How November Will Be Won: By the Numbers

Did you know that 1/3 of people who see a campaign ad on YouTube have not seen it on TV? We recently shared this on our Politics & Elections Blog. You can read an example of the types of things we talk about on that blog below. For more information about marketing a campaign on YouTube visit our YouTube for politicians website.


Earlier this year, we introduced “Four Screens to Victory”, a framework for political campaigns that outlined how Google can help make the web work for candidates and issues groups up and down the ballot. With these digital platforms, campaigns can build their organizations, define the issues, persuade the electorate and - importantly - get the vote out and win the moment that matters in November on Election Day.

Access to political information no longer comes from one place - or one screen. In just the four years since the last presidential election, the continued growth of the web and the proliferation of mobile devices has radically transformed when, where, and how voters access political information.

The numbers are in, and savvy political campaigns need to take notice. The rules of reaching voters have changed and new approaches are warranted because:

• More than 80% of eligible voters are online
• Similarly, 83% of mobile phone owners are registered voters
• 1 out of every 3 likely voters in November say that they didn’t watch tv in the past week
• Voters are spending more media time on their mobile devices than newspapers & magazines combined

(Click the infographic below to get a larger version)

If you’re as inspired as we are by some of the data and the implications on your own political campaign, check out the “Four Screens to Victory” site to spark some ideas of your own and see how you can make the web work for your campaign.

David Kaufman, Google Politics & Elections Team, recently watched "i like ike"

Bringing the Global Games to a New Global Stadium -- YouTube

In 2008, we began showing clips of the Beijing Games. In 2010, we provided archival content of past Winter Games. This year, we’re taking it one step further by bringing the world’s largest sporting event to the world’s biggest stage and we’re doing it live.

New Places 
For the first time in history, the Summer Games will be live-streamed in HD through YouTube: 

• United States: YouTube will power NBC’s online video experience on NBCOlympics.com and viewers can watch any event live. You can also access pre-game clips on the NBC Olympics YouTube channel. 
• 64 Territories: Millions of Olympic fans from across 64 territories in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will have a chance to watch the games live from London on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/olympic. 
• Canada: Canadians can check out in-depth coverage of the Games including, highlights, analysis, athlete bios, and more at youtube.com/CTVolympics 
• Brazil: In partnership with ESPN Brasil, Brazilians can tune in for behind the scenes content on youtube.com/londres360, while watching Olympic footage on www.youtube.com/olympic. 

New Perspectives
Just bringing you the Games isn’t enough. We want to immerse you in the action by offering full coverage of the US Team’s experience, including interviews with athletes, tips from coaches and an insider’s look of the success stories from the Games. US viewers can watch all of the behind the scenes footage on youtube.com/TeamUSA.

And you don't need to cross the pond to connect with Team USA. Get to know six breakout athletes on Team Chobani. You can even support Team Visa athletes around the world by viewing, liking and cheering for them on Visa’s YouTube channel. Check out their athlete training videos here. 

Additionally, there will be more than 50 YouTube partners on the ground in London creating content around the Games that fans never get to see. Creators Invade London 2012 starts here! If it were up to us, Dude Perfect would win the gold for trick basketball shots!



New Features 
Catch all the excitement of the Games from the completely redesigned live streaming player with tons of new features:

• See all the live stream at any time: From the IOC YouTube channel, live recording lets you see any part of the event you missed. For United States viewers, NBC’s YouTube channel also offers chapter markers to let you jump to key moments, and an instant replay button that shows the last 10 seconds again. 
• More video and audio to choose from: Select from multiple camera angles within a livestream, as well as English or Spanish audio on NBC’s live stream. 
• Watch how you want: See all these features and more on your desktop, mobile phone or tablet, with a livestream that adapts to your connection speed to show the best experience possible.
• Keep track of your favorite games: Get reminders of your favorite games with the NBC Olympics Scheduler app on the Chrome web store. 

For those of you that can’t wait, get into the spirit and begin this year’s journey early with past footage, key moments and a sneak peak into the 2012 Games here. 


Let the games begin! 


Tommy O’Hare, sports content partnerships manager, recently watched “Olympics Trick Shots - DudePerfect”

Build an audience with how-to videos

Occasionally, we like to share stories of how businesses have achieved success on YouTube. Today we will look at examples of using how-to videos to reach the right customers online. 

How to knit a dishcloth.
How to build a deck.
How to pack for the beach.

