All about YouTube

YouTube hits one billion views a day, impressive - isn't it ?

2009-10-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

When your website first reaches a million visitors, it’s a great milestone. However, one billion views per day can only be attained by the selected few, and YouTube is now one of them.. YouTube is now serving over one billion views per day as it celebrates the third anniversary of being acquired by Google.

It seems like just yesterday that the co-founders of YouTube sold the site to Google. In fact, it was a full three years ago that Google decided to ante up $1.65 billion for the fledgling online video site.

We found out just yesterday that Google CEO Eric Schmidt thought that price tag was around $1 billion out, with the site actually worth more like $600 million. But Google wanted the site so badly it was willing to pay a premium for it.

According to the official blog, YouTube is serving “well over a billion views a day”. That’s at least 11,574 views per second, 694,444 views per minute, and 41,666,667 views per hour. Imagine the web server farm that can withstand that much traffic, and then remember that YouTube is just one of Google’s many properties.

To celebrate the occasion, YouTube has a special logo today, accompanied with the text “1 billion views per day”. Yes, they’re bragging, but one has to admit they have a lot to brag about.

YouTube video: How to install a PSPgo game

2009-10-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanteed to go through the peocess of getting games from the Playstation Network cards over to the PSPgo. Pretty straight forward, but I'm glad I did it with you guys, I didn't know it would take as long as it did. Anyway more to come, Enjoy.

TSUNAMI SAMOA 29/09/2009 VIDEO

2009-09-30T02:13:00.001-07:00

Tonga earthquake triggers tsunami threatening Tonga, Samoa and Fiji

The quake, which hit at 6.17 am local time (1817 GMT), was centred 130 miles south-southeast of the Tongan capital Nuku'Alofa and 300 miles southeast of Ndoi Island, Fiji.

It struck at a depth of 6.2 miles, the US Geological Survey said.

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A tsunami warning was issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre for Tonga, Niue, Kermadec Islands, American Samoa, Samoa and Fiji.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours. Authorities in the region should take appropriate action in response to this possibility," the centre said.

Local radio stations in Tonga broadcast warnings that a tsunami was possible and that people should move away from coastal villages, but police cited locals who said no big wave had been reported.

World's Longest Basketball Shot, Wow !

2009-09-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

THIRD DECK OF KYLE FIELD VIEW of the World's Longest Basketball Shot
-From Texas A&M University's Football Stadium

Comments:

"There are simply too many variables to see this from a scientific angle. However, it is possible to look at it from the video editing side of things. And i must say it is sound. There are no visible cutaways and the ball stays in the shot the entire time. It has TWO angles that are identical in timing and structure. And this utube video looks so authentic that it would have taken awesome software to do. Not to mention movies studios cannot get the quality this would require if it were fake. It is real."

"I have not played basketball and football many times in my life. Ive never tried to throw a basketball as long as I could. I honestly have very little knowledge in this. I admit that. Plus it was a long time ago I studied physics but I know the higher you are the long you can throw it."

"Unfortunately man, yes it can be fake. Remember the commercials of Lebron making full court shots over and over in the Gatorade commericial? A little thing called a computer makes it possible. There is powerful software that can do this. I'm not saying its 100% fake, but you can't rule out the possibility."

YouTube video: Fan Makes An Epic Goal In Saturn 2 1 Spartak Moscow

2009-09-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

It looks real, but I am skeptical because I know at least in the EPL those stewards would be running the guy down. And the fact they were on the field for about 35 seconds at least with no one doing anything leads me to believe this was a fake.

YouTube video: Susan Boyle - Semi Final 1: Memory from Cats - Britains Got Talent 2009 (HQ)

2009-05-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

Comments:

"Susan Boyle is absolutely amazing
I would buy any and all CD's she makes
You go Susan
Don't let any negative comments destroy
your dream
You truly are the best of the "best"
Karen"

" was thinking to my self, i thought, "self, what else can Susan Bolyle do after the performance that she auditioned with?" well thank you for the answer. that was awesome, congratulations in your continued success."

"she must have felt so much pressure...the whole world waiting for her next performance, but she was soo good, especially after the instrumental. i was blown away. and she looks so good!
i think she'd make a brilliant Mme. Thénardier from les mis!"

"Good Lord, folks! Give the woman a break! She is not a professional singer - she is an amateur with a voice from the angels. I think it just makes her more endearing that she started off with one, only one, bad note and the rest was pure ectasy. I will buy every CD she ever makes and, like others, would happily stand in line to do so. Her voice is beyond words."

