Back in December of 2011, YouTube launched YouTube Slam, a game/discovery mechanism where certain types of videos are pitted against each other in a one-on-one style battle. The videos are be in the same general category like “comedy slam” or “dance slam.” Each slam has the viewer select which video “won” the battle, and there are online leaderboards and such.
“This is the place for discovering talented amateur singers, the most adorable clips and the craziest videos on YouTube,” they said at the time. Recently, YouTube hosted a Valentine’s Day slam where users’ proposal videos were matched up against on another.
Today, YouTube has announced that users can now make their own Slam battles, using their own playlists.
You can now turn any of your playlists into a YouTube Slam. Play solo, share the YouTube link with your friends or even play together in a Google+ Hangout. Here’s how to do it:
- Make a playlist with the videos you want to include in the Slam (you’ll need at least two videos and they have to be public), or choose a playlist you have already
- Go to www.youtube.com/slam/create
- Click the “Create Slam” button next to one of your playlists.
After that, a button to play your slam will appear, as will one to remove the slam from public consumption.
I just tried it out, using my playlist of video clips from, about, or mashed-up from the film Home Alone.
While this is fun and all to do by yourself and to share with your friends for them to do by themselves – it would be a lot more fun if you could all vote on the video battles together. Luckily, YouTube says that you can. Google+ Hangouts now support YouTube Slams. Having the ability to watch YouTube videos with your friends inside a Hangout was already pretty fun, but this could really spark the use of YouTube inside Hangouts.
So next time you and your friends are arguing about which standup comedian is funnier, or which faceplant video is the most brutal – just put it to a vote.