloween Costume search in the U.S.

For a quick ride through 2012, check out the Zeitgeist video:


Make sure to check out the Google Zeitgeist site to see the hottest trends, people, and topics that were top of mind this year.

Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, recently watched "Simon's Cat in 'Icecapade'"

A new look to help you to subscribe and watch channels on YouTube

Update 12/12: 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 Tuesday 12/17 starting at 10am PT to answer your questions.

Those of you who use YouTube most have learned the secret to making it even better—find the channels you love and subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. Last year we began to make it easier to subscribe to the channels you care about by introducing a Guide on the home page. When you add subscriptions to your Guide, you organize YouTube around what you like, available whenever you watch YouTube. Today, we’re taking the next step by bringing your subscription-filled Guide with you across both the site and all devices, as your best source of what to watch on YouTube.

Your Guide to YouTube

Just subscribe to your favorite channels and the Guide lets you know when there are new videos waiting for you to enjoy, suggests the latest and greatest channels you might like, and shows you what your friends are sharing across the web. You’ll also find the Guide and your subscriptions on apps across hundreds of millions of devices including Android, iPhone, Playstation 3, Google TV and more.

A cleaner, simpler look

You come to YouTube to watch the videos you care about, so it’s important that the videos stand out. In this new layout, you’ll find the most crucial elements are front and center when you watch a video: the video is right at the top of the page and the subscribe button, social actions and video information are all combined directly below the player. Playlists are now available to the right of the video so you can browse through while you watch. You’ll also see this cleaner and simpler design across the entire site.

Your feedback matters

We’d love to get your feedback on these updates, so we’ll be hosting a Google+ Hangout on Air and a Reddit IAmA in the coming weeks--stay tuned here for details. If you’re a YouTube creator, you can learn more about these updates on our YouTube Creator Blog.

Josh Sassoon, Senior Unicorn eXperience Designer, recently watched “Hipster Thanksgiving” and
Alex Nicksay, Staff Engineer, recently watched “Crystalfilm.”

YouTube NextUp: Get Collaborating

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”

YouTube shows rolls out across the sky, aboard Virgin America flights

We’re teaming up with Virgin America to bring you great shows from five YouTube partners right on your personal seatback screen. By mid-December, Warner Brothers’ H+ The Digital Series, WIGS’ Blue, Geek & Sundry’s Written By a Kid, Crash Course and Barely Political’s The Key of Awesome will be available for free on all Virgin America planes in the US and Mexico.

Venture into an apocalyptic future where the human race is hardwired to the Internet and a virus has entered the system with H+ The Digital Series. Or watch Julia Stiles in Blue, the story of a single mom trying to evade her past and protect her son from a secret she’ll do anything to keep.

In the mood for some comedy? What's funnier than a kid's wild imagination? Watch these tales come to life in hilarious live-action and animated shorts on Written by a Kid. Or indulge your ironically-pop-loving side as The Key of Awesome makes a mockery of hipsters and hobbits alike with music videos, fake movie trailers and other ridiculous sketches.

When you’re ready to enlighten yourself, join John Green with his quirky, fast-paced and entertaining teaching style for a Crash Course on The Fall of Rome, The Dark Ages and The Mongol Empire.

Bringing YouTube aboard Virgin America is part of a larger effort to bring you more of the videos you love, at heights you’ve never seen them before. Sample these great series on your flight, and then visit YouTube to enjoy the full seasons. New series and shows will become available every two months.

So pack up your 3 oz containers, fasten your seatbelt, and join YouTube and Virgin America 35,000 feet in the air. Happy flying!

Kate Berland, YouTube Marketing Manager, recently watched "Written By A Kid - the tale of a paper, panty-clad horse in ‘La Munkya’."

YouTube on iPad, and sweet updates for iPhone 5 and iPod touch

You love watching YouTube on the go—in fact—more than 25 percent of all YouTube watching happens on mobile. This past September you got the YouTube app for iPhone and iPod touch to make it easier to find and share the videos and channels you love on YouTube, and you made us the #1 free app in the App Store for two months. Since then, we’ve been hard at work to improve the app based on your feedback.

Just in time for the holidays, now you can download or update the YouTube app with a look designed for the iPad and iPhone 5, enhanced AirPlay support, videos that start faster and play more smoothly, and improved accessibility with VoiceOver. Enjoy Tastemade on iPad in full screen glory, or hours of flipping through Ryan Higa videos on your iPhone 5 or iPod touch.

Please keep giving us feedback on features you’d like to see so we can keep making it better. In the meantime, we’ll be kicking back with some egg nog and a holiday favorite on our iPad.

Horia Ciurdar, Software Engineer, recently watched “GoPro: Matthias Giraud - Double Back Flip Drop.”

5 Questions with Jeff Davidoff, Chief Marketing Officer of One.org

More than 34 million people around the globe are living with HIV but only half of those eligible for life-saving treatment receive it. Today, on World AIDS Day, many organizations are using social media to convey the personal stories of those fighting to end the disease. We asked Jeff Davidoff, Chief Marketing Officer of One.org, about their new people-powered campaign, “my story. our fight.”

1. Why did you make video a core component if the "my story. our fight." campaign?

ONE is all about the power of voice. As we often say, "we're not asking for you money we're asking for you voice." And while it's true that your voice alone may struggle to be heard or make a difference, we have concrete proof that our voices together are impossible to ignore. Our over three million members around the world prove this time and again. The inspiration for this particular campaign was to get at why people are involved — the personal stories and experiences they have that changed their lives, and committed them to getting off the couch and doing some real good in the world. To us, video was the obvious solution to bring these unique stories to life in a way that people can experience them, share them, be inspired by them and make their own commitment to action because of them.

2. You empowered people to share their messages and experiences. How did you encourage them to promote the campaign's goals while still allowing the campaign to feel organic and authentic?

Great question. Authenticity is really at the heart of this idea. And the answer is simple: don't write scripts. Instead, just ask people to share their own stories, and really push them to open up and be personal. I remember asking Cleve Jones, "Do you have a particular experience or memory that got you started on the path of AIDS activism?" And he said, "Absolutely." I said, "Great why don't you sit at my computer and share it?" And as he shared his beautiful and very personal story right in front of me, I knew we were onto something.


3. What actions are you asking viewers to take and how are you measuring the success of these videos?

We're using the call to action: "Watch one. Share one. Join ONE." We want people to be inspired by the stories we've curated, share them with their friends and, most importantly, take action by signing our petition to protect funding for lifesaving AIDS programs. There's a lot of talk now in America about the "fiscal cliff." This can seem like a vague and distant idea. Let's put it in concrete terms: if an agreement is not reached, and cuts to life-saving programs goes into a effect, real lives will be lost. These aren't numbers, these are people. That's why we're in the fight, and that's why we're hoping more people will join us.




4. Did you promote the campaign videos outside of YouTube as well? How do you think about distribution and helping the videos find their audience?

We're aggressively promoting the campaign both inside and outside of YouTube, including to our over three million members around the world via email, Facebook and Twitter and asking them to share with their much larger social networks. We're also rolling out an aggressive PR strategy that matches storytellers to particular audiences — movie stars to entertainment, AIDS activists to the AIDS community, college students to other students, etc. It's less about trying to bring people to us, and more about trying to get our story embedded in already-scaled audiences.

5. What advice do you have for cause-based campaigns in how they approach using YouTube?

We've been through quite a learning curve with YouTube. In the beginning I think we had a very old-world approach by making our own videos and trying to use YouTube as a free broadcast medium. We're now much more focused on tapping into the power of existing YouTube creators, and getting them to naturally include our message in their stories to their pre-existing audiences. It's a much more authentic and contemporary use of the medium. And we're already thrilled with the results.

Special note: DANCE (RED), SAVE LIVES this weekend. Watch the livestream of Tiësto and some of the biggest names in dance music from Stereosonic, Australia's biggest dance music festival. Live at youtube.com/joinred starting at 11pm ET on Friday, and looping all weekend long. 

Hunter Walk, director of product management, recently watched Are You Ready? Get Set, Let’s Go!

The first-ever “spidernaut” safely returns to Earth

Take eight steps back, Psy and Biebs. Another YouTube star is born today as Nefertiti, the first-ever “spidernaut” who was the key element to the winning YouTube Space Lab experiment has made it home safely and will live out the rest of her life at the Smithsonian Museum.

Nefertiti is the first jumping spider to successfully return from space and adjust to life on Earth after a 100-day stay aboard the International Space Station. “Neffi,” as she’s called by friends, will take up residence starting today at the Insect Zoo in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Courtesy of NASA. Nefertiti, the red-backed jumping spider hunting for flies inside her space flight habitat on board the International Space Station.

The jumping spider experiment was one of two winners from thousands of ideas submitted to YouTube last year with the hopes of being sent to space as part of the Space Lab competition. Relive the epic story of YouTube Space Lab below.



Dom Elliott, Marketing Manager, recently watched “Space Lab LIVE!: Behind the Scenes.”

YouTube automatic captions now in six European languages

Captions are important to make sure everyone—including deaf, hard-of-hearing, and viewers who speak other languages—can enjoy videos on YouTube.

In 2009, you first saw a feature that automatically creates captions on YouTube videos in English, and since then we’ve added Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Today, hundreds of millions of people speaking six more languages—German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Dutch—will have automatic caption support for YouTube videos in those languages. Just click the closed caption button on any of these videos to see how it works:



Now in 10 languages, automatic captions are an important first step in the path toward high-quality captions for the 72 hours of video people upload per minute. As automatic captions will have some errors, creators also have several tools to improve the quality of their captions. Automatic captions can be a starting point, where creators can then download them for editing, or edit them in-line on YouTube. Creators can also upload plain-text transcripts in these languages, and the same technology will generate automatically-synchronized captions.

You now have around 200 million videos with automatic and human-created captions on YouTube, and we continue to add more each day to make YouTube accessible for all.

Hoang Nguyen, software engineer, recently watched “Completo, ilha das flores.”

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.”

YouTube Presents: Mayday in San Bruno, California

England had The Beatles. Ireland has U2. Taiwan has Mayday.

Taiwan’s Mayday (五月天) is the biggest name in Chinese rock today, with tens of millions of fans across the globe. No doubt they will be making even more fans when they perform at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California on Wednesday, November 28 at 7pm PT, and livestream it to the world on YouTube Presents and Mayday's YouTube channel.

After the concert at 8:30pm PT, Mayday will hold a Hangout with fans on Google+. To get a chance at joining this Hangout, post a question you want to ask the band with the tag #HangoutsWithMayday on Google+. Seven lucky fans will be invited to participate.



The first ever Chinese-speaking band to perform at YouTube Presents, Mayday announced their visit at Google’s office in Taipei last week, as they start their U.S. tour promoting their newest album Album No. 8 (作品8號).

Tune in to the livestream for a bit of Mayday to warm up your November, and subscribe to Mayday’s YouTube channel to get the latest videos from the group.

Richard Li, Country Marketing Manager for Taiwan, recently watched “Don’t Wanna Leave You Alone.”

Just for U: YouTube arrives on Wii U

The new YouTube app for Nintendo Wii U brings the YouTube videos and channels you love to your living room, and with the Wii U GamePad you can quickly search for great videos to watch. From the new Super Mario Bros to music videos, there’s endless HD entertainment available to you on the YouTube app.

Nintendo's GamePad makes it fast and easy to find YouTube videos, with the GamePad touchscreen keyboard.

Take advantage of your big screen TV and enjoy YouTube HD videos in up to 1080p. When you're watching a video, you can also see all the video details on your GamePad.

Looking for something new to watch? Flip through your subscribed channels and categories like Gaming and Music.

The YouTube app for Nintendo Wii U is now available for free download from the Nintendo Wii U main menu.

