Last fall, we announced the release of YouTube Direct, a tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users, and on their own website. In addition to our launch partners (ABC News, the Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and WHDH-TV/WLVI-TV in Boston), many other news organizations and websites -- including the Tribune Company, Gannett, Al Jazeera, and ITN News -- have signed on and are using the platform to collect citizen reporting and commentary around news events all around the world. There are nearly 400 news partners on YouTube able to use YouTube Direct to generate news content that helps them extend and engage their audience.

Today, we’re rolling out the latest version of YouTube Direct, which includes substantial upgrades that make it easier for news organizations to test and customize the platform. In addition to several back-end changes, we’ve also added new features including:

• Mobile application code for both the iPhone and Android
• Ability to view and edit YouTube captions for any video submitted (with support for all caption languages)
• Multiple YouTube Direct upload modules now possible on a single page
• Additional customization and messaging options

If you’re already using YouTube Direct, we strongly encourage you to upgrade. And if you haven’t yet embraced the platform, but want to use YouTube to connect with a larger audience, now is the perfect time to get started.

For more information, visit youtube.com/direct. And to receive updates and announcements in the future, please subscribe to the YouTube API Announcements Google Group.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched "Eyjafjallajokull volcano and ash clouds".

What *else* went down on the site, aside from people searching for "Tiger Woods"?

1. YouTube Direct: Now media orgs can easily rebroadcast UGC clips
As YouTube has become a global platform for sharing the news, media organizations have been looking for a good way to connect directly with citizen reporters on our site so they can broadcast this footage and bring it to a larger audience. Enter YouTube Direct, a new tool that allows media companies to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users. Built from our APIs, this open-source application lets media orgs enable customized versions of YouTube's upload platform on their own websites. Read more about it here.

2. 1080p launches
YouTube's HD mode now supports viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience. Compare the difference in resolution in this blog announcement.

3. Iraqi government comes to YouTube
On November 25, the Iraqi government launched a YouTube channel at youtube.com/iraqigov, joining other governments, heads of state, and leaders from around the world, including the Pope, the Royal Family, and Queen Rania, and presidents from the United States, France, South Korea and Estonia. Learn more in this video from Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

4. Auto-Tune it!
Auto-Tune is a proprietary voice processor that makes anyone sound like a smooth hip-hopper (T-Pain, to be exact) and it's become a huge phenomenon on YouTube. For the scoop on how it came to be, ROCKETBOOM recruited "Weird Al" Yankovic to provide this entertaining history of the meme. Speaking of which: subscribe to the Gregory Brother's "Auto-Tune the News" channel, a classic of the genre.

5. Gonzo et al. go gangbusters
Muppets + Queen = Viral hit. Enjoy the video already consumed 9 million times: presenting..."The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody."



Posted by Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager

Every day, people with video cameras are changing the ways we get our news. We see it during elections. We see it during earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters. We see it on our freeways, in our schools and in our public spaces. Almost any event that takes place today has a chance of being captured on camera. As YouTube has become a global platform for sharing the news, media organizations have been looking for a good way to connect directly with citizen reporters on our site so they can broadcast this footage and bring it to a larger audience.

That's why we created YouTube Direct, a new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users. Built from our APIs, this open source application lets media organizations enable customized versions of YouTube's upload platform on their own websites. Users can upload videos directly into this application, which also enables the hosting organization to easily review video submissions and select the best ones to broadcast on-air and on their websites. As always, these videos also live on YouTube, so users can reach their own audience while also getting broader exposure and editorial validation for the videos they create.

Though we built YouTube Direct to help news organizations expand their coverage and connect directly with their audiences, the application is designed to meet any organization's goal of leveraging video content submitted by the community. Businesses can use YouTube Direct to solicit promotional videos, nonprofits can use the application to call-out for support videos around social campaigns and politicians can use the platform to ask for user-generated political commercials. The opportunities to use the tool are as broad as the media spectrum itself.

Already, we've seen ABC News, the Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and WHDH-TV/WLVI-TV in Boston using YouTube Direct. We look forward to seeing many more organizations to do the same.

To get started, visit youtube.com/direct.

Posted by Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics