Jakatak69 is May’s On The Rise YouTube partner

Congratulations to Jack Scalfani of Jakatak69! Jack is YouTube’s featured “On The Rise” partner for May and takes the stage in the “Spotlight” section of our homepage today.

Jack is just a regular guy who fell into his cooking career without any formal training. He worked for awhile as a DJ for a radio station, after which he decided to move into talent management. Among his clients was a chef who eventually moved on and left Jack with a couple hundred pounds of spices. Jack decided to make his own barbeque sauce from what he had, and in 2000 launched “The Best BBQ Sauce You’ll Ever Taste.” He started producing simple “How To” videos on YouTube to promote his sauce. Since then, he’s expanded into easy-to-make recipes, cooking tips, and honest product reviews. Check out his channel to see what he thinks about the Big Top Cupcake or learn how to make Lazy Man’s Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits.



Here are a few words from Jack:

I want to first say thanks to YouTube... I am grateful for all the tools you have provided to help me grow my channel to what it is today. There are training videos, playbook videos, creator hangouts, city wide meetups, partnership support, video editing tools, bulletin systems to reach all your subscribers in just one click and so much more. The best part is that all of these YouTube tools are free. I am excited to be apart of a food category that is just about to explode on YouTube. You have inspired me to reach out and collaborate with other YouTube artists. Working together is more important than you think. So reach out to someone, build good content and broadcast yourself. And always remember YouTube is the new TV. God Bless and please subscribe to the COOKING WITH JACK SHOW. 

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 Partner Support, recently watched “Call Me Maybe parody - Aussie blokes version.”

Massacre in Syria, Earthquake in Italy, SpaceX docks

Everyday on the CitizenTube channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Each week we post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week, as seen through the lens of both citizen-reported footage and professional news coverage.

• We were horrified to see footage of a massacre in a village called Houla near Homs, Syria.  At least 32 children were killed.  (Warning: extremely graphic footage) 
• We were shocked as Italy endured both a strong earthquake and a bomb blast outside a school in a two-day period.
• We viewed SpaceX successfully launch the first commercial supply flight to the International Space Station.
• We witnessed a protest march in Montreal that began with people banging pots and pans end with police arresting 400 students.
• We followed the presidential candidates on the US campaign trail as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney kept up strong attacks on one another with biting new TV ads.
• We marveled at a rare solar eclipse in Asia and parts of the western United States that turned the sun into a 'ring-of-fire'.
• We saw the U.S. State Department. and Amnesty International release their respective 2011 Human Rights reports.
• We observed hundreds of anti-NATO protesters march through the streets of Chicago ahead of the opening of the NATO summit there.
• We said goodbye to a music legend as Robin Gibb, member of the Bee Gees, passed away aged 62.
• We saw celebrations in London and elsewhere as Chelsea Football Club took home the coveted Champion's League trophy.

Come back to watch the news unfold on YouTube. 

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "Children killed in 'massacre' in Syria's Houla.

Vivid LIVE from Sydney Opera House puts you in the FRONTROW

Some of the biggest musicians from around the world will gather over the coming week as part of Vivid LIVE, the annual music event held at Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Sydney, the city’s annual festival of light, music and ideas.

For the first time, audiences around the globe will be able to watch select performances live on YouTube, and share the experience through a custom camera application called FRONTROW.

During the livestream, not only can you sit back and enjoy the tunes of some renowned musicians, you can also participate right from your desktop! In a world first, you can take photos of the event through the FRONTROW camera app: zoom in and out to change your view, take photos during the live stream, apply filters and immediately share on your social networks.



Oh, and what will you be watching? The line-up of performances includes:

• We kicked off today with German design collective URBANSCREEN lighting the sails of Sydney Opera House
• Tuesday, May 29, from 6:00pm AEST / 1:00am PST: Grammy award-winning English singer Imogen Heap, in an intimate recital with a spectacular Sydney Harbour backdrop
• Thursday, May 31, from 9:50pm AEST / 4:50am PST: Our very own The Temper Trap, debuting their new album in the Concert Hall, with footage from the event available on YouTube following the performance
• Saturday, June 2, from 9:00pm AEST / 4:00am PST: Brazilian electronica mastermind Amon Tobin in an audiovisual spectacle taking projection mapping and electronic performance to new heights

For the full schedule of events and to experience Vivid LIVE on YouTube, visit youtube.com/sohfestival.

Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Australia, recently watched “Seekae 3.”

A new human rights channel on YouTube

From its inception, YouTube has been a platform for free expression. Activists around the world use YouTube to document causes they care about and make them known to the world. In the case of human rights, video plays a particularly important role in illuminating what occurs when governments and individuals in power abuse their positions. We’ve seen this play out on a global stage during the Arab Spring, for example: during the height of the activity, 100,000 videos were uploaded from Egypt, a 70% increase on the preceding three months. And we’ve seen it play out in specific, local cases with issues like police brutality, discrimination, elder abuse, gender-based violence, socio-economic justice, access to basic resources, and bullying.

That’s why our non-profit partner WITNESS, a global leader in the use of video for human rights, and Storyful, a social newsgathering operation, are joining forces to launch a new Human Rights channel on YouTube, dedicated to curating hours of raw citizen-video documenting human rights stories that are uploaded daily and distributing that to audiences hungry to learn and take action. The channel, which will also feature content from a slate of human rights organizations already sharing their work on YouTube, aims to shed light on and contextualize under-reported stories, to record otherwise undocumented abuses, and to amplify previously unheard voices. The project was announced today at the Internet at Liberty conference, and will live at youtube.com/humanrights. Storyful will source and verify the videos, and WITNESS will ensure the channel features a balanced breadth of issues with the context viewers need to understand the rights issue involved.

