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President Obama's health care town hall yesterday took YouTube questions from users, which were submitted as a reply to this video over the past 3 days. Of the 515 videos the President received, he was only able to take 3 video questions, in addition to some from Facebook, Twitter, and the live crowd assembled in northern Virginia.
We live-streamed the event on youtube.com/whitehouse as well - and you can see the archived version here:
See below the three YouTube questions that were posed to the President. His staff said they picked the "most representative" videos to pose to the President. FYI, we're working on a voting platform on YouTube that will make that process of selection even smoother more democratic for groups like the White House who want to do townhall-style events.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Last Chance to Submit to "Come Clean 4 Congo" Contest
Last month, we asked you to participate in our first YouTube Video for Change program by creating a compelling video that portrays the link between the minerals in your cell phone and the war in the Congo, for the chance to have your video screened before a celebrity panel of judges and an influential audience of entertainment A-listers.
Today is the last day to submit your video if you'd like it to be considered. The judges (including Ryan Gosling and director Wim Wenders) will then pick the three semi-finalists and turn it over to the YouTube community to select the final winner. We've already seen many inspired submissions -- for a sample, check out this playlist:
It's not too late to get your video in -- you have until 12 AM EST tonight to visit www.youtube.com/enoughproject and submit.
Today is the last day to submit your video if you'd like it to be considered. The judges (including Ryan Gosling and director Wim Wenders) will then pick the three semi-finalists and turn it over to the YouTube community to select the final winner. We've already seen many inspired submissions -- for a sample, check out this playlist:
It's not too late to get your video in -- you have until 12 AM EST tonight to visit www.youtube.com/enoughproject and submit.
President Obama taking your YouTube questions at 1:15 p.m. ET today
Watch a livestream of the President's online healthcare townhall today at 1:15 p.m. ET on youtube.com/whitehouse. He'll be answering questions submitted by YouTubers; some of which are currently being featured on the homepage of whitehouse.gov.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mexican elections heat up on YouTube
[Posted by Ricardo Blanco of the YouTube Mexico team]
As Mexico prepares to hold its Congressional elections in a little less than a month, we are seeing different organizations engage with our Mexican users about the main issues relevant to their world. On July 5, 2009, 695 public office positions are being elected in Mexico; 345 municipalities, 16 delegations in Mexico City, 328 deputy positions and six governor positions.
Here are two examples of channels on YouTube, created by independent organizations, that share with the YouTube community the thoughts and concerns of the citizens in the weeks before they go to the polls:
First, the magazine "Expansion" and CNN -- which reports financial and business information for Mexico and Latin America -- have dedicated their channel during the elections as "Central Electoral" (Electoral Central) at YouTube.com/CNNExpansion. They've created a place where candidates for office can take questions submitted by citizens at YouTube.com/votaciones2009. Much like the CNN/YouTube Debates in the United States, questions are submitted by video and asked of candidates at CNN Expansion's TV Studio; the questions from the public are made using YouTube cabins placed in 9 states in specific public places. Here's an example:
Second, an independent publication of the Mexican Magazine "Letras Libres" is also using YouTube to gather community opinions and promote dialogue between citizens during the elections. The YouTube Channel Lupa México monitors and analyzes the proposals of congressional candidates. Dedicated to transparency and objectivity. Lupa Ciudadana was established in 2006 as an area for monitoring electoral campaigns, the acts of the Federal government and the Federal District, and the initiatives and agreements made in the Legislature, to encourage public participation and promote civic responsibility and accountability. Here's an example:
These are only a few of the ways YouTube is helping the citizens of Mexico to have their voices heard in a highly visible forum and with the potential to speak directly with their future elected leaders. You can learn more about the upcoming Mexican elections at our Google Elections Mexico Hub.
As Mexico prepares to hold its Congressional elections in a little less than a month, we are seeing different organizations engage with our Mexican users about the main issues relevant to their world. On July 5, 2009, 695 public office positions are being elected in Mexico; 345 municipalities, 16 delegations in Mexico City, 328 deputy positions and six governor positions.
