YouTube Gets Smarter on the Small Screen

As more and more people are using the browser on their smartphones for checking email, visiting websites, and even accessing YouTube, we want to make sure that we provide the best possible YouTube experience on your mobile browser. Today we released a new mobile website specifically designed to access YouTube on smartphones with capable browsers; phones like the iPhone, G1 and Palm Pre.

Just visit youtube.com from your mobile phone, and you'll be taken to a new website specially designed for your device. You can log into your account, view your favorites, and discover and share new videos quickly and easily with whoever you choose. It's part of our mission to create the best possible YouTube experience for you, whether you use the site on your computer, in your living room, or on the go.

Dwipal Desai, Product Manager, recently watched "iPhone 3GS dropped in the pool. Still works!"

Behind the Scenes at the Sundance Directors Lab

Reservoir Dogs, Requiem for a Dream, and Half Nelson topped critics' lists when they came out, but before they achieved this recognition, they were all workshopped at the Sundance Directors Lab. Since its inception, the world's most famous film workshop has always occurred behind closed doors... until now.

Today, we're proud to present, in partnership with the Sundance Institute and sponsored by Honda, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Directors Lab in the YouTube Screening Room. To start, we'll follow three up-and-coming auteurs as they strive to transform their dream projects from vision to reality. From a first-time filmmaker learning the process to a director trying to make a comedy about Osama bin Laden, there's something here for everyone who's ever wondered about how films are made.




Stay tuned, because in two weeks we've got four more videos featuring exclusive footage of life at the Lab.

Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched the trailer for "The September Issue."

Local News on YouTube

News is nothing without context, and video is no exception. Helping you discover and watch news videos that are relevant to the stories of the day or to the issues unfolding in your neighborhood is one of our big goals when it comes to YouTube News & Politics. That's why we developed a "News Near You" module on our news page to surface videos from local news partners in your area.

As the New York Times also reported earlier today, "News Near You" surfaces news videos from partners within a 100 mile radius of your computer's IP address. Go to youtube.com/news and check it out: if there are local news videos near you, the module will appear about halfway down the page. If you don't see anything, you can be sure we're working to bring local news partners to you soon. Already we've seen great click-through rates on the videos that are surfacing in this section -- which shouldn't come as a surprise, since these clips are relevant to what's happening in your vicinity.

Beyond reaching local viewers, just having these news clips on YouTube means that they can reach a global audience. For example, a video of a police encounter with a pit bull might intrigue folks far from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where WXII-TV uploaded this video. And a story about a woman giving birth on her bathroom floor is likely to interest more people than just the Nashua, New Hampshire, residents who saw this WMUR-TV clip:



So if you're a local news publisher, we'd love to include you our "News Near You" section. (This post from our partner and advertiser blog will tell you how.) And if you're a citizen who's reporting on the news in your neighborhood, check out the YouTube Reporters' Center to connect with us and share your videos.

Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched "Jumping Spiders Courting."

Trend: Alternate Channels for Charity

Tough economic times haven't stopped some of YouTube's most recognizable faces from giving back to organizations they care about; many YouTube partners are donating time and money to ensure that nonprofits thrive during the recession.

For example, KevJumba and HappySlip each set up alternate accounts and have vowed to donate all of the proceeds from these accounts to charity. KevJumba announced his charity channel, JumbaFund, on May 1 of this year, noting that each month his subscribers would get to vote for the charity that deserved the month's earnings. He has made good on his word: in the month of May, 43,000 users voted that the month's earnings of $1,708.51 should be donated to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and Kev followed through. In June, acknowledging the swell of user interest around Michael Jackson's death, he donated $1,432.71 to one of Jackson's favorite charities, the End Hunger Network.

Taking KevJumba's cue, HappySlip announced that she would donate all of the earnings from her alternate channel, ChristineGambito, to Operation Smile.

Other YouTube partners, like LisaNova, iJustine and the Vlogbrothers, are making a difference in another way. They're donating their time and skills to nonprofits in need by creating videos for them through YouTube Video Volunteers, a new program that connects skilled video-makers with nonprofits who need a little help in the realm of video production. For example, see the video that Vlogbrother John Green just created about the Book Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that provides books and reading lights to refugees:




Giving back on YouTube isn't just limited to YouTube partners -- you can do good now by taking part in Video Volunteers or by encouraging others to donate to a worthy cause. Let us know how you're helping in the comments below. We'd love to help you broadcast your cause...and your video-making skills.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube Nonprofits & Activism, recently watched "Burning Bananas."

Yo! Megan Fox and Vin Diesel! You think you're better than us?

OK, Ashton might have more followers on Twitter than we do, but we're not going quietly into the night. Let's take a friendly celebrity tussle to Facebook, shall we? where we've got the 12th most popular Product/Celebrity fan page (thankyouverymuch). With 3.1 million fans, we're hovering above Mr. Demi Moore, Rihanna and, er, potato chips (Pringles). That's not too bad, but our sights are on you, Will Smith, Megan Fox, Lady Gaga, Adam Sandler and Vin Diesel. You stand in our way of leaderboard glory so it's time for a good old fashioned Internet showdown.

You heard it here: we're going to pass these celebs in the next 60 days and if we don't, we'll eat humble pie and spotlight video(s) on our homepage for the nonprofit or non-commercial cause of their choosing. It's a stretch goal, to be sure, as we'd have to gain approximately the following numbers of fans to beat...

• Adam Sandler: 150K
• Lady Gaga: 290K
• Will Smith: 965K
• Megan Fox: 1.4M
• Vin Diesel: 2.2M
  

Think we can do it? Help us get there by joining our Facebook group now. Because we so want to be able to say that we're stronger than Vin Diesel, cooler than Will Smith and hotter than Megan Fox.

Hunter Walk, Director, Product Management, recently favorited "J.J. Abrams: The mystery box."

Eye-popping X Games action

The world's premiere action sports event, X Games 15, starts today in Los Angeles with a slew of competitions, including street park and vert ramp skateboarding, BMX, motocross, rally car and more — and we'll have all the jaw-dropping, mind-exploding moments on YouTube, courtesy of ESPN.

Bonafide legends and legends-in-the-making will be competing, with big air masters like skateboarder Danny Way, BMX rider Dave Mirra and Moto X rider Todd Potter putting it all on the line. What's at stake for these athletes? A lot more than prize money and titles...

While the Mega Ramp and vertical events always draw the oohs and aahs, many skateboarding industry watchers are hotly anticipating the skate park and street events, thanks to a field stacked with YouTube heroes Mike Mo Capaldi, Paul Rodriguez, Andrew Reynolds, Ryan Sheckler and (Wallenberg and Maloof Cup winner) Chris Cole. The women's field is also highly competitive this year, with young stars Leticia Bufoni and Marisa Del Santo slated to skate.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of X Games and to whet your appetite for the event, ESPN put together a greatest hits playlist with the best moments from each year, including Travis Pastrana's gravity-defying motocross double-backflip in 2006 and Tony Hawk's epic 900-degree spin ("The 900") from 1999.

ESPN will be uploading daily highlights, interviews, features and behind-the-scenes video to their channel and to a XG15 playlist. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss a beat.

Andrew Bangs, YouTube Sports, recently watched "Real Madrid vs Universidad de Quito."

Who Would Win in a Fight?

Update (7/29): Thanks to everyone who voted. Here are the final results of the poll.

 +++

Among other things, YouTube is a place for healthy and vigorous debate. In that spirit, we're introducing a monthly blog entry embracing a popular question that never fails to elicit a colorful response: Who would win in a fight? Each installment, we'll be pitting two characters from YouTube Shows and Movies against each other in a no-holds-barred, free-for-all battle royale. To kick things off, we've got Juggernaut vs. Incredible Hulk.

vs.

For a truly expert opinion, we defer to mrtennessen, who has already mapped out what a possible deathmatch between the two titans might look like.



More importantly, what's your opinion? Vote in the poll at the top of the blog, or post video responses or comments to the X-Men and Hulk shows and movies to express a more in-depth point of view. If you can think of a good battle between characters from the YouTube Shows and Movies pages, post it in the comments below - the best idea will be featured in the next edition of "Who Would Win in a Fight?"

Nate Weinstein, YouTube Film, recently watched "Gowanus, Brooklyn."