WebProNews

Tag: YouTube

  • Americans Watch Billions of Ads, Videos Every Month

    Americans Watch Billions of Ads, Videos Every Month

    Yes, you read that correctly. Billions.

    According to MediaPost Publications, Americans watched a staggering 8.3 billion ads last March, breaking all previous records in the process. And who says that we have absolutely nothing better to do with our free time than sit around staring at computer/television screens all day? Well, they may have been right. Stand proud, America.

    To break this statistic down ever further, Hulu is claiming 1.7 billion ad views, while YouTube has snagged 1.2 billion. All of this equates to nearly 3.2 billion minutes worth of ad time, which is probably why you still can’t get that impossibly lame AFLAC rap song out of your head. I’ve been trying for months now, and I can’t seem to shake it.

    Want even more stats for the month of March? Well, here you go:

    • 181 million Americans watched 37 billion online videos
    • Google Sites generated 15.7 billion views , followed by Hulu with 1 billion and Yahoo Sites with 815 million
    • Video music channels VEVO and Warner Music received 49.3 and 30.3 millions review, respectively
    • YouTube trumps them all with nearly 146.1 million unique views

    All of this data may seem boring, so let’s put it another way: 83% of all American internet users watched online video content in March. That’s pretty amazing. So when you think your coworker is hard at work doing whatever it is he or she is supposed to do, they’re probably watching something on YouTube or Hulu through their smartphone.

    I’m sure these numbers are only going to get progressively higher as even more content becomes available to online video addicts. With Hulu adding more original content and YouTube signing deals with movie studios for online rentals, chances are you’ll see these records shattered by the end of the year. Mark my words.

  • Google Updates Its Deprecation Policy

    Google Updates Its Deprecation Policy

    Software gets old. It’s an unfortunate truth that many developers have to live with. It’s even harder when you have to deal with software that may be deprecating and it’s hard to know when official support is going to dry up.

    Google is hoping to make all of this easier by changing up their software deprecation policies. These include the changing some APIs to a one-year deprecation policy while just retiring some APIs outright. So let’s get into the nitty gritty of it to see which APIs are being affected.

    First up is the change to a one-year deprecation policy. They are not deprecation the APIs themselves, just the policy. The four APIs that are affected by this new policy are the Google App Engine, Cloud Storage, Maps/Earth API and the YouTube API. The App Engine, Maps and YouTube API will wind down from their three-year API deprecation period in April 2014 and transition to the new policy. Cloud Storage is keeping its current one-year policy.

    For the above mentioned APIs, Google is writing a new policy that is clearer and more concise. Google says that the new policy “simply states that we will strive to provide one year notice before making breaking changes.”

    A metric ton of other APIs will be losing their deprecation policies. To be clear again, Google is not removing these APIs. To give developers time to get things up to snuff, the current deprecation policies for these APIs will not be removed until April 2015. The current list of APIs to lose their policies are as follows: Accounts API, AdSense Host API, Chart Tools API, Checkout API, Contacts API, Custom Search API, Documents API, Doubleclick for Publishers API, Feed API, Google Apps Admin APIs, Libraries API, Orkut API, Picasa Web Albums API, and Prediction API.

    In sadder news, Google will be retiring some of their older APIs. These include the Moderator API, Legacy Portable Contacts API, ClientLogin, AuthSub, OAuth 1.0, and Google Chart Tools. They are also retiring the non-current versions of Spreadsheets, Contacts, Documents List and Freebase APIs. Last but not least, the Finance and Feedburner Administrative APIs will finally be retired after being depreciated last year.

    While some developers may cry fowl at these changes, Google assures you that they’re only doing this to make it easier for people to stay on top of the current tools available to them. This should allow everybody to be a level playing field in terms of the newest technology.

    What do you think of Google’s new deprecation policies? What about their massive removal of several API policies? Let us know in the comments.

  • Snoop Dogg Teases New Album In “Special 420 Message”

    As you probably already know, today is 4/20, and while this particular day might not hold any special significance for some, plenty of people celebrate it as a holiday.

    And within the subset of people who recognize April 20th and National Weed Day, there are few titans of the culture who stand taller than Snoop Dogg. Let’s just say this: In a recent AMA session on reddit, the staff of High Times magazine was asked which celebrity they’ve met smokes the most. Their unequivocal answer: “Snoop! WITHOUT A DOUBT.”