We hope this project can not only be a catalyst to awareness, but offer people new avenues for action and impact. The channel is committed to providing new citizen creators as well as viewers with the tools and information necessary so that every citizen can become a more effective human rights defender. It will also be available on Google+, where the broader human rights community can take part in discussions, share material, and find collaborators.

We welcome your feedback and thoughts on the channel, and if you want to suggest a video for inclusion, email the YouTube URL to witness@storyful.com. Please include any and all details around the time, place, and context of the video. Also, be sure to take the time to learn how to protect yourself and your subjects if you’re the one behind the camera.

Sam Gregory, WITNESS Program Director, and Olivia Ma, YouTube news manager, recently watched “Citizen Watch May 2012."

Music Tuesday: Garbage, Kimbra and the Gossip

It seems appropriate, in the wake of Donna Summer’s untimely death last week at the age of 63, that we are devoting an entire Music Tuesday today to behind-kicking female musicians. Summer herself was a force to be reckoned with. She was at the forefront of disco’s transformation from fringe movement to global phenomenon, all on the strength of her groundbreaking collaboration with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. Many of her biggest hits sound as vital and provocative today as they did 30+ years ago, and though she always seemed too down-to-earth to be called a diva, she undeniably was one. Check out some of her best moments, and check out three contemporary musicians who also follow their own muses -- with inspiring results.

Garbage’s Favorite New Tracks
The alt-rock band best known for their late-‘90s work returns to recording after a seven-year hiatus. Lead singer Shirley Manson is still acerbic, and the band still knows to marry snarling guitars and danceable beats. (Hurray!) But just as enjoyable is Manson’s playlist of her favorite videos. From the frayed, strange Dirty Beaches to gloriously over-the-top offerings from MIA and Jack White, she hits the sweet spot with videos that rock and unsettle you simultaneously. And which video do you think she had on repeat until she started to freak out her husband? Watch her introduction to find out.


Introducing Kimbra
The New Zealand-based singer Kimbra set the blogosphere afire late last year. Though her debut album Vows only released down under in 2011, her videos gave her global reach, and people were quickly entranced by her precise, crystalline voice and striking aesthetic. (That was before her duet with Gotye claimed a parking spot on top of U.S. charts.) Vows releases today in the U.S., and to celebrate, the singer drops a little science about the music videos she loves.



Watch Gossip Live Tonight!
Today, Gossip release A Joyful Noise, the next step on their evolution from underground alt-dance stars to bona fide members of the dance pop elite. Check them out live tonight on Bowery Presents’ channel at 9:45 ET/6:45 PT. And in the meantime, let Beth Ditto school you in the ways of Gossip.



Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Ceu - Retrovisor.”

It's YouTube's 7th birthday... and you’ve outdone yourselves, again

In May 2005 we first shared YouTube with the world. Seven years later, you’re the ones doing the sharing! We’re so honored that you’ve used YouTube to share how-to tips, political moments, home videos, comedy, music, and so much more.

Last year to celebrate our birthday, we wrote you, the YouTube Community, a thank you note for making our first 6 years so special. And on that birthday you gave us a great present by reaching a record rate of 48 hours of video uploaded to the site every minute. Well Community, this year, on our 7th birthday, you’ve outdone yourselves once again.

Today 72 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. Like many 7 year olds around the world, we’re growing up so fast! In other words, every single minute you now upload three whole days worth of video instead of two. That's 61 Royal Wedding Ceremonies, 841 Bad Romances, and 1,194 Nyan Cats.

We’ve come along way in the past 7 years. What started as a handful of videos shared among friends has transformed into a global platform delivering the next generation of channels to anyone, anywhere, and on any device. This last year was especially big for us. We helped bring more great channels to YouTube and we redesigned the site, making it easier for you to discover, watch and subscribe to the videos you love. And all 800 million of you all over the world have shown us we’re on the right track by increasing subscriptions 50% and watching over 3 billion hours a month.

Behind the tens of millions of channels on YouTube featuring talented filmmakers, home videos, skateboarding tricks, music, and car enthusiasts there has always been one consistent voice: you. Throughout our seven years you’ve made the YouTube community what it is. Thank you!



The YouTube Team, recently watched “"How to" throw the PERFECT *Princess Birthday Party*”

Khan Sheikhoun attack, Wildfires rage across Arizona, NATO Protests

Everyday on the CitizenTube channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Each week we post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week, as seen through the lens of both citizen-reported footage and professional news coverage.

• We witnessed Syrian activists claim the government was responsible for the deaths of at least 21 people in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun after attacks on a funeral procession and on UN vehicles.
• We viewed wildfires raging across parts of Arizona, increasing in size due to strong winds and continuing dry weather.
• We watched protests against the upcoming NATO summit lead to arrests outside buildings in the downtown Chicago area.
• We saw newly-elected French president François Hollande's inauguration take place in Paris.
• We followed the presidential candidates on the US campaign trail, as Mitt Romney stuck to his guns over marriage equality.
• We saw two Russians and an American board the International Space Station from a Soyuz spacecraft.
• We heard boos and mocking remarks towards Mexican presidential race front-runner, Enrique Pena Nieto, during campaign events in Mexico City.
• We monitored the deepening crisis in Greece where there were repeated attempts to form a coalition government in an effort to avoid a new election and a possible exit from the euro. 
• We bade a sad farewell to 'Queen of Disco' Donna Summer, who passed away this week in Florida after a battle with cancer.

Come back next week to watch the news unfold on YouTube. 

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "Drinking Coffee for Longer Life".