YouTube video: 05/12/2009 - Southwest Airlines Jet's Wheel Catches Fire During Landing In Texas

2009-05-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

{NO AUDIO} A Southwest Airlines Jet's Landing Gear caught on fire after landing at Houston's Hobby Airport, forcing passengers to evacuate. - 05/12/09. If you like exciting Utube videos you should check out this one:

Comments:

"Why zoom out during the best part of the landing when the action was happening camera man? Bravo! Then we get 5 minutes of it sitting there burning. Meh."

"Didnt need foam. In a class A fire (rubber) water has much better cooling effect than foam. Foam is for flammable liquid fires. The Rosenbauer truck has a switch that would start foam flowing in about 3 seconds if it had been needed. "Attendance" time? I guess you mean response time. There was absolutely no forewarning...and because of that, they were not at their standby positions."

"Look at all the people hauling all of their crap off that airplane. LEAVE YOUR STUFF BEHIND! All of it. No purses,no laptops,no nothing. Stand up, follow directions to evacuate, jump down the slide. You pulling items out of the overhead or out from under your seat may cause a delay that may cause injury or worse to other passengers. It also can cause issues going down the slide, like chasing papers around at the bottom of the slide and blocking egress. LEAVE YOUR STUFF BEHIND! I preferr funny clips..."

"Another interesting video on U-tube - in most caes the crew waits for the firefighters. Only they can see from the outside and can say where exactly the fire/dangerous area is and which emerg. exit the best is for the evac. Only in case of an high risk crash down or complete damage of the aircraft the crew use all emerg. exit for the passengers... "

"Pilots must complete the evacuation checklist which usually takes 1-2 minutes and usually the pilot will confirm again with the tower that the fire still exists before starting the evacuation, people get hurt in evacuations so if you can avoid one is better, so that is why any evacuation will take 1 or 2 minutes to initiate."

"As we can see on the video it's a simple fire, caused by a mechanical malfunction. Trained airline professionals ask everyone to deplane, and leave your belongings behind. The video clearly shows the selfishness and stupidity of several individuals. Had this been a serious emergency, lives may have been lost while those who thought their briefcase was more important than their safety."

YouTube goes educational

2009-05-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Uncomfortable desks, crowded classrooms and inflexible schedules may be a concern of the past as the popular Web site YouTube recently launched a new section of its site that is strictly dedicated to helping users get free access to educational content that is uploaded by universities and students. With more than 100 schools involved in the new YouTube EDU project, the public can easily scan through videos that range from entire lectures to college events and are categorized by the most viewed clips, most subscribed and are also organized through the directory for each college and university.

“If teaching was just content delivery then we wouldn’t need faculty,” Harding said. “I’m not saying there’s not a place for lecture because they are an important tool, but just videotaping a 50 minute lecture and putting it up doesn’t necessarily cause an increase in learning.”

Assistant professor Steven Hart is one that follows this teaching philosophy and has used TeacherTube as a resource to instruct his students for the past three years.

“It was initially designed for teachers because of all the content that’s on YouTube that may not be appropriate for schools,” Hart said. “So these are teachers who could upload videos to share with colleagues or if they come across an interesting video they’d like to share.”

Hart believes that using video and online sources as supplemental teaching aides allows his students to become more interactive with the content as well as provide a visual model that can physically demonstrate techniques through the videos. He also explained that the hybrid approach of incorporating the lecture aspect and technology-enhanced methods into his classes is the best option for all learning styles, which isn’t necessarily true for his past courses that were strictly online.

Students that signed up for online courses weren’t basing their decision off the idea that it would be a great learning tool, but because of the convenience and flexibility it allowed, Hart said. And although the classes are taught void of the person-to-person contact, he explained that students could still communicate with their peers and the instructor through discussion boards, which may pose as a problem for YouTube EDU viewers.

An expert's guide to YouTube by Josh Lowensohn

2009-05-12T03:14:00.000-07:00

In the past, we've done Newbie's Guides for certain services, but we wanted to switch things up and really dig into a product's advanced features.

Video-sharing site YouTube is the perfect service to start with because it's massively popular and incredibly simple to use, but also has a few powerful features that are tucked away. This guide is to help you learn how to use some of these advanced features and to serve as a simple reference page.

For the sake of simplicity, we're only covering searching, viewing, and sharing. We've skipped uploading since it's pretty straightforward and made simple with the service's recently launched multifile uploader. We're also not including any third-party downloading tools because that is against YouTube's terms of use and is already an official first-party feature on some content.

Searching

Using YouTube's search tool:
YouTube's search engine works a lot like Google's. In fact, it uses the same search operators to let you tweak your results. Here are some worth remembering the next time you're looking for a video:

• Limit to words in the title. Putting "allintitle:" in front of your search keeps YouTube's results limited to those videos with the matching words in the title. This is great if you want to keep it from searching through descriptions or tags. Not so useful if the video you're looking for has a misspelled or misleading title.

• Exclude a term. Add a "-" then the word you want to exclude will keep it out of the results. So if you're searching for explosions but don't want to see videos with diet Coke or Mentos, you'd type in "Explosion -diet -coke -mentos." Be sure to add the "-" in front of every word you don't want.

• Play the wildcard. If you're too lazy to type a word, or think that YouTube will figure out the words you're leaving out, you can just put in an asterisk in place of that word. In practice, this means that searching for something like "Fallout: Broken Steel" you could just type "Fallout * Steel" and have it guess the word in the middle.

If you can't remember these off the top of your head you can find them in YouTube's advanced search box, which shows up as an option in the results of any completed search. It's also worth going there if you want to filter how long the videos in the results should be. This is a great way to find long-form content that's 20 minutes or more.

Search and browse with your eyes.
If titles and thumbnails are not enough, you can explore additional, related video clusters by using YouTube's warp feature. This is a feature that can still be found on some utube videos, but YouTube has since relegated it to its TestTube section. That doesn't mean you can't use it on any old video though. Simply inserting "warp.swf" in the URL instead of the word "watch" will send you into full-screen "warp speed" mode. To read more about how to use this feature check out our coverage of it.

To warpify any video just change the watch in the URL to warp.swf, and you get a special treat.

Third-party search tools
There are a handful of third-party YouTube search engines and tools that add a little bit of utility on top of YouTube's search. Here are some of our favorites:

• YouTube Fast Search lets you play the video right next to the results, as well as create a playlist by dragging and dropping videos from the results page. It's also got a cool feature called VideoWall that creates a giant canvas of thumbnails, which you can play just by clicking on them.

• CoolIris, which works on iPhones and computers alike, also presents videos in a giant wall that can be browsed or searched. You simply click on the thumbnails you want to play.

• The YouTube search Firefox add-on. Puts YouTube's search engine in your browser, and uses Google's Suggest API to give you suggestions as you type.

• VideoSurf gives you visual summaries of YouTube's funny videos (and other video services). If it's a movie or TV show you can search by actor, and all videos get a visual time line so you don't waste any time waiting to see what's on that 10-minute clip.

• Search The Tube is a search engine that only shows videos that can be embedded off YouTube. Keeps you from finding that perfect video that can't be stuck on a blog post.

Viewing

Watching videos on YouTube seems pretty straightforward, but if you want to enhance the viewing experience there are some official, and unofficial, tools that can tweak the presentation.

Setting YouTube to automatically play the high-quality version
You've got to be logged in to make this work. Simply go to YouTube's playback settings (when logged in) and pick the "I have a fast connection" option. The next time you play a video it will automatically switch over to the higher quality stream. Worth noting is that this doesn't yet work for HD videos; you still need to click on the HD button to make it switch over to that stream.

Choosing this option makes YouTube always play the high-quality stream.
(Credit: CNET Networks)

Make HD videos fit the screen better
Viewing a video in HD resizes from the standard 710-pixel player into one that's 950 pixels wide. It still doesn't go to the edges of the page though. To get that extra 100 pixels or so you can install this small Firefox add-on that resizes them to fix the rest of the YouTube UI. Of course you could always just hit the full screen button, but this lets you access all the other page elements while it's playing.

Turn down the lights on any YouTube video
A select few YouTube videos have the option to "turn down the lights," which darkens the rest of YouTube's UI and shows you just the video. If you want to make this option available on all videos you can download YouTube Cinema for Firefox, which can do this for you automatically. It also lets you change the background color.

See also Quietube (story) and Theeter (story), which do the same thing using a special bookmarklet you can add to your browser. However, unlike the Firefox extension, both of these services require using the bookmarklet to turn it on when you're browsing videos on YouTube proper.

Sharing

Watching videos on YouTube is a no-brainer, but if you want to control the way viewers see your videos or videos you're sharing, there are some handy tweaks.

YouTube recently introduced a relatively simple way to do this using tags. During or after an upload you have the option to add tags, and this is where the magic happens. Adding one of the below tags has different effects on your video, which gives you complete control over how it looks:

Controlling the size of the video by cropping or scaling:
• Add "yt:crop=16:9" This zooms in on the 16:9 section of the video, and gets rid of any black bars on the side or on the top of your video.
• Add "yt:stretch=16:9" takes any content that's been shot in anamorphic (with the black bars on the top and bottom) and scales it to fit the wide-screen player.
• Add "yt:stretch=4:3" scales widescreen videos to fit a 4:3 player.

