Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Newt Gingrich says 'so long' on YouTube

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich hasn't hit the airwaves yet to announce his exit from the race but he did post this YouTube video, announcing his departure and thanking his supporters, this morning:



It's a fitting finish for a candidate who began his presidential journey on YouTube just under a year ago. Here's his announcement video:


Now, close to 10 million channel views later, he's calling it quits. Farewell, sweet Newt.


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Six years later, the campaign tracker sees a re-birth on YouTube

In 2006, George Allen uttered the word "macaca" on film and changed the course of YouTube Politics forever. From that moment, the political world learned two important lessons: 1) YouTube is a powerful medium for spreading political messages and 2) everything a candidate says can be recorded on camera by a campaign tracker, employed by the opposition.

In 2012, campaign trackers are no longer a novelty on the trail. Today's NPR "All Things Considered" story offers a deeper look at how this position has evolved into a campaign "must-have" and how they've changed how politicians operate.

But what about hiring a tracker to document your own campaign's every move? That's precisely what the Romney campaign is doing. Governor Romney's body man Garrett Jackson has been uploading behind-the-scenes footage of moments along the campaign trail to his personal YouTube account, offering a glimpse of Romney that the public doesn't see very often.

Garrett's most-popular video, uploaded three weeks ago, has received over half a million views and documents an April Fools prank on the Governor:



With viewership like this, the Romney campaign should seriously consider having Garrett upload to their official campaign channel instead. For comparison's sake, the most-viewed video in the last month on the official Romney channel has received only 91,000 views.


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

With a great big roar...

Yesterday marked the White House annual Easter Egg Roll and while the footage of kids rolling eggs is pretty cute, the media seems to be zeroing in on another tradition -- President Obama's reading of his favorite book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Watch it here, particularly starting at 1:15 when Obama really gets into character, letting out a pretty epic "wild rumpus" roar. Even Bo gets in on the action.

You can also compare it to his reading of the same book from last year:



and 2009:



Friday, January 20, 2012

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube-- Dramatic rescue in Italy, protests in Tunisia, and uneasy truce forms in Zabadani, Syria


Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

  • We witnessed dramatic rescue efforts as the cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed into rocks in shallow waters in Giglio, Italy.
  • We watched the CEO of the Costa company blame human error, as most accused the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, of being at fault for the crash.
  • We monitored events in Syria where military forces attacking rebels in Zabadani agreed to a ceasefire, as Obama raised concerns about the violence there.
  • We saw unprecedented amounts of snow falling in the state of Washington, with many going out and making the most of the rare event.
  • We followed the GOP candidates during a dramatic week on the US campaign trail, as Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry both dropped out of the running for the Republican nomination.
  • We marked the anniversary of the 'Arab Spring' with protests in Tunisia at the slow pace of reforms.
  • We witnessed Russian oil supply ship Renda arriving in Nome, Alaska with assistance from the US Coastguard.
  • We viewed the forced closure of Kruger National Park in South Africa due to prevalent flooding caused by heavy rain. 
  • And finally, we celebrated with Muhammad Ali, one of the most iconic figures alive, who turned 70 this week. 

Friday, January 13, 2012

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube-- Mitt Romney claims victory in New Hampshire, award-winning French journalist is killed in Syria, and a national strike paralyses Nigeria


Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

Friday, January 6, 2012

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--New Year celebrations, the Iowa Caucuses, and more



Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:
  • We began the New Year by remembering some of biggest events of 2011: from Occupy Wall street to the death of Steve Jobs
  • We monitored events in Bahrain as protesters and security forces endlessly clashed, leading to the tear-gassing of the funeral of a 16 year old. 
  • We witnessed the powerful eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna volcano, which sent huge plumes of ash into the air, sparking flight disruption fears
  • We viewed thousands of Nigerians take to the streets in protest over the doubling of petrol prices due to fuel subsidy cuts.
  • We followed the GOP candidates as they gave eloquent speeches at the Iowa caucuses; the first major electoral event on the US campaign trail.
  • We saw Occupy Wall Street protesters get the drop on New York police as they reoccupied Zucotti Park on New Years Eve.
  • We watched a devastating landslide kill and injure dozens in the Philippines after a week of heavy rain.  
  • We were shocked at a bomb attack in Damascus that killed at least 25, sparking more anti-government protests.
  • And finally, we watched the world bring in the new year with widespread celebrations in AsiaEurope and the US

Friday, December 30, 2011

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube-- North Korea holds two days of funeral ceremonies for Kim Jong-il, Arab league monitors arrive in Syria, and Nordic storm "Dagmar" batters Scandinavia


Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

Thursday, December 22, 2011

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--North Korea's "dear leader" dies, Egyptian women protest after beatings, and dozens killed in Iraq after US troops leave


Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Top Political Videos of 2011

From candidate ads to pundit debates, speeches from the White House to impassioned pleas from the American heartland, this year’s most-viewed political videos show us that a message that resonates can come from anywhere -- and anyone.

Surpassing the President and various presidential hopefuls in views, the #1 video on our list comes from a young man in Iowa speaking candidly to his government. This video of Zach Wahls speaking about gay marriage has been viewed more than 18 million times.



Three candidates for 2012 made the most-viewed political videos list. Gov. Rick Perry's highly-covered "Strong" ad was uploaded just this month, but has already racked up 7 million views (another one of his ads, “Proven Leadership” is also on the list). Herman Cain, who recently suspended his bid for President, showed that quirky gets views. President Obama reached an audience of millions on YouTube as both commander in chief, and stand up comedian.

Here’s the full list of the most-viewed political videos from the YouTube News and Politics category:

1. Zach Wahls speaks about family
2. President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner
3. Strong [Rick Perry ad]
4. President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden
5. Brother, can you spare a trillion? Government gone wild!
6. Seth Meyers remarks at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner
7. Rick Perry - Proven Leadership
8. Jon Stewart Goes Head-to-Head Bill O'Reilly
9. Now is the time for action! [Herman Cain ad]
10. President Barack Obama's First Ad of 2012 [NRSC Ad]

In all, the videos on this list account for over 50 million views, demonstrating that there is significant interest in political video on YouTube before the primaries have even begun. For all the key moments in online political video during the coming election, visit YouTube.com/Politics. For more of YouTube’s most-viewed videos of 2011, visit YouTube.com/Rewind.

Friday, December 16, 2011

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--The war in Iraq officially ends, post-election violence in Egypt, and a tragic attack in Belgium


Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

Friday, December 9, 2011

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--Horrible deja vu for Virginia Tech, Mass sectarian killing in Afghanistan, and Russians protest election

Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

Thursday, December 1, 2011

This Week's Top News on YouTube: Egyptians voting, Clinton in Burma, and #OWS kicked out in LA and Philly

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--Egyptians go to the polls, Secretary of State Clinton goes to Burma, and Occupiers in LA and Philadelphia go away

Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week: