Improved video sharing to YouTube, Google+, and more

We are improving and streamlining the tools that help you share your videos with fans.  For a while, YouTube has had features allowing you to share your videos to social networks, but no ability to customize the text displayed to your subscribers.  Now, when you upload your videos to YouTube, you can write your own post to your fans.  



Where will this post appear? In YouTube feeds, the text will be merged into the upload feed item (exactly the same as if you were to upload a video, then make a channel post about the same video, but without the extra effort).  This also works with the scheduled publishing feature, offering you even greater convenience  



The text will also be included when your video is shared across connected social accounts, like to the linked Google+ profile below.  As the video and post will be shared to your other connected social accounts as well, you no longer have go to each site to manually customize a post for each video.

Better discoverability of your videos on Google+

Also, once you connect your YouTube account with Google+, your public YouTube videos will be featured on the Videos tab in your Google+ profile. The tab will be renamed YouTube to help your fans find your videos.  The YouTube videos will play on YouTube, and the tab links to your channel.  Check out Bruno Mars’ Google+ profile to see this in action.



John Fisher, YouTube Tech Lead Manager, recently watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8whTWQ-RHkk

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).”

YouTube Next How-to Guru: Could you be next?

Picture this. You’re almost ready for that cocktail party and you realize you don’t know how to tie a bow-tie. Or you’re packing for the holidays and have no idea how to fit everything in your bag. Tons of people turn to YouTube to watch tutorials on everything from doing a perfect braid to learning how to poach an egg.

So we’re launching YouTube Next How-to Guru and are on the hunt to find the coolest, cleverest, canniest and most creative makers out there. Do you crochet with the crafters? Do you give tips about your Toyota? Do you offer pointers about pasta? No matter your speciality, whether it’s scrapbooking or baseball or anything else, we’d love to hear from all the How-To Gurus out there - you know who you are!

All you have to do is submit your channel which focuses on how-to videos, as long as it’s educational and family-friendly.

The top 16 YouTube Next How-To Gurus will be chosen, and will be awarded a special, private Google+ workshop series from industry experts and YouTube staff, $4,000 worth of production equipment, and promotion on YouTube to help bring new eyeballs to your videos.

The program is open to creators in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand; it opens today and entries close on December 28, 2012.

We’re looking forward to seeing what you can teach us!

Austin Lau, YouTube Creator Programs Manager, recently watched “How To Kill a Mustache”

The Improved YouTube is Here

Update 12/10: 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 Monday 12/17 starting at 1pm PT to answer your questions.

We are excited to announce an improved YouTube, one you helped us build! The new site design will help you build a bigger, more connected audience by improving new channel discovery, simplifying subscriptions, and keeping your fans plugged in and aware of your new videos no matter where they are. Click here to learn more.
 



So, what does this improved YouTube mean for you as a creator?  

Here are the key changes:

• The subscription Guide is now everywhere, and it showcases your channel activity to your fans
• All the video information and engagement are consolidated below the video player, helping your video take center stage on the viewing page

• We are making it easier to subscribe with enhanced channel recommendations.  

Check out this one-pager for more information.

Your feedback matters

We know change isn’t easy, so we don’t take it lightly. Our experiments show that the new design drives subscriptions and keeps fans better connected to their favorite content.  We’ll be hosting a Google+ Hangout on Air as well as a Reddit IAmA to answer any questions you may have.  Stay tuned for more information.

Let’s keep building the future of video together.  

Alandha Scott, Content Creator Communications Lead, recently watched “ "Written By A Kid - the tale of a paper, panty-clad horse in ‘La Munkya”

YouTube NextUp: Get Collaborating

This is a cross-post from the Official YouTube blog

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 Creator Playbook and Creator Hub: fresher, bolder, and live on the web

The new YouTube Creator Playbook, your definitive resource for building an audience on YouTube, is now live, both on the web and available for download. Check it out and bookmark youtube.com/playbook.  

 
Since we released the second edition of the Creator Playbook in February 2012, much has changed in the world of YouTube. This new version provides fresh tips and strategies to help creators grow their audiences. It includes brand new sections to address YouTube’s recent focus on watchtime, such as, how to captivate your audience and how to create the best channel experience for your viewers. The latest edition also highlights new tools like paid promotion, Hangouts on Air, and InVideo programming to help you reach the widest audience possible. And, what’s YouTube without video? On the Creator Playbook site, we’re featuring great new video examples from inspiring creators who are finding creative ways to use YouTube. So go ahead and check it out - share it with other creators. And most of all, let us know what you think so that we can continue to make this the best resource for you! We’ve also completely rebuilt, refreshed, and revamped the YouTube Creator Hub at youtube.com/creators, which is chock full of resources and tools to help you build larger audiences, improve your skills, and make more money. On the new Creator Hub, you’ll be able to:

• Stay up to date on the latest feature announcements with our blog, social media outlets, and new bi-weekly Product Bulletin
• Learn from other creators via video tutorials and find new tools to help you grow your success
• Find new opportunities to join programs like Next Creator

The new Playbook is currently available in English, but will be available in more languages in the next week. We’ll continue to keep both the Creator Playbook and Creator Hubs updated, so keep them bookmarked, and remember to follow us on Google+. Lauren Vilders, Audience Development Coordinator, recently watched “You need to toughen up a bit”

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.”