Here are two examples of channels on YouTube, created by independent organizations, that share with the YouTube community the thoughts and concerns of the citizens in the weeks before they go to the polls:
First, the magazine "Expansion" and CNN -- which reports financial and business information for Mexico and Latin America -- have dedicated their channel during the elections as "Central Electoral" (Electoral Central) at YouTube.com/CNNExpansion. They've created a place where candidates for office can take questions submitted by citizens at YouTube.com/votaciones2009. Much like the CNN/YouTube Debates in the United States, questions are submitted by video and asked of candidates at CNN Expansion's TV Studio; the questions from the public are made using YouTube cabins placed in 9 states in specific public places. Here's an example:
Second, an independent publication of the Mexican Magazine "Letras Libres" is also using YouTube to gather community opinions and promote dialogue between citizens during the elections. The YouTube Channel Lupa México monitors and analyzes the proposals of congressional candidates. Dedicated to transparency and objectivity. Lupa Ciudadana was established in 2006 as an area for monitoring electoral campaigns, the acts of the Federal government and the Federal District, and the initiatives and agreements made in the Legislature, to encourage public participation and promote civic responsibility and accountability. Here's an example:
These are only a few of the ways YouTube is helping the citizens of Mexico to have their voices heard in a highly visible forum and with the potential to speak directly with their future elected leaders. You can learn more about the upcoming Mexican elections at our Google Elections Mexico Hub.
How long would it take to read a 1200 page bill out loud?
Mary Katherine Ham sets out to discover the answer, in this unique YouTube effort to call attention to the fact that Congress is considering hefty Energy legislation without, Ham points out, the benefit of public hearings.
Use Call-to-Action overlays to drive traffic to off-YouTube web pages
In March, we launched a new feature for YouTube nonprofit partners: a "call-to-action" functionality that operates like an in-video overlay, allowing organizations to drive traffic to off-site pages, like donation or take action sites. Over the past few months, nonprofit partners have seen great success with this feature, like charity:water, who raised over $10,000 for clean water in a single day through the overlay.
While nonprofits will still have access to this feature for free, we're broadly launching this feature as an option for all advertisers who use Promoted Videos, allowing anyone who runs a campaign to specify a "Call-to-Action" for users.
Adding a Call-to-Action overlay to your video is easy. First, run a campaign to promote your video on YouTube. Then, go to the Video Details page under My Videos 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. Clicks on the overlay will be tracked in YouTube Insight.
Now Promoted Videos makes it even easier for potential supporters to engage with your campaign or organization -- especially for those campaigns looking for user responses beyond an increase in views for your video. If you're looking for an easy way to help your video reach a larger audience on YouTube, promote your video today.
While nonprofits will still have access to this feature for free, we're broadly launching this feature as an option for all advertisers who use Promoted Videos, allowing anyone who runs a campaign to specify a "Call-to-Action" for users.
Adding a Call-to-Action overlay to your video is easy. First, run a campaign to promote your video on YouTube. Then, go to the Video Details page under My Videos 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. Clicks on the overlay will be tracked in YouTube Insight.
Now Promoted Videos makes it even easier for potential supporters to engage with your campaign or organization -- especially for those campaigns looking for user responses beyond an increase in views for your video. If you're looking for an easy way to help your video reach a larger audience on YouTube, promote your video today.
Track Government Spending: USASpending.gov launches on the web, and YouTube
Today at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York, the Federal CTO Vivek Kundra announced USASpending.org, a new site designed to allow citizens to track government spending via an IT Dashboard. See below a video explaining how it works on the agency's new YouTube channel. And learn more in a post at TechPresident.com.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Our Partners on the YouTube Reporters' Center Launch
Great blog posts today from our partners about their involvement the YouTube Reporters' Center:
- Nicholas Kristof, New York Times: "Psst! The Secrets of Journalism"
- NPR: Citizen Journalists Take Note: YouTube Has Opened Its Reporters' Center
- Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post: Katie Couric, Tavis Smiley, Bob Woodward, Nicholas Kristof, and I Hit YouTube with Pointers for Citizen Journalists
- Citizen Media Law Project: CMLP Partners with YouTube to Help Launch Reporters' Center
- The Uptake: Secrets of Starting a Citizen Media Organization
- Reuters: How-to Journalism with YouTube
- The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: Reporter's Center: YouTube's News U
- Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post: How To Not Sound Like an Idiot on TV
- PBS, YouTube: "Helping You Report the News"
A Video that Captures the Unrest
A new video, likely taken early last week, documents the the chaos and unrest of the atmosphere in Tehran. The wild and shaky camerawork vividly represents the nature of the scene as protesters riot and clash with the Basij.
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