Sarah Ali, product manager, recently watched “Portlandia : Did You Read? - Portlandia on IFC.”

A cornucopia of live music: Rihanna, Pitbull, Alicia Keys and more

Starting today, channels across YouTube will host concerts from some of the most vital musicians in the game -- and you’ve got a free ticket to watch them all live. Because we know you’re going to have to plan your schedule carefully to catch all the shows, we’ve laid ‘em out for you: when, where and how you can watch.

Saturday, November 17: Bud Light Port Paradise with Pitbull and more
Pop stars in paradise? Sounds like a recipe for success to us. Watch Far East Movement, FloRida, Wiz Khalifa and Pitbull live from the Bahamas, starting at 1:30pm PT on youtube.com/budlight.

Saturday, November 17: Zac Brown Band
These dudes define country cool -- they’re low-key, but they have true cred and lots of hits. Who doesn’t want to see them play Madison Square Garden? 6pm PT on youtube.com/fuse.



Sunday, November 18: American Music Awards Red Carpet
For those of you who prefer music’s glam side, watch pop stars strut in all their finery before Sunday’s American Music Awards show. Word is some guy named Psy will make an appearance. Starts at 2pm PT on youtube.com/awardsshownetwork.

Monday, November 19: Rihanna
The pop princess returns with a new album next week, and to celebrate, she’s doing seven shows in seven days, all over the world. Catch her London show live at 1pm PT on youtube.com/rihannalive.



Tuesday, November 20: Alicia Keys
And last, but SO not least, the divine Alicia Keys will premiere her entire new album on Tuesday via a Google Hangout streamed live on youtube.com/aliciakeys. Just when you thought you couldn’t love her any more than you do.... Tune in at 4pm PT.



Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Dakha Brakha | A Take-Away Show (Outtakes).”

YouTube app now on Nintendo Wii in the U.S.

Designed for the big screen and Wii Remote, the new YouTube app for Nintendo Wii brings the YouTube videos and channels you love to your TV. Wii owners in the U.S. can download the app today from the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel, and we’re bringing the app to more countries in the coming months. Here’s what to expect with the new app:

Start your YouTube journey on Wii by signing in to find the channels you’re subscribed to. You can also flip through categories like Gaming, Music, trending videos and more.

Watch the shows and channels you love on YouTube, like The Book Club from YOMYOMF Network or the official Nintendo Wii YouTube channel.

Wii Yoga have you hungry for more exercises? Try the new search features to find fun yoga videos.

Check out these features and more on the new YouTube app for Nintendo Wii, giving you another way to enjoy YouTube on the big screen.

Matt Darby, product manager, recently watched “Dragon Baby.”

YouTube’s News Innovation Award - this one’s for you

Last night in Washington DC, YouTube was proud to accept the News Innovation Award from the International Center for Journalists, an organization dedicated to promoting a free, independent press around the world.

As CEO Salar Kamangar told the audience, YouTube is an unusual recipient because we are not journalists. But we are news junkies, and we know you are, too.

Fully a third of searches you do on YouTube are news-related. You share events unfolding in your backyard to bring new perspectives to breaking news. You watch live streamed events from our news partners in the millions, no matter where you are in the world. And some of you even risk everything to provide a window into global conflicts that would otherwise go unseen.

So thank you ICFJ for recognizing YouTube’s community in this way. Here is Salar accepting the award on behalf of all of you.




Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched “14N La policía inventa una "patada" para detener a un fotógrafo” (Journalist detained by police in Madrid)

Vote for your favorite November “On The Rise” nominee

In our monthly On The Rise program, we identify four partners whose channels are seeing significant growth but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 subscriber mark. This month, we’re sharing with you four dedicated partners who are getting quite close to hitting that milestone so you can help give them a chance to jumpstart their audience development and channel growth. Our November nominees have already built strong follower networks by sharing their passions about fashion and beauty, VFX and cinematography, songwriting and music, and green science education.

Here’s where you come in - you actually have the chance to help push these partners even further on YouTube. Review their videos below, vote for your favorite here, and one of these candidates will have the opportunity to be featured on the YouTube homepage later this month. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner will be featured on the homepage, Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.

In past months, featured On The Rise partners like GoneToTheSnowDogs and RichardGaleFilms have gained many subscribers and seen their careers take off, in large part due to your support. This month’s poll will be open until November 20, 5pm PT, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite channel. Check back to see who secured the homepage feature on November 28.

AllThingsFabulous101
Asia gets back to basics in her videos, offering style and beauty tips and tricks for beginners. A self-described fashion and makeup lover, her channel is a great resource for a ton of easy how-tos, tutorials, and hauls.



polcan99
Simultaneously wearing hats as a director, cinematographer, and animation/video effects artist, Tom Antos has nearly 15 years of experience in the film industry. You can check out a sampling of his projects (which range from music videos to feature films to DIY projects), VFX skills, and even behind-the-scenes tutorials on polcan99, one of several channels Tom manages. 



krissysings
Krissy and Ericka Villongco are sisters who play and sing pop-acoustic music. This duo hails from the Philippines and released two albums in 2012 and 2009. Their channel features a variety of their covers and original songs. Check it out for some feel-good music.



GREENPOWERSCIENCE
This environmentally-focused channel houses an array of educational videos about electricity, solar energy, and wind power. Dan and Denise, the creator-curators behind this project, also host live classes, but you can let your inner backyard scientist geek out and get a preview over at their channel.

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 and Christine Wang, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The World's Smallest Dog.”

Making it easier to watch YouTube videos on TV

What if you could send YouTube videos from your phone to your TV with a click of a button? It’s an idea we’ve been working on since 2010, and today we’re taking the next step.

We’re making it even easier to play videos from your phone or tablet on your TV, with a YouTube app update for Android and Google TV that automatically pairs your devices on the same WiFi. Just find a video on your YouTube app for Android — like the latest video from GoPro or H+ The Digital Series — click the TV icon that appears, and the video will play instantly on your Google TV.

Like a remote control, you can pause, scroll or skip to the next video with your mobile device as it plays on your TV. Since your devices are connected in the cloud, you can also do things like find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV. You can even connect multiple devices to the TV to have your friends add to the playlist.

Stay tuned to see this feature coming to more devices and screens in the future. The next evolution of TV is in your hands.

Timbo Drayson, Product Manager, recently watched all of H+ The Digital Series on his TV.

Vote first, and watch the results on YouTube tonight

Today is the big day! For those of you in the U.S., today means any number of things -- the end of "I approve this message", an hour off from work to vote, or simply the day when the country chooses its leader for the next four years. Regardless, it’s a day we’ve all been waiting for and the suspense is almost over.

After you’ve come back from your local polling place, settle in with YouTube and watch the results come in. We’ll have live coverage on the YouTube Elections Hub starting at 7 p.m. ET, when the first polls close on the East Coast. Follow along as the votes are counted, and watch live-stream coverage from ABC News, Al Jazeera, Larry King, the New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision, and the Wall Street Journal until the next President is named.

We’ll also have a live results map featuring real-time updates from the Associated Press -- you’ll be able to visualize and interact with the Electoral College map, as well keep track of the popular vote breakdown throughout the evening. 

Ward Bullard, YouTube Elections Team, recently watched Robot Video Game Presidents?!

Documenting your vote: send us your videos

Tomorrow, voters across the United States will head to the polls to cast their ballot in the 2012 election. Regardless of whether you’re a veteran or first-time voter, taking part in the electoral process is a powerful experience, and one that we know many of you will document in some way, just like you did in 2008.

We want to see and hear from you tomorrow. Whether you’re vlogging about which candidate you support, capturing footage of the long line at your polling place, or encouraging your friends to get out of the house and go vote, we’re inviting you to send us your Election Day videos. You can either tweet them to @YouTubePolitics or include #YouTubePolitics in the video title, and a selection will be featured on the YouTube Elections Hub.

Be sure to check your state law for guidelines about what polling place activities are allowed where you live, and consult the Citizen Media Law Project’s Documenting Your Vote project before bringing your camera to your voting location.