    And Snoop, never the shy one about his hobbies, has embraced 4/20 with a “very special message” that just hit YouTube, courtesy of Noisey. You can check it out below:

    Ok, so it’s a nice little video that shows just how fun it is to be Snoop, smoking in Jamaica or something. But as one YouTuber asks, “Wait…what was the very special message?” Other than the message of hey, it’s 4/20, let’s all have fun, it appears that it could be a teaser for the upcoming album/documentary package Reincarnated, which will be Snoop’s 12th studio album.

    He announced the project back in February on Facebook:

    (image)

    Snoop DoggReincarnated! Comn soon!! My 12th solo album n documentary(image) 75 days ago · 5,670 likes · 482 comments

    (image)

    Snoop is celebrating, as is the entire internet. Of all the pop-culture holidays that spring up, 4/20 might be one of the most popular. And for your participants out there, FYI, it’s also National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day.

  • YouTube Loses German Royalties Case

    YouTube, the most popular video platform on the web, has been taking some heat over music clip royalties as of late. It was recently reported that parody singer Weird Al Yankovic is suing Sony for $2.5 million, over videos of his the company had licensed to YouTube – and now the Google-owned streaming video site has lost a court battle in Germany over the licences of 7 songs.

    While YouTube has in the past asserted that it cannot be held responsible for the content that is uploader by its users, a Hamburg judge has just ruled that this isn’t the case, and wants the site to install more upload filters to sort out music clips owned by a royalty collection group called GEMA. Gema, which represents roughly 64,000 German artists, said that YouTube hadn’t done enough to stop the illegal uploads, and seeked damages for royalties concerning 12 of its licensed songs. The court sided with Gema for 7 of the clips, which could lead to a hefty bill for YouTube.

    If the new filters are enforced, this could delay upload times for YouTube, which presently logs about 60 hours of new video per minute. This would definitely be a hit to the service – a main reason why many users steer clear of other video hosting sites, like Vimeo, is because of the long processing times. A YouTube clip is processed very quickly, and a Gema-endorsed filter would likely hinder this to an unknown extent, with copyrights having to be cleared. On the other hand, if a random user is monetizing an unsigned artist’s content on YouTube, which happens all the time, this is also a bad thing, which would warrant longer wait times. As of now, video content can be posted faster than real time – meaning, an hour long clip can be put online in ten minutes, so there’s no way some oDesk employee in Tangier might have pre-screened it. It is evident that it will likely be a while for YouTube and Google to sort out the most efficient balance regarding how its content is legally uploaded.

    Google had no comment on the German ruling, concerning the trial that has been ongoing since 2010. YouTube had initially blocked all Gema content from its site for a time in 2009, likely aware that the organization would create a problem down the road with its royalty demands. Gema had also sued Rapidshare in 2009, prompting that site to better filter its content. Gema also basically ran Grooveshark out of Germany, who’d stated that Gema’s licensing rates essentially made it impossible to make any sort of profit.

  • Social Sites Such as Facebook and Twitter are Gaining on Traditional News [Infographic]

    It’s known, at least anecdotally, that newspapers and other traditional outlets for journalism are drifting away in the wake of the instant reporting and crowd-sourced nature of online news. Schools.com, a site that helps students find online universities and degree programs, has prepared a handy infographic illustrating just how quickly the web is taking over.

    The statistics are taken from a pew research survey published this year and the facts come from news stories throughout the past year. Some of the highlights include:

    • Online news revenue has, as of this year, surpassed newspaper revenue.
    • 27.8% of people now get their news through social media, though around 60% still watch news on TV.
    • Traffic to news sites generated from social media has increased 57% over the last 3 years.
    • Over 49% of people have heard false breaking news stories from social media

    False news reports, especially celebrity deaths, have been a staple of the web since before Twitter even existed. Still, those new to social media might not yet have the “common sense” to be skeptical of everything they read online. The infographic ends with a warning for news readers to always double-check facts with a “trusted news source” I’ll do them one better and say that readers should always follow as many back-links as they can and try to find the original source of the story.

    Social Media: The New News Source
    Courtesy of: Schools.com

  • YouTube Tops Web Video Rankings

    YouTube Tops Web Video Rankings

    ComScore has just released its latest Video Metrix rankings for March, showing that 181 million unique users in the U.S. watched roughly 37 billion videos online, hosting over 8 billion ads. Google-owned YouTube came in first by a long shot, with 146 million unique viewers over second place Yahoo! Sites, at 60.6 million. And while Hulu saw roughly half the users Yahoo! did at 31.1 million, the platform logged almost 200 million more videos viewed, with customers watching an average of 275.2 minutes of content a piece.

    Below is a chart describing the top online video content providers for the month of March:

    comsocre video rankings

    The following chart depicts the number of video ads per site in the same time frame:

    comscore video chart

    Regarding web video ad properties, over 8.3 billion ads were viewed as a whole, and Hulu beat out YouTube in the number of video ads it streamed, though was only able to reach roughly half of the the audience YouTube was able to achieve. Hulu showed 5 times as many total ad minutes over Google sites, and Brightroll Video Ad Network was the only firm that really competed with Hulu in the ad-minutes field.

    YouTube also released its own partner data for the month of March, and music video platform Vevo came out on top, garnering 49 million unique viewers. The only segment that beat out Vevo was Machinima, which logged 69 minutes per video, as opposed to Hulu’s 62.5.

    comscore video rankings

    The same survey was taken by comScore back in November, showing similar numbers – Google’s YouTube has control of the online video segment, in which 83.5% of the U.S. web users accessed.

  • Doug Hutchison & Courtney Stodden Want To Be YouTube Reality Stars

    Here’s the thing: I know that by showing you this video I’m giving in. I can make all of the snarky comments that I want but in the end, I’m still showing this video to people, which is exactly what its producers want. But then again, you chose to read this, which means there has to be at least some level of morbid curiosity lurking around your brain.

    Having fully dealt with my initial shame, I’ve decided that there’s just no way I can not touch this one.

    In June, 2011, the wedding of the summer involved an unknown 16-year-old bride and a relatively well known actor who has graced respectable (and oftentimes superb) productions like Lost, The Green Mile, and The X-Files. He happened to be 51 at the time of their nuptials.

    Of course, when people see that a 51-year-old actor has married a 16-year-old blond of questionably genuine assets, it creates quite a stir. Some called it disgusting, others called it an obvious publicity stunt. A select few defended Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden, making the argument that if they in fact truly love each other, age should throw up no barriers.

    There was a lot of discussion about her age – mostly the fact that she looked closer to thirty than thirteen. But, a birth certificate was unearthed and all of that was put to bed.

    Now, the couple has apparently begun their own YouTube series. Or maybe she did it and dragged him into it. Either way, a video posted to Stodden’s YouTube channel reads…

    Episode 1 in the continuous YouTube series of Courtney’s Countdown to her 18th birthday — Watch her as she deals with a sprained foot injury. 135 days and counting…

    It looks like it’s fashioned in the form of a reality show, according to her tweet:

    (image)@CourtneyStodden
    Courtney Stodden    Ever wanted to take a peek inside of my reality? Now you can – Watch ep 1 of Courtney’s Countdown LIVE on YouTube now! http://t.co/aWuxO7n0(image) 2 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    I don’t really know what to say here. It’s five minutes of bitching about a foot injury. I don’t think it’s going to get picked up by VH1 or E!, we’ll put it that way (although it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest):

    Stodden, who has “entertained” us with her interesting music videos and awesomely alliterative Twitter feed for almost a year now has obviously taken the next step to internet reality show actress. As one youTuber points out, only a few more months until she’ll be officially allowed to watch her own video (it’s been restricted based on YouTube’s community guidelines).

    Say what you will about Hutchison and Stodden – their marriage has lasted at least 120 Spears and about 100 Kardashians. The truly sad part about all of this is that what you just watched is not a lot worse than some of the stuff you might have watched last night on the tube.

  • eBay’s First Quarter Forecasts Continuation of Year Over Year Profits

    eBay’s First Quarter Forecasts Continuation of Year Over Year Profits

    eBay Inc. was pleased to report today that revenue for Q1FY12 increased 29% to $3.3 billion, compared to the same period of 2011. They recorded Q1 net income on a GAAP basis of $570 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $725 million, or $0.55 per diluted share. The year-over-year increase in first quarter GAAP earnings per diluted share was driven primarily by strong top-line growth partially offset by their investment in improving consumer shopping experiences and the impact of acquisitions.

    John Donahoe, eBay Inc. President and CEO, explained why he believes the first quarter was so successful:

    “The first quarter was a strong start to the year for us with momentum continuing in our Marketplaces, PayPal and GSI Commerce businesses. We believe that innovation in retail today is technology driven, and consumers are embracing smarter, easier, better ways to shop. We are enabling commerce in this new retail environment, supporting and partnering with sellers of all sizes and giving consumers worldwide the ability to shop anytime, anywhere, for whatever they want.”

    First Quarter 2012 Financial Highlights (presented in millions, except per share data and percentages)

    PayPal

    The company’s PayPal business ended the quarter with 109.8 million active registered accounts, a 12% increase over the first quarter of 2011. PayPal revenue increased 32% year over year, driven primarily by increased penetration on eBay as well as continued merchant and consumer adoption. PayPal’s net total payment volume (TPV) grew 24% year over year to $34 billion. PayPal continues to focus on its core platform as well as mobile and point of sale initiatives.

    PayPal recently provided a new way for consumers to make purchases at 2,000 U.S. Home Depot stores. All that customers need to do is enter their mobile number and pin, or swipe their PayPal card, and then enter their passcode.

    Consumers who practice this method of payment receive electronic sales records of their purchases in a snap.

    GMV

    The company’s Marketplaces business also delivered strong first quarter performance. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) excluding vehicles increased 12% year over year to $16 billion. Sold items increased 17% compared to the first quarter of 2011, reflecting the continued impact of improvements to eBay’s core technology that are designed to make it easier and faster for shoppers to browse and buy. U.S. GMV excluding vehicles increased 13% year over year as sold items growth, mobile engagement and momentum in fashion and parts & accessories were key drivers of growth in the first quarter. Fixed price GMV, which represented 64% of total GMV in the first quarter, grew 18% globally year over year, a four-point acceleration compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. International GMV excluding vehicles increased 11% year over year to $10 billion, reflecting improved performance in Korea and solid growth in Europe. Downloads of eBay’s suite of mobile apps surpassed 12 million in the first quarter and 78 million globally since the launch of mobile in the third quarter of 2008.

    GSI

    The company’s GSI business, which was acquired in the second quarter of 2011, contributed $237 million in revenue for the first quarter. GSI generated $715 million in global ecommerce (GeC) merchandise sales during the quarter. Same store sales grew 26% year over year, reflecting strong e-commerce sales from retail clients.

    Business Outlook

    Second quarter 2012 — eBay expects net revenues in the range of $3,250 – $3,350 million with GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.49 – $0.51 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.53 – $0.55.

    Full year 2012 — eBay now expects net revenues in the range of $13,800 – $14,100 million with GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.91 – $1.96 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.30 – $2.35.

  • Facebook & TV Tie for Most Popular Place to Get News

    The following infographic from Schools.com details how social media is replacing traditional journalism as a news source.

    These days half of the public gets its breaking news from social media rather than official news sources. Slightly less than half (46%) get their news online about three times a week.

    This year online news brought in more revenue than print newspapers.

    Social Media: The New News Source

    Facebook is currently tied with TV news as the most popular way people seek information. I find this troubling considering the information on Facebook is not peer-reviewed and has relatively little accountability for what is being posted on its site.

    How would you rate the quality of news that you see on Facebook?

    Social media has an advantage over traditional journalism because people can send and receive information instantly and anyone can become a reporter. The downside is that journalistic integrity diminishes as more people fail to get their facts straight. Another growing concern is that people are endangering their lives in an effort to get raw coverage, and in the process, put the lives of other people in harm’s way.

    One person commented on YouTube that, “The problem with the internet as a news source is the ability to plant stories without attribution. We need people, journalists, who are willing to stand up and say, “yes, this is the story and I stand behind it.” If that goes away, public relations and ideology will be selling us ideas produced to further someone or some organizations political or for-profit agenda.”

    Is this a dangerous era for American journalism?

  • YouTube Upgrading Embed Codes To ActionScript 3

    YouTube Upgrading Embed Codes To ActionScript 3

    You may have a Web site that uses copious amounts of YouTube videos that solely rely on Flash player across your many pages. Chances are you have embedded which makes use of the ActionScript player. Further chances are that you are using an ActionScript 3-based player. There is a small chance, however, that you’re still using ActionScript 2. If that’s the case, YouTube has news for you.

    The video streaming site has alerted the masses via their blog that they’re changing the default selection when using a URL like this – http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID. When this happened, it would select an ActionScript 2-based player by default unless you specifically added in a version=3 into the code. Starting May 2, it will now default to ActionScript 3.