Changing the default quality of the stream:
• Add "yt:quality=high" makes it so that the default quality level is the highest, whether that's HQ or HD. It depends on what type of content you've uploaded.

How to control the start time on a shared link or embed
With some small URL tweaks you can control the start time of a video when shared as a basic link, or when embedded. YouTube is likely to add this as part of the embedding options at a later date. In the meantime, the below methods are helpful if you want to share a specific part of a long video.

For basic links:
The time you want the video to start must be appended by hand with #t=_m_s at the end of the video's URL. You have control over the minutes and seconds, which are what go where the underscores are. So, for this URL www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfkxBVIJ0vc#t=0m21s, the video would start 21 seconds in.

Here's a video of how to do it:

Deep linking in YouTube from Josh Lowensohn on Vimeo.

For embedded videos:
Skipping ahead in embeds is a little harder than with basic URLs, but still manageable. Copy and paste the embed code wherever you intend to put it. Then find the two places where the source URL is. These two links come after "value" and "src" and simply contain the link to the video. Now, paste " &start=__" onto the end of that URL, placing the number of seconds you want it to start at where the underscore is. Since there's no minutes section like you get with the link trick above, you have to do the math and add an additional 60 seconds for each minute you want to go in.

Creating and embedding a self-playing playlist
Say you've got two or more videos you want to share--or just group together. Skip the link dump and make a playlist. Go into your uploaded videos and create a new one. Then simply check off the videos you want to add. Pick the "add to playlist" option, then click on the playlist you just created.

For one reason or another, YouTube isn't very up front about giving you an embed code to stick the playlist elsewhere. Don't worry though--it's still there. To find it, go to the playlist you just made from here: www.youtube.com/my_playlists. Then click on the "play all" link on a playlist to start playing it. Under the playlist option on the right, click on the link with the name of the playlist you're watching. This will take you to a page that gives you a rundown of the entire playlist, along with the option to send that self-playing list as a permalink, and the embed code to put it elsewhere.

You're looking for these three things (the highlighted link will have the name of your playlist, not mine):
(Credit: CNET Networks)

Third-party sharing tools:
Worth a mention here is Splicd, which lets you pick specific beginning and end points of a video. It plays these videos off YouTube's site, but gives you simple sharing links and a slightly higher degree of control than YouTube does.

See also the aforementioned Quietube and Theeter which both provide links that can be shared with others that format the video without the rest of YouTube's UI.

Google's plans for Android's YouTube

2009-05-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

As part of a series of blog posts, Google has released more information this week about some of the goodies we can expect out of version 1.5 of the Android operating system, which has been going by the code name Cupcake, and which wireless carrier T-Mobile is expected to push out to U.S. customers at the end of next week. High on the list of upgrades is the ability to record you-tube videos and upload them to Google-owned YouTube. Based on what we can ascertain from Google's introductory video, shooting a video on the Android 1.5 platform will be nearly as straightforward as taking a photo--except that after framing the picture, you'll need to turn the recorder on and off. After taking the video, you'll be able to share it via e-mail or MMS, or as a YouTube upload. We also learned more about what's in store in Android 1.5. Following the phone-to-Web upload theme, G1 owners will be able to more easily push photos from the Android device to Google's Picasa Web Albums online. In much the same way you'll upload videos to uTube, shooting photos to Picasa will be an option you encounter after taking a photo and pressing Share.

HD: Super Slo-mo Surfer! - South Pacific

2009-05-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to see more amazing video clips ? So check this out:

HD super slow motion video of big wave surfer Dylan Longbottom in a 12 foot monster barrel - the first shots of their kind ever recorded.

Comments:

"I have witnessed North Shore, Oahu. It was awe inspiring to say the least when the beach almost vibrated when those monster waves crashed down on the surfers. However, from that distance, out of the water, you never really got a true feeling of what the surfers we're actually experiencing.
My friend, this is nothing short of miraculous. You must be so proud to have got the surfer video clip of a life time!
Thanks man!"

"I AM ABSOLUTELLY BLOWN AWAY by that.."

"Incredible footage, but I could do without the "aren't we amazing" voiceover and the interview with the cameraman. Come on Beeb: lose the DVD extras and let the images speak for themselves. We're intelligent people, I luv YouTube."

"I've always thought surfing is incredibly cinematic and goosebump-causing. Love it!

Anyone that's seen the last natural doc: Nature's Great Events know the BBC are the best for this sort of thing, hands down."

"I've surfed inside a wave once. To this day it was the absolute highlight of what was already a fantastic hawai'ien vacation. This video is made of pure win."