Looking for a place to watch the returns come in? The YouTube Elections Hub will feature live coverage from ABC News, Al Jazeera, Larry King, New York Times and BuzzFeed, Phil DeFranco, Univision, and the Wall Street Journal. So you won’t have to go anywhere else to watch all different perspectives, all in one place.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched “Political Kombat ‘12: Obama vs Romney”

RichardGaleFilms is October’s YouTube Partner On The Rise!

Congrats to Richard Gale from RichardGaleFilms, which is YouTube’s “On The Rise” spotlight partner this October. Richard’s channel is featured today on the YouTube homepage, thanks to your support and his strong channel optimization efforts.

A three-time Emmy award winner, Richard has been writing, directing, and producing films and TV shows for decades. His work spans a variety of genres including documentaries, suspense thrillers, parodies and comedy, as well as horror. Richard’s most recent project, the comedic horror short film, ‘The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon,’ has received multiple film festival awards and driven his YouTube viewership as well. The short film’s legacy lives on in a YouTube mini-series about the main character, Jack, and you'll just have to check out the channel to see how the story evolves.



Here are a few words from Richard himself:

I became a YouTube partner almost by accident--as a filmmaker making shorts for film festivals, I had a 10-minute comedy about a killer with a spoon (Horribly Slow Murderer) that had completed its festival run, and I uploaded it to hopefully give it some additional exposure. To my astonishment, the short went viral, and was seen by more people in one day than in a year of film festivals. So we expanded the story into a series, and it continues to develop a dedicated following. We are extremely grateful to all of our awesome fans and supporters, who voted for our channel and continue to enjoy our films. Thank you!!!!! We've got exciting things on the horizon, so stay spooned!

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 for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!

Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Content Partnerships, recently watched “Please Move The Deer Crossing.”

Ads Worth Spreading

I’m often asked what makes an ad great. For anyone managing a business, they will often tell me a great ad is one that drives sales for the brand.  And while driving sales is usually the business objective, I think many of us would agree as consumers, that a lot of the ads we see are effective but they are not truly great and worth spreading. At times, we discover an ad that helps build the brand, helps drive sales and inspires something deeper and more meaningful in the world in which we live. One of my favorite examples right now is this ad from Coca-Cola.

Clearly, something deeper than just sales must be considered.  How can you get people to truly take notice your brand?  Rally a community around your ideas?  How can you shape a movement that is both commercially successful and adds value to the world?  In the words of TED curator Chris Anderson, how do you create ads so good that people choose to watch and share?

TED Ads Worth Spreading exists to bring clarity to these questions, and award those that transcend typical advertising by developing content with a greater purpose - ads that can spark change, raise awareness or create new ways of thinking.

For the third year, YouTube has teamed up with TED to support their Ads Worth Spreading initiative, a global search for the 10 most compelling ad campaigns of the year.  The challenge reinforces TED’s overall mission of “ideas worth spreading” and YouTube’s belief in connecting brand’s ads with the people that will love them the most.

To help answer the question of what makes ads great, today TED released a report summarizing the findings from Ads Worth Spreading to date.  

For some great examples of what ads can be, check out this playlist  of the 10 of the winning ads from last year’s program, as well as interviews with the winners.  We are very excited to be part of this program again, and look forward to sharing the 2013 winners when they are announced at the annual TED conference in February.

Lucas Watson, VP Video Sales, recently watched “The Donation Army”.

The election seen around the world on YouTube

Throughout the 2012 election, we’ve been bringing the most important events of the political calendar to you on YouTube, no matter where you are in the world or how you’re accessing the internet. As we enter the final days of this election, people across the U.S. -- and the world -- are watching.

Live streamed on YouTube for the first time in 2012, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates of the past month were viewed live by people in 215 countries and territories around the world. In total, the four debates drew 24 million views on YouTube.