    The team points out that this change affects both embedded and Chromeless Flash players. You have nothing to worry about if you’re using the newest iframe embedded player. This means that the vast majority of developers and users are already using ActionScript 3 when using Flash playback.

    Now, what about the tiny majority making their voice heard among the masses demanding their ActionScript 2 versions? Easy enough, just add the version=2 URL parameter into your player URL. This will fix it right up and won’t cause any compatibility problems.

    Of course, this is only a temporary solution to your problem of being behind in the times. In an effort to make you ActionScript 2 users feel old, YouTube points out that ActionScript 2 has been deprecated for several years now. Enough is enough, time to let the relentless march of time take its toll. To that end, YouTube is shutting down its ActionScript 2 support in October. You have until then to move everything over to ActionScript 3.

    Once again, the majority of users don’t have to worry about a thing. This is only for those who still rely on old versions of ActionScript to keep their videos up and running. While there is something to be said on being retro, I don’t think it applies to YouTube videos.

  • Broncos Male Cheerleader Sacha Heppell Fails To Be First Man Ever On The Squad

    “I am not your typical Broncos cheerleader,” says Sacha Heppell. “I dont wear makeup, my legs are hairy, I don’t have boobs, I’ve never been to college…I’ve only been dancing for about three weeks. But I really do think I have what it takes”

    That was said a little over a month ago in a video he posted to YouTube. Over the weekend, he got his chance to prove himself.

    Unfortunately for Heppell, he didn’t have what it takes this year. He was cut after the first round of tryouts. His bid to be the first ever male Denver Broncos cheerleader is over – for now.

    Heppell, a Colorado native, was up against 200 women – so the odds were stacked against him from the beginning. Many football fans will tell you that cheerleaders are one of the best parts of the stadium experience, and I’m guessing that most of those fans would prefer the cheerleader had shaved legs.

    “It’s huge. I’m excited – totally thrilled. No male has ever made it through auditions. I don’t even know if a male made it to the auditions,” he said before the tryouts.

    Turns out, Denver Broncos cheerleading auditions are open call. Check out the video below to see how his audition went:

    As for the future?

    “Well, I’m going to practice. Practice, practice, practice. I might even send some of my kids out there. But it’s not an easy thing to become a Broncos cheerleader, I have to tell you that.” he told Denver’s Westword blog.

    Legitimate dream? Media stunt? Either way, it’s a pretty funny story.

    As you can see, many of the female cheerleading hopefuls were supportive of Heppell’s goals. What do you think about a male NFL cheerleader? Let us know in the comments.

  • Zelda: The Musical Hits All The Nostalgia Buttons

    What if I told you that someone had made something called “Zelda: The Musical?” Did your heart flutter? Good, so did mine.

    That’s the good news – it exists. The bad news is that it’s only four minutes long and not coming to a stage near you. At least not yet.

    It’s the old Legend of Zelda meets the (relatively) new Legend of Zelda with this masterpiece, written and compaosed by Mitchell Moffit. Featuring the characters of Link, Ganondorf, Zelda, Malon, and of course, Deku Tree, take a trip back to Hyrule, Broadway style with Zelda: The Musical.

    As WebProNews writer Zack Walton put it, “this just went from endearing to what the hell. I like it.” Indeed. Check it out below:

    Z..Ze…ZELDA!
    Just hearing her name and I’d say “Hell Ya!”
    I’ll save Hyrule and leave my life behind
    I’m only 10 and can’t control my sex drive
    Somewhere she is waiting for me
    And I know she’ll have my babies

    …yeah, we all knew the real reasons, Link.

    In a world cluttered with musical interpretations, video game-based fan videos, and even fan made musical interpretations of video games, this one really stands out. It actually makes me want to go back and beat Ocarina of Time again – maybe even in 25 minutes.

    [h/t Topless Robot]

  • Nielsen Awards Chevrolet’s Soldier Car Commercial

    Leading auto makers assembled at the New York International Auto Show for Nielsen’s annual Automotive Advertising Awards on April 4th. Nielsen’s winner for most effective auto advertisement was Chevrolet.

    Executive Vice President of Nielsen Global Automotive, Ian Beavis, also presented awards to Acura, Ford, Lexus, and Toyota.

    Kevin Mayer, Director of Global Chevrolet Marketing, says “it is very exciting to win Nielsen’s best in show award.”

    Ian Beavis said it won because it was, “a very emotional ad — clearly cut through — appealed to people on an emotional level — but it had a message of frankly, Chevy being part of the fabric of life.”

