Pay Per Click Advertising and SEOYoutube - Pay Per Click Advertising and SEO

YouTube channels receive Google Moderator update

Andy Russell — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:43:48 +0000

Google has decided to release a full version of its Moderator service for all YouTube users, this will allow channel owners and viewers to talk about videos and other relevant topics (or completely irrelevant ones as is often the case) on channel pages, as a more structured alternative to the standard video comments.

The YouTube blog said: “Starting today, we’ve integrated the ability to use Google Moderator into every single YouTube channel.

“Moderator is a versatile, social platform that allows you to solicit ideas or questions on any topic, and have the community vote the best ones up to the top in real-time.”

By giving channel owners the power to police offensive content, which can also be voted down by users, the Google/YouTube Moderator aims to bring some much needed order to the always chaotic and sometimes offensive world of YouTube comments.

Google Moderator was originally developed by the company’s engineer Taliver Heath as a way to prioritise questions asked during company meetings and lectures, it really came to the boil in December 2008 when it was used by the transition team of US President-Elect Barack Obama to help him respond to questions from the general public.

Generating 5.7 million votes from the public on 86,000 questions in just over a week of operation, Google Moderator was a key catalyst in the President’s appointment of Google’s project manager Katie Jacobs Stanton to the new position of Director of Citizen Participation.

As well as being a useful social tool, the Moderator feature can also be helpful for corporate YouTube channels as a way to receive and respond to user feedback. Organisations such as the New York Times are already asking users to submit their questions on the dynamic channel.

YouTube release new ‘unlisted’ video option

James Oliver — Fri, 14 May 2010 09:00:27 +0000

YouTube announced this week that they would now be offering a third level of privacy for users to implement on the videos that they upload to the site.

The new feature will make it easier for users to share clips online without actually have to set the video to private as was the case in the past.

The new ‘unlisted video’ option will allow anyone that has a physical link to the video to watch it but it will not show up in YouTube search results, users profiles or channel pages.

Unlike the current ‘private video’ option the user who has created the unlisted video will not need to set up permissions for who is able to watch that video and the watcher will not need to be registered with the site in order to watch it, the user will simply require the URL.

The feature is aimed primarily at those users that wish to share videos with people but are not signed up members of the YouTube community.

The new unlisted option, however, will not give the owner of the video the same options as the current private setting function which allows you to cut someone off from having access to the video if they abuse it. There is no way to do this with the new unlisted option as possession of the URL will allow viewing of the video by whoever has it.

When asked whether the new unlisted option will change how YouTube scans uploaded videos for content that does not comply with their terms, YouTube spokesperson Chris Dale has this to say:

“Unlisted videos are treated just like any other YouTube video on YouTube and are subject to the same Community Guidelines and DMCA complaint procedures. Users can flag videos that they believe violate our Community Guidelines. The YouTube team reviews flagged videos 24 hours a day 7 days a week and removes those videos which violate our Guidelines. Users can also file DMCA complaints against unlisted videos that they believe violate their copyrights. We do not allow users with any Community Guidelines or copyright strikes against their accounts to upload unlisted videos.

So the new option will not have any effect on what is going on behind the scenes of a user’s uploads.

Another acquisition for Google as they buy Episodic

Andre — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:29:15 +0000

Google seem to be setting somewhat of a trend in 2010 as they have recently announced their 5th acquisition of the last four months. It was confirmed last week (Friday) that Google have purchased Video Service Episodic.

This is the first company of its type that Google have purchased; it is highly likely that the acquisition was made to help out with Google owned video hosting service YouTube which is currently undergoing a slight face lift.

Episodic is an upstart US based web suite and video hosting service that offers a host of different service’s to its users including the ability to publish live streams and on-demand content.

The Episodic service actually offers quite a few things that YouTube does not, highlighting Google’s reasons for buying the company. Users of Episodic have the luxury of control over advertisements and ad breaks in their videos whilst being able to benefit from an in-depth analytics tool that gives its users handy real-time information on the experiences of viewers.

Episodic is a more profit based service than YouTube as it allows users to make money of their video channels by charging to view content or by advertisements.

At the moment the new users sign up feature has been disabled until the deal is 100% done which should be at some point this week.

Rumours suggest that the Episodic service as a whole will be folded into YouTube as they try to integrate the two, whilst the two sets of staff will join forces as of next week.

Makeover trend continues as YouTube gets a facelift

Andre — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 11:00:50 +0000

2010 has been a year of major change so far, many of the internet’s most well known and well used sites have undergone some sort of re-design, Google owned video streaming site YouTube has picked up the baton and continued the trend this week.

After entering the beta stage more than 2 months ago YouTube have finally made the revamp live and available to all its users. The new look video hosting site appears to be a lot more minimalist and streamlined, it comes after more than a year of planning and deliberation to get it right.

Google, owners of YouTube, have stated that the all new site serves 2 main purposes: The first was to provide a much cleaner user interface that, according to YouTube, is more subdued and a lot simpler than before. Secondly, it was designed to improve the ‘stickiness’ of the site, offering more video suggestions on a single page with the view of users staying on the site for lengthier periods.

The changes do appear to be quite subtle, none of them severely disrupt the user, but anyone that is a YouTube diehard is likely to notice them straight away.

Other, less significant changes include better search integration that will allow users to perform a video search whilst watching another video, a great change for any multitasking YouTube users out there.

A new ratings system has also been deployed, instead of the old 1-5 star rating, YouTube have gone with the Facebookesque like or dislike buttons which seems like an overall metaphor for how users will feel about these new changes.

YouTube ‘Shows’ is go!

Matt Thomas — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:37:06 +0000

YouTube’s landmark TV deal with channel 4 has started bearing fruit. The channel signed a three year deal to provide full length shows on YouTube earlier this year and the new section of YouTube, entitled ‘shows’ is set to go live today. The section will include nearly 5’000 videos, 4’000 of which will be full-length programmes.

This move has seen an escalation of the battle between the online TV providers, specifically 4OD and BBC iPlayer. Up until now, the competition has been weighted by far in the iPlayer’s favour, owing mainly to the fact that the iPlayer system is seen as a much more user-friendly platform.

However, the new YouTube based 4OD system looks like it might just be able to compete. The interface is comparable to iPlayers and the selection is considerably better, especially considering the fact that it’s not only channel 4 programmes that are being shown – you can also get offerings from ITV, HBO, et al.

Looks like the online catch-up battle is about to get interesting…

Is YouTube about to finally make some Money?

Jenny Sanderson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:44:16 +0000

You might expect a video streaming site that recently revealed that it is getting one billion video views a week to be making money hand over fist though it hasn’t quite been that simple for video streaming leader, YouTube. The site has struggled to make a return appropriate to its size for years now, actually, it’s failed to make any profit at all.

However, it would seem that’s set to change now that YouTube is finally about to make some real money – the company has announced that it has tripled the amount of views it is able to monetise with adverts since this time last year.

This is largely due to the introduction of the YouTube ‘Content ID’ system, the fingerprinting system that allows rights holders to either block or make money from unauthorised use of their content. This has not only allowed YouTube to monetise more of the ‘semi-legal’ offerings with ads on the site but also, it has saved YouTube a lot of the time and expense that legal actions against them were taking up.

Channel 4 signs YouTube deal

James Oliver — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:49:14 +0000

Channel 4 have signed a deal with YouTube that will allow the world’s biggest streaming content provider to show its programmes. Both parties are remaining tight lipped on the subject of how much – if any – money changed hands but Channel 4 representatives have indicated that any advertising revenue will be split between the two companies.

YouTube, who recently announced that the site now streams over one billion videos a day, will be hoping that the huge amount of premium content that Channel 4 can provide will boost their viewership still further. It is also likely to be of huge benefit to channel four, pushing their programmes to a greater audience than ever before, though the site have confirmed that channel 4 programmes will only be available in the UK.

Channel 4 have had their own streaming site, ‘4od’, for a number of years now, though it has had a mixed reception, and has been seen by many as losing out in terms of prominence and usability to BBC’s iPlayer.

Ofcom reveals some interesting VOD Stats

Jenny Sanderson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:44:45 +0000

UK regulator, Ofcom has released a report today that reveals the true proliferation of video on demand (VOD). The report reveals that that just under one in three (29% to be exact) of all UK adults regularly watch or download video content. However, the really interesting part is that, in contrast to reports in some media, most of those adults are viewing the content on the entirely legal catch up services offered on services such as iPlayer and, to a lesser extent 4od.