While the U.S. was the clear leader in live stream views, people from Portugal to Paraguay, Australia to Austria watched Obama and Romney go head to head live on YouTube. Below is the breakdown of countries with the most viewership of the debate live streams: 

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. United Kingdom
6. Mexico
7. Brazil
8. Singapore
9. Japan
10. France

The worldwide interest didn’t stop with the live streams. The New York Times’ uploads of the first three debates have seen close to 13 million views, making them the most-viewed videos on their channel ever. Outside the United States, these videos have been viewed most heavily in the U.K, Canada, India, Germany, Australia and France -- with almost half the views coming from outside the U.S.

From the beginning of the 2012 election, we’ve seen people from all corners of the world watch and comment on the race. Now, as the final moments tick by, it’s becoming even clearer that no matter where you live, you can access the most important moments of the election on the YouTube Elections Hub. Tune in on Election Night (November 6) during primetime for real-time results and full live coverage from eight different partners including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Phil DeFranco, Al Jazeera, Univision, ABC News and Larry King.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Complete Third Presidential Debate.”

Watch the final debate moments unfold live on YouTube

Tonight, President Obama and Governor Romney will square off in their final presidential debate of the 2012 campaign, and once again, you can watch all the action live on the YouTube Elections Hub starting at 9 p.m. ET.

CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer will moderate the debate, which will have a special emphasis on foreign policy. Curious about what to watch for? This segment from ABC News’ “This Week” offers a preview of tonight’s event:



But that’s not all. Tomorrow night, Larry King will host a special debate between several of the the third-party candidates running for President -- Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party. The debate will be streamed live at 9:00 pm ET on the Ora TV YouTube channel. Al Jazeera English will also carry the debate live on their YouTube channel, and coverage from both partners will be available on youtube.com/politics.

As we head into the homestretch of the 2012 election, tune into these important debate moments live on YouTube to yourself about the issues and find out how all of the candidates stack up against each other.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “President Gaga.”

YouTube Campaigns: A digital thermometer for nonprofit videos

Ever pasted together 108 sheets of paper and drawn a giant thermometer to track your nonprofit’s campaign goal? Did you go through 27 red markers and then feel faint from their scent after trying to color it in?

Well, chuck those markers and recycle that paper, because through the YouTube Nonprofit Program there is a new thermometer in town. Check out the latest tool for nonprofits: Campaigns.

This new feature allows nonprofits to create campaigns with goals like increasing views or subscribers, track their progress, and let people to contribute to their goals.

A campaign consists of one or more videos. You can find instructions on starting a campaign here. Once a campaign is created, videos in that campaign will show an overlay on them, encouraging viewers to contribute to the campaign.

Additionally, a Campaign tab will show up on your channel, with a bar showing the progress toward your goal.

With more than 18,000 organizations in the YouTube Nonprofit Program we are always looking for ways to help nonprofits turn video views into greater awareness, petitions signed, laws changed, dollars raised, and lives saved. This year we released other tools you should check out like live streaming, a playbook with of best practices when using video, and other improved features like a more prominent donate button. We hope you enjoy our latest feature.

David D, Software Engineer, recently watched "Follow the Frog."

Meet the 10 next gurus of education on YouTube

Ever since Sal Khan uploaded his first video (on Least Common Multiples) to YouTube in November 2006, the demand for educational content on YouTube has been growing and growing - to billions of views last year. Last month, we teamed up with Khan Academy to search for bright and inspiring educational content creators who have what it takes to build a global classroom - and we were overwhelmed by the response. More than 1000 creators applied, sharing videos on everything from science techniques to music theory. We whittled the group down to 10 YouTube EDU Gurus who we hope will continue to contribute to the great corpus of educational videos that make up YouTube EDU - more than 1000 channels at last count.

 

 Get to know our newest educational channels below! And be sure to subscribe to their channels to get their latest videos.

 

  Austin Lau, YouTube Creator Programs, recently watched “Sesame Street: Street Garden Cooperation”.

Throwing a virtual debate watch party: a primer

Two down, two to go. We’re not sure about you, but last week’s energetic Vice Presidential debate left us wanting more. Luckily, you’ll have your second chance to watch Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama face off in the second Presidential debate tonight at 9:00 pm ET at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Tune in to the YouTube Elections Hub to watch the whole debate live from the comfort of your own chair.

But if you’re tired of watching the debates all by your lonesome, well, no longer. You can create your very own virtual debate “watch parties” tonight inside a Google+ Hangout. All you have to do is click on this link, which will open up a Hangout window. Then, you can invite some friends, name your debate watch party (if you like), and enter the Hangout. The ABC News debate live stream will already be loaded inside the Hangout.

You’ll each have to make your own popcorn, but it’s worth it to see your friends’ real-time reactions and exchange color commentary while the candidates go head-to-head.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Frontline |The Choice 2012".

Mission complete: Red Bull Stratos lands safely back on Earth

Today the Red Bull Stratos Mission took Felix Baumgartner to the edge of space and back, and the world tuned in to Red Bull’s YouTube Channel to see it all. At peak, you were watching more than 8 million concurrent livestreams of this mission, which intended to break 50-year old records of human limits and break new ground in medical and scientific research.

Following five years of preparations and a two-hour livestream on YouTube, Felix and this mission now hold the world records for:

• Highest jump from a platform: 128,100 feet
• Longest distance freefall: 119,846 feet
• Maximum vertical velocity: 833.9 mph (Mach 1.24)

We congratulate Felix Baumgartner and the entire Red Bull Stratos team for their successful mission, and for creating a livestream with the most concurrent views ever on YouTube. To keep following this Mission and other videos from Red Bull, subscribe to their YouTube channel here.

For more live content on YouTube, you can also visit YouTube Live for a listing of channels with live events, like the closing day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Tim Katz, Sports Partnerships Manager, recently watched “The Balloon - Red Bull Stratos.”

Austin City Limits: Live on YouTube all weekend

If you’re craving one last taste of summer, Austin City Limits is it: the perfect cap to a season of music festivals. If you can’t make it to Zilker Park this year, you can still imbibe the goodness -- all you need is a laptop. Starting today, YouTube will bring you a live webcast at youtube.com/aclfestival, in partnership with C3 Presents, powered by Dell. Choose between two packed channels of music all weekend; the webcast kicks off at 11:30am PT.



The lineup is, if we can be immodest, stellar. Jack White and his hat. Florence Welch and her Machine. Iggy and his Stooges. You can snag time with headliners you’d never get so close to in real life, including The Roots, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Childish Gambino. Or check out rising indie sensations like Kimbra, Polica and Alt-J. Don’t know all the acts? Check out our playlist 10 Must-See Bands @ACL.



Canadian duo Tegan and Sara, newly back after a hiatus, even want you in the mix (they made their own video invitation) -- and The Shins shared a playlist of their favorite music for the occasion. So mark your calendars and cancel all your other plans; we’ve got you covered this weekend. Head to youtube.com/aclfestival at 11:30am PT and let the music play.

Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Carla Morrison | Valentina-Compartir | A Take-Away Show.”

The 2012 Vice Presidential Debate, tonight on YouTube

Last week, you made the first Presidential Debate of 2012 one of YouTube's biggest live-stream events ever. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, tune in as we live stream the first and only Vice Presidential debate on the YouTube Election Hub.

Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee, will square off against Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, for 90 minutes live from Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky. The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics.

Over the years, the Vice Presidential debate has featured many memorable moments, from Bob Dole’s reference to the Carter-Mondale ticket courting the “bunny vote” (1976), to Lloyd Bentsen’s characterization of Dan Quayle as “no Jack Kennedy” (1988), to Dick Cheney advising John Edwards that the debate was “the first time I ever met you” (2004).

Whatever tonight’s “Drill Baby Drill” moment will be, you’ll see it unfold live here on YouTube.



And if you can’t tune in tonight at 9 p.m. ET, we’ve got you covered. The full debate and highlights will be available for viewing at youtube.com/politics shortly after the debate concludes.


Ward Bullard, YouTube Elections Team, recently watched Electoral College 101