    Beavis went on to say that he believes the quality of advertising has gone up and that there is more variety. What he finds troubling about advertising is that “cut throughs are at about 20%” which means that people do not remember 80% of all the ads out there correctly.

    Effective advertising does not usually come naturally and requires considerable effort and strategic placement of brand icons.

    Mayer stressed that it is important for companies to be consistent in their message and the way media strategies are employed. He added that Chevy listens to their viewers to determine what their winning concepts are.

    Beavis hopes that Nielsen will continue to teach the automotive industry how to make quality ads through their collaboration.

    AOL is also partnering with Nielsen in their attempt to mirror TV advertising.

  • MGM: 600 Titles Will be Available for Rent on Google Play and YouTube

    YouTube announced on Sunday that it is partnering with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and will add more than 600 titles for rent to YouTube and Google Play users in the U.S. and Canada.

    Paramount also joined a week ago and will be contributing approximately 500 titles.

    According to emarketer.com by 2014, 77% of US Internet users will be watching online video content on a monthly basis. Nielsen Wire also reports that watching movies online is growing increasingly popular: “Online video usage in the U.S. is up considerably from the same time last year as time spent viewing video on PC/Mac/laptops from home and work locations increased by 45%.”

    The turn in trend might also be the result of increased gas prices. With gas at over four dollars a gallon it is no wonder that people are refraining from driving to their local movie store. Other downsides of renting from a physical store include poor customer service, poorly organized sections that waste the consumer’s time, and the chance that the particular movie one desires to view is out of copies. What a potential waste of money and time.

    Thanks to the new partnership you’ll be able to watch movies like West Side Story, The Terminator, and Rocky with the touch of a button.

  • Google “Official Social Platform” for Republican National Convention

    Google has been selected to provide the technological know-how for the Republican National Convention later this year when the GOP convenes in Tampa, Fla., to officially coronate the party’s presumed presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Google, along with its online video site, YouTube, have been given the lofty title of “Official Social Platform and Live Stream Provider” of the party’s convention.

    As Google has done with previous events that it has played a large role in, everything from CES to SXSW, don’t be surprised if you see some customized features begin to roll out ahead of August’s convention such as indoor maps of the arena, several Google+ Hangouts, and a livestream of several events via YouTube.

    Susan Molinari, Google’s Vice President of Public Policy, said in a statement, “By incorporating our tools and technology, we are offering a behind-the-scenes look at the convention process and allowing voters, delegates and viewers to shape the conversation.” Molinari was a notable addition to Google’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., earlier this year as she became the latest former Republican politician to assume a high-profile position in the company’s policy wing.

    Google’s been keeping itself busy with thus far with the primary stages of the presidential election. Earlier this year, the company created a Election & Politics section within its general news aggregator, and has also put together several election tools for people to use in order to more closely follow the results of the Republican primary contests. Back in 2010 for the midterm elections, interested parties were able to tune into YouTube in order to livestream the election results.

    Convention CEO William Harris said, “Having Google as a partner ensures the most engaging convention experience in history. Our goal is to bring the convention to you, no matter where you are or which device you use.”

    Interestingly, on the GOP’s website for the 2012 convention visitors are given the option of signing in with their Facebook account but not with their Google+ account. Whoops. Guess even the GOP can’t deny Facebook’s overwhelming popularity advantage over Google’s social networking service.

    Since Google has become the adoptive technology resource for the RNC, it will be interesting if the Democrats try to tap Facebook in order to be their official social media platform for the party’s convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September. There really is nothing quite like taking sides in very public and very superficial rivalries.

  • Best Buy: Number of Closing Locations by State

    We reported to you earlier that Best Buy Co. Inc. will be closing 50 big box stores and eliminating 400 positions. At that point the electronics retailer had yet to announce what locations would be closing. Today TG Daily released counts of how many stores will be closed by state.

    The decision to close its doors is part of Best Buy’s plan to reduce costs by about $800 million and adjust to a changing marketplace by reducing the size of their stores; the retailer will now focus on establishing businesses with less overhead like the 100 smaller Best Buy Mobile stores they will be opening across the country.

    Two of the stores have already closed and another location in Puerto Rico will also cease to be.

    Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn resigned abruptly amid what the company described as a board probe into his personal conduct. Dunn’s alleged range of offenses include lying and cheating.