These are just a few how-to focused searches being typed into YouTube by ambitious do-it-yourselfers this summer. Many savvy business have realized that YouTube is not just an entertainment hub - it is also an educational forum for eager learners. Here are a few tips from the pros on creating how-to content most relevant to your audience:

1. Keep things simple. Let’s take a look at Lowe's. The second-largest home improvement retailer worldwide simplifies DIY projects with hundreds of how-to YouTube videos in the form of “video snacks.” These short and sweet informational videos satisfy DIY-ers’ cravings to complete at-home projects by homing in on specific steps of the process. So if you are building a fence, you can start with a video about the layout and digging post holes and follow the series to the final step, attaching the gate.



2. Identify your audience. Know who you’re trying to reach and then focus on topics you think they’re most interested in watching. ModCloth, an online-only indie and vintage-inspired clothing retailer, has a clear understanding of the “ModCloth girl” — a girl who is into travel, art, glitter, and DIY projects of course. They create how-to videos tailored to the ModCloth girl lifestyle, whether it’s how to style a headband or how to pack for the campground.



What can you teach new potential customers? Join our conversation on the YouTube for marketers Google+ page, and if you’re looking to get started with video advertising on YouTube, sign up for Google AdWords for video, which is the easiest way to drive viewers to your videos.

Baljeet Singh, group product manager on video monetization at Google, recently watched Teach Me How To Factor (WSHS Math Rap Song)

Here’s your invite to reuse and remix the 4 million Creative Commons-licensed videos on YouTube

Today’s guest post comes from Cathy Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons (CC), for an update on CC BY videos on YouTube.

Four million creative commons videos on YouTube are just waiting to be reused, remixed, and reimagined—more videos than anywhere else in the world.

Since the Creative Commons video library launch on YouTube a year ago, you’ve added more than 40 years’ worth of video to the mix. Anyone, anywhere can edit, build on and republish the library’s videos for free thanks to the Creative Commons Attribution license, otherwise known as CC BY.

Do you need a professional opening for your San Francisco vacation video? Perhaps some gorgeous footage of the moon for your science project? How about a squirrel eating a walnut to accompany your hot new dubstep track? All of this and more is available to inspire and add to your unique creation. Thanks to CC BY, it’s easy to borrow footage from other people’s videos and insert it into your own, because the license grants you the specific permissions to do so as long as you give credit to the original creator.

You can pass on the creative spirit when you publish your video, by choosing the option to license it under CC BY so that others can reuse and remix your footage with the YouTube Video Editor. This is where the fun really starts. Imagine seeing your footage used by a student in Mumbai, a filmmaker in Mexico City, or a music video director in Detroit. By letting other people play with your videos, you let them into a global sandbox, kicking off a worldwide team of collaborators. We all yearn to create and contribute – now you can join the fun, and open the door to collective imagination.



Ready to start adding the CC BY license to your original YouTube videos? If you want to grant the YouTube community the right to reuse and edit your video, select “Creative Commons Attribution license” from the “License and rights ownership” menu. Starting today, you also have the option to license your future videos under CC BY as a default. For more information, visit YouTube’s Creative Commons page.

Guest to the YouTube blog, Cathy Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons recently watched "Riding the Booster with enhanced sound."

Music Tuesday: The rise of the video LP, Motley Crue and more

We had an excellent in-office concert from Matisyahu last week -- possibly the first time anyone has crowd-surfed in the YouTube offices. (Nice one, Matis!) This week, we’re taking a deeper look at innovative ways musicians are using YouTube to get their music out there. Dig in!

The Rise of the Video LP
PJ Harvey did it for Let England Shake. R.E.M. did it for their final album. Even Radiohead did it for the King of Limbs remixes. Musicians are increasingly using YouTube as a way to share their entire albums with fans. Some are releasing a simple, long album video on or before the physical release date -- check out SubPop’s channel to see a slew of these. Others are working intensively with directors to create “video LPs” -- individual videos for every song on an album, released all at once or in quick succession. It’s an inspiring art form and we’re keeping our eye on it. Today we’re pleased to share Micachu and the Shape’s entire new album Never, featuring an album’s worth of videos made by the band.



Music Documentaries
YouTube is a great place to view music videos, but it’s quickly becoming a place to dive more deeply into musical movements and individual artists. As more videographers make made-for-web documentaries, fans are finding ways to dive deeper into. Case in point: Google Play’s extraordinary eight-part documentary on Motley Crue. Today we feature that piece of work along with other in-depth works that have recently inspired us.



Video Premiere: Andrew Bird
Can kids forgo candy in order to save the life of an animated pinata? This video has a sense of impending doom, until you see that people can let go of their self-interest for the greater good. Pretty hopeful message you snuck in there, Andrew Bird.



Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Cold Specks - Hector.”

Let us help turn your video views into action

Today, we’re happy to announce two new updates from the YouTube for Good team to help you make the most out of your channel.

First, we’re kicking off monthly online trainings for members of the YouTube Nonprofit Program. These will be ‘101 level’ trainings - perfect for nonprofits who recently joined the program or are just getting started with a YouTube channel. The trainings, which will be conducted via Google+ Hangouts on Air, will take place at 9am PT on the last Tuesday of every month.

The first training will be at 9am PT on July 31, 2012. Here’s how to join:

Directions To join in the conversation during our Hangout On Air: 

1. Make sure you have a Google Account and Google+ profile or page setup. 
2. Add YouTube Nonprofits Program page to your circles. We'll add you to our circles, then invite you to the Hangout on Air. 
3. This Hangout on Air will begin at 9am PT on July 31, 2012. Additional trainings will take place at 9am PT on the last Tuesday of every month. 
4. Log onto Google+ and you'll see an invite to join the hangout in your notifications (upper right hand corner of the page in a red box). Click through to the conversation! 
5. If the link is not available in your notifications, click the hangouts icon on the left hand side of the page and look for a hangout called "YouTube Nonprofits Introduction" among the hangouts available for you to join. 

If you'd rather just watch and listen, and don't want to be recorded: 

1. Point your browser to the YouTube Nonprofits Program Google+ page and click on the Hangouts On Air thumbnail. 
2. Navigate to the YouTube for Nonprofits YouTube Channel and click on the live feed. This is the best option if you do not have a Google account. 

Second, we recently announced that we will allow YouTube users to link to a Change.org, Donorschoose.org, RocketHub or Causes page via a YouTube annotation. An annotation is a little dialogue box that pops up in a video and allows video creators to convey a message. In the past, these annotations were only able to link to a YouTube video, channel or search result. Now they can link to the four sites above, in addition to Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We’re excited to see how you use these new features to encourage audiences to sign petitions, take action and donate. 


Ramya Raghavan, news and politics manager, recently watched "Water in Adina Faso"

Kudos to the first-ever YouTube Partner Rewards recipients

Vidcon 2012 was a true celebration of our creators and the ways they’re making the world a more interesting, inspiring and entertaining place. Our creators have amassed colossal audiences, invented new genres of entertainment, built global brands that transcend media, and are reaching new milestones every day. Simply put, their channels are taking over the world. We recently made it easier than ever for more creators to earn revenue from their videos and become YouTube partners, resulting in over 1 million channels on YouTube now part of the partner program. As we expand the partner base, we want to recognize and celebrate the partners that have hit big milestones by officially rolling out YouTube Partner Rewards.

The channels receiving YouTube Partner Rewards have surpassed 500 million subscribers and 251 BILLION views (or 36 views for each person on Earth). Want to know if your favorite channels are in the mix? Find out and learn more about the YouTube Partner Rewards program at youtube.com/partnerrewards.

To celebrate, we’re rewarding any channel that surpasses 1 million subscribers with one of these beauties:

That’s right. A gold-plated PLAY button to hang in your studio, office, or home. Initially, nearly 80 channels (from EpicMealTime to Ellen DeGeneres, Mondo Media to the Biebs, Michelle Phan to Katy Perry and many more!) will be receiving this award in addition to a super-nifty YouTube branded gift card to use toward video equipment and a limited edition camera case.  The more than 1,400 channels that have surpassed 100,000 subscribers will also receive the $500 gift card and camera case to help them on their way to 1 million subscribers.

We’ll continue to recognize channels with YouTube Partner Rewards on a regular basis, so be sure to subscribe to your favorite channels to help them hit their first million and get their own gold-plated play button.

From all of us at YouTube, congratulations to the first recipients - it’s amazing what you’ve accomplished, and we can’t wait to see what you all do next!

Tim Shey, Director, YouTube Next Lab, recently watched, “An Abridged History of Western Music in 16 Genres.”