Google Data » Olivia Ma

Egyptian protest footage on YouTube

Olivia Ma — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:48:00 +0000

It’s been hard to open a laptop or turn on the television over the last week without hearing news of the unrest in Egypt. On YouTube, thousands of videos of the protests have poured in, whether as unfiltered footage from the demonstrations themselves, or as news reports from our media partners around the globe.

We understand how closely the world is following these events, and want to help people access and share this information quickly and easily on YouTube. We’re helping people do this in three ways:

Highlighting the latest footage on CitizenTube, our news and politics channel, and inviting people to submit video they’ve come across.
Pointing our users directly to these videos through banners at the top of YouTube pages, and through links alongside YouTube videos.
Streaming live coverage of Al Jazeera’s broadcasts about the unfolding events, on both their Arabic and English YouTube channels.

And our Google colleagues have also turned on a speak-to-tweet service to help people in Egypt stay connected at this difficult time.

Here’s a playlist of videos that have come in:

YouTube has used similar tools and live streaming technologies in the past to give our users access to information on major world news events, such as the Haiti earthquake and the protests in Iran. We hope this footage provides a unique window into the events unfolding in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and many other cities across Egypt.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “28th Jan. 2011 - Storyful - Kasr Al Nile Bridge clashes.”

Tune in tonight: The State of the Union, and your questions

Olivia Ma — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his second State of the Union address - and for the second year in a row, you can submit your follow-up questions for him right here on YouTube. Tune in to youtube.com/askobama and be sure to submit a question for the President (video questions preferred) and vote on your favorites. On Thursday January 27, at 2:30 p.m. ET, we’ll bring a selection of your top-voted questions to the President at the White House in an exclusive, live YouTube Interview.

Just as interested in the GOP’s plan for America? Speaker of the House John Boehner will be doing a YouTube Interview within the month, so stay tuned for more announcements on when and how you can participate. You'll be able to see Rep. Ryan deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union on YouTube after the President’s address as well.

Thursday is your chance to be part of history, so when you sit down to watch the State of the Union tonight on YouTube, grab your video camera, cellphone, or webcam and record a question as the ideas strike you. This is a unique opportunity to have direct access to the President, and if you’re still not sure what to ask, check out this playlist of submitted questions for inspiration.

The deadline for your question submissions is midnight ET on Wednesday, January 26.

This YouTube Interview with President Obama is the beginning of the YouTube World View program, a series of interviews with public leaders and big thinkers who will be answering tough questions all year on YouTube.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched, “Sheila’s question, from New Brunswick, Ohio.”

Your questions, your State of the Union

Olivia Ma — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:00:00 +0000

It’s the biggest speech of the year, and next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET, people across the country and around the world will sit down to watch. But as President Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union Address, which will be streamed live on YouTube along with the Republican response, you can do more than just watch the speech: you can also submit your questions for the President for an exclusive YouTube Interview that will take place just two days later, on January 27.

In fact, you can get started today. Health care. Education. Foreign policy. What would you like to ask the President about the most important issues our country faces? Go to youtube.com/askobama to submit your question now, or watch the speech on Tuesday night with your webcam or video camera nearby so that you can record and submit your question as soon as it strikes you. This year, you'll also be able to ask your question via Twitter: just include the hashtag #askobama in your Tweet. And be sure to have your say in what should be asked by voting on questions submitted by others, too.

A few suggestions before submitting your questions:

Video questions are highly preferred (though we also accept text). Videos should be about 20 seconds long and be sure to ask the question directly.
Speak clearly and try to film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible.
Feel free to be creative (use props, charts, etc.) to help your question stand out. If you have time, find an interesting backdrop that may help reinforce your message.
Submit your question early. The final deadline is Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET.

President Obama’s responses to a selection of your top-voted questions will be streamed live from the White House on youtube.com/askobama at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday January 27.

This interview is the first in a series of world leader interviews coming to YouTube in 2011 as part of YouTube World View. These interviews will give people around the world the chance to engage in conversation with their elected officials and other influential people from the world of business, philanthropy, technology, media and the arts. Check back on the channel in the next few months for more opportunities to participate.

You have until Wednesday January 25 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama. The YouTube community made history last year when the President answered your questions in the first ever citizen-powered interview of a United States president. If you didn’t get an opportunity to ask the President a question last year, make sure you don’t miss out this time -- get your submission in early.

Remember, after the President’s address you’ll have the opportunity to watch Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) deliver the GOP response to the State of the Union as well. And within the month, we’ll be holding a similar YouTube Interview with a prominent Republican leader - more details soon.

*Update - that should read "You have until Wednesday January 26 at midnight ET to submit your question for President Obama".*

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Submit your question for President Obama”

Introducing YouTube Trends

Olivia Ma — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:41:00 +0000

With 35 hours of video now being uploaded to YouTube every minute, keeping up with the latest goings-on around here can be a challenge.

Last week, we officially unveiled YouTube Trends (youtube.com/trends), a new set of tools designed to help you stay on top of the latest popular videos and trends on the world's largest video site.

Here's more of an explanation:

YouTube Trends features new algorithmically-generated feeds that highlight which topics and videos are trending right now. The site also offers a ‘top videos’ module and a blog with more in-depth explorations of videos, trends, news, and cultural phenomena as seen through the lens of YouTube. We've also created a Trends Dashboard that lets you quickly explore what's popular in different cities in the U.S. and around the world, as well as within specific demographic groups.

Last Monday, we started a 12-day countdown to the holidays exploring the top videos from 2010. So far, we've posted lists of the top videos in:

We've also examined extreme winter weather footage from across North America, looked at how Justin Bieber's "Baby" got so big, tracked "Double Rainbow's" popularity, seen how the same practical joke traveled across seven different countries, and settled the age-old question: dogs or cats?

YouTube Trends is like your water cooler for web video, so check back each day to see the very latest.

For more specific info about YouTube Trends, visit video walk-through.

Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "So Long To Ya, 2010 | The Jib-Jab 2010 Year in Review!"