    Dunn worked his way up in the company over three decades; he started out as a sales clerk and never attended college. His humble beginnings and considerable success were considered exemplary and even proof that people can achieve considerable economic mobility in America.

    Best Buy Director G. Mike Mikan will be taking over as interim CEO during the search for a new CEO. Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, continues to serve as chairman.

    Should we be leery of the CEO that is lauded as a hero?

  • Center For Investigative Reporting Launches New YouTube Channel

    The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), a nonprofit investigative reporting organization, announced this week that it will launch a new channel on YouTube. The channel, which is expected to be launched in July, will be a hub of investigative journalism curated by CIR. The channel is being launched in part by an $800,000 contribution by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

    “One of the goals of this partnership will be to raise the profile and visibility of high-impact storytelling through video,” said Robert J. Rosenthal, executive director of CIR. “We hope this initiative generates revenue that supports the work of nonprofit organizations and independent filmmakers everywhere. Collaborative efforts like this are no longer the future of journalism; they are today’s reality.”

    CIR stated the channel will feature the work of both major broadcasters and independent producers from around the world. Some of the contributors to the channel are already announced and include National Public Radio, ABC News, The New York Times, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity, American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop, and Independent Television Service. In addition, CIR will seek submissions from freelance journalists and member organizations of the Investigative News Network (INN). The INN is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of nonpartisan news organizations across North America.

    “We are very excited at the opportunity to expand the size of the audience for public-interest journalism through the YouTube platform,” said Kevin Davis, CEO and executive director of the Investigative News Network. “We believe that this channel can increase the impact of accountability journalism in a way that both engages and informs.”

    There is no firm date yet on when the new channel will launch, but those interested can already view many videos from CIR on the CIRvideos YouTube channel. Donations to the organization can also be made from that page. CIR co-hosted the first “TechRaking” conference with Google this week. The conference covered the future of news through the lens of advancing technology.

  • See Printers Destroyed In Slow Motion In This Viral Ad

    It’s Friday, which means a week’s worth of tensions, anger, resentment, and frustration has been building and is ready to burst. Not toward your actual job or your coworkers – the target of all of this is most likely your office equipment. You know, that damn stapler that gets jammed, or that damn copier that won’t copy. But most of all, the object that draws the most ire and can bring a grown man weeping to his knees is the printer.

    The loathsome printer.

    First, a primal scream breaks the trance induced by the furious beats. “I HATE PRINTERS,” yells Andy. What follows next is sweet catharsis – an ax bears down on our bulky villain, spilling its entrails. A beautiful note rises high above the madness, as our hero mercilessly strikes the printer in slow motion.

    Next comes Sally with the sledgehammer, and the destruction continues.

    “On March 29th 2012, at an undisclosed address in South London, several printers died while making this film.” Check out their glorious deaths below:

    The video you just watched is an part of an advertising campaign from Bytes Document Solutions. “Whatever the size of your fleet and whatever brands you use, we can take away your frustration and pain by providing you with a fully managed print service,” they say. We hope that their technique of taking away pain and frustration doesn’t actually involve smashing all of the office equipment.

    This is only part one of a three-part series, with parts two and three coming soon. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it’s possible to get tired of watching people destroy office equipment with axes and hammers. So bring’em on.

    Before you say anything, I know what this reminds you of. Here it is, no need to ask (NSFW):

    [via The Register]

  • YouTube Is Expanding Partner Eligibility

    The YouTube Partner Program is expanding its capabilities and its reach. In an effort to support and enhance user experience they are working on adding more tools and features and have expanded to several other countries with more on the way. As of today these countries are included in the program; Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

    That’s a pretty extensive list of affiliates. Essentially the partner program seeks to help original content YouTube creators monetize, or begin to make money off the exclusive rights to their content. If you hope to gain celebrity or get compensated for an educational goal you have undertaken, this is exciting news. Google and YouTube are hoping to facilitate this goal through providing the medium and the tools you need to achieve success.

    To qualify for this type of program there are some considerations you should make regarding content. Here are some tips on how to be successful at making money on YouTube:

    * Create yourself: YouTube is a place where everyone has a voice and where everyone, whether a newbie videographer or a professional, can be successful. We encourage you to use your imagination to create something completely original. Examples of videos that have been successful on YouTube include daily vlogs and home videos, Do- it-Yourself videos and tutorials, original music videos and short films.