"onwards, when the back of the wave creeps into the bottom of the shot. Looks stunning.

Re: those guys about BBC Two/HD. It was the BBC Two branding that confused me. I knew BBC simulcasted HD programmes. T'was a stupid comment (but hey, this is YouTube!)

Re: 'CG': Do you realise how expensive HD CG is? The reason Dr. Who has only just made it to HD is because CG rendering time is many times longer in HD. BBC couldn't afford it."

YouTube Nonprofit Raises $10,000 in One Day Using Overlay Ads

2009-05-07T04:57:00.001-07:00

This week, we launched a new "Call to Action" feature for YouTube's nonprofit partners, which allows them to use InVideo overlays to drive traffic to an off-YouTube web page, where they can collect signatures, email addresses, or even donations. Already, we're seeing nonprofit organizations use this new feature with great success.

On Sunday, to commemorate World Water Day, we featured a video from charity:water on the YouTube homepage. The video included a Call to Action overlay that encouraged YouTube users to donate money to help build wells and provide clean, safe drinking water for those who don't have it.

The response from the YouTube community was overwhelming -- thanks to you, charity:water was able to raise over $10,000 in one day from the video. That's enough to build two brand-new wells in the Central African Republic and give over 150 people clean drinking water for 20 years!

Feeling inspired? If you're a uTube nonprofit partner, adding a Call to Action overlay is easy. Just go to "Edit Video" and fill out the fields in the section marked "Call to Action overlay." All you have to do is include a short headline, ad text, a destination url, and upload an optional image, and the overlay will appear whenever someone watches your video.

If you're a nonprofit organization in the U.S. or U.K. who hasn't yet joined the YouTube Nonprofit Program, but would like to gain access to Call to Action and other special benefits, you can apply now at www.youtube.com/nonprofits.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=LD50xTsUNaw

YouTube video: USA using Patriot Act against its own citizens

2009-05-06T10:50:00.001-07:00

Sixteen-year-old Ashton Lundeby's bedroom in his mother's Granville County home is nothing, if not patriotic. Images of American flags are everywhere on the bed, on the floor, on the wall.

But according to the United States government, the tenth-grade home-schooler is being held on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his home on the night of Feb. 15.

Comments:

"The government wins, because most people can't afford to be hauled off like that. They have to plead guilty to whatever the government says. The government sure is afraid of us."

"Congress can't pass an act that overrules the Constitution, by definition that's imposable, the Constitution would nullify that act or such portions of it that are in violation. That is why theses so called "officers of the law" should be absolutely ashamed of themselves as they just broke the law."

"Unless the agents enforcing the law are in breech the Patriot act is superseded by the United States Constitution as is every other act of law. Theses FBI agents as well as the Police of North Carolina, should be Ashamed of themselves and shamed by all their countrymen for breaching the law. None of them should be allowed to continue to carry the badge which they just brought shame to, and we need to make sure they know that!"

""Federal officers".There is no such thing.They are domestic enemies,and families that "don't believe in guns" are domestic enemies as well.The federal government was never granted the right to have a police force or an army,only the states have that right."

"I know this is YouTube, but it's clear you didn't even make it to the second paragraph. Let me be more clear (although you've probably had an ADD attack and stopped reading by now). It is irrelevant to me what the kid was charged with or who the kid is. The point is that all American citizens are entitled to the right to face their accusers, to the presumption of innocence, and to legal representation to present a defense in a timely trial. The Patriot Act destroys this."

"Well there you go. Give the government an ability and it abuses it about ten seconds after it's got it. Bravo, idiots... bravo. I frankly don't mind this sort of thing for people we pick up on the battlefield but you can't do this to American citizens in the US. The Supreme Court isn't doing it's job. I love You Tube videos."

"This is so sad. Blatant abuse of power! Pure abuse. The Patriot Act was not intended to be used against Americans..... It needs to be struck down... I too am an atheist and this has nothing to do with a lack of religious belief... He's only a 16 year old kid.... The founders of this country are turning over in their grave.."

YouTube video: Attack on the Dutch queen - April 30, 2009

2009-05-01T02:57:00.000-07:00

Five people were killed Thursday after a man tried to attack the Dutch royal family during a Queen's Day celebration by crashing his car near the royal family's bus, Dutch police said.

Authorities are not releasing the name of the man, but said they have charged him with with trying to attack the royal family.

Twelve people were injured in the incident in the Dutch town of Apeldoorn, about 45 miles east of Amsterdam, police spokeswoman Esther Naber told CNN.

Check out more Utube videos at turtlesays.com.

