YouTube Socks are Sagging…
So, there’s this nifty thing on the web, used by millions, perused by millions more. It’s called YouTube, and when used well it could be your next best friend. Besides being almost as entertaining as the “Stumble” button that takes you to random websites on the internet, it provides a chance to be creative and get noticed. (For reasons both good and bad)
First a little background information. Youtube’s primary use is to allow users to upload and share videos they’ve created with others. These videos can be seen online on websites, sent via email, embedded on blogs, or viewed on a mobile phone. Currently, YouTube is owned by Google, which pretty much owns everything. Despite a long history of copyright controversy in YouTube’s relatively short life-span, they’ve signed partnership deals with companies like CBS, Sony Music Group, an Sundance to provide viewers with the ability to watch proprietary content and listen to proprietary music.
Now that you know a little background, it’s time to get started. You can upload video content straight to YouTube via the website, or you can also upload content via an MMS from your phone. This means you can, for example, record Barack Obama’s Inauguration speech and upload it to YouTube without ever leaving the mall. (unless, of course, security shuts down all of the cell towers in the area. In that case, you’re hosed) You can also connect your videos to your Google AdSense account. This allows you to generate revenue from viewers watching your video. And, if you’ve done a great job of getting noticed, users can also subscribe to a feed you set up. Every-time you post new content, they’ll know about it and will be able to follow your updates.
Once you’re really in the groove, Google being the creative innovators they are have set up “TestTube” to experiment with new user experience software. Right now they have up four. First are video annotations. They’re kind of annoying if you ask me, but they basically allow users to add annotations right into their video content. They can be used super creatively. They just normally aren’t.
And Google being what it is, they’re always up for some creativity. And they never frown on creative reqruitment.…
So check it out.