Sick of sitting through ads on YouTube just to watch a few seconds of a video clip? The Google-owned service is reportedly readying a version that lets users avoid all the advertising if they’re willing to pay for the convenience. [More]
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Type “Happy Birthday” And Your Name Into YouTube And You Might Get A Special Surprise
By 10.9.14
You don’t know how badly I wanted to write a headline telling anyone and everyone to type their names into YouTube and end up with a (sort of) personalized birthday video and song, but the reality of the situation is that there are some names that are not as common as others (hangs head, sighs over lack of special birthday song). But for everyone else, you get a Happy Birthday video. [More]
Google’s Plan To Let Kids Have Accounts: Bad Idea Or Acknowledgement Of Reality?
By 8.19.14
A few years back, Facebook’s sweatshirt-in-chief Mark Zuckerberg caught a lot of heat when he said he’d be willing to fight for the right to peddle his social network to kids under the age of 13. He eventually backed off on this idea, but now Google appears to be taking up the cause. [More]
25 All-American Movies & TV Shows You Can Stream This 4th Of July
By 7.3.14
While we usually think of fireworks, backyard barbecues and the hot sun beaming down on red, white and blue parades around the country, this year’s 4th of July celebrations might be somewhat dampened as many parts of the country face some wet weather. Or heck, maybe it’s too hot to leave the AC. Either way, we’ve got 25 movies and TV shows you can stream to stay in the American spirit. [More]
YouTube To Block Videos Of Artists Whose Record Labels Won’t Sign Licensing Agreement
By 6.17.14
Watching a 15-second ad might seem like a small price to pay in order to see your favorite music video right when you want to. But a number of artists who haven’t agreed to the licensing terms of YouTube’s upcoming ad-free subscription service won’t be showcasing their talents on the platform much longer. [More]
YouTube In Talks To Buy Video Game Streaming Company Twitch For $1B
By 5.19.14
You can only fill the day with so many videos of cute kittens. For the other hours you might be tempted to watch or play a few video games. The transition from cute baby animal videos to action-packed gaming could be smoother now that Google’s YouTube is reportedly close to purchasing streaming video game service Twitch. [More]
Posting A Video Called “Me Driving Like An Idiot” Was Teen’s Second Mistake
By 5.6.14
Look, kid. You’ve made at least two mistakes recently (allegedly!), the least of which isn’t posting a video called “Me driving like an idiot” on YouTube for all to see. Because of course the most important mistake you made is (allegedly!) choosing to drive like an idiot. [More]
UPDATE: DHL Did NOT Use Color-Changing Packages To Trick UPS Into Delivering Giant DHL Ads
By 2.21.14
UPDATE: We were correct to doubt the authenticity of this “prank.” A rep for DHL tells Consumerist that while the shipping company is aware of the video, DHL did not actually pull the prank or have anything to do with the actual production of the clip that has already been viewed more than 200,000 times on YouTube. [More]
Microsoft Pays YouTube Users A Pittance To Promote Xbox One & Not Say Anything Bad About It
By 1.21.14
Dear Microsoft: If you’re going to ask YouTube video bloggers to sell out and shill for your Xbox One console, at least open up your wallet and spend some real money. Is all the negative publicity — and potential regulatory hassle — that’s destined to come of it worth a mere $3,750? [More]
YouTube’s Content ID System Will Take Away Your Money If You Dare Sing “Silent Night”
By 12.26.13
YouTube is full of web-celebs with decent followings who make some cash by allowing the site to run ads against their videos. YouTube also has a horrendously inaccurate and over-eager system called Content ID that flags videos that may contain copyrighted music content. When a monetized video is flagged, YouTube takes away the ads and therefore any money that clip would be earning, which would be fine if Content ID weren’t such a tin-eared agent bent in favor of the recording industry. [More]
How YouTube’s Forced Google+ Integration Devolved Into ASCII Porn
November 26, 2013
Google’s push to merge YouTube and Google+ was in part an attempt to clean up the notoriously negative (and sometimes nonsensical) comments left on videos, by forcing previously anonymous users to associate their comments with the name of a real-life human. But this story on Ars Technica explains how short-sightedness at Google and clever (if juvenile) YouTube users have instead turned the site’s comments into “a sea of ASCII penises.” [ArsTechnica] [More]
Accused Snickers Thief Suing 7-Eleven Over Video Of His Struggle With Employees
By 11.13.13
A man who stands accused of pilfering a Snickers bar from a Brooklyn 7-Eleven is now suing the company over the emotional distress he says he suffered after a video showing the altercation with employees went viral. This is no simple nabbing of a shoplifter and waiting around for the cops to show up. [More]
Microsoft Promotes Xbox Game With Footage From PlayStation
By 11.7.13
With Microsoft and Sony both releasing next-gen gaming consoles in the coming weeks, the push is on for each company to convince consumers that its console is the bee’s knees and thus worth plunking down several hundred dollars to purchase. What better way to sell the public on the awesomeness of your product than by accidentally uploading footage from your competitor’s console? [More]
YouTube Prepares Subscription Music Service For Possible December Debut
By 10.24.13
When it comes to having choices, we’re of the mind that more is always better. So welcome to the ring of streaming music services, YouTube. It’s reportedly going to launch its own subscription music service as early as December, lining itself up to compete with current popular options like Spotify and Rdio. [More]
YouTube Copyright Bots Finally Tick Off Someone Who Understands Copyright Law
By 9.30.13
Harvard law professor and Creative Commons co-founder Lawrence Lessig knows a thing or two about copyright law. So when a record company demanded that he remove a video from YouTube that featured one of their artists’ songs, he not only fought back to keep the clip online, but has now sued that record company in the hopes of getting it, and others, to stop using auto-scanning technology to take advantage of consumers who may not know their rights. [More]
Facing Too Much Awesomeness On The Internet? Check Out YouTube’s Worst On Boootube
By 8.14.13
Perfectly-executed humor is just so boooring! That’s why if you’re facing too many awesome, entertaining and informative subject matter on the Internet [cough, cough, ahem, etc], there’s the latest darling of the World Wide Web, Boootube. It takes all the most entertaining of the worst-rated videos on YouTube and puts them in one place, perfectly convenient for all your procrastination needs. [Boootube.com via The Verge] [More]
Piece Of SOPA Could Rise Again To Make It A Felony To Stream Cover Songs On YouTube
By 8.6.13
Like some kind of anti-piracy zombie, a piece of the previously slain Stop Online Piracy Act — or SOPA — has risen from the grave it was shoved into in 2012 to once more shamble about creating trouble. Instead of gnawing on people’s limbs, however, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Police Task Force wants a little bit of it to simply live on and make streaming copyright works a felony. [More]
State AGs To Google: How Much Ad Moolah Do You Make Off Videos Promoting Illicit Activities?
By 7.3.13
Don’t you hate waiting that entire five seconds of a YouTube ad before you can skip to the video promoting use of oxycontin without a prescription or a guide on how to forge a passport? Even if those aren’t the kinds of videos you watch (fingers crossed) the attorneys general for Nebraska and Oklahoma still do not like the fact one bit that Google is allegedly profiting off such advertising. [More]