Muslim Demographics

2009-04-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Islam will overwhelm Christendom unless Christians recognize the demographic realities, begin reproducing again, and share the gospel with Muslims.

Ad: Do you like funny pictures ? Check out turtlesays.com with amazing and most funny You Tube videos every 24 hours.

Here are some statistics based on birth rates:

In a matter of years, Europe as we know it will cease to exist. Of all the immigration to Europe since 1990, 90% has been Islamic immigration.

In southern France, there are now more mosques than churches and 30% of children age 20 and younger are Islamic. In 39 years, France will be an Islamic republic.

In the Netherlands, 50% of all newborns are Muslims. In 15 years, half the population of the Netherlands will be Muslim.

Russia: In just a few years, 40% of the Russian Army will be Islamic.

Germany will be a Muslim state by the year 2050.

THREE YEARS AGO, a meeting of 24 Islamic organizations had a meeting. in Chicago. The transcripts of that meeting showed n detail their plans to EVANGELIZE AMERICA through journalism, education, politics, and more.

The Catholic churc recently said that Islam has surpassed Catholicism.

Air Force One Flies Over Lower Manhattan, Scaring New Yorkers!

2009-04-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Air Force 1 Backup Plane Flies Very Low Over Manhattan

'NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams' , 'Today Show' and 'Inside Edition" interviewed me about this video you are seeing. Here is what happened: At about 10 am on Monday, April 27th, my husband and I looked out the window and noticed a huge airplane circling very close to our building near the Hudson River, shadowed closely by a military jet. We live in a high rise in downtown Manhattan, a few blocks away from Ground Zero, which we can see from our window. At one point, the plane flew very near our building and banked to the side causing us to think that it was being hijacked and that the military jet would shoot it down any minute. Then we noticed it wasn't a commercial plane.....it was Air Force One!! I took out my camera out of my bag and began filming. In the video, I am very freaked out at the thought of (perhaps Obama's) plane being hijacked or being shot down. At the time, nobody knew what was going on. When you see a huge plane coming towards your building, especially after 9/11, you do assume the worst...and that is what I did. Ad: Funny pictures and quotes

Most amazing YouTube video clips of 2008 !

2009-04-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

Let's check out top YouTube video clips of 2008 !

1. Ninja cat comes closer while not moving!

2. ASTRONAUT on the golf course

3. Star Wars according to a 3 year old

Note from the author: Here is my daughter, age 3, explaining the plot of Star Wars Episode IV.
She explained the whole movie to me in much greater detail but unfortunately I didn't have the camera going. When I finally caught her talking about the movie again she delivered this truncated, but still funny, version.
Edit: Thank you all for the nice comments. Maybe I will print them out for her and someday and when she's all growed up she'll get to read them herself.
A little more about the video: She wasn't coached to say anything, nor was she forced to make the video. She rarely stops talking. Those of you with children understand this: sometimes it's harder to turn the faucet off than to turn the faucet on.
Believe it or not, she has the seem the movie only once, and I spread it out over 3 days so it wouldn't be too much all at once for her."

4. Yes We Can

Most videos on YouTube achieve fame because of their humor, but occasionally a more serious video merits distinction. In “Yes We Can,” footage of President-elect Barack Obama giving a speech is spliced with footage of various celebrities as they sing along with Obama. What makes the video so powerful is that everything about it—from the black and white film to the acoustic guitar accompaniment—is muted so that the speech can be the star. Regardless of its partisan motive, the video demonstrates that YouTube can successfully be used to reach people about more serious topics. In the US presidential election, YouTube looks as if it will play a key role. The video networking site is already providing what may be the biggest ever audience for a political speech, 17 million and counting.

5. Australian Party Guy

Melbourne teenager Corey Delaney - also known by his birth name Corey Worthington - has found worldwide fame after posting a party invite on MySpace. In 2008, the Australian current news show A Current Affair (ACA) aired a story about a party thrown by 16-year-old Corey Worthington while his parents were out of town. Kcrudy’s post, “cory worthington house party” shows the ACA interviewing Worthington, whose parents faced a possible fine of $20,000. Worthington uses the interview as an opportunity to begin advertising as a party-planner, which later proves to be a shrewd business move. People should watch this video not just for the humor, but also for the way it portrays today’s youth as inconsiderate, self-promoting capitalists.

YouTube video: Hollie Steel - Britain's Got Talent

2009-04-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Britain's Got Talent: 10-year-old Hollie looks like any other little girl wanting to be a ballerina... that is until she opens her mouth...

Comments:

"Simon wasn't out of line by any means, she's young but that doesn't mean she shouldn't get constructive criticism. He did compliment her actual talent, just didn't care for how she presented it."