    * Commercial Use rights: Before opting such content into monetization, ensure that you have all the necessary rights to commercially use the content. It’s not uncommon for content creators to clear rights to use third party content on YouTube. Often, this clearance takes the form of explicit written permission from the rights holders.

    * Follow YouTube guidelines: To support your growth and success on YouTube, we expect you to follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines when you create content for YouTube. Following them is a requirement on the site, and will increase the visibility of your content on YouTube which could mean more views, more user engagement and ultimately more revenue.

    YouTube has a great wealth of information available to get you started or help refine what you are already doing. To help you unlock your creativity and further develop your skills, there’s:

    * Next Vlogger: A few weeks ago, we asked you which category we should choose for our NextUp program. You overwhelmingly selected YouTube Next Vlogger. Participants will receive one on one training from YouTube stars and industry leaders like iJustine, video equipment valued at $5,000, and global promotion on and off the YouTube. Apply by April 18.

    * Creator Clubs: Sign up for a Creator Club to network and collaborate with other creators in your area. And stay tuned for Partner Meetups to learn new skills directly from YouTube staff and experts.

    * YouTube Features: Whether you’re looking to improve your production quality or trying to create fun videos, you can use YouTube’s growing toolset to make videos the world will love.

    To help you grow larger and more engaged audiences, there’s:

    * Partner Promotion: Certain creators who were partners prior to April 10th may be eligible to receive free advertising on the Google Display Network—websites that cover more than 92 percent of the Internet. Learn more in the Creator Hub. We hope to extend this feature to additional partners over time.

    * Creator Playbook 2: The YouTube Creator Playbook 2 is the latest version of the definitive YouTube audience development guide. Find it at youtube.com/playbook.

    * Creators On the Rise: The On the Rise Program offers high potential up-and-coming partners with homepage, editorial and social media promotion. Look out for opportunities to participate every month.

    So this is a great opportunity to enhance what you already do with YouTube or get started on a path to success using the service. They are attempting to reach a larger audience everyday, and have really delivered in that area. There’s a lot of information here and even more out there once you get started. It’s a learning process, but it can be incremental and fun if you want it to be. Read through the guidelines first to make sure it suits your needs, it sounds awesome to me.

  • Coachella To Stream Live On YouTube Again

    In a sea of live music festivals, Coachella has managed to stand out since the first show in 2001 because of their stellar lineups and because of a notable lack of drama (see: Woodstock ’99). The 3-day festival is set in the California desert and features a menagerie of creative people, from musicians to artists to avant-garde performance troupes.

    In past years, the event has drawn out rare appearances from the likes of Portishead, Aphex Twin, and Leonard Cohen. This year they’re expecting Mazzy Star, The Black Keys, Explosions In The Sky, Childish Gambino (otherwise known as Troy from “Community”), Florence and the Machine, and breakout act Gotye. And for the second year in a row, they’ll be streaming it live on YouTube for those fans who couldn’t make it out to Palm Springs. There’s also a Coachella app that features interactive maps and a tool to sync show times to your phone alarm/calendar.

    The show starts today at 3:50 p.m. P/T, 6:50 p.m. E/T and there are three different channels to choose from, so head here to check out the lineup and show times.


    Warpaint, perorming “Warpaint” at Coachella 2011

  • Don’t Worry Fellas, It Gets Bigger (Or So Says This Viral PSA)

    Don’t Worry Fellas, It Gets Bigger (Or So Says This Viral PSA)

    Back in 2010, author Dan Savage posted a video on YouTube with the hopes of getting a message out to the millions of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender kids out there that are struggling to get through each day. And that message was simple: It Gets Better.

    The “It Gets Better” campaign became a global phenomenon, with celebrities and other important people from all over the spectrum coming out to support the movement. Actors, musicians, fashion icons, and whole companies like Google and Facebook made their own videos, all ending with the same “It Gets Better” message. Even President Obama got involved.

    That campaign was an extraordinary example of social good, and the power that the internet community can have when they band together in support of a great cause.

    The only reason I bring this up, is that “It Gets Better” serves as the template for this parody video, which is not quite as serious in its message.

    But it is really funny, however.

    The folks at Epic Level Entertainment have come together to let young teenage boys everywhere know that things won’t always be like they are at the age of 13. Because despite what you might think, or what your friends might tell you – It Gets Bigger. I probably don’t have to say this, but it has some NSFW language:

    If that’s not the most hopeful PSA you see all day, I don’t know what is.

    [h/t Laughing Squid]