Furthermore, the survey also revealed a surprising lack of support for illegal file sharing overall amongst UK adults, with 42% believing that all file sharing should be made illegal. However, those stats differ considerably amongst younger adults, with 55% believing that the practice should not be against the law.

In a way, the statistics are not surprising, especially when viewed in the context of internet use, with a massive 73% now now online.

YouTube reaches 1 Billion hits per day

James Oliver — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:00:27 +0000

According to a video blog post from Chad Hurley, one of YouTube’s founders, the world’s most popular streaming video website currently enjoys more than a billion hits per day. The announcement marks the third anniversary of the site’s $1.65 buyout by Google, a price those within the search engine giant have since described as ‘a premium’.

The announcement comes at the end of a year that has seen no shortage of controversy for YouTube, after the site was criticised for the royalties it paid for hosting music videos. The crisis led to a standoff that resulted in music videos being taken off YouTube. YouTube averted catastrophe by paying an undisclosed fee to PRS, (the performing rights society) though it neatly highlights the dangers inherent in being the streaming video leader.

As part of the vlog, Hurley reflected on the original aims of the site. “We wanted to create a place where anyone with a video camera, a computer, and an internet connection can share their life, art, and voice with the world, and in many cases they can make a living from doing so.”

YouTube drops most of its Music Videos

James Oliver — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:39:29 +0000

The guys at YouTube must be wondering whether they’ll ever resolve the issues with music on their site. Not only are they still trying to resolve issues with record companies relating to the showing of music videos on their site, yesterday they lost most of their most popular videos as a result of a separate battle with the Performing Rights Society (PRS), the body responsible for collecting royalties for musicians.

The issue, from YouTube’s point of view anyway, is that after the expiry of the deal they had in place with PRS expired, they imposed new terms which would have made it financially prohibitive for the site. In fact YouTube claim that PRS wanted more to show the videos than YouTube actually make from the adverts next to them.

Another sticking point was that PRS were refusing to let YouTube know which songs and performers were covered by which license which is integral to YouTube’s content ID system, the system which reimburses rights holders every time a song is viewed.

The real losers in all this are the musicians, most of whom are far from wealthy and will not be happy about losing a revenue stream like this. In an attempt to head off this wave of bad publicity PRS rushed to point out that it did not advise YouTube to remove the videos and in fact counselled them against it

YouTube viewers break the 100 million barrier

Matt Thomas — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:00:20 +0000

According to comScore, 14.8 billion online video were watched in January. The principal was, obviously, the Google controlled, YouTube, whose users exceeded 100 million for the first time in the opening month of 2009. Startling as the web viewing figures are, they are part of a longstanding trend and actually represent only a four percent increase on December’s figures.

It has been hypothesised by analysts that the recession has had a huge effect on the viewership of online content, with people hesitant to go out. Preferring instead, to save their money and view one of the millions of videos available with a click of a mouse from their computer. Combine this with the fact that everyone is broke anyway in January and the European January weather and you have an online content, perfect storm.

During January, YouTube, who control 43 percent of the online video market, logged more than 100 million unique visitors. Even more impressively, the average YouTube user watches around 62 videos a month, each one lasting for an average of 3.5 minutes. That’s a phenomenal amount of people’s time spent on a website.

YouTube download testing marches on

James Oliver — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:00:38 +0000

In their continuing quest to finally make the massive amounts of money everyone seems to be sure they can, YouTube continues to advance its downloadable videos feature. Selected YouTube partners now have the option to allow downloads, either for a fee via Google checkout, or for free.

The partners chosen to test the free download options are American educational institutions including UC Berkeley, UCTV, Stanford and Duke. On the paid side, the lucky partners who get to make some money out of their affiliation with YouTube, or at least more money than usual, include householdhacker, khanacademy and pogobat.

If this works, it could be a very profitable venture for the number one video sharing site, but haven’t we said that before? However, this could finally be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. Some are even talking about YouTube as a competitor to iTunes!

That’s obviously still a way off but with the kind of traffic that YouTube enjoys there really should be a way to turn an honest dollar somewhere along the line… Surely.