YouTube launched in 2005 as a video sharing platform, and was acquired by Google (now Alphabet) in 2006. It has built an entire community of creators that run channels dedicated to topics like gaming, tech reviews, and beauty. It also houses news videos and entertainment such as music videos, movie trailers, and clips from late-night TV shows.
YouTube’s rapid growth has not been without problems. YouTubers typically make money from ads that run in front of their videos, but if they break the platform’s rules, their channels and videos can be demonetized. Executives and moderators have worked to combat harassment, misinformation, terrorist propaganda, hate content, and other abuse.
The Verge runs two YouTube channels, The Verge and Verge Science.
Pitchfork exploded as the music industry changed, then was cut down to size by another wave of technological change. Was that it?
Faruk from the iPhonedo YouTube channel wants to lay the online “drama” around Apple’s scratch-prone case to rest. So he spruced up the grossest one he says he could find on eBay.
After bringing it back to life, he has a message about product upkeep for his viewers. Text alone doesn’t do his delivery justice — keep your ears open around the 7:30 mark.
A Reddit commenter posted a screenshot today showing what they said is the Hum to Search option in the YouTube Music on iOS
Google has let you search by humming a tune for years and started testing it in the Android YouTube app in August. Like 9to5Google, I’m not seeing it on my own iOS or Android devices. Are you?
It appears Google is further optimizing YouTube Music for podcasts as it prepares to sunset Google Podcasts at the end of this month.
9to5Google reports spotting a line of code that indicates it is building out a “trim silence feature,” which is standard on Google Podcasts and other podcast listening apps. It automatically skips long stretches of silence that appear in an episode, saving the listener a bit of time.
In a message on X, the trendsetting 25-year-old YouTuber known for frenetically paced videos like “I Adopted EVERY Dog In A Dog Shelter” reveals that he’s “slowed down” and focused on storytelling over the past year, which he says brought in even more views.
Even longer videos may be on the horizon. Puck News reported that Amazon is close to signing a $100 million deal with Mr. Beast for a new talk show series.
On this special episode of Decoder, Complexly co-founder and YouTuber Hank Green turns the tables on Nilay Patel.
It’s... pretty clear why Apple, specifically, would have gotten cold feet about showing this Curb Your Enthusiasm-style skit, imagining him as an app reviewer.
This was reportedly made for 2014’s WWDC. It probably won’t be on YouTube for long, so enjoy this unlisted video while it lasts.
Travelers and those with finicky Wi-Fi can rejoice as offline downloading is starting to show up in YouTube Music’s web app, according to Android Police and 9to5Google. One user on Reddit posted screenshots of a “Save to Library” button, as well as a new “Downloads” tab.
Offline downloads of songs have been limited to YouTube Music’s mobile apps and only for Premium members. It seems likely the desktop feature will also remain a Premium perk.
It’s about codecs and resolution. 4K-and-up videos only use either YouTube’s VP9 codec or the royalty-free AV1. Christian Selig, developer of the Juno YouTube app, writes that 360 video of the former can’t work because it requires Apple’s blessing. And the Vision Pro’s M2 chip has no AV1 hardware decoder, so that’s out, too.
Why not 1080p, he asks? Because it looks like doo-doo.
[christianselig.com]
We’re increasingly seeing YouTubers try their hand at product development. It’s a logical next step in expanding income beyond YouTube ad revenue, and now Marques Brownlee is joining the fray.
Today he announced that he’s joined the board at Ridge, an accessories company best known for wallets, and will also become the brand’s “chief creative partner.”
YouTube was the most-watched streaming option over the past 12 months, according to data from Nielsen. In January, YouTube accounted for 8.6 percent of usage in the US, followed by Netflix at 7.9 percent. That’s more than the next eight services combined.
Separately, YouTube says users around the world watched over 1 billion hours of content on the site’s TV app every day, while creators saw a 400 percent increase in watch time on TVs.
With more than 8 million concurrent live streams for the event, spokesperson Allison Toh says Super Bowl LVIII is now the most-watched event ever on YouTube TV — and more broadly was the “most-watched telecast in history.”
TV is shaping up to be a focus for YouTube. Earlier in February, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that the platform’s subscription TV service had more than 8 million subscribers.
Call me pessimistic, but I was sure Google would immediately slam the breaks on Christian Selig’s third-party YouTube app (especially now the company plans to make a YouTube app of its own). But Juno is still going strong, and Selig has just released its 1.1 version update. Improvements include a playback quality selector, drag and drop support, bug fixes, and other performance and UI tweaks.
[christianselig.com]
The next time you scroll through Shorts, you might spot a preview for a live video that you can tap into and watch. You can also continue scrolling to find other livestreams. The setup is similar to TikTok, which already lets you scroll through a feed of live, mobile-friendly videos.
Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, just published his annual letter, which is sort of a State of The YouTube Union address. There’s nothing new in here, really: YouTube is big on AI, loves creators, etc. etc. But I was yet again surprised by how big a subscription business YouTube is:
We’re excited to announce that we have more than 8 million subscribers to YouTube TV. And we passed 100 million Music and Premium subscribers, including trials.
However big you think YouTube is... it’s probably bigger.
[YouTube Official Blog]
The company confirmed the change in a reply on Reddit, saying it’s rolling out the enhanced bitrate option for “updated 4K-compatible streaming devices.” It doesn’t mention which channels support the new picture quality, so you might have to do a little channel surfing to find out.
YouTube Premium subscribers can already watch videos in 1080p enhanced on web, mobile, and TVs.
[Cord Cutters News]
This drone footage from wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna might be the first ever captured of a living newborn great white shark.
An associated research paper suggests the white stuff sloughing off of it is either a uterine milk coating or a skin disorder like dermatitis. The researchers believe the shark may be “days or even hours old.”
And now I have a century-old song to scrub from my brain.
NBC News reports the arrest of Justin Mohn, who allegedly murdered his father, a federal employee, and displayed the head in a 14-minute video posted to YouTube. Mohn claimed he was in command of America’s militias against Joe Biden and “woke mobs,” and he called for attacks on federal law enforcement officials.
Police said they were called to the victim’s home after the body was found Tuesday night and arrested Mohn hours later. The YouTube video was taken down after the arrest.
Just look at how many image and title iterations The Try Guys go through when trying to make sure a video pops off.
If you’re interested in seeing more, the TikToker below is using a tool called CreatorML to view the thumbnail history.
That comes after 404 Media reported on a ring of them, leading to more than a thousand being wiped off the platform.
The advertising scams:
used artificial intelligence to make celebrities like Taylor Swift, Steve Harvey, and Joe Rogan pitch Medicare scams. In total, the videos had nearly 200 million views, with both users and celebrities regularly complaining about them.
Don’t worry: he’s sticking around. But he has an interesting perspective on the trend of big names like MatPat and Tom Scott stepping back and what it means to actually be a full time YouTuber.