"OW! i was like omg here we go... its gonna be another annoying little kid doing ballet around the stage in a tutu...but then she sang and Simons face was priceless ;DDD shes brilliant! Nice job Holly!"

"Some youtube facts: Lavender Tutu-$10, Ballet Shoes- $20, Simon's face-PRICELESS"

"probably b/c susan boyle is a utube cinderella story..she is middle-aged...not extremely pretty, and never been in love...this girl is good..but she's cute..she we've seen many other child singers."

"Someone laughed about Simon's face lighting up after she began to sing. Why pick on him? Everyone watching was bored until the girl began to sing. I *like* Simon's honesty. It's refreshing. That's why I love utube video clips"

"that was probably the biggest rebuff simon's ever gotten.. about to push the button and then WHAM out comes her aaamazing voice. you go little girl :)"

"She was very good but overall the whole programme tonight was as entertaining as sitting on a dentists chair and last week was no better i think we got spoilt the first week, i'd say if they were to do it all again Susan Boyle & Flawless would have been much later. Saying all that looking at him stopping the kid last week and ''just about'' to hit the buzzer tonight its getting more and more looking like its all stage managed, and then the sad music when she finished what was that all about?"

Susan Boyle: 100 Million YouTube Views But Who Gets The Revenue ?

2009-04-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

Susan Boyle has one of the most popular videos in YouTube history, logging roughly 100 million views in a little over a week. But neither YouTube nor Sony Music, which owns* Britain's Got Talent's production company, Fremantle Media, has gotten any money from those streams. With all those views comes a lot of potential ad revenue, but ITV, the TV network which puts out the Britain’s Got Talent show, haven’t seen any of it and it’s their own fault. The management at ITV insisted that they wanted special terms from Google because they knew the video would be a big hit. So instead of opting for the YouTube tried-and-tested advertising methods ITV went into discussions with them. Ben McOwen Wilson, director of online for ITV said:

We don’t want to be part of YouTube’s standard terms and conditions, because content like Susan Boyle is unique … I think both sides are being hard-nosed and commercial about it.

Ad: See funny pictures and clips here.

Google has confirmed the decision not to show advertising next to the video was that of ITV. Now it seems they have missed out on the revenue completely. No one's selling downloads of the song on Susan Boyle's YouTube videos either, probably because a downloadable recording hasn't yet been made. But that's another missed revenue stream.

Shaheen Jafargholi (HQ) Britain's Got Talent 2009

2009-04-23T02:53:00.000-07:00

High-Quality clip of 12-year-old singer Shaheen Jafargholi auditioning on Britain's Got Talent 2009. First he sings Valerie by Amy Winehouse but, after Simon interrupts him and asks for a different song, he amazes everyone with his rendition of Who's Loving You by Michael Jackson. I can't help wondering if this was a set-up, though!

Comments:

"what an amazin wee boy this is.. beautiful voice i started crying when i herd him the cutest thing ive ever seen too!! hes got a great life ahead of him.. i dont know why ther is soo many haters towords him people who leave nasty comments about a little boy hmm quite pathetic realy think ther may be a bit of jealousy goin on."

"absolutley breathtaking, an absolute star regardless set up or raw...this kid now has stardom and exposure! again absolutley mind blowing! "

"This is the best child singer I have ever seen on YouTube. I got goose bumps from the moment he started singing the second song. Remember his name, he is going to be HUGE!!"

"i dont get why he isnt in Susans place..she has become so famous but in my opinion Shaheen is a million times better..i mean Susan is great but he is absolutely amazing..loved him :] deserves to win for sure x"

YouTube video: Earth Day 2009: Do environmental rights = human rights?

2009-04-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

What images come to mind when you think of human rights? Pictures of torture, unjust detention, police brutality, political persecution? Or do you think about climate change? What about when you think of the environmental movement? Do you picture oceans, forests, whales, butterflies? Or do you think about people?

Although the environmental and human rights movements are sometimes perceived as two different things - especially in many developed countries like the United States - in much of the world they are closely intertwined. Ad: Funny YouTube videos at TurtleSays.com.

In March 2009, two WITNESS staff members Kelly Matheson and Priscila Neri traveled to the annual meeting of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide to speak activists from around the world about this connection. We asked them: do environmental rights = human rights?

Interview with Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent

2009-04-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

BRITAIN'S Got Talent star Susan Boyle (48) wowed the nation at the weekend with her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables. . She tells WLC online's Richard Mooney about her experience.

ø„¸¨°º¤ø„...ø¤º° ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º°¨
¨°º¤ø„¸ GO Susan !!¸„ø¤º°¨copy and paste
¸„ø¤º°¨Ur Awesome!!! `°º¤ø„¸if you think
¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤ø„¸¨°º¤ Susan is the best

Comments:

"I have felt her talent as emotions took over and realised what great singers can do...
You deserve the best for being the best at what you do...Let your dreams be as you are incredibly talented... There are some many your videos on Utube
When is the album coming out?I will be looking forward to it as will millions of others around this tiny planet of ours.
Thank you for being trully amazing....you have made us all humble.
Bless you...."

"She does have an amazing voice, so do many others!! How she got to be 47 and not be noticed before this is probably a bit of why there is so much hype!!"

"You are absolutely amazing! I was in tears watching this and my husband who has never cried over ANYTHING actually had tears running down his face. We wish you all the best and thank you for your gracious gift. Love from Canada, I like to watch YoUtube!"

"Susan, yes -- Please be cautious. You are going to get many, many people that will want you in their corner now. I wish you all the best, and hope that your character doesn't change. Maybe you should take a few weeks and really think about what you are going to do. Options will be limitless. You will be huge. Wonderful for you. Check out my Utube video clips."

YouTube video: Miss USA California Responds To Gay Marriage Question From Perez Hilton

2009-04-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

Perez Hilton asks Miss California what she thinks about legalizing gay marriage and she definitely does not give the politically correct answer. One of the most controversive YoUtube videos.

There are DEFINITELY a lot of boos coming from the crowd followed by mixed applause, though it's hard to hear the boos in the recording.

This recording is owned by NBC.

Comments:

"She might have won the crowd, but not the crown. If one want to win a beauty pageant, or any contest/ competition if that matters, you should give the answer which pleasing the judges or tell them what they want to hear. They are ones who give the crown to the winner, not the audiences. (and you could imagine demographic of the judges.) Free speech, yes, but If you want to make a political statement, become a politician or an activist, not a beauty queen."

"She's just being honest.
But let me get this straight.
In a supposedly Free America we have the right the denounce and criticize straight and normal marriage, but we aren't even allowed to express our own opinion about homosexuality ?
Miss California, you just earned my respect! I love Utube video clips like this one.
Haters and Homosexuals, as much as you guys are free, she is free to express herself too."

"When a white kid grows up identifying with and later emulating and having the same tastes as the black people he sees no one ever says the white kid was born black. But when a man grows up identifying with and later emulating and having the same tastes as women then everyone wants to believe he was born that way. Until there is actually evidence that homosexuality is genetic the homosexual movement should stop regurgitating the "born that way" slogan. It gets old after a while."

"Just like the people whose "opinions" of Bush and his lying, incompetent administration were in the minority when his popularity was at 90%. We were eventually proven right, Bush showed himself to be a colossal failure, and the Iraq occupation was based on lies. I am waiting to see new YoUtube videos Those were some mighty dangerous extremists we had to purge from the White House in 2008, weren't they, cupcake?"

YouTube video: NBA's Top 10 Plays for April 15th, 2009.

2009-04-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

NBA's Top 10 Plays for April 15th, 2009.

YouTubers' comments:

"I think this is the best top 10 this season, save the best for last. DAMN IT CAVS!!!! you took away lebron to save him from the playoffs and now look what happened, you let history slipped on ya'!"

"This guy is pure freestyle jus says anything, that was diawara's 4th career dunk if im not mistaken, i doubt he ever posterized anyone and he barely got off the ground here"

"This definitely was the best top 10 of the year. i just think number 2 was ranked a little too high although it still deserves to be in the top 10. I love to see YouTube videos like this one."

"Look at 10 close... if wafers head was just a lil higher and howard swung a lil late, Wafer would have no head right now hhaha Howard swung wittttt sooo much power"

YouTube video: Susan Boyle - Britains Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 - Saturday 11th April

2009-04-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Susan Boyle - Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 - Saturday 11th April

YouTubers' comments:

Amazing that she didn't get a chance before. Now let's see what a hairdresserm a visagist and a dressmaker can do. As long as she does not lose that voice!

Susan rocks, the best voice i've heard in many years, when you think of the seriously bad singers that make millions and heres this wee woman with this amazing voice hidden away.

Totally thrilling, such a unique quality in that voice. I have to admit I was moved to tears, honestly. Can't stop rewinding the show, played it over and over....... SUPERB. If there is any justice at all, this talented lady should realise her dream and succeed, if not to win this competition, then to be given a recording contract IMMEDIATELY so that we can all enjoy forevermore a rare and beautiful talent. Well done Susie, you are a STAR!!

Click